[OPEN] Feeling Better Today

[TweedPawn]

Della felt slightly burned out. How could these people study so much? To be fair, the students here were studying the most amazing things Della had ever seen. Her language had barred her from understanding the headier subjects, but she was coming along well enough in learning about cultures and languages.

She learned that Shi-Gel-Hu was a creature not known as an octopus-man, but a Nautolan. They could breathe underwater and had multiple hearts. She also learned that there were countless of other aliens, such as Wookies, who communicated in languages other than what she was learning. Della felt guilty for the way she had treated the last wookie she saw. He was probably just as lonely as she was.

Other students that Della encountered had started to show off what they were capable of doing. Della began to understand that there was a connection between her and all lifeforms. The Jedi had called it The Force. That was where some of Della's new concerns came from, but she was too burnt out from trying to cram new words into her vocabulary to really dwell about her internal conflicts.

There was a lovely retreat of greenery nearby. The shrubs that surrounded it where starting to grow fragrant, white flowers. Della loved the flowers, even if the new type of pollen caused her to sneeze from time to time. She found a shady, somewhat secluded spot and laid down on the dirt between the shrubs. The bed in her room was comfortable, but there was nothing like relaxing under a warm, blue sky.

 

[Black Noise]

Lain walked the grassy lanes of Tython, happy to be as free as she felt. Moving quietly, she watched a girl, older and taller than herself, lie down among an expanse of flowers. Slyly grinning, she sneaked around through the shrubs and made her way over to where the girl had laid down. No thoughts about how the girl might want to be alone crossed Lain's mind, why would they?

She held her hands on her Guard Shoto sabers to prevent them from hitting her sides and making noise. Her sword that was tied diagonally to her back made no noise, but it would be seen first as Lain came over. Finally reaching the girl, she leaned over her and shyly introduced herself.
"Hello! My name's Lain, who're you?"

 

[TweedPawn]

Della heard a sound and she immediately jumped up with a squeak. She looked around her and saw a girl about her age. She then breathed a sigh of relief. Della had to admit, that was a pretty good trick. The girl was very good at sneaking and it reminded Della how she and the other children would engage of games of hiding and finding. Her people were raised from birth to be excellent at hiding and running. The longest a boy ever stayed hidden was an entire day, until the sound of dinner bells lured him out. That was the one condition of playing that game: you HAD to arrive for dinner.

Della smiled, showed that she approved of the other girl's ability to sneak up on her. It was a nice change of pace to meet another female student. Even if that student managed to scare her off guard.

"Hello. I am Della Frey. How do you do?" she responded with a thick accent. She had learned some new words, and introductions were easier for her these days.

 

[Black Noise]

Lain giggled at the girl's squeak, she couldn't help herself. She looked a bit foreign, but so did Lain. Most humans had soft skin, like the girl in front of her. Lain, however, had very rough skin that wrinkled a bit on her hands.
"Hiya Della, I very good, thank you!"

Although human, the Della's accent clearly betrayed that she wasn't from around here. Scratching the back of her head with her hand, she spoke and nodded.
"Basic not your first language? Not mine either. I'm much better at speaking Iktotchi, my father is from there. I'm from Vjun. Where are you from-?"

 

[TweedPawn]

Della noted some rough patches on the girl's hands, but she had been training herself not to be rude around others that were different than she was. It was strange to learn that there were beings that weren't human-looking. After a dinner with a wookie, Della realized that it might possibly be her who was the funny-looking one. Still, the conversation didn't go very smoothly due to language differences.

Della did not catch everything that Lain said. She understood a phrase and some words that Lain said. She wasn't sure how to address the question. The thought of her home floating around in space without anyone having any sort of idea how to find it was discouraging. With any luck, the other girl wouldn't be too curious and not try to ask about the particular circumstance of how Della came to be on Tython in the first place.

"I am from Sacul." Della said. She felt homesick just saying her planet's name. She brought out a piece of chalk and a flat piece of slate. She drew an equine-like animal. It had stripes on its legs and a short mane and tail.
"From Home. You draw from your home." she said.

 

[Black Noise]

"Sacuuul, Sacul Sacul, Vai niin*?"
Lain had never heard of that planet before, then again, Lain didn't know everything. Looking at the slate, she smiled. The drawing was quite good, and the animal was unlike anything she had seen before. Once Della said 'You draw from your home,' Lain's face instantly darkened. Speaking, she looked down and tried to explain.
"Vjun, Vjun is lifeless. Nothing lives at my home. Everything is dead."

Lain didn't feel homesick, although she loved Vjun, she only loved it because her father lived there. She would never see her father again, they couldn't ever see each other. Drawing her finger along the outline of the animal drawn on the slate, Lain grinned.
"That's cute."

*(That so?)*

 

[TweedPawn]

Della pressed her eyebrows together in confusion. She wasn't sure, but she under the impression that what she heard was a planet devoid of life. Was such a thing possible? Della thought she might had misunderstood the girl's Basic, but Lain's expression spoke volumes. A planet devoid of life. Della's mind drifted back to her home and the endless grassland and sky that was ageless. The smell of long, tawny grass came to Della in memory and she wished she could take Lain home with her. There were many fine people at this school that Della would gladly take back to Sacul to teach them about her home.

She erased the picture of the equine animal. she drew grass across the entirety of the slate.
"Sacul. Drepland. Always Sky. Always land. I..." she trailed off. Perhaps another topic would be better. The thoughts of home made both girls sad, though for different reason.

"You Jedi?" she asked. It was almost custom for her to ask this question of every person she met.

 

[Black Noise]

Lain crooked her head, 'always sky, always land.' It sounded like Tython, as Tython was the greenest place she had ever visited. As Della asked if she was a Jedi, Lain laughed softly. Using the force, she caused her dual Guard Shotos to hop off her belt and into her hands. Nodding, she replied.
"Yep. You are a Jedi too, yes?"

 

[Ush]

Ryloss was up a tree. The reason? Why not? Tree's don't hit you, or stab you, or throw you into walls.Much. He had heard stories of trees that did just that. He was looking at the humans below him.

‘Hi there, would you happen to be Jedi? I’m looking for a master to train me,’

Ryloss smiled. Neither of those two could be more than fifteen. No way they would be Knights.

"You won't get a master off those two mate, they can't be Knights."

Ryloss jumped down from the tree, landing without a sound.

"Ryloss Narexus." He bowed to the little group.

 

[The Derp of Hooves]

Yuunda was amazed at all the greenery on Tython, he had just arrived a short while ago and was visually stunned. Being from the desert world of Tatooine, everything he saw was new to him, he remembered his old mentor, Ordo, talking about how Tython was a lush world full of forests and water. Yuunda was still dressed in the usual drab of Tatooine, a tan tunic and pants made from rough material and he carried his sword that was a gift from Ordo for slaying a krayt and the necklace he had made for a friend of his so long ago. He wandered around for a bit enjoying the peace and the wind, oh the wind! On Tatooine, it was dry, hot and often filled sand. Here on Tython however, it was cool and moist and pleasing to the skin. He took in a deep lungful of the fresh air and let out a sigh, he was going to like it here.

He enjoyed the peacefulness of the surrounding greenery and noticed two human females conversing with each other. He scratched the back of his sandy brown hair with the remaining four fingers of his left hand unsure of what to do. He wanted to find a master to train him, but he wasn’t even sure of where to go first. He noticed one of them carrying a lightsaber, so he figured he might as well ask.

He made sure his eye patch was on straight and walked over to the two females and said, ‘Hi there, would you happen to be Jedi? I’m looking for a master to train me,’ he tried to keep his voice light and friendly, but it came out a little harsher than he wanted it to.

Yuunda was startled a bit as a red skinned male jumped down from a nearby tree and introduced himself as Rylos. He recognized the Zeltron and raised an eyebrow at his previous statement.

‘The name’s Yuunda,’ he said rather harshly, the young Zeltron looked not much older than the other two and he came off as rather arrogant.

 

[TweedPawn]

Della wasn't quite sure how to answer Lain's question. She had exhibited evidence of being able to learn the magic that the other students were learning here. Another student said that Della was a Jedi, but a Jedi that was called a different type of name. Apparently, Jedi was person who knew how to get things to float and make mental tricks, but there were many different types with different names and ranks. Before she could respond, A red-skinned youth about her age jumped down from a tree and startled her. Another, also curious, walked up to Della and Lain.

Della stared at the two new comers. What were these strangers saying? One of them came from a tree and the other appeared to also be a new student. Della decided that she should simply introduce herself.

"I am Della frey. How do you do? I am Jedi, but I am ...um..." She was trying to remember the word. She closed her eyes for the word that would come to her. She was getting better at speaking Basic, but it felt very hard sometimes.

"I am...How do you say...Jedi Student? It is word."

 

[The Derp of Hooves]

‘Looks can be deceiving you know,’ he said towards Ryloss, then Yuundas attention was turned towards the female with the redish-brown hair. Apparently the Zeltron was right these young ladies were indeed just students. She seemed rather shy and her usage of basic seemed a little off, which he found strange. She introduced herself as Della Frey, and said that she was a Jedi student.

‘Della,’ he said rolling the name around, ‘that’s a nice name, I’m doing just fine thanks, it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ he said holding out his good hand out in greeting. He figured even if they weren’t masters, he figured he might as well make some friends at the very least.

 

[Black Noise]

Lain looked around at the newcomers, they were becoming quite the group already. Nodding as Della spoke and the Zeltron replied, Lain chipped in.
"-And I'm Lain, nice to meet you. Della here is still having a hard time with Basic, so don't overload her. I know I would've been at this rate a year or two ago."

 

[TweedPawn]

Della was pretty sure she just got complimented. Her cheeks turned slightly red and she smiled sheepishly. Back at her home, compliments were hard-earned. Usually they were about working, one's agility, or quietness. Almost never about looks. Even though the boy across from her was scarred from injuries, he was very sweet. She shyly shook his hand. Even though Lain was the first girl she had met so far, Della was still shy around boys her age.

Della paid attention to Lain's words, trying to decipher them. She erased the drawings on her chalk slate and gave it to the two new comers.

"Where are you from? Draw."she asked.

 

[The Derp of Hooves]

Yuunda liked this, the two girls, Della and Lain seemed nice enough and even the Zeltron, Ryloss, didn’t seem so bad. He noticed Della blush as she took her soft hand into his rough callused one, though he decided not to mention anything about it. Yuunda heard what Lain said about Della just learning how to speak basic and how she herself had just learned it only a year ago. This made him wonder where they were from, if basic was such an out of the way language. However, Della beat him to the question first, and proffered a chalk slate and asked him to draw out where he was from. A bit odd, he thought to himself probably thinking that wherever she was from pictures were a means of communication.


‘Well, there’s not much to say about it,’ he said taking the slate and attempting to draw out his home, ‘it’s a place called Tatooine and well, it’s a desert,’ he tried to draw his home, although he wasn’t very good at it. He decided to try and draw his farm with the small domed hut that was his house, and the multiple moister harvesters that littered around the place. Once he had finished he took a look at his handy work and thought it wasn’t too bad, though maybe a bit childish. He handed the tablet back to Della, wondering how she would interpret the picture.

‘What about you? Where are you guys from?’ he asked rather curious about it.

 

[Ush]

Ryloss smiled as Della blushed. She was a little... Strange. She had probably been from one of the tribal worlds, where you didn't make contact with boys your own age until you were a woman.

‘What about you? Where are you guys from?’

"Hologram fun world. I went back there about a year ago. Place is... Well, it's like Zeltros. People come and then have to be forcefully evicted." Ryloss laughed after saying this.

 

[The Derp of Hooves]

Yuunda listened in to Ryloss as he talked about his homeworld, Zeltros. What different lives these people must lead, he thought to himself. Ryloss was saying that he had recently visited his home would about a year ago.

‘That must’ve been fun,’ he said with a hint of a grin that vanished almost at once as his face darkened when he remembered about his ordeals around the same time. His shoulder throbbed as he remembered being a captive of the sand people and what they had done to him, what they had taken away from him. He knew if it hadn’t been for the company of Byte, he would’ve succumbed to madness long ago. He felt his heart grow heavy as he remembered her, leaving her back on Tatooine. He touched the krayt pearl on his necklace with his left hand, feeling the smoothness of the precious stone beneath his fingers and let out a sigh, feeling a bit of the sadness wash out of him.

 

[TweedPawn]

The words that everyone else spoke were new to Della. She nodded politely. Her previous times where she showed that she was unable to speak Basic very well made others uncomfortable and came off as being rude. Della had much to learn, but she was making at least some progress. She wished she could communicate her world. She wanted to talk about the grasslands and her family life.

Della looked at the strange objects Yuunda drew. She didn't understand what the strange objects were, but she understood it was a desert from her culture studies. Tatooine was mentioned in her cultural studies once, but she didn't understand a single word in the description of the planet. There were strange-looking people who lived on there and something about Jedi.

Ryloss seemed to be the jolly sort. He didn't draw anything and Della understood less of what he said than anyone else. He gave a good laugh, like he told a joke. Della smiled politely, trying her hardest not to be rude.

But her attention soon fluttered back to Yuunda. He suddenly seemed sad, like he was thinking about something close to him he lost. He touched a necklace on him and Della instantly understood. She lost many things close to her when she was taken from her home. With her home in the Wild Space and uncharted, it would possibly be years before she could find her way again. Such a strange school, where most of the students seem to come from so many different lives.

Where she was from, a school this advanced would only be for the wealthy or the talented. Della was a talented athlete back home, but a terrible student. Though, that changed since she arrived on Tython and her ability to understand her world depended on her learning how to study.

"Jedi school. Odd. Students...they are different. No student same. My home, student go to big school. But student rich. Student very very very smart. I go to small school. I run very fast. I m not good student. Here, I...HAVE to become good student. To talk with you."

 

[Ush]

Ryloss mentally cursed himself. She didn't speak Basic well. He sent happy pheromones into the air and turned to the girl.

"You really have no idea what I'm saying, do you? That's okay, I am the same with Twi'leki. You know the people with two tails coming out of their heads?"

 

[The Derp of Hooves]

Yuunda was a patient listener, he had learned from his parents to be polite around others. He watched and listened as Della told about her time on Tython and of her abilities. It felt somewhat odd being with a human who could speak very little basic, but he knew that she was far from unintelligent. She spoke with halting words and in a thick accent, but she did seem to have a basic understanding and was able to her message through.

‘You don’t have to become good to talk with us,’ he said with a half smile, ‘just be who you are.’

Yuunda felt a slight change in the air and suddenly felt himself become happier and more elated. He looked over at Ryloss and immediately knew it was his doing. He had once met a Zeltron when visiting Anchorhead with his father to buy a fixture for one of their harvesters and he had the same strange effect on him. He brightened suddenly when he heard him talk about Twi’leki although he said he didn’t understand them much.

‘One of my best friends growing up is a Twi’lek,’ he said catching on to Ryloss and remembering now how much he missed her, ‘We use to call her Byte.’