Underneath the Willow Tree | IC Thread

[Pharaoh]

OOC:
This Thread is only join-able with permission. If you are interested in joining the thread, post in the OOC thread listed below. The thread takes place on Tython and serves to provide a noob friendly, non-combative RP experience. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Link to the OOC Thread

The Posting Order is as follows: Pharaoh, ctrocks307, Megilwen, Kaylara Dornelles, Elijah Brockway, Cameron Foster​

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Just like the surrounding forests, the meditation garden was lush and full of life. The garden was situated in a clearing in the middle of a forest, just a short walk away from the Jedi Temple on Tython. In the middle of the clearing was a lake which was surrounded by cobblestone. Vegetation filled up the rest of the clearing, as many types of herbs and plants were grown in the garden. The clearing was devoid of trees, save for a couple trees that had medicinal properties and a giant willow tree that resided on the pond's eastern bank. The garden was also dotted with statues of great Jedi long gone; the seemingly ancient stones rising from the overgrowth that surrounded them. The cobblestone mingled with the vegetation as cobble paths originated from the lake and branched off in different directions. The garden was a place of peace and a cradle of life as both Jedi and non-sentient creatures flocked to it.

The scent of petrichor wafted into Okoshti's nostrils as he kicked up raindrops and the moisture tingled his toes as he ran barefoot down the trail. It was a cool morning as the breeze had picked up droplets and distributed them all over his bare feet, arms and face. The path he traveled was still moist from the morning showers. He picked up speed, and soon his heartbeat matched the pitter-patter of his feet. The path forked ahead of him and he instinctively took the left branch as the trails had become second nature to him. Every morning, Okoshti would jog the trails and this morning was no different. His pace began to slow as the forest around him began to thin, and soon he slowed to a brisk walk. After a few minutes, he had reached his destination; the meditation garden.

Okoshti stood at the treeline and cast his gaze over the clearing, his orange irises fixating upon the scene. In spite of the earlier rain, the sun shone brightly and illuminated the garden with it's golden rays. Even though he visited the garden everyday, it's beauty never got old; The glistening lake, the lush vegetation, and the distinct willow tree always stood out to him. Okoshti made his way through the large garden, greeting every familiar face he passed. His reflection followed him as he strode alongside the lake until he stopped at the base of the willow tree. Most days, he could be found here as he hosted a small meditation group regularly.

Okoshti took a moment to reclaim his satchel and moccasins; two items he had left under the tree. He slipped the moccasins on his feet before sitting down. He laced them up and crossed his legs lotus style, comfortably maintaining this position. He fetched some jerky out of his satchel and snacked on it, listening to the sway of the wispy branches above him as he waited for others to join him.

 

[ctrocks307]

Falcon had been taking a nap in the willow tree, under which, sat Okoshti. He woke with a start and nearly fell out of the tree, not remembering that he had put himself up there. Looking down at the man sitting there, he brought out his own snack, Bantha Bacon. He ate a whole piece of it before speaking to the man. He reached out to the Force, surrounding Okoshti with it and then, allowing it to mimic his vocal chords. "How are you today?" his voice came from nowhere, surrounding Okoshti, making it impossible to tell where Falcon actually was.

 

[Lucy Lou]

Trees. The girl loved the feel of the bark under her hands. The feeling of life that echoed under her hands. More predominant now that she'd grown in tune with the force as she matured. It was like the life of the tree could talk to her. Today, she wanted to go check out that huge Willow in the middle of the meditation garden. She'd seen it a few times, but she'd never really taken a time to "see" it's story. Since the loss of her Master, Lael had been taking the opportunity to learn about the Temple and it's past. Not only in the normal sense, such as by looking in the archives for information or inquiring upon the Jedi who'd been here the longest, but also in her own special way. Her psychometric ability to see an object's past had shared with her a great many things over the last few weeks as she continued to grow in her force skills as well as just looking for something to keep her busy.

Lael came in through the opposite of the willow. It's branches acting like a veil and concealing anyone who happened to be within the dome of it's leaves. As she moved further in, she held up her hands and ran them through the leaves. Small echoes rolling out like the small waves of a pebble falling into water. Suddenly a voice echoed in her ears. She hadn't been expecting it and she did what came naturally to her as a child. She sprinted up into the branches in order to get a higher view of who and where the voice was coming from. Only to nearly smack into a Jedi who was lounging on the branches looking toward the ground. The tiny girl squeaked and missed her footing, tumbling through the branches a little managing to catch herself on a final branch with her knees.

"Hello." She gasped her hair hanging toward the ground as she found her self looking at Okoshti, as she attempted to play off her complete klutz moment. She hadn't fallen out of a tree since she was like four.

 

[Kaylara Dornelles]

Kaylara always enjoyed resting in the meditation garden within the forests of Tython. The hustle and bustle of the temple could sometimes be slightly overwhelming, and the Jedi thought it good to step away once and a while. She didn't get to come as often as she would like, usually finding herself preoccupied doing other things.

When Kara did get the chance to meditate in the garden, she noticed her fellow Knight Okoshti always there and this morning was no different. "Okoshti" she bowed slightly, and smiled, greeting him. Walking over to a law hanging branch, the Jedi took over her over robe and hung it beside her. She then sat down facing the lake, while crossing her legs.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

After Kaylara came Kalaar, who was mildly peeved that the meditation garden happened to be full of people today. He had forgotten what it had been like to be in the middle of a Jedi temple, full of people constantly moving about and filling up every last bit of space imagineable. Compared to the rest of the galaxy, the Jedi temple on Tython was rather calm and peaceful...but compared to Kalaar's experience on New Holstice, it was chaotic and unruly. Now it just so happened that the one sanctum he thought he had left had apparently become popular while he was gone, as he counted no fewer than four people in the garden.

He noticed also that the garden had become much more of a permanent, established place. The ground was covered over with cobblestones, and it was, in general, nowhere near as overgrown as when he'd last been there. A few of the trees had been cut away, too; although there was one that was much larger now than he remembered it having been before, and it had long since grown past the small plot that had been given to it, with its thirsty roots now reaching all the way down into the pool that it stood next to. Kalaar noticed also that the cobblestone around the tree was already cracking and upheaved. You think they'd know better than to try and control nature like that.

He ignored everybody else in the clearing, including the one person he recognized from meeting them right after he had set foot on Tython, to instead walk to the willow, putting one hand on its trunk. "When did this tree grow so large, I wonder?" he mused, mostly to himself, while looking up at the branches sprouting from the large, knotty trunk. "Used to be I could still wrap my arms around it."

 

[Cheshire]

The meditation garden was stunningly beautiful and with all its natural life and the gentle breeze that would accompany that feeling. It was all too beautiful a sight for the young Karma who sat with his back to a tree near the middle of the garden, silent and confined as he sat and looked around the garden taking everyone in. He watched the man sit down and start to meditate and then almost get talked to by the force. He knew it was just someone projecting their voice through the force which was funny and yet amusing to Karma as he continued to watch, then to watch Laelynn fall out a tree quite close to them.

He smiled then got back to his books on all the things you need to do and to learn as he progressed on his path back to back to a Jedi. He naturally blocked out the world as he continued to read however he did notice the Anzati Padawan that he had seen previously walk over to one of the willow trees and, examine it? He could see the outlines of his mouth and he was clearly talking to himself. However Karma just got back to his book and didn't want anything to distract him more.

 

[Pharaoh]

Okoshti sat in silence, enjoying his small meal. His peace was quickly disrupted however, as his concentration was broken by a friendly masculine voice echoing in his head."How are you today?" The voice seemed to have no origin but it seemedsounded as if the words were spoken directly into his ear. He was in no danger but his muscles tensed up and he sat up straight. His hunting instincts kicked in as he tried to locate the person that was greeting him. Okoshti listened intently, discerning a soft munching sound from the more natural ambiance of the garden. He focused once more and looked over the environment. He tossed around possibilities in his head as he thought. He can't possibly be invisible so he's simply out of sight. Are they behind the tree? While scanning the area, Okoshti noticed that there were leaves scattered all over the ground. Of course, He's in the tree.

A smile stretched across Okoshti's face and a sense of triumph washed over him. He didn't do anything spectacular but he knew the stranger would no doubt believe that Okoshti wouldn't find him. Okoshti relaxed before nonchalantly uncrossing his legs and stretching them out in front of him. He leaned back and laid flat, casting his gaze on the branches above. His grin grew wider as he spotted a man perched among them. "I'm doing great this morning. How about you?" Okoshti replied, increasingly content that he was able to locate the man. He reached in his bag and popped another piece of jerky in his mouth, awaiting the man's reaction. Okoshti was not awarded the satisfaction of the man's response as the two had been approached by another.

A young girl approached the willow tree from the other side and had been running her fingers through the leaves. She must have been startled by the same disembodied voice that spoke out to Okoshti. Her reaction to the mysterious voice was to scramble up the tree and find the origin of the voice, and to her surprise she did. The branches rustled as the girl plummeted to the ground and more leaves were displaced from the tree. The girl managed to catch herself on a low hanging branch, and Okoshti was glad for her sake and his own. The girl now dangled a mere foot above Okoshti and his gaze was focused on her. "Hello" she gasped, breathing heavily. "Just hangin' around I see" Okoshti joked before sitting up. He leaned back against the trunk of the willow in an effort to move from under the girl.

Okoshti was interrupted once more, this time by a familiar voice. "Okoshti," the voice greeted and he looked up to see Kaylara Dornelles approaching. Kaylara was a regular member of the group and they had been acquaintances already. He smiled at her and returned the bow before watching her take her normal spot by the water's edge. She always sat a ways off and was always very reserved. "Good morning Kaylara," Okoshti responded, greeting her formally. "I think we may have two new additions to our group today," He added, motioning towards the two Jedi in the branches above before offering them both spots on the ground.

While Okoshti waited for them to join him and Kaylara, he took a moment to take a mental picture of his surroundings. He counted the number of Jedi he saw, his eyes darting from face to face. He spotted a man across the garden, reading under a tree. The man seemed to be amused with the shenanigans happening under the willow tree and he adorned a smile on his face. Okoshti gave the man a friendly wave before continuing his count.

Towards the end of his count, Okoshti spotted a man approaching. The man was tall and had a thin physique. He looked human, save for his abnormally large nose and pale grey skin. A look of extreme concentration was on the man's face and his eyes never wavered. Okoshti watched as the man made a bee line straight to the willow tree. He ignored everyone he passed, brushing past others like they didn't exist. The man came to a halt at the trunk of the willow tree, about ten steps from where Okoshti was sitting. He seemed enthralled by the tree's bark, taking in every detail of it's surface. Okoshti perked up as the man began to speak to himself. "When did this tree grow so large, I wonder? Used to be I could still wrap my arms around it." Okoshti was slightly perplexed by the man's words as the willow had been large for as long as he could remember and the man didn't look any older than he was. He was intrigued by the man and decided to strike up conversation. "Do you visit the garden often?" Okoshti asked, maintaining a friendly smile on his face.

 

[ctrocks307]

Falcon was delighted to find that Okoshti had found him. He was admiring the fact when a young girl ran straight into him. "That's a new one," he thought as he fell through the tree, just barely stopping himself from hitting the cobblestones below the tree. Looked over to the girl that had startled him, "Lael?" He didn't really know her, but his padawan, Fiyero, and her were friends. He stood up and looked around and thought, "There's so many people here, Its kind of unusual." As he looked around the garden, he spotted a young man in the back, something was strange about him. He slipped into Force Sight, he could literally see the dark and light battling for control within him. Then, he recognized the boy, Karma, he was the reformer Kip had recently taken in as a padawan. He left the Force Sight, and walked over to Lael, who was still hanging in the tree. "I see you like trees too," he chuckled, Fiyero had recently been called a Squirrel because of him.

 

[Lucy Lou]

Lael's face blushed further as Okoshti jokes and as she released her legs from the branch, tumbling from the last branch in a much more controlled nature. Landing on her feet, she looked at Falcon. "Mhmmm. I'm Lael. You're Fiyero's Master right? I've always felt a connection with trees." She nodded with a sheepish smile still embarrassed about her tumble. It might have been one of the reasons her and Fiyero get along so well. They were very similar to each other. The young girl took a seat on the grass under the willow, curious as to what was going on here. There were five people under the willow tree, including her. Had this been a planned meeting? At least two of them seemed to have agreed to meeting here. The rest were here by chance or brought together by the Force.

She recognized someof those here. Fiyero's Master, Karma, and Kalaar. She hadn't met the other two yet. Though she'd seen them around the Temple. There were many, many Jedi around the temples, so meeting them at once was unlikely and many times they were out on various missions. So that might explain why she hadn't meet Okoshti or Kaylara. Lael was always excited to meet new people.

 

[Kaylara Dornelles]

A soft breeze gently blew around Kaylara, causing the braids in her hair to sway slightly, and to create ripples in the water. However, the Jedi sighed as she noted the 'shenanigans' by the nearby padawans. She dreaded the day in which the Masters would assign her one, meaning they probably would soon. Kara stretched her arms out, and leaned her back, attempting to move her mind away from their distractions.

She then looked over as Okoshti spoke to her, and replied, "It would seem you are correct," smiling. They occasionally had new Jedi join their meditation session, but it didn't happen too often. She paused for a moment however, and then thought how every Jedi has their own style of meditation which they used to calm themselves. "I suppose that includes falling out of trees" she thought to herself.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Kalaar's contemplation of the passage of time was quickly interrupted by one of the Jedi sitting near the tree. Kalaar raised an eyebrow and turned to contemplate the man instead, his eyes quickly passing over the entirety of the Togruta's body. He withdrew his hand from the tree and shrugged. "Not for a long time," was his reply. He kicked at the stones on the ground to emphasize his point. "Last time I was here, this ground wasn't even paved. It made the growth surrounding this spot look tame, and there were a good few more trees. Other than the older statues, you'd've been hard pressed to tell this was separate from the surrounding forest, if it weren't for the footpaths leading up." He let his attention drift away again, instead quickly picking up on the presence of both Lael and Karma in close proximity.

"The tree doesn't seem to feel so well connected to you," he said shortly to Lael, with a completely straight face. "I might even say it was trying to throw you out. Maybe you should take a page from Karma's book and just stay under it and enjoy its shade, instead of bruising its bark and breaking its branches."

 

[Cheshire]

Karma looked up from his book once more to see someone giving him a wave. He gave a small smile and a short wave to the Torgetta. He then took a brief look around trying to figure who else was around. He recognized Kalaar and Lael but he didn't know the other two. Wait, he didn't know the other three, as he watched another man fall out the trees. He recognized the man after their brief meeting in the forests on Tython. It was a nice encounter but Karma leaped at the possibility of getting away from all the nearby Jedi. He wasn't quite used to them yet. So he moved his bright red hair slightly and started to read again.

"Maybe you should take a page from Karma's book and just stay under it and enjoy its shade, instead of bruising its bark and breaking its branches."

"Wait, what?" his head snapped upwards when someone said his name, alert and ready. He looked over at the meditation group and started to wonder if they would let him go over and join them. He had never meditated before in his life so he thought about going over to them and asking to maybe sit with them. Screw it, he might as well at least attempt to talk to them

So he cautiously made his way over and stood a short distance away from the group

"Can I please join you?" He asked in an quiet voice, which was barely audible

 

[Pharaoh]

"Not for a long time. Last time I was here, this ground wasn't even paved. It made the growth surrounding this spot look tame, and there were a good few more trees. Other than the older statues, you'd've been hard pressed to tell this was separate from the surrounding forest, if it weren't for the footpaths leading up." Okoshti could tell that the man was connected with this place as he talked so vividly about it. His next line made Okoshti raise an eyebrow. "The tree doesn't seem to feel so well connected to you, I might even say it was trying to throw you out. Maybe you should take a page from Karma's book and just stay under it and enjoy its shade, instead of bruising its bark and breaking its branches." The words perplexed Okoshti as he observed the man's serious demeanor. Well, he's certainly more eccentric than most, Okoshti thought. The man was interesting and hard to figure out so Okoshti decided to invite him to the group.

Thinking it would be better to not dwell on the man's slightly rude remark, Okoshti responded to him before anyone else would. "I think we can both agree that in spite of any changes over the years, the garden is still a beautiful place. Would you care to join us?" Okoshti motioned toward the group, offering the man a place among it. The group began to form a circle under the shade, as each person took a seat. Okoshti perked up as he heard footsteps and looked up to see the man that he waved at earlier. "Can I please join you?" The man's voice was barely audible and he seemed a little unsure of himself. Okoshti grinned and replied, "The more the merrier". He scooted over and made room for the newcomer to sit. Okoshti looked over the group assembled; five individuals sat in front of him and he was eager to get to know all of them. You can never have too many friends, Okoshti thought as he got ready to introduce himself. "You're all familiar faces but I don't know most of you so I'd thought we'd start off with introductions. My name's Okoshti". He looked from face to face, extending his arm to offer each person a handshake.

 

[Lucy Lou]

Lael made a face at Kalaar's words. "I didn't hurt it. It was a controlled fall." She insisted. "And willow's bend before they break. That's what makes the tree particularly strong. The saying is that it is the stiffest tree that breaks while the willow moves with the wind." It wasn't that Lael want arguing with the older Padawan so much explaining. She felt guilt that she might of harmed it and she was more trying to convince herself that she hadn't harmed the tree more than she was trying to convince him. This willow had been more than a just a tree, she'd often napped hidden in it's large branches.

She placed her hands in her lap, picking at her fingernails as she sat quietly. When Okoshti introduced himself and asked for people's name the dark-haired girl looked back up. "I'm Laelynn. Laelynn Rosha."

 

[Kaylara Dornelles]

The blonde Jedi looked around and smiled at the others. "Kaylara" she replied introducing herself, before adding, "but you can call me Kara." She proceeded to brush a blonde braid behind her ear as she then looked around for the others to introduce themselves.

 

[Elijah Brockway]

At Laelynn's insistent and vehement self-defense, the hint of a smile barely passed over Kalaar's face - although it'd require somebody especially perceptive to pick it up, with how quickly it was gone again. Noticing the inclination of everybody else present to join the circle, he nodded in response to Okoshti's suggestion, taking a spot to the right of Lael, and leaving his right side open for Karma to sit. If he was going to join the group, he might as well make sure he was sat next to the few people he did know to any extent.

"Kalaar," he replied, at the request for his name. "Kalaar Cin'ciri." He thought it mildly amusing how Okoshti said that he was included in the group of "familiar faces," though it was possible, considering he had been back on Tython for three or four days. Perhaps the matter of Kalaar's age might come up at some point in the discussion; if their reactions were anything like that of Lael and Karma's reactions were like at first, then it was bound to make for an interesting time.

 

[Cheshire]

"The more the merrier"

He smiled as he sat down next to Otokashi and looked around the group

"You're all familiar faces but I don't know most of you so I'd thought we'd start off with introductions. My name's Okoshti"

He smiled as the man offered a handshake, the man would hopefully be surprised by Karma's firm handshake back as Karma's cybernetic limb shook his hand.

"I'm Laelynn. Laelynn Rosha."

"Kaylara"

"Kalaar Cin'ciri."

"Karma, Karma Akabane. It's nice to meet you!"