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[Laila Din]

"Yeah, I'm supposed to meet them here. Uhhh, about any time now I think?"

The pretty little pink tiefling was seated in the middle of the table, elbows resting on the duraplast while her hands held her NalPhone out in front of her. Two little tieflings started back at her. One was shorter and blue with tall horns like hers, and one was tall, broad, and red with four horns like her brother's. They were her parents - her Ma and Pa - and they were about as worried about her and she was excited.

"No- Ugh, Maaa!" Laila's pink skin flushed bright red at whatever embarrassing thing her Ma must've said, and Laila quickly switched into Meerian to hide the conversation from nearby ears. "Ma, I'll be fiiine! This ain't my first rodeo! Well, you know what I mean. I've been throwin' punches since I was like- what, two? Three? Plus, Tai joined the Sith when he was 'bout my age! The Sith! How's this any worse?"

Though the conversation would be unintelligible to any eavesdropper, it was clear the squire was arguing with whoever was on the phone. Laila's voice grew increasingly whiny and frustrated until the end when she wished her parents goodbye. "Okay, okay. I love you Ma. Love ya Pa." With that, Laila hung up the call, looked around at the mostly empty room, then kicked her feet up onto the table and began scrolling through Galaxygram. There weren't a whole lot of squires - especially squires her age - because a lot of the Sith that had transferred over as acolytes had graduated to knighthood pretty quickly. She'd still done her best to get as many handles as she could.

It was easy to do since she carried the magnificent 'Din' family name. Everyone wanted to at least follow her, and she definitely had the highest follow count on both Galaxygram and Switter. Laila liked to think part of it was because of her amazing posts.

'I wonder if they assigned me an actually good instructor?' she wondered, tilting her head back to look lazily at the door as she heard the hiss of it opening. 'I deserve only the best.' Whoever got to be her mentor was lucky, Laila decided smugly as her eyes settled on whomever it was. She could already fight!

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique was actually excited for taking on a Squire, yet, as the decision had been made rather short-handedly, she hadn't even been given a name yet. All she knew was that she was about to meet them here in the Imperial Station in the assigned room they had been given. She was supposed to pick them up and do the introductions before she would be able to continue however she pleased.

She already had made her mind up about what to do: Get to know them, do some bonding as this was definitely the best base for a solid mentorship. She walked through the corridors in her Imperial uniform - not in her armor - but had both lightsabers clipped to her belt in case they'd switch to some first training later on.

She straightened her uniform as she approached the door, obviously wanting to meet her squire as poised as she usually was when on duty, however not wanting to lack an initial warmth either and hence there was a soft smile planted on her lips. The door hissed opened and revealed a teenage Tiefling girl, however, the horns weren't the first things she noticed

- her feet on the table were.

"Squire" the smile immediately faded and her features took on a stricter appearance as she walked over, her back straight. There was something about her attitude that displeased her as the girl in front of her gave the impression of a bored, spoiled girl and not that of an initiate. She expected her to remove the feet asap as her gaze was relatively clear in terms of that, but didn't comment on it just yet, also expecting her to know how to greet her properly.

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

Laila's eyes widened. 'She's here!' The woman had walked in looking quite nice, but her smile had faded as soon as she laid eyes upon the teen girl. Her acknowledgment was suddenly strict, so Laila immediately assumed that the woman had seen her bright skin, pointy horns, and long tail and disliked her for it. 'You have GOT to be kidding me...' Laila's face dropped the excitement for a second as she wondered if she'd really gotten matched with some speciesist piece of shit.

But maybe it was a bit unfair to judge quite yet, Laila reconsidered. 'Maybe she's just putting on that stupid 'stern and in charge' thing military people do?' Deciding to listen to the angel on her shoulder rather than the brat in her ear, Laila put a smile on and quickly twisted out of the chair. Her boots smacked into the ground and she stood up real straight. "Squire Din!" she proclaimed, throwing her straightened hand by her forehead in a lazy, playful salute. There was an obvious emphasis on her famous surname. If Kalique was going to be speciesist, she'd at least know now who she was being speciesist toward. "Reporting for duty!"

The tiefling teen relaxed her posture a bit, pushing one hip out to the side as she sized the woman up. They were the same height, minus Laila's horns, which meant technically she was taller. She seemed pretty athletic, had two sabers at her belt, and looked like she should be named 'Rebecca' or 'Sarah'. She looked about Tai's age too.

"Oh, and, before you ask- yeah, Tai - sorry, Altair. He's my big brother," she added smugly, her lips pulling up into a proud grin. Kalique would notice that the squire already had a weapon on her own belt, though it wasn't a lightsaber. If she knew enough about Altair, she would know his whole family was Matukai. Also, if she knew enough about the Matukai, she would know they carried weapons called Wan-Shen.

Laila's head cocked curiously to the side. "So, you're gonna be like my master, right? What's your name?"

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The Tiefling girl immediately took the hint and moved into a more respectful, squire-appropriate position even if the little salute looked more playful than real, but her quick reaction was enough to please Kalique. There was no need to be too strict right away and yet she let it slide.

A soft, approving smile tugged at her lips now that the Tiefling was facing her and the teenage girl wasted no time before she introduced herself. It was already earlier than she began to speak as she seemed to realize a slight familiarity upon her features, but as she suddenly dropped her name in full pride, it didn't take more than a split second to connect the dots. No. Freaking. Way.

She surpressed the urge to let her mouth flap open and just blinked a few times instead. Training Altair's sister?! Now that was wild. Did he know of this? Kriff. She was speechless for a moment which was why it was good that she kept rambling on. There was something in the way she emphasized her relation towards the Grand Marshall that told Kalique the little Tiefling was fairly used to dropping her name and expecting perks, but Kalique already feared she'd soon find herself disappointed.

He wouldn't expect a special treatment of her sister of she was to become an Imperial Knight, she was certain of it, however, this could potentially complicate things...Why? Why was it never easy? Not that she didn't like challenges but her feelings were indeed a little mixed at first and hell, she was quite surprised!

"It's nice to meet you, Squire Din" she still greeted her warmly, slightly inclining her head. "My name is Kalique Demici and yes, I'll take you on as a mentor" apperently. She hadn't heard a lot about her, but was curious to find out. "Oh I do know your brother...but now I wonder: He's very proud now that you're a Squire, isn't he?". Maybe also a little worried, but she still assumed he was approving of this.

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

'Kalique? Demici?' Why did that sound familiar? "Oh yeah, for sure," she answered. "Not as proud as my parents are, though." For all her worry, Laila was sure her Ma was proud. She knew Pa was proud. He didn't have to tell her; she saw the look in his eye.

"OH!" Laila's eyes widened as she finally remembered where she'd heard her new mentor's name before. "Oh... you're the knight that got demoted, right?" Yeah, she was! Laila definitely remembered eavesdropping on a conversation about it back on Eiattu.

The tiefling teen couldn't help but groan at this realization. Potentially speciesist and with anger issues? She couldn't believe she'd been assigned to someone like that! 'Omg... what if I'm like, a punishment? What if she doesn't actually want a squire and I'm supposed to be a test of sorts?!' No, no, no! That was so not fair!

"So, like, are you gonna get mad and me and throw me into a wall if you think I messed up?" she asked dryly of the knight. Maybe she could request a new mentor. Surely Altair would be able to pull some strings for her? Yeah, that would work. 'If she doesn't actually want a squire, it would explain why she looked annoyed as soon as she saw me...'

"Ugh, don't worry," Laila said turning around to sit back in her chair. "I'll have my brother assign me a new mentor so you don't have to get stuck with a squire you don't even want." She was actually doing them both a favor! She'd get a mentor that didn't have anger issues, and Kalique didn't have to have a squire. Win-win!

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The conversation immediately took a turn as Laila suddenly seemed to realize that her name wasn't so strange. Yes. There had been quite some publicity, but yes, she had deserved that. It should have still never happened but she wondered how this had been framed.

"Yes..." she replied, obviously not taking any pride in that but not denying it either. She took it as poised as she had always done. It had almost been a year of constant growth, training and meditation and yes, she was even more balanced, stress and trigger resistant now, because she had seen herself from a totally different side. She had indeed needed that and she was stronger and more centered than ever before, even if the scar still ran deep.

She didn't like that groan at all as it made her realize that she had a truly wrong impression of her. She exhaled slowly and walked a few steps before she faced her again after she shared her thoughts. "No, I will not" she replied calmly, not at all responding to her repeated triggers.

"It seems like you've been assigned to me for a reason". She pointed out as Laila would know her brother should know of that, now that she was considering it again. "Believe me when I say that you have nothing to fear from me" was she afraid? She rather sounded like she had a different reason, but apperently Altair hadn't actually talked about her.

"and I did want a Squire, that's why am here" she added a little softer even, however crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I made a mistake back then and it will never happen again. It gave me plenty of opportunities to reflect and I'm hoping to teach you all the knowledge I've acquired". Her lesson was learnt. She wouldn't want a Squire to repeat that mistake at all. But if she'd succumb to prejudices, they'd have a problem and she might be right about how this couldn't work.

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

"Oh, um..." Laila didn't know what to say in response to that. The knight had answered her in such a mature, thoughtful way that Laila, despite all her bratty selfishness, just really had no response. She wasn't even sure why she was so taken off guard, minus the fact that she'd been expecting a much more charged response from the knight she had just disrespected. "Okay. I guess."

'Well, I guess it's good that she at least wants a squire.' The tiefling shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling the sneaky weight of guilt begin to weigh on her. Maybe she overreacted a bit? 'No, I think it was justified.' If she hadn't, Kalique wouldn't have had the chance to explain herself.

"So uh, what now?" Laila actually had no idea how this all would work. She'd already had her orientation, so she knew where her dorm and classes and such were, but having a mentor? "Do I just meet you in a training room every morning or something?"

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

And suddenly the impudent squire was already speechless. Of course she had disrespected her and Kalique would soon teach her how to cease that kind of behavior, but for the moment, staying calm and using a softer pedagogical approach was the smartest choice.

She accused her of being impulsive, which she definitely wasn't, yet if she had immediately put her in her place, the point wouldn't have come across that well. She'd have to learn that blunt, upfront approaches weren't always needed and even if they drew power from the dark side, they'd only use emotions when it came to defending or fighting for the Empire.

Caught off guard, the admittedly bratty sister of Altair conceded for now, seemingly uncertain about whether she had just acted appropriately. Lesson one was learnt and it seemed like she was indeed responding to the most subtle form of correction: patience.

"You'll receive training in the academy and will be taught a lot in the classes your taking" she replied, already motioning for her to follow. "I'll monitor your process and will take you with me on mission, so that you'll learn in reality".

She'd be taught with other Squires here, but as a mentor, she wasn't just there for fine tuning. "We'll work on your understanding of the Force and of your standing as an Imperial Knight. If you'd follow me" if she hadn't already, she'd now voice it.

"Today I want to start with some basic. I've seen your Wan Shen..." she had seen it on Altair and knew he was skilled in Matukai, so she was probably proficient as well. "We'll move to the training center". It was time to assess her a little.

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

Laila got up out of the chair to follow Kalique. She was half listening, half looking about, and she chimed in as soon as she heard her new mentor mention the Force. "Oh I'm really good at the Force already," she bragged, puffing out her chest. "I've been training as Matukai since I was four years old, and I can steal three ladies' hats at the same time."

Not that the last statement would make much sense to the blonde woman, but the tiefling was proudly referring to the 'training' she'd done with her brother right before going and getting signed up at a squire. It hadn't turned out to be much training at all since Laila clearly aced whatever test her brother was putting her up to.

"Oh, you know what a Wan-Shen is?" she asked, surprised. Apparently, Kalique knew her stuff! That, or, she secretly had known who Laila was and she was trying to impress her by researching in advance. "That's good. Pretty important to know the names of different weapons," she added on as if she wasn't actually surprised by it at all. Or impressed.

They walked on for a little bit until they reached said training center. Laila was quiet, for the most part, studying the halls they were walking through to get there rather than making too many comments. When they did get there, she seemed a bit unimpressed. "It's uh, big."

Beige, boxy, and big, the training room they walked into was otherwise deprived of much in it. Unbeknownst to her, however, the floors and walls were modular and thus able to be manipulated as needed to create varied training environments. There was, of course, a closet filled with any materials Kalique might need.

"So what sort of training do Imperial Knights usually do?" she asked as she snooped about the room. "And uh, squires? Is it like basic fighting skills? 'Cause I've been doing that for like... eight years now so I think I'm good to skip that part."

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique led her outside into the corridor, the pink Tiefling trailing alongside her as she started babbling a little. "Three ladies' hats? That's...oddly specific. I'm curious to hear the full story any time soon" even if it had been a while, she had always been rather good at handling kids and teenagers and in their own orientational period, she could allow herself to keep the reins longer and really get to know her first.

"Know what it is? I've been on quite a few missions with your brother and I've seen him in action. I find Matukai very fascinating" she truthfully admitted with a little smirk. She then went silent until they reached their assigned training's room, which didn't exactly impress her, which was however a fair reaction.

It was obviously fully stocked and would keep them busy for days, however Kalique had planned to started much lighter. She started rambling on, boasting with her skills and asking a lot of legitimate questions, however she'd answer them one at a time and in a fairly less excited manner.

As she put emphasis on how long she'd been training fighting again, she finally cut it. "The Force is not about fighting" she calmly replied, realizing an obvious pattern in her perception and sitting down, gesturing for her to do the same.

"It's good that you know how to defend yourself and others" she acknowledged, her voice softening a little as she had also gained the impression this worked better for her. "But you'll learn how to understand the Force and the thin line we're walking as Imperial Knights", she explained, taking a breath.

"You're prior knowledge will come in handy, yet we'll refine your fighting skills. That's just one part though. As a Squire, you need to start to learn how to steel your mind to resist the darkside that will constantly try to entice you. Also, you need to learn how to deal with the Sith and trust me, you'll encounter them at some point and Matukai won't be the only answer then" if she hadn't sat down by now, she'd urged her to do so again before she'd add, "Have you ever truly meditated?".

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

'Shit, she knows Tai?' Laila kept her face perfectly neutral - uninterested even - but she wasn't sure how to take that information. Kalique knew her older brother via 'several missions', and yet she hadn't been expecting Laila as her apprentice. 'Did Tai set this up?' No, surely he wasn't in charge of assigning squires to knights. 'But maybe he did, in my case?' That made sense to her. After all, wouldn't her brother want her to have the best mentor possible? Wouldn't he want to play a hand in deciding who would train her? 'If that's the case...'

Tentatively, Laila decided that maybe Kalique would be alright after all. Plus, how could she be specisist if she had worked with Tai on several occasions? Of course, she had gotten demoted for being violent... but Tai wouldn't put her with someone who hated tieflings, right?

Laila's inner musings meant she was not at all paying attention to what Kalique was saying. She had a weird mixture of looks on her face during that time - a mixture of her intentional 'unimpressed' look and pensiveness. The squire only came back to attention when Kalique asked her a question.

"Huh? Oh." Had she ever meditated before? "....yeees.... technically." Part of her training did include some meditation, though Laila never really liked it and her Ma and Pa never really pushed her to put all too much time into it. She would even hesitate to call it meditation because all she really did was focus just enough to mimic the state of concentration needed to properly throw Matukai punches and kicks. She called it 'going into the zone.' "Why?"

There was an inkling of dread building up in the girl's chest as she prayed that Kalique wasn't going to make her meditate.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

It didn't escape her watchful gaze that the Tiefling's mind seemed to have gone elsewhere and at the realization she stopped and glared at her. "Repeat what I have just said. All of it" she stated flatly, however she'd know this was a genuine demand.

Knowing she definitely hadn't listened, she'd add, "You haven't" not that this wasn't typical for a girl her age, but she'd have to learn that sometimes you simply had to keep it together. "Becoming an Imperial Knight isn't just some kind of a task you can take on lightly", she warned her, her tone obviously sharper.

In terms of the meditation, she did at least receive an actual reaction, but it also wasn't very satisfying. "I'm taking about actual meditation. Not building up concentration. It is essential if you want to stay in control of the powers you'll learn to expand" she explained. "Sit down".

Once the Squire did, Kalique would keep her gaze on her. "Close your eyes. Find a comfortable seating position. Reach out with the Force and tell me what you feel". Kalique's tone was softer again as she inhaled slowly. Apart from her Matukai training, she couldn't yet assess what her connection to the Force looked like, so she needed to figure that out quickly to know where to start.

@lizziie

 

[Laila Din]

Laila was not going to repeat everything Kalique said, and thankfully she didn't have to because the Imperial Knight almost immediately moved on. But she did immediately bristle up at the woman's attitude, becoming defensive the second the woman's tone of voice changed.

"Well duh. I'm not stupid you know," she retorted, though she did sit. On the ground, she had to crane her neck all the way up to look at the knight because she'd opted to sit exactly where she'd stood not an inch away from the woman. "Yeah, actual meditation," she lied, still irritated. "I know what meditation is. You don't have to treat me like a baby."

Laila closed her eyes, kneeling comfortably on her legs, and reached into the Force. "I feel irritated," she declared matter-of-factly. Despite this, Laila was able to tap into the Force around her relatively easily. She'd been training with the Force since she was tiny, so it was easy for her to connect to it. Just sitting in it though, doing nothing? It was boring and she was almost done with it. "Why do I have to meditate? It's not like we're Jedi," she added grumpily, leaning back on her hands and looking up at Kalique with a hard gaze.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Despite her high tolerance and patience and this being their first meeting, she was getting dangerously close to stepping over certain borders. "Careful, Squire. You're talking to your mentor, not your teen friends" she warned her, her tone shifting into seriousness again as her emerald eyes met her red eyes.

"Irritated" she repeated, free of any valuation. "Let's work with that. Irritation is a negative emotion can develop into more. How can you keep it at bay?" she asked, much more calmly again as she kept studying her. Despite drawing their powers from the dark side, she also had to learn how to stay in control. Especially teenagers tended to be impulsive, so they had to keep an eye on it.

"Squire, focus" she replied harsher again, staring at her warningly. "We are no Jedi, correct, but neither are we Sith. We serve the Empire, not the Darkside, so we have to learn how to not corruption take over. Close your eyes and concentrate" she instructed her. "When you feel irritated, what else do you feel?". She asked, wanting her to put whatever happened on her inside into words.

@lizziie