Impermanent Solace

[Gwyn]

The day was still young, but Padawan Armiena Drayven's meditation had drawn to an end.

She opened her eyes and quietly observed her surroundings, squinting against the brilliant incandescence of Coruscant Prime. In a single, fluid motion, the girl was on her feet, raven locks spilling over two slender shoulders. With consideration given to the other Jedi scattered throughout the illuminated meditation chamber, she plodded along the marble floor in silence, chestnut robes stroking the immaculate, polished stone. Her departure caught the attention of her Master, Nalan Shak. Amber hues trained themselves on the apprentice, and through the Force, Armiena felt his farewell. She returned the lighthearted gesture and boarded a turbolift, which carried her to one of the many cavernous hallways connected to the Temple's central foyer.

Bestirring with the harmonious purr of commotion, the place she had come to call home radiated the enthusiastic warmth that now filled her heart. The Order prospered, complacency ruled, and for the first time in months, the Padawan felt at peace. So, too, it seemed, did Nalan, whose temperament had greatly improved since arriving back from his mission to Kashyyyk. It dawned on the girl that she had neglected to inquire her Master as to the success of his trip, but despite feeling the need to be inquisitive, Armiena knew better than to meddle in matters that didn't pertain to her. He had returned to the Temple unharmed and that was good enough for her.

The cylindrical handgrip of a lightsaber thumped against her thigh as she traipsed, dangling from a polyfibe ring attached to her belt. She fingered the blade emitter carelessly and tucked her lithe, muscled frame through a crowding of Jedi engaged in idle discourse, unwittingly bumping shoulders with a familiar face bordered by ruffled brown hair. She would recognize those emerald orbs anywhere, and immediately, a broad, juvenile grin hiked the corners of her lips.

"Kain!"

 

[Wit]

Kain had been enjoying a free morning, no classes, no assignments, pointlessly ambling about the Temple when Armeniena ran into him. Not having seen the older padawan in some time, a smile spread up across Kain's face on realizing she had been to call out his name. He stepped aside to let a couple of Knights pass through before stepping back up to face his blue eyed friend.

"Armiena, what are you doing here? I thought you were out on Kashyyyk with Master Shak. That is where you were right? I haven't seen you in such a long time that I assume that must be it." Realizing then that he had started rambling again, as he so often did nowadays around people he was familiar with, something that very much surprised the Masters as eh was normally so shy and quiet around strangers, he stopped speaking for a second. "Regardless, it is good to see you again, you're doing well I hope?"

 

[Gwyn]

The girl scrunched her nose. She never enjoyed being left behind when her Master was called away from the Temple, and she disliked being left out of the loop even more. She respected him immensely and would never dare pry into the details of his exploits, but the girl was young. Curious. From her point of view, at least, being tasked with a mission off-world was an acclamation of honor, respect, and mystery.

"I've been busy," she chirped, forgetting her dissatisfaction for the time being. "I spend most of my time in the Archives."

She pursed her lips just as her stomach rumbled. Realizing that she had neglected to eat prior to meditating, she nudged Kain's arm and beckoned to him with a tip of her head.

"Would you care to join me for lunch?"

 

[Wit]

Kain noticed what he could think of as slight irritation within Armiena, but then a moment later her stomach started rumbling and that got him thinking that what he might have noticed was her hunger. He was still not very proficient with picking up emotions correctly with the Force, but he was learning.

He had been about to ask her about her master when her rumbling stomach made him realize his own hunger. "Yeah, sure." Had she not asked him about lunch at that moment then in all probability he himself would have brought it up.

As they walked towards the mess he started inquiring her about her studies in the archives. "So found anything interesting in the archives or just been browsing around?"

 

[Gwyn]

When they arrived in the mess hall, the girl helped herself to a dish of bantha stew and a single piece of air-puffed flatbread. Her training required a strict diet to maintain muscle mass and an overall healthy and developing physique, which naturally excluded foods high in fat and sugar - yyegar sugar especially.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, no."

She lingered near an empty table, waiting patiently for Kain. Nibbling idly on a corner of her flatbread, she canted her head, attempting to recollect the passage she had read in one of the Archives' many holobooks.

"How much do you know about the Sith?"