Morning on Indupar

[Ral]

Kai could only grin as he tried to keep up with the whirlwind of words that were escaping Kheera's mouth as she tried to answer the questions he had posed her in their discussion about the Jedi Code and the Force. It was a fairly decent answer, but he would wait until she was finished with her rather long-winded, if not rapid, rant. It was nice seeing such youthful enthusiasm in her, and despite the fact they were probably very close in age, Kai himself always felt a bit older due to having to teach and keep himself more mature and respectable in front of the Padawans; he didn't want to set a bad example for them after all. When she was finally done, the knight could only shake his head and smile kindly at her as he collected his thoughts and tried to piece together all of the things she had said to him in the relatively short amount of time where she had said so much. Once he had a bit of an answer he gave her a thoughtful nod before speaking.

"Well, you're certainly full of ideas and possibilities aren't you?" Kai chuckled quietly to himself before continuing on. "Now, what you said was largely correct. I can't say you were wrong of course, as that is your understanding and interpretation of it. But I will say, that what you said mostly corresponds to how I think and interpret the code. So, I'm glad we have that in common at least. Now, how would you deal with a situation where you're stuck between choosing to save a family in a collapsed building, or capturing the mass murdering Sith who just caused the building to collapse down on top of them. How would you decide? How would you know what you chose was the right choice in that situation?"

The young man sat watching Kheera to see how she responded to his question, studying her face and body language with his dark grey eyes to try and interpret what she was thinking along with using the Force to get a better idea of her thoughts and feelings. Inhaling slowly, Kai would then pose a second question. "Or, how about this: You stumble upon a murder scene, the local authorities have two suspects there that claim the other did it. How would you go about solving it? What's the first step?"

 

[LilyNion]

[OOC: Damn you are letting me think a lot about this haha.]​

"Pff me?! Full of ideas?! No of course not, you must be joking!" She began to grin a bit and continued with listening to the Jedi. He had a lot to say and what he said, made her quite happy. It's nice to have some things in common and for her, it made it feel just a bit more natural. It kept amusing to see the Jedi's response as she spoke her mind. He had a smile on his face and while it was not the biggest or brightest one, he smiled and showed that he didn't completely hate her. And that was important! Kheera's behavior made her look a bit younger than she actually was. It didn't bother her that much and it actually made this lesson a bit less awkward for her. She felt like a fifteen year old girl, who was listening while sitting on the ground to an older person who spoke wisely about things. But his question fell a bit harsh. She didn't expect such difficult questions. While she kept smiling brightly, Kai could've seen the emotion in her eyes change.

"You with your difficult questions!" Kheera rubbed her own arms a bit and stared at the nothing in front of her with a thoughtful gaze. "You see, I find this a quite difficult one. I'm having very mixed feelings about it. As a first response, saving the family would seem to be the most important thing to do. But capturing the Sith and stop his murdering rampage also seems like a good choice. While you let that family die - which is a big shame - some other people will die when you can't capture the Sith. Because he's not stopped with his rampage. There'll be a loss, no matter how you look at it. And right now, I can't decide what the best choice is, not even when I use the thoughts about the Jedi code you just shared with me." Kheera rubbed her eyes a bit. The Jedi knight wasn't done yet though, no no! He had another question ready.

"I would, first of all, take the both of 'em with me, making sure that they can not escape. One of the two might be the murderer. Then we start with thinking about it. Ask about their motives, where they've been at the time of the murder. But, most importantly, don't stop with looking for the murder! Always keep on the look until you have clear proof that one of the two suspects is indeed the murderer. Of course, a Sith would torture the suspects but we don't do that! That's a big no no!"

 

[Ral]

Laughing aloud at Kheera's exclamation that he was asking her difficult questions, but he could sense that she was deep in thought and consideration about them, so he didn't say anything, he only smiled and waited. Naturally, he could see the change in her eyes, and he knew he was asking the right questions, ones that would force her to take things into perspective and consider situations. After all, being a Jedi often meant making hard choices after a long and considerate process; Kai didn't want Kheera to be unprepared for such things. As a teacher, as someone who enjoyed teaching, Kai found it his responsibility to make sure everyone around him was prepared for such possible eventualities. Eventually, her words came to him in that soft girly voice of hers, and he listened. Kheera had obviously considered the possibilities, which was good, if she hadn't done that he would have told her to think on it more, but she forgot one important thing in the process of making the decision, which is what caused her indecisiveness.

Letting her finish answering the second part of his question, he spoke, his voice soft, calm, not judgmental, but like that of a teacher helping a student work their way through a difficult problem by reminding them of certain things they had forgotten, for that is exactly what Kai was about to do! "That is very good, Kheera. I'm glad you have thought this out. Now, for the first question, you bring up a very good point, but you forgot something just as important as realizing either option has the possibility for equal amounts of wrong as well as merit. You forgot to consider what the Force would have you do. Remember, as a Jedi, we are to listen to the Will of the Force. Often, you will find that by trusting in the Force, especially when you are unsure of what choice to take is the best bet. For you do not know what will come of the action until you do it, always in motion is the future, and because of that we must listen to what the Force would have us do if we are to be its servants and work towards the good of the Galaxy."

"Now, as far as the second part, I'm glad you were able to get that far. That is all entirely appropriate. I am glad you were able to realize the wisdom in such a course of action. We will discuss more on this topic later, but for now, tell me, what would you like to do next? Have you had enough philosophy for one lesson, or do you desire more?"

 

[LilyNion]

"Remember, as a Jedi, we are to listen to the Will of the Force. Often, you will find that by trusting in the Force, especially when you are unsure of what choice to take is the best bet. For you do not know what will come of the action until you do it, always in motion is the future, and because of that we must listen to what the Force would have us do if we are to be its servants and work towards the good of the Galaxy."

Kheera looked over at the Jedi knight with a thoughtful gaze in her eyes. He spoke of things she indeed has forgotten about, the will of the Force. Just as how the will of the Force guided the Jedi knight to Kheera, or the other way around! And with the will of the Force in mind, she sunk away in her thoughts. She can remember many situations where something in her told her what to do, yet she never could've explained why. Just like visiting this stronghold on Indupar today. And while she knew how strong the Force is, she never thought of it as such a strong thing, the Will of the Force. Kheera just laughed lightly. While she was still sunken away in her mind and thoughts it, amused her how blind she has been. Surely, she has heard of the will of the Force before. But it never came to a realisation what it actually meant, how it affects the ones who control the Force and how it's guiding in situations where you are unsure of something.

Kheera rubbed the temples of her head and broke her gaze. Her joyful sparkly eyes were dimmed down a bit, the bit information Kai shared with Kheera struck like a lightning bolt. "I'm sorry, I just never realised until now how important it is to trust the Force. I also knew that the Force was here for us, but I just never thought of it as a guiding source. Surely I've heard of 'em will of the Force before, I just never looked at it this way before." Kheera tilted her head while she kept looking at the Jedi knight.

She shook off her thoughtful roads in her mind so she was capable of focussing on the Jedi knight again and with that, the sparks in Kherera's eyes returned. "Oh. How about we go over the basics of the Jedi code? And then I don't mean the philosophy part but erhm. Like the lines that people keep repeating! And what those lines mean! Can't be 'em Jedi without humming the Jedi code in a meditation!" And while she laughed a bit at the end, she wasn't entirely wrong. It was important for a Jedi to know the Jedi code out of their head, including the philosophy part and the lines which were the guidelines of it all. "Something like.. No Death, but Force? I've heard that sentence a lot during the fall of Tython." Kheera was very interested in learning more about the code which was very noticeable in her voice and she just couldn't wait to hear what the Jedi knight had to say.

 

[Ral]

"It's okay Kheera, you're a Padawan still, you're not expected to know everything!" Kai smiled at her for a moment before giving a small shrug to show it didn't matter to him. "You're still just a learner, and you'll find the Path of the Jedi is one of always learning. Even as a knight I find it hard to remember to always trust in the Force. Even I forget from time to time, believe it or not. It'll get easier with time and training, and besides, if you knew everything you were supposed to know I doubt the Force would have brought us together!"

The young knight took in a breath of fresh air as he looked around for a moment. "The Code? That's what we've been doing silly! ... Oh! I think you mean the old code. Yes, we still do sometimes recite it. It went: there is no emotion, there is peace; there is no ignorance, there is knowledge; there is no passion, there is serenity; there is no chaos, there is harmony; there is no death, there is the Force. Just a good a mantra as any, no? It's important to know it as well, but don't get it confused with the one we were just talking about. The New Order uses the Code laid out by Grandmaster Skywalker over a thousand years ago! That's not to say the old Order's code is wrong, it's just not the one we typically refer to nowadays. But if you'd like we can talk about it, where would you like to start in particular?"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera smiled warmly at the Jedi knight as he explained his own troubles with trusting in the Force. He calmed her down quite a bit with it with it and it was quite nice to hear that even Jedi knight's have problems with it from time to time. "I mean, The Force might also just be a bit drunk and go like 'Wooohh Kheera and Kai should seriously meet right now!' you know?" She laughed lightly about it. But after a short laughter, she continued on a more serious note. "But in all seriousness, it's true. We met because of the Will of the Force. Perhaps it is for teaching, perhaps it's for something else, like a mission? We'll see! Only time can tell us."

There is no emotion, there is peace;
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge;
There is no passion, there is serenity;
There is no chaos, there is harmony;
There is no death, there is the Force.

"Honestly, these lines seem very obvious when we look back at the lesson you just gave me. The only line that doesn't follow your lesson material is 'There's no death, there is Force'. Yet I would bet my thumb on it that it means that our soul becomes one with the Force, as Force Ghost is a thing. So we shouldn't fear dead nor grief for too long. Because the Force is all around us. Oh yeh and the 'There is no emotion, there is peace' totally doesn't fit with the lesson." She shrugged a bit. While it was nice to know those lines so she could remember it, she didn't feel the need for it to study these lines for now. "I wonder, how does the new code go?"

 

[Ral]

Chuckling, Kai nodded, "That would have to be the first time I've heard someone suggest the Force was drunk!" Kai winked at her with a warm smile on his face as he continued to laugh under his breath. "But you are right, only time will tell why the Force brought us together, huh?"

After reciting the old code he listened to Kheera as she spoke about what the words might mean. He was glad she found them to be rather obvious, it made it easier on him, and it was good she had enough of her own insight to make such connections. "You are... mostly right though about the code. There is no Death, there is the Force means that when we die we become one with the Force. Our soul lives on in the cosmic energy, so in truth we do not die, we just transform into something else as we shed our physical bodies. Only those with particular connections to the Force typically manifest themselves as Ghosts, as most people lose their individual consciousness when they die. There is no emotion means we do not let emotions controls us. In essence, while we still feel emotions; they are natural for us after all, we don't let them rock our boat in a matter of speaking. We are still at peace despite all the emotions we feel; we learn to control them, so they do not control us."

Then when she asked about the new code, Kai started laughing quite hysterically; he just couldn't help it. "What do you think we were talking about earlier, silly? Alright I'll say it again: 'Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. Jedi use the Force only for the pursuit of knowledge, to defend, and to protect. Jedi respect all life in the galaxy, in any form it may take. Jedi to not rule others, but serve them for the welfare of the galaxy. Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge, training, and self-discipline.'

"That's the new code!"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera nodded with a rather serious face once Kai explained about the lines. It all made sense, especially the one about the death. She figured that remembering that would be smart.

And then, the Jedi knight began to laugh hysterically. Kheera just laughed a bit with him, with a blush. "I mean. Hey! The Jedi code could've been something way else! But it seems rather easy to remember, but to be sure.." Kheera wrapped her backpack off her back as if it was nothing and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil out of it. She quoted the Jedi knight's words out loud and wrote them down afterwards. While waiting for the ink to dry, she looked up at the Jedi knight with a thoughtful gaze.

"So. Is there anything else about the code that I should learn? Tips and tricks? 'Em shortcuts to remember it quicker? Or perhaps some advice?" Kheera just grinned a bit and blew a bit against the paper. Her warm air helped the ink with drying a bit faster, tho the ink also spreaded a bit upwards. It was still readable, but the paper just looked a bit more clumsy because of it. With a shrug, she tucked the pencil and paper back in her back and listened carefully at the Jedi knight.

 

[Ral]

Smiling at the young girl, Kai nodded at her question before pausing to think for a few seconds as he cast his eyes down into his lap. When he was done, he looked up at Kheera with a smile on his face. "Basically, the best thing to remember about the Code is that it's not about you, it's about the Force and helping people. Everything you do is to make yourself a better Jedi, a better servant of the Galaxy; that's what the Jedi really are. We serve the Galaxy, trying to make it a better place as we fight injustice and tyranny, like that of the Sith. It's not about power or strength, it's about peace and harmony, serenity. It's about protecting and respecting life, only taking it when it is absolutely necessary, when letting a life live would cause more harm to others, a decision which must never be taken lightly or without the guiding will of the Force."

Kai took a break as he looked at Kheera, trying to see if she was understanding what he was trying to say. He finished with, "Just listen to the Force and be a good person, don't be selfish or give in to violent emotions and I'm sure you'll be fine." Taking a moment to breathe, Kai smiled, "So what else do you want to talk about?"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera just nodded along as the Jedi knight answered her question. She understood every word of his little advice and once again, she wrote it down again after taking a new of paper and the pencil out of her bag. It was a golden advice that she couldn't let get to waste. "Whoops, didn't think that I would write down so much stuff down today!" She laughed warmheartedly at the Jedi knight.

"That sounds like a good plan! Listen to the Force, be good, don't be selfish, no violent emotions. So basically, be me?!" She laughed a bit overdramatically, as if she just made the funniest joke. After whipping away some tears of laughter, she smiled at him. "No but with all seriousness. That sounds like a genius plan. Now, what do I want to talk about... Hmm. Well, there's one last thing that I'm curious about, is it fine if I ask you?" Assuming that the Jedi knight said yes, she continued. "What are the ways that 'em Jedi can go? I'm aware that you can become a Jedi healer, which is the way I want to go. But what other ways are there?"

 

[Ral]

Watching the young woman across from him jot down the notes and suggestions he was giving filled him with a sort of proud warmth. To know that his advice and his lessons were actually going to be useful to someone made him feel somewhat good about himself. He just hoped she would actually study them and think on them and be able to use them on her own, and what he really hoped for was that she would be able to take his opinions, views, and advice about the Code and about being a Jedi and make her own views and opinions on it as well. Smiling at Kheera as she made a comment about the amount of notes she was taking, Kai chortled a little as he looked on. "Well, I hope it's all useful information to you, Kheera. I like helping and teaching when I can, and if I can do those things for you I'd be quite happy with myself for today. And yep! Juse be yourself, you seem sweet enough and nice enough. Just remember one important thing... we often don't know how to deal with strong emotions like love and passion without experiencing them first. And once you do it can be a very powerful and life changing thing. Though, I'm sure you already knew that."

Kai gave the fairly pretty young woman an easy wink as they moved on. Seeing Kheera laugh so much at her own silly joke caused Kai to join in the laughter as well; her laugh was rather contagious it seemed or at least to Kai it was. When she asked if it was fine to ask him he simply nodded and said, "Of course!" Listening to her question he nodded and spoke after a moment or two of contemplation. "Well, you can be like a guardian, or a fighter, ya know, ones who focus on combat with the blade mostly. Then there's sages, and consulars, those who use the Force a lot. Of course we have our librarians, we also used to have Shadows, but they were disbanded, and I think the closest we have to them or just very sneaky, very attentive and attuned sentinels. You can also be good at flying ships, taking care if animals, being diplomats, and even making items like holocrons or lightsabers! Is there one you'd like to know more about?"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera kept laughing a bit. "Don't you worry, Kai! Your information and advice is very much gold worthy. This information... It'll help me, especially in the time where I need 'em the most! That's why I wrote 'em down. I'll study 'em, think about 'em and perhaps one day, I'll be able to give that advice to another padawan? Well, would you look at that! Your words will be spreading like a wildfire! Of course, of course, I'll give you the credits. Ending the lesson with 'Jedi knight Kai Sera's words'. Well, not for a hundred percent. I'll also insert my own vision in those lessons. But you get my point!" She gave the Jedi knight's shoulder a little encouraging pet. Kheera was truly happy with his advice. With the lack of Masters and Knights who can teach Padawans these type of things, she realized how rather lucky she was. There were enough Padawans who didn't know about this. Who didn't know how to actually be a Jedi. With that thought in mind, she lowered her eyes and looked at her own hands with a soft smile.

After a couple of second, she looked up, just to see him wink at her. "Wah!" was her only response while making a puffy face. After a second, she calmed herself down and allowed the air to escape from her cheeks.There was no time to feel awkward about the man's winking, as the lesson continued! She took her time to think about the roles he spoke about. Many of them seemed pretty obvious though there was one role that rose her attention. "Wait, there are Jedi who take care of animals? That one is new for me. How should I think about that? Kinda like a zoo keeper but without 'em cages? Well, of course, it makes sense that the Jedi also take care of animals as they are a source of life. But that being a legit role.. that surprises me!" While talking fast as always, Kheera stood up from the bench and walked around in a small circle to stretch her legs. "Why did the Shadows get disbanded? Too evil?"

 

[Ral]

Smiling, he nodded. "Good, good... I'm glad to hear that Kheera. That makes me very happy, especially that you'll be willing to share it and add some of your own wisdom and experience to it. That is the most important part; adding in the 'you' factor as I like to call it. We all have different insights and perspectives, the ones you discover for yourself are the most important. Remember that, teach it to your students. It's important."

Seeing her puff her cheeks out and make what he would equate to a rather girly and bubbly gasp caused Kai to chuckle. It lasted only for a second or two before he straightened his face out and calmed himself down. As they move don Kheera seemed to be rather curious about the Jedi who used to take care of animals. As she spoke quickly the knight just smiled and waited for her to finish so he could answer he questions. "Well, to be earnest, I don't believe it's a common occupation any more. But there are Jedi who specialize in controlling plants or animals, or how do I say it... they have a special empathic bond with them; they can communicate easier with such things. It was never an important role, but it was something you could specialize in if that was your 'thing' so to speak. Now, as far as the Shadows... I'm honestly not sure... before my time. From what I heard it was a combination that they were too aggressive, not nearly like how Jedi are supposed to be, and with the Jedi going into hiding, all Jedi in a way became similar to the Shadows."

Stretching, he smiled at the young winged woman. "Anything else?"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera gazed towards one of the open broken walls. It was a rather beautiful view, the forest was showing it's glory and might a couple of miles below the stronghold with a bright blue sky. Judging the sun's positioning, a couple of hours has passed ever since they met. Kheera's mind became rather tired and slow, as her brain was recollecting a dozen of new thoughts and memories. She's been told things this day, that she has never heard before. Seen a part of the Jedi order that she has never seen before. A bit tired, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, followed up with a big yawn. She noticed how her yawn could look rather respectless towards the Jedi knight, so with a flow of panic the words flew out of her mouth. "Oh no! Sorry for that yawn! It's not like you are boring! I've just had a lot of things to think through. You've used a lot of brain fuel! Sooorrrryyy!" Her cheeks began to rose up again. Oh please, don't feel offended with this! Please!

"If there's anything else? Hm. I can't quite think of anything right now. Whenever I think about a subject, another wheel gear in my head explodes. Can't you see the steam, coming out of my ears? Going like 'Pfsshhh error, error!' huh?" She laughed lighthearted. "I think that it's time to head back towards the Galactic Evolution, actually. I've heard rumors that Jedi Master Reland had something to say! Some Jedi said that it might be about the Sith? Or a war? I don't know what to believe!"

 

[Ral]

Seeing Kheera start to panic when she realized she committed a bit of a social faux pas caused by her yawn made the knight start to chuckle which then turned into a full laugh as she tried to explain how sorry she was and how their talk had caused her to think a lot and how she was feeling slightly burnt out and overloaded. When she finished by saying she was sorry, a very long and drawn out apology, the young man smiled at her and shook his head as he waved his hand dismissively through the air. "There's nothing to apologize for, my dear Kheera. I can't hold you responsible for such a thing. I was the one to fill your head after all, so I can't blame you for needing some time to process it all. Now stop being so embarrassed all the time, it's really too adorable!" The knight teased by sticking out his tongue at the young woman across from him as he smiled which turned into an amused laugh.

Listening to what Kheera had to say he joined her in laughing at her silly comments, shaking his head fairly amused at the young woman. When she mentioned about heading back to the Jedi ship he smiled. Kai hadn't expected to see the new ship quite so soon, nor had he heard about this meeting or what Master Reland would end up speaking about, but this did pique his interest. Nodding his head, he looking at Kheera. "Alright, I think that is perfectly fine with me. I'm not sure what will end up being talked about or discussed either, but I'm interested to see what it will be. Mark my words, though, if there's a gathering of Jedi I'm sure they'll be something interesting to discuss. Now, would you like to escort me to the Guardian?"

 

[LilyNion]

Kheera just glared at the Jedi knight as he sticked out his tongue. She opened her mouth to make a comeback, but shyness hit her. She closed her lips together and pressed a smile out of them. Softly, she whispered "Thank you."

"Oh I'm sure, it'll be something big! Perhaps we are getting a new Jedi temple? That would be AMAZING! Also, you'll have to fly. The person that dropped me on Indupar is long gone and I don't have a ship!" She grinned at Kai and walked over to the exit of the magnificent and old stronghold. Kheera ran her soft hand over one of the walls, which was covered in vines. The vines were covered in dust and other odd particles. "I really hope that they'll fix and clean up this stronghold one day. It's such a beautiful spot, but a bit broken down.. Now if you don't mind, we'll take the steps! It's not like I don't trust you, but I rather keep my energy." While making a 'follow me!' gesture with her fingers, she walked - in fact, almost floated - towards the rocks, which had built-in steps in them. It wasn't quite the safest way to get down, but it worked.

It was a rather long way down, as the Stronghold wasn't directly on the ground. But after a ten-minute climb, the Diathim reached the solid ground below her feet. "Who decided to build 'em Stronghold on a rock.. mountain.. thingy!" In disgrace, she shook her head. "Now, if you would lead the way to your ship! Wait.. I'm forgetting something! Oh, right, the coordination for the Galactic Evolution." She abrupt stood still and threw her backpack over her shoulder, causing it to hang in front of her belly. With a little hand gesture, the bag opened up and she quickly began digging in it. After a couple of frustrated sighs and a few silly facial expressions, she found the piece of paper she was looking for. "Here!" She said rather loudly as she pressed the paper in his hand. She noticed how the skin on his hand felt soft and comfortable. With a cough, she continued. "That's where the ship is right now located! Let's go!"