The Ways of the Jedi and the Ways of the Force

[Radiwalker]

Jaina had arranged for a private training session with a padawan of whom she was quite fond, but felt that he might need a bit more exercise in terms of usage of the Force. He had been forced to learn some abilities during a mission and under pressure and while effective, that was not the best way to learn to use the Force. To properly learn the ways of the Force and the ways of the jedi, one had to be in a calm state of mind and a peaceful setting.

The girl was expecting the padawan just outside the temple or Arbra. She was sitting at the entrance. Her legs crossed and her face looking in the direction of the rising sun, even though her eyes were closed, she could feel the sun glare upon her. A smile had settled upon her face. Her black hair was running down her back and her red bangs were wavering over her forehead. She knew the padawan wouldn't make her wait long, but that didn't mean she shouldn't enjoy the waiting.

 

[Intratec]

"What? Because, bluffing in Sabacc is necessary. You don't have a good hand? What do you do? Fold? No. No. See, if you can learn the other players' tells you can read'em easy. But part of the game is keeping relaxed, keeping calm, focused and above else don't let them learn your tells.. Since then it can go both ways. You learn theirs, and if you have a bad hand, but you know their tells, you bet large you be confident. You bluff. Sabacc is part skill, part chance, and all bluff. If they fall for it they'll fold. If they fold you win. Unless someone calls, then you're out a nice pile of shiny aurodium coin or credit chits."

Ahrim appeared to be in good spirits, his arm on the shoulder of a Duros Padawan almost conspiratorially. The conversation was easy enough to catch, or at least his side of it. The outer hall of Arbra's temple echoing his voice.

"Next time, what are you going to do when you play?" The Corellian asked his 'apprentice'. Receiving an answer, Ahrim clapped the Duros on the back while smiling. "Good man! You bluff! If he's anything like you said, he'll fold. And you'll win the pot, just don't forget me if you do, alright?" He nudged the other Padawan with an elbow before waving him off.

Finding his master where she'd said she'd be, the Padawan descended a few steps all while rotating his arm and rubbing at the spot where he'd been injured. The combination of quick medical attention, synthskin and Jedi healing had healed the wound completely. But even so he swore that it still ached on occasion.

"Been waiting long, Master?"

 

[Radiwalker]

"That depends." Jaina answered as she opened her eyes and turned her head only to see Ahrim rubbing the spot where she knew he had been wounded. "Does it still hurt?" she wasn't one to laugh at someone who was in pain, even if others would make fun of him for being such a wuss over a small battle wound, instead of being proud of it. That thought didn't even cross Jaina's mind. Rather all she could think about was how she could help him out and how she blamed herself for his pain.

Upon receiving an answer she would stand up and walk towards a near tree, that seemed tall, quite tall... "You need to gain better control over the Force and for that you need balance." she smiled as she ran up the side of the tree, then jumped upwards, landing on a branch and then continued jumping upwards until she reached the very top, which was like a peak. She stepped on it with her left foot, putting her hands out to the side and pressing her right heel to her left knee, thus sustaining balance. She closed her eyes and remained like that for a few moments, after which she reopened her eyes and ran back down the tree. "You will have to learn to do what I just did. But before that you'll have to manage to get to the top. Trust in the Force and allow it to guide your movements. If you do not trust the Force, you will fall."

 

[Intratec]

"Hurt? No. The muscles are a little tight still, that vibrosword nicked them. The healing's done most of the work. But now I just have to stretch and work them lest they stay tightened." All the talk about better control of the Force soured his expression just a little while his master performed an acrobatic feat of agility. Admittedly, he did find the whole thing to be rather spectacular. Although even while he crossed his arms, Ahrim's expression didn't deviate.

"I'm a Soresu practitioner, Master. Acrobatics and running up trees isn't exactly in our Modus Operandi." Even for a Corellian he liked his feet on solid ground, or solid deck plating.

 

[Radiwalker]

"This isn't about acrobatics." Jaina nearly snapped, she liked helping, but she didn't enjoy being questioned. She regarded herself rather highly and believed her methods to be quite effective. She took pleasure in explaining the reasoning behind her methods, but when they were attacked or approached with negativity she became rather offensive. "It is not my combat, or acrobatic training that allows me to perform such feats, even though they do help. Rather it is the Force that I draw upon to keep me in balance and it is such exercises that allow one to develop a good control over the Force. Even the strongest, most hardened of jedi have gone through basic control exercises."

She stopped for a moment, realizing that she might be putting the padawan off the training and perhaps starting an unneeded argument. Even though she felt a blow to her pride had been delivered, she tried to put that aside for the next part of her speech and instead touch on the padawan's pride, see how he deals with it. "Of course, if you are afraid of heights, we can just as easily think of some other exercise to improve your control." She expected she'd have him there, for Ahrim was not one to take insults lightly, especially ones that harmed his pride, or at least that's what Jaina thought of him so far. It seemed as if he, much like her, liked to prove himself, so she gave him an opportunity to do just that.

 

[Intratec]

Arms folded across his chest, Ahrim walked over to the tree, staring at the earthy brown bark a moment. The Padawan promptly tapped at it with the toe of his boot a couple times then craned his neck back to stare upward toward Jaina. For his part, Ahrim frowned.

"I was born and raised on starships and stations, Master. We didn't have... trees on them." He indicated by placing a hand to the rough surface of the tree. "Before coming here I only ever saw a tree once. And that was on Naboo when I was four." Raising a finger in the air, he pointed toward her, then to the sky. "Holographic trees on Nar Shadaa don't count." The boy seemed to be eying the tree warily.

"I understand the need for control exercises however, Master. I do. It's just that I find everyone's methods of teaching at the various temples... different than what I'm used to. My previous Master taught me basic things concerning the Force. But focused mainly on developing my lightsaber abilities. "

 

[Radiwalker]

"I don't expect you to excel at the training." Jaina smiled, realizing that Ahrim was probably more concerned with not living up to the task than actually taking it up. "While I agree that everyone should find the thing that best suits them and to you that may be combat, that doesn't mean they should not have training in any other area. Every jedi guardian has a sound control over the Force. The battlemasters of the order are great examples of that." her hand glazed over her lightsaber hilt. "And every jedi sentinel and jedi consular can manage in a sword fight. The difference comes in specialization, not in the basics."

The girl moved to the padawan and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand this training may not be suitable for you and may even be uncomfortable, but ask yourself this: will you always face challenges that you like, challenges that suit your skills and abilities? If you are not prepared to adapt how are you going to survive in this ever changing world?" she smiled as her grip on Ahrim's shoulder tightened. "And trust me adapting during exercise is far easier than adapting during combat." she let go of the padawan and took a few steps back. "So, if you are to become a jedi, engaging in an exercise like this shouldn't be a matter of great contemplation, but rather a challenge you embrace and conquer."

 

[Intratec]

Frowning still, Ahrim continued staring at the tree even as Jaina spoke. "Except you want me to climb, a tree with the Force." Looking over to her now, the frown was plainly evident on his face. "And I don't know the first thing about climbing trees. If you wanted advice on how to fleece people in Sabacc, how to pickpocket, or smuggle Spice, Guns, or other contraband across Imperial space I might be able to help."

Kicking the tree with a foot, he didn't fully expect it to topple over from such a small nudge. But had hoped. At least a little bit. "So, Master. I would probably need to figure out how to climb a tree before using the Force to do it."

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina chuckled at her frustrated counterpart. "You need not climb it," she finally said with a smile "there is no ignorance, my padawan, there is knowledge." She had decided that referring to the old cold was sometimes quite beneficial even if most jedi didn't think highly of it. "Had you paid close attention to my 'climb' you would have seen that I did not climb at all," she continued with a calm and light tone "I ran. I believe you know how to do that," the knight chuckled again, it was quite evident that she was enjoying this "you should be able to make a couple of steps on the tree without falling and then jump upwards to get onto, or at least grab the lowest branch. Afterwards you can easily proceed upwards as the distance between the branches isn't big. What you need to consider is the Force with which you jump, for you needn't jump too hard, or too high, as you may pass over, or even break some of the thinner branches. You need to be considerate and you need to trust the Force to guide your jumps. Trust your instincts. You may think you don't have any instincts for climbing, but, trust me, you do."

She expected the padawan would have a hard time with this exercise as not only did he not trust in it and perhaps in her, but he also didn't trust himself. But, with time, he would learn to. He would realize that if he trusts in himself and in the Force, even something as alien to him as climbing a tree can be as easy as a flight through empty space. She too had struggled with running up trees, but with time she began believing in the Force and now she could do as many as nine steps on the tree before having to leap off, or jump upwards. . . and those were not small steps.

 

[Intratec]

At first his sole response was to bring a hand down across his face, fingers to either side of his mouth as he contemplated the words. "Well." Clasping his hands behind his back, Ahrim rocked on his heels once. "Can't be worse than having my heart stopped by Sith Lightning when I was ten. Worst that'd happen here is I break something if I'm not careful." With a long exhalation, the Padawan took a step back with a mumbled prayer. Eying the tree up and down once more... Ahrim ran toward it.

The small gap between Corellian and tree closed rapidly, Ahrim's foot connected with the tree. Except he hadn't ran up the tree like Jaina had. The look of startled bewilderment lasting a fraction of a second as her Padawan seemed to 'slip' on the bark and air. He fell on his back like a sack of potatoes, and it sounded equally as similar. The grunting whuffling sound he made as the air was knocked out of him didn't sound wholly human either. For his effort, all Ahrim had managed was to kick up a little dirt, dust and fall flat on his back.

A whooping cough and groan later, Ahrim rolled to his side. "I think the Force is telling me to stay on the ground."

 

[Radiwalker]

"No," Jaina said, still maintaining her calm demeanor. "The Force is telling you that you are more stubborn than you are willing to learn. Even a child can easily make two steps running up a tree. . . a child not trained in the Force that is." Jaina paused sighting. She moved towards Ahrim and offered him a hands to help him get up on his feet. "I am here to guide you and instruct you," she said as she extended her hand. "But if you are not ready to follow my instructions and instead prefer to question my methods and approach the exercise with negativity, then you might as well leave and not waste your time, or mine."

She paused a moment but suspected what reply might come, so she spoke again, before the padawan had the opportunity to. "And to not tell me that this exercise does not suit you. Do you think a sith would ask you whether his attacks suit you?" She let the question hang for a moment, while stepping aside and sighting, she was almost prepared to let the padawan off for the day. The session they were having seemed to be pointless, not only was he stubborn and pessimistic, but he also refused to listen to her reasoning.

 

[Intratec]

Pulling himself to his feet, Ahrim's expression soured in response to his master's question. "Considering I've been attacked by a Sith when I was a kid? No." He thumped his chest for emphasis. "Sith Lightning right there, stopped my heart. He was going to take me as his own had my first master not slain him." With a snort, Ahrim dusted his pants off, his shirt and backside. "Same Sith cut down and smashed my parents to pulp in front of me so yeah, I know a Sith would ask that since I technically died once thanks to them. If he hadn't restarted my heart, well, I wouldn't be here." The Padawan popped his neck.

"I think the exercise suits me just fine, Master. But I'm new here, new to you. To expect me to go along dutifully and without question at the drop of a hat is asking a bit much. I'm not used to your method of teaching yet, so I would suggest we take things slow. I was taught at gunpoint, saberpoint, or a slap against the back of my head by a grumpy old man. So this is a bit new to me."

 

[Radiwalker]

"If you've been trained at gunpoint, my young padawan," Jaina said, not referring to the man's age. "Then you ought to have no problem in performing an exercise that only threatens you with feet cramps. Remember that I am here and I will catch you, should you fall from high above. Yet keep in mind that I do not ask you to trust in me, or my methods. I ask you to trust in the Force. For it is the Force that will truly guide you, not I."

Jaina realized her words may be received as scolding rather than helping or encouraging, but sometimes that was required. Sometimes teachers had to push their students, otherwise they would not progress. Of course, in the end, it all came down to the willingness of said students, for if they did not wish to progress, they would not, no matter how hard they were pushed. "Take your time," Jaina said, with a more soothing tone. "You needn't go headfirst into this. Feel the World around you. Plan your way up. Allow the Force to guide your movements. The more you try to rush through this, the longer we will linger on it."

 

[Intratec]

Rubbing the back of his head, Ahrim shook it soon after before looking over to the woman. "If you've any other advise to offer on how to do this, now's the time, Master." The Padawan mentioned as he dusted the front of his shirt off once more. Lowering himself into a position to begin running he kept looking to his Master.

 

[Radiwalker]

"I have given you all the advice I can, dear padawan," Jaina said, smiling. "What you do with my instructions is up to you, I can not, or rather shall not beat them into your head. That you must do yourself." She crossed her hands in front of her chest and put on a serious face.