Ask Path of the Daredevil

[Zathria]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

Zathria had put her Justicar skills to the test with this one. "Jabba" from Kashyyyk was - shockingly - not named Jabba, and with some digging, she had found out he was none other than Ezra Thorne.

That had been a bit of a shock. Zathria had nearly met Emryc once, and at the time had had something of a crush on the man that definitely didn't exist now. Not at all, nope. It made it feel a little bit weirder to be trying to track down his son, but it wasn't for any ulterior motive in this case.

Truthfully, she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to be getting herself into here. She'd had little time for any meaningful interaction with him, and it was only after the fact that she realized he really wasn't a Padawan and his little display at the river was, in fact, something he had managed without any training.

In other words, Zathria was fairly confident he was very powerful with the Force. Well, that was a weird situation. The ISC was not historically very friendly to the Jedi, though the current war with the Empire had... maybe softened that relationship a bit. Oh who was she kidding, she didn't do the politics side of things. Too simple for that.

Imagine her surprise to find out that Ezra raced pods. Not many humans could manage it, and it only further confirmed her suspicions. She watched as one of the racers zoomed by below, sending up spews of water across those who were close enough and willing to be in the "splash zone." For her part, she had ordered a Meiloorun juice and headed toward the backstage where the racers were going to be gathered, working on their pods and generally prepping or wrapping up after their race. She waited to see where Ezra's pod would pull in when it was all said and done.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

This was a smaller tournament than the one he ultimately wanted to participate in. He knew he had to win here a few times before he could make it to the galactic theaters. This was a local planetary race and still carried a lot of clout. Pops didn’t race much these days, but Ezra had taken up the reins. Other than sailing, this was his favorite hobby, and he indulged in it whenever he had a chance.

After a harrowing race, Ezra still came in second. He was in a sour mood as he pulled over in his podracer, the vehicle billowing thick smoke from where it took a solid hit. Ezra came to a stop, popping his helmet off to reveal hair spiked from sweat. He was crowded instantly by locals and tourists alike, all wanting to speak to him. His security detail thankfully pushed them all aside.

He exited his racer, his workers quickly rushing to fix up his vehicle. Normally he made the tweaks himself, but he was too furious to do so now. Ezra strode past the crowds, drinking from a bottle of water. He almost passed by entirely, but he abruptly came to a stop, his head turning to regard a woman standing behind a few people. The flash of recognition was unmistakable, his piercing silver eyes narrowing slightly.

Normally he would have kept walking, but Kashyyyk had been significant enough for him to at least entertain this for a few minutes. He patiently waited for her, his droids poised to shove anyone else back. What the hell was she doing here?

 

[Zathria]

Zathria was not a recruiter, and she wasn't a diplomat. In truth, she was probably making a bad decision to come here, but the Force worked in mysterious ways and guided her here. At least, that was what she was telling herself in her head, though in this case, it felt like it was more of an excuse than anything.

Oh well.

The fact was that her brain was in work mode anyway, her senses open to gain whatever she could from the man - or kid - who held her attention. The anger and frustration was boiling off of him in waves, that sense of frustration that came from the hyper competitive. From people who couldn't stand to be less than their full potential. Zathria wasn't here to manipulate him, but she was also not foolish enough to talk into this without having thought about what she was going to say and do. No matter how many fake rehearsals she'd done on her ship, she was confident that things were absolutely not going to go the way she envisioned.

She watched his eyes lock onto her amidst the crowd, no doubt drawn to her through a sense he couldn't quite explain, and she raised her cup of meloorun juice up in a "toast" to him to acknowledge his gaze. She took a sip and had to push her way through the throng of people before making it to the droid that fortunately let her pass.

Let me buy you the next one? she asked, pointing first to his bottle of water that was almost empty as he guzzled it down and then to the small cafe area set up for the racers.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra rolled his eyes at her offer, but made his way over to the cafe nonetheless. His droids were always working overtime to keep people from approaching him. Almost all of them wanted to ask about his father, very few showing interest in him. Ezra took a seat at a table. He was too grumpy to even tell her what he wanted, waiting for her to sit across from him.

By the time she joined him, she would see him silently seething. Curiously, absolutely none of it was betrayed by his face. He would stare at her with calm, icy eyes and a completely stoic face. It was only her perception through the Force that would clue her into the turmoil raging within him.

“Hope you didn’t have to cut down too many trees to get to me,” He said with the curve of a grin. She would notice a glint above his chest, the kyber crystal he had found on Kashyyyk having been fashioned into a necklace. For inexplicable reasons, Ezra couldn't seem to part from it.

 

[Zathria]

Zathria's eyes narrowed slightly as he rolled his eyes at her offer. Who rolled their eyes at being offered free stuff?! Even if you were rich! Well, maybe rich people... Zathria didn't know, she'd never been rich. She wasn't poor, but... well, that was off topic, wasn't it?

She could sense the anger within him, a boiling rage that didn't seem to make it to his face. It was silent rage, and that was... often times the most dangerous. It was the kind that could eat you from the inside out. Or... maybe he was a normal person with good coping mechanisms. That was probably it because despite what some of the old Jedi tried to tell you, not all emotion was going to send you into a psychotic spree. Not always.

She raised a thumb and shoved it in the direction she'd come from. Urban planet, distressingly few trees here. I think I'm kicking into withdrawals actually, she quipped without missing a beat.

Her eyes dropped to the crystal he wore around his neck and her eyebrow quirked an eyebrow.

When did you first realize you could use the Force? she asked him directly. She wasn't sure what he actually knew about that, but even if he didn't fully believe it, it would create curiosity.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra’s eyes narrowed slightly at her question, “I didn’t,” He replied almost immediately. He had never called it that, “It was just you Jedi that keep insisting I’m one of those,” The distaste was clear in his tone. He absentmindedly fidgeted with the crystal. Ezra looked away for a moment, over a decade of denial rising up to his throat. However, for the first time he was sitting across from someone that wouldn’t balk at it.

“I always thought it was because of my Sephi traits..” He faded off, not even convinced by his own logic. He finally looked at her, “Is it something I can ignore? Something that can just go away on its own? Something that can be…cured?”

His outlook on the Force would likely be heartbreaking for her to hear. To him, as the son of the ISC President, the Force was like a disease. He was different from his entire family and he was the black sheep if he couldn’t get rid of it.

“I don’t want it,” Ezra said, staring at her. Hints of fear appeared in those frosty eyes.

 

[Zathria]

Oh yeah, not one of those. I'm just awful, aren't I? I walk by and trees cry out in terror, she said, wrapping herself in a shield of sarcasm to keep at bay the harsh words and because... she was just a person, too, even if he spat the words with animosity. Sticks and stones, though, and she was more resilient than that.

As he continued, though, she took a more serious look to her face. As he continued speaking, she saw something that went beyond just the hard and sassy exterior that he put on. She could sense the fear and isolation within him, and she could really see just how so many people saw them.

The Jedi had done much to shoot themselves in the feet over the years. Over and over they had botched things, and it was what had driven Zathria to the Justicars: a job she was good at but wasn't particularly quiet about not loving.

She was quiet for a moment and let out a sigh, eyebrows pulling together into a frown as she thought, looking at the table for a moment to gather her thoughts before looking up into Ezra's fearful, silvery eyes.

It's not a disease, she said after a moment, voice now softer and lacking either the humorous or sarcastic tone that she often sported. Everyone is connected to the Force, it's just that some people have the ability to interact with it more, she said.

It's an incredible power and... responsibility, she said. To most people, she would have called it a gift, but it was quite clear he didn't think of it that way.

You can try to ignore it, but I doubt that it'll be that easy, she said before motioning to the kyber around his neck. Even where you least expect it, things like your kyber crystal will be drawn to you, and you to them, she said. She probably could have gone on and on without much difficulty, but stopped. The last thing either of them probably needed was for her to blab on for multiple minutes.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Everyone was connected to the Force? Ezra hadn’t heard of that before, but it made sense.There had been times he had felt it from animals or around others that were distressed. He didn’t understand it at the time, but perhaps it was the Force all along. Ezra fiddled with his crystal as Zathria mentioned it, glancing down at the shard.

“What is this? What's a kyber crystal?” He finally asked, not having bothered to look it up. He almost didn’t want to know, but he recalled how it continued to call to him. Even through the spiders and dangers, he felt compelled to go and retrieve this little, unassuming piece of crystal. Why?

 

[Zathria]

Zathria was focused on him, but not on the physical actions, it was what was under the surface that she wanted to know about. She could still feel the confusion and fear within him, and she tried to think back to when she had first learned the truth about herself. She was only a couple of years younger than him at the time, and it had been... hard to swallow.

They're the central piece of a Jedi lightsaber, she said. Well, or any lightsaber, she corrected.

They're alive, too. Kind of like a plant, but also not entirely. That's why you were drawn to it, she said. She glanced around for a moment before reaching down into her pocket and closing her eyes, focusing on her lightsaber hilt despite not seeing it. She wasn't going to pull it out in public with security droids around, but she wanted to show him. She plucked at the internal latches with the Force before the crystal leapt up into her palm before she finally pulled her hand out of her pocket.

She opened her eyes and reached out, letting him see the crystal that rested on her open palm. It was a deep, ocean blue color in contrast to the clear color of the currently un-attuned one he wore around his neck, but he would be able to tell they were the same. The both "sang," though the songs were slightly different.

I thought better of pulling the whole saber out right now, she said after a moment with a humored snort, and then put her hand back in her pocket to reverse the extrication.

It's a special thing. An extension of myself, now, she added after a moment.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Lightsaber? His eyes widened in shock. Why would he be drawn towards a piece that was a part of a lightsaber? There was nothing more signature of a Jedi or a Sith than their lightsabers. Did this mean his crystal was meant to be forged into one? Ezra wasn’t sure how he felt about all that, sitting there in silence. He watched curiously as she drew out her own crystal, both of them humming in their own way. Once again he was reminded that he didn’t need to hide anything with her. While his past nature had been to rebuff the thought or run from it, he hadn’t felt the same since Kashyyyk.

“What…should I do?” He asked, gazing into her eyes, “I’m in school. I can’t just ditch my entire life to go do community service for the galaxy,” Ezra said, shaking his head, “There has to be another way for me to learn how to control it.”

He stared at the table for a long moment, “The Sith don’t seem to give anything up..” He couldn’t believe what he was saying. The Sith were attacking his planets, but perhaps he could learn from them and betray them. He wanted to do something with what he had, but he wasn’t prepared to give up everything he knew for it.

 

[Zathria]

Zathria nodded as he mentioned all the things that he had to do. The commitments he had and the life he was living.

She was about to say something when he mentioned the Sith and how they didn't give up anything. He would be able to see the muscles in her jaw tightened as she clenched her teeth for a moment at the statement, but almost as quickly as the reflex had come on her, it seemed to ease away.

The Sith give up a lot more than it appears, she said. Joy, peace, trust, companionship, she said. That was a philosophical discussion that probably was better tabled for another time.

I was a little bit younger than you when I joined the Jedi, she said after a few moments. And honestly, I received an outstanding education, she said. It may have been different from most people's educations, but it was in no way inferior.

I'm not going to tell you you have to give up everything in your life, but it's a hard balance, she said honestly.

I'll be straight with you because I don't have patience for much else, she said after a moment. It was hilariously true: she was direct and to the point if not quite as tactless as some people about which those statements applied.

I think you have a lot of potential, and I think you won't be satisfied until you've explored what that potential is, she said. She wasn't here to force him into anything as much as she'd like to.

You could always try it for a time, and if you hate it, be on your way, she said. It was... unconventional, but it was better than leaving him to flounder on his own or - far worse - leaving him to the Sith. She had a feeling that once he'd really opened his mind to see what he could do, there would be no going back. Wait... was she out here peddling drugs to kids? That was really what that had sounded like. Well, at least she hadn't said it out loud.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was about to open his mouth to protest, but he found that he couldn’t. She was right. He would keep wondering about this. He would have many questions that no one other than a Jedi or Sith could answer. Sith sounded entirely too insane for him to bother pursuing, and he had a penchant for running into Jedi already. Ezra chewed on the inside of his lip briefly.

“Okay..” He said, entirely doubtful about all this, “Okay.. I’ll try,” He said quietly, “How do I start?” Ezra asked, “Do I submit an application or something? How much does it cost?” He figured it was like applying for a university, “Do I need to do an exam?”

 

[Zathria]

Zathria smiled and almost laughed as he asked about applications and fees. The idea hadn't even really crossed her mind, but it was probably... so different from anything he'd experienced before.

No, there's no fees or applications or anything, she said. Sometimes we test people to make sure they are actually Force-sensitive, but I've already seen the evidence for myself, she said.

We can start any time, preferably somewhere without a lot of distractinos, she said with a shrug.

Though right after a race may not be the best time. Maybe some time for you to rest and clean up. We could meet again tonight, maybe, she said. I can get some training items together, she suggested and then stopped to frown.

This... is something I will need to run by your parents at some point, she said, even the thought causing her a vague pang of anxiety. He was still a minor, after all, and while she might not need it for a first meeting, sooner or later, it was a conversation that would need to be tackled.