Finding a Path

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Terrick sat alone and quiet in the courtyard of the temple, occasionally brushing a hand through his shortly cropped hair as he normally did when he was nervous these days. He still regretted cutting it all so short, but he had been confident in his decision when he first came to the jedi and their temple and noticed the braids all the padawan's wore and promptly took a razor and set to work saving himself from having to have one too. A truly sad day that had been. A day that was almost a week gone now.

The Barata had been here for what seemed an eternity now, and in that time he had done little in what he expected of his jedi training. He thought he had demonstrated he knew enough about wielding the force about when they had asked, and expected that to mean he could be immediately thrown into all the learning and training he wanted. At least given a lightsaber out of courtesy. But no, they make me wait a week... The young man tugged at his padawan robes as he shuffled impatiently on the stone bench. The clothing was comfortable enough, not something he would have chosen if he had the choice, but it was still odd for him, still alien to what he knew. It was all this waiting that had him on edge most of the time. When Terrick wasnt busy concentrating on a task, it meant his mind had time to wander, and after such a massive shift in his life like joining the order, there was a dangerously large amount of things to think about.

The temple was one thing, the huge structure catching him in complete awe the first time he laid eyes on it from the ship that had brought him here, but it was the people within that truly had him uncomfortable, especially the older jedi. They all had an air of wisdom about them and eyes that could look deep into someone and just know, without any words needed to be said. Eerie. Then there was the planet itself. The bustle and ceaselessness of the gargantuan city was overwhelming to say the least, and nothing like his home. With a hushed sigh, the lad pushed the unwelcome and distracting thoughts from his mind as best he could. He had been informed he had been assigned someone to take the reigns of his training today, a master. He wasnt exactly sure if he would ever be comfortable calling someone that, but that wasnt of any importance when compared to the fact that he was finally being given a start. Oh, so exciting.
 
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Jake

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Lucien could be easily be defined as something of a maverick, with his total of six ears and the crown of stubby vestigial horns that protruded from his scalp. His long black hair flowed to the small of his back, pulled away from his face and managing to accentuate his closed eyes. Eyes that would remain closed forever, if he had any say in the matter. However, now was not the time to worry; today was when he would meet his first Padawan, a recent arrival in the Temple by the name of Terrick Barata.

The Jedi Knight strolled out into the courtyard, seeing the cobblestone pathway through the Force. The boy stood out as a nexus of raw Force talent, untrained and unrefined, an instrument not yet tempered from its birth as burning steel. The Sephi-Zabrak ran long, slender fingers through his hair. The Masters had told him he was ready for this, even after he had insisted that he didn't know what to say or how to teach yet. They gently encouraged him despite his doubts, assuring him that the Force would guide him as it always did, a statement that held truer for Lucien than for many other Jedi.

Without the Force, he would be blind and alone in a galaxy full of fear.

A burbling fountain stood in the middle of the courtyard, filling the whole area with its gentle murmur. Lucien took a seat beside the muscular youth. The datapad marking his arrival to Coruscant had listed him as remarkably Force-sensitive. The Archives also made it clear that the Baratas had a long history of sensitivity; Terrik's uncle had been a Jedi Knight, even, before he had run off and found refuge on Tatooine.

"Hello, Terrick," Lucien said, voice a lilting melody of tones. "I am Lucien Corinthian, and I will be your teacher." The silver hilt of his lightsaber glistened on the belt looped around his waist.
 

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Normally, with his yet undisciplined ability to sense others, Terrick would have have heard someone's approach before he felt them through the force, but over the soft churning of the fountain planted in the middle of the courtyard, and his own mind aflame with doubt and worry, the young man could not hear the quiet footsteps of another crossing the stone pathway. Yet there was something that drew Terrick's eyes from the floor he had lazily fixed them on and raised them unto the sight of the man approaching him. The padawan was at a loss as to what to make of the jedi as he took a seat next to him, the saber at his side catching the sun's light like a badge testifying to what he was. What he was beyond a jedi though, was very uncertain. The horns atop his head would normally have marked him as Irodonian, but those ears...

"A pleasure" The muscular man managed to say, stumbling slightly on his first words as he tried to figure what it was exactly he was talking to. He also was unclear how to greet this blind man either, and he was half tempted to wave a hand in front of the Zabrak's face to see if he truly could not see. Instead, he decided to straightened his back and offer a hand towards Lucien for a properly civil and strong handshake. "I am eager to begin" Terrick made sure to mention more firmly once the two had concluded their introductions. He did not want to leave a bad first impression lingering between the two of them so early on.
 

Jake

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"The pleasure is mine," Lucien said kindly, accepting Terrick's handshake with a thin smile. He took a moment to collect himself before standing, spreading his arms as if to encompass the entire courtyard. "I assume you've had a brief tour of the temple, but nonetheless. This is where Jedi come to meditate--" He took a moment to sweep his hand across a small gazebo where several levitating students were deep in their meditation trances. "--to study, and sometimes to simply contemplate."

He gave his Padawan a moment to take it in before continuing, "Inside are the hallways, along with several statues of great figures in our Order's history, and hallways leading to the dormitories, the Grand Archives, and the cafeteria." His smile broadened slightly. "Because, yes, even Jedi have to eat sometimes. There's also a turbolift to the upper levels, where the more senior members of the Jedi have their personal chambers, as well as the Jedi Council. The current Grandmaster's name is Talzea, by the way. Also, because I am one of the more senior Jedi Knights, my room is on the second level. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come looking."

He sighed. Lucien was generally a reserved fellow, not used to speaking quite that much. He'd have to get used to it though, considering this was now his Padawan, for better or for worse.

"Now, before we actually begin, are there any questions that you'd like to ask me at all? Don't be afraid. I know that I was as eager as you seem right now when I first met my Master, and I missed a chance to ask some questions that would have made things easier in the long run. And in case you are wondering and it will give rise to other questions, yes, I am physically blind." His smile didn't fade, but his anxiety might have fluctuated in the Force. Just like his Padawan, he didn't want to make a bad impression. After all, they were supposed to become good friends, and considering their age gaps weren't so terribly wide, it seemed like a valid opportunity.
 

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Terrick was hardly surprised when Lucien grasped his hand and shook, he knew, and in a way, felt, that the man must have held a firm grip over the force to allow him to overcome such an encumbrance as losing his sight, six ears or no. He followed closely as his new teacher stood up, and even listened patiently as the jedi, with his almost musical voice, pointed and laid out the lay of the temple to the muscular youth. The padawan had his own room in those dormitories, eaten in the cafeteria despite the lack of gourmet its dishes provided, and even used his free time to wander around and marvel at things when he could. Also, going as far as to take a peek at the archives he had heard such magnificent tales of. Unfortunately, the stories were of the one on Ossus, not Coruscant, but none the less, the huge stores of knowledge it promised to share to anyone with the time was no less impressive to the young man. The teachers his father had hired back on Tatooine would no doubt furiously argue differently after having little luck themselves, but Terrick did enjoy learning something from the pages of a book as much as he did learning it any other way, it was just that a book had to compete a lot harder to hold his attention. Having at least a few damned pictures was usually a good start.

He had kept his gaze fixed loosely on the other students at the gazebo as he politely let Lucien continue, his brown eyes digging deeper than just through his sight as he focused on the force pouring out and swirling about the padawans. He knew what he was 'seeing' was only a teasing blur to what he could truly feel through the force, and that fact only served to frustrate him beyond words. The sigh the peculiar Zabrak made brought his attention back to his master, curious as to what had brought it about. He was forced to consider for a moment though, when Lucien had turned to him and asked if he needed any questions answered before they began. As excited as he was about the training, Terrick knew he should have had something to go over with the senior knight, but perhaps it was just that excitement clouding his mind that restrained him from coming up with any good, or worth asking. Instead he settled for something else that may have proved easier than going through question after question with a man who didn't exactly seem overly enthused about speaking so much.

"If your attitude was similar to mine now, then maybe the answers to the questions you failed to ask at first would suffice for me as well"
 

Jake

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"Hmm... well, I suppose that will do. Firstly, no one can excel at everything. There are Jedi that have no talent with telekinesis and cannot lift even a pebble. Personally, I can't open these eyes of mine without running the risk of injury for either myself or anyone nearby." Lucien's smile waned slightly. His eyes weren't a touchy subject per se, only an unwelcome reminder that his blindness was a danger rather than a mere inconvenience. "Secondly, yes, meditation is boring but it can yield some interesting results."

He went on like that for a few more examples, recalling how anxious he had be to learn how to wield a lightsaber and mend broken bones, to touch others' minds. But he saved the most important for last, until he was sure Terrick might be reconsidering his decision to seek out the Jedi simply because of his teacher's monologue.

"But most importantly, you will learn to feel the Force. It comes in time. I know what you feel now must be like clawing at shadows, being able to see that vague hint of something but not capable of discerning anything important. You will learn to hear, taste, smell, see, touch the Force, but only through practice. If you don't persevere your life will go on and you will always feel just that shadow."

Lucien produced two thin durasteel swords from his robe. At the flick of a switch an electric current arced across the blades in visible purple jets, stopping at the plastic hilts. He handed one to Terrick, careful not to electrocute himself in the process.

"These are training swords meant to replicate lightsabers. The weights are a bit of a problem but it's easy enough to adjust once you have a foundation. Now, the electricity is far from lethal, but getting hit will sting and leave a nasty welt, so try to avoid it if you can. This is to gauge where you are and hopefully determine what lightsaber form is best for you..."

He slipped into a familiar stance, holding his sword one-handed, extended outwards in a classic Makashi salute. "The first move is yours."
 

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Terrick found himself nodding to almost everything Lucien commented on, even letting a nervous hint of a smile creep unto the edges of his lips as the jedi knight went into things that were exactly the young man's concerns, or things he had not even thought about yet and now only added to his troubles. It was really more exciting to hear all of it coming from his master than it was disheartening, but It was when the blind knight mentioned learning to not just understand the force, but know it more clearly than he could now, that Terrick truly became convinced his uncle's advice to come here, to the jedi, was wise. Not exactly a word he was used to complimenting the old man with until today. Never the less, the fresh padawan was determined not to let the shadow, that his master had called it, remain between him and his goal.

Terrick's nervous smile quickly turned broad and devious at the site of the blades pulled from Lucien's clothing. Finally he couldn't help but think as he gingerly took the hold of the safe end of the electrified sword in his right hand. He swung the training sword around a bit, the purple electricity coursing along its edges clinging to the blade as it was waved around carefully while Lucien explained the purpose behind it and why they were dueling. While Terrick was no stranger to wielding a weapon, it had usually been a blaster, or a slugger of some sort, and he was confident in his use of of those, but his skill with a blade was unrefined and certainly no match for a trained and experienced jedi knight's. Naturally however, Terrick wasnt going to let a silly fact like that stop him from winning. He would show Lucien there was something of worth in this padawan he had been assigned.

Watching curiously as the Zabrak fell into some, no doubt, impressive stance of a lightsaber form, the first thoughts to enter the muscular youth's mind was how to get around his own handicap. His mind lingered towards how to take advantage of the jedi's lack of sight and his reliance on it's replacements. If he could hide himself, or the force that spilled out of him so unwaveringly, then maybe his new master would have to fall back to only his ears... but Terrick had no idea how exactly he was supposed to hide his forceyness, and inevitably, he came up with the fool proof plan of cheating as much as possible to gain the first upper hand. Hopefully, the jedi couldn't see everything his human opponent was doing without his eyes.

He quickly began to work loose his shoes while he slowly and hungrily circled Lucien, his blade's point angled towards his foe. Once one was free enough he hastily kicked his foot out, firing off the boot at the jedi and charging in with a powerful downward slash at the man once he found himself occupied with the rude appearance of a shoe flying towards his face. With his full strength behind the powerful attack, he was confident he could batter through any defense of Lucien's once he got him where he wanted him.
 
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