There is no emotion, there is peace. - Nikka

[Luy]

​

The bout had been painful to watch. The students were giving it their all, and it was showing. Their emotions were like a sporing bloom filling the air, he shook his head as Nikka was tripped again and given quarter. He stood up, picking up his stick. "Nikka! Follow me." his broad shoulders rolled and he turned about. He didn't wait, he didn't look back he expected her to follow; she needed to follow him to learn more. Besides, the Miraluka! She could use the Force to see him, not hampered by terrain like others! She needed more, but equally could do with engaging with less. While that thought was confusing, it had some merit. She needed to rely on here motions less and focus on her training more. Knowledge would be crucial and that is what he intended to give her, to help her find it.

He brushed branch, and bramble aside until they began ascending an incline. As the trees thinned he looked for a solid boulder to sit down on. Many minutes passed until they were on the shoulders of this hill, looking out toward Rishi's ocean. Evening was approaching and the sky was beginning tarnish and the other isands were darkening, as was the jungle below. The big, hulk of a Feeorin sat down and flexed his arms, age maybe making him stronger but the aches he could do without.

He grasped the stick before him, tapping it on the ground. He had not been looking forward to this. He'd met Nikka first,and he knew how emotional she was, how instinctive and how much she thought. His face betrayed him, the concern furrowing his brow. He then took in a breath and looked to the horizon. "Nikka... how do you feel right now?" He'd would ask them all, he'd asked so many Initiates. This was always a crucial lesson.

@NikkaToren

 

[Nikka Toren]

She had struggled hard for these first lessons. She was too open, even for as small as she was, and her arms, legs and ribs sang with bruises that promised to rise to the surface. Yet still, she was panting and grinning, making sure to tap hands before stepping out, surprised at the sudden calling of her name.

One by one, the others had vanished before her. She knew her turn was soon, but she didn't expect such an immediate calling out. She picked up her stick again, this time mindful even of the placement of her feet as she followed behind, pace elongating to catch up. Translucent shapes parted around the large Feeorin with supposedly relative ease. She could hear so much as they ascended; the air cooled around her shoulders, refreshing enough after time spent sparring others.

How do I feel? A frown marred between her brows, lips pursing slightly. A maelstrom of emotions... wonder, at this new situation. Anxiety, as she had some idea beginning to form as to what they would be up against. Frustration, as it felt like she was so slow to learn before the others. And... what the others felt simmered around her shoulders. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

"I feel... anxious. Frustrated. There's so much I don't know at all. Master," her face turned in his direction, the frown still in place, slighter though. "It's like a weight on my chest. I want to do something, but I can't help anyone. And they know so much..." A helpless wave of her hand from the direction they came from, before she took a breath again. It was the most the Miraluka had spoken since they met, betraying her distress.

"I can see them! As I can see you, vivid and bright. And yet... I want to know why. I want to understand! It's..." She caught what she was about to say, it's too complicated to explain, but perhaps... he understood. Maybe all too well. Instead, she bit her bottom lip, worry warring on her face. She didn't want to be added weight to their group. Not like she felt like on Bothawui, and on Alpheriedies. Her hands itched to be doing something, not talking, but... she was here for a reason. She just needed to know why.

 

[Luy]

Such energy, a cacophony of chirruping. "Nikka!" His voice was sharp, and firm but held no anger. It was akin to someone slapping their hands together in front of your face. His shoulders slumped and there was a long sigh from his mouth. His voice was calmer, softer and far more measured, each word rose and fell to convey as much of his intent as they could. "Nikka, you are not focused. How can you expect to see, with all of these emotions and chaotic thoughts flying around in your mind..." he turned to her, his hand rose and his middle finger touched her forehead. "... you see with your mind. When it is cluttered or in a chaotic flux you perceive nothing of that which is in front of you. Ha!" The single laugh scared a small bird into flight away from them. "You are so concerned with the others, and what difficulty you are facing that you cannot even see yourself!"

He lifted his hand and looked to the vast oceanic view before them. "To see is not to perceive. Like my eyes can trick me the Force can be unclear, and therefore so can your sight. I have a question for you Nikka, considering your closeness to the Force as a Miraluka, do you not think that it will happily aid you if you Will it? The Force is your fried if you are willing to find it." He cast a wide gesture, panning across the vista. "The Force is everywhere and yet you are not able to find it? We are surrounded by it. Calm your mind, sit here and meditate. Remove yourself from any concerns, focus on the now." He returned his hand to rest with the other in his lap, his eyes closed and he proceeded to guide her in meditation, hopefully she would follow. "The future is not certain, so why worry to the point of hindering the now? Cool your emotions as you would yourself diving into the waters of Rishi. Allow yourself to see and think clearly for what I imagine is the first time in a while." There was vast mirth in a withdrawn chuckle from the Master.

His voice hardened as they meditated. "Emotions are fickle things, and they effect you all the more Nikka. All Jedi, from yore to the one before you struggled to calm themselves in their youth. Oh the things I could tell you of my time under my Master, that old Ithorian was as patient as a rock. Maybe I will have to be as patient as this mountain we sit on?" He could feel a change in her, it broadened his smile as his eyes opened to look at her. "Or then again, maybe not?" he looked to the burned sky, now becoming darker still, his broad smile would not halt, they were all learning in their own way and it was a joy to be a part of. "There is no emotion, there is peace."

@NikkaToren

 

[Nikka Toren]

She flinched at the sharp tone of her name, her tirade suddenly cut short. For a moment... a few scant moments, she was pacing blind, perceptive to nothing but her own anxieties, buried under so much bravado and energy. Strangely, her heart was pounding hard, but she was snapped back into focus, face tilted his direction. The mechanic stood still for a few minutes, surprise rooting her into place. Some of what he said began to filter in... she sucked in a breath, then let it out slowly.

"The Force is your friend if you are willing to find it."

"I... I couldn't, before." The words were so soft, they were barely above a whisper. "You know that... A blind woman doing things that are impossible for the blind made me a target." But... he was right. And for the first time in the Miraluka's brief life, she was still enough to notice the scenery. The sounds, the smells, the feel of even the ground beneath her feet and Rishi's sun setting at her back. The ocean was not too far away to not perceive. Its' depths even by this gesture stilled her, when she tilted her face his way, and slowly sat down. Though her mind had touched on it before, it suddenly came at her in a rush. Like water, pulling her in to tide.

She flushed at the last comment, it was too true and unfortunate that her mind was so easily distracted. They had barely begun, but there was that element... she wanted the other Initiates to succeed. Having been the first to arrive, she already felt like she was responsible. Ridiculous. She wasn't responsible...

So she listened. The emptiness of non-sight was slowly erased, like a veil of worrying obscurity. Slowly, she could focus again, heard the change in the old Feeorin's tone. The Vision was returning... and she could see it again. Feel its' familiarity pulsing under her skin, like the lines that were inked into her skin. The Force.

She couldn't really perceive the Master being the impatient sort, but... it did help tease a smile in return, relax the stiff set of her already sore shoulders.

"Yes... Master." Everything wasn't perfectly clear yet, but already she had that old itch of intuition, nudging her into a thought. Given time, perhaps, it would be much more clear.

OOC: Closed. Nikka has an epiphany.