Chapter 1 Interlude: Post Crystal Meditation

Avi's taunting smile falters when Ian interjects, and I can't help but stare at him, my face slowly hinting at having nausea. "Ew. No. Don't ever imply something like that again." I look at Taryn, clicking my tongue at his lack of initiative. "Are you really not going to say anything about what Ian just said? Ugh. It's that dumb doll all over again." Having my arms crossed, I sit in the table as I look disappointed. It is also very possible that I am pouting.

"Sorry Alyx, but I am officially joining the Gloomy Gungans." I say, as my eyes find Evelynn leaving to the kitchen. I can't help but unconsciously have my fingers dig in in my other arm. She is so annoying. Didn't even say sorry to Ian.

I audibly groan as I look at Taryn again, not being able to mask my disappointment for him not even showing a bit of disdain at Ian's comment. "You always tend to go for the miserable ones" I say, a clear jab at him. When I realize that that comment may sound off to people, my eyes go rapidly wide as I keep talking. "Remember when Master made us grow our own plants? You wanted the seed that had spurted before it should. It ended up all messed up. So..." She shrugs with a half-smile, quickly trying to find anyone else. Zepharo! He will do. "So! How was the test for the best jedi of our group?" She asks, sarcastically. "12 years living together and you still think that brooding quietly is enough for us to not include you in our conversations. You should know better."

Alyx glares at Ian, then punches him in the kidney. "If Master won't punish you, I will!" She shakes her head. "Great, so am I the only one who isn't freaked out by this?" Her words say one thing, but her blue eyes say something else. She is certainly worried, but since the elder students are either keeping silent, cooking as therapy, or awkwardly trying to use sexual innuendo to hide their fear, who else is going to step up to lead? She swallows a groan: she hates being in charge of anything...

"Right so," she attempts, "maybe . . . we should meditate on our feelings?" She winces a smile at everyone. "Right?" Please? . . . Something?

ANYthing?

Ian's hand claps down on Alyx's shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. "Yer right, shorty. You -is- the bravest." He gives her a bright, happy grin, "So meditate, huh?" His hands drop to his hips, nodding, "Be mighty nice'a ya ta lead me through it. I must admit ta bein' a bit rattled by all this." He gives her a helpless shrug and a grin tinged with nervousness. "Honestly, yer really also savin' everyone the irritation of me expressin' my feelin's in'a manner both unhealthy'n voiciferously loud." -Now- his smile turns teasing, but his indigo eyes look grateful for something other than his own nightmarish vision, Evelynn's 'suck it up, buttercup' philosophy and the others being mopey to focus on.

"Are you really not going to say anything about what Ian just said? Ugh. It's that dumb doll all over again."

Taryn looks at her and shrugs. "Look, if he wants to make bad jokes about Sith, what do..." His voice trails off as he sees her expression. Mentally he rewinds the scene to see if he missed anything. He hadn't been paying much attention.
"Oh."
He rolls his eyes at Ian. "Really? Update your material. We're all at least three years too old to still think that's funny."


"Remember when Master made us grow our own plants? You wanted the seed that had spurted before it should."
He gives her a sly smile and dryly answers "Way I recall it, Master called it quits before anything got even close to spurting. I really miss botany."

At Alyx's suggestion he shakes his head.
" 'preciate the thought, but I think I've had quite enough meditation for today. Does anybody know where the cards are?" he says as he looks around the room for the home-made deck of playing cards.

Glancing around at everyone, Alyx nods. "Well, if anyone wants to meditate, I promise we won't be seeking out something to upset us. We'll be finding connection to the Force again, and trusting that it will guide us and not lead us to harm." She waits a few beats, then goes to walk with Ian out of the room along with anyone else who wants to, only pausing at the door to look back. "We'll be in the smaller meditation cave," she tells everyone from the doorway, giving them a kind smile. "I hope you guys who don't want to join us find a way to feel better."

With that, she leads the older students with her into the dark, dank cave system, taking out her comm to light up the darkness with the flashlight ap. "It's going to be ok," she tells everyone, stilling her own mind and resolve by reaching out to the Force and letting it settle around her like a cloak. "No matter what happens, it will be ok."

Zepharo looks to Avi with a crooked smirk, sharing in her mirth, and speaks in a soft basso, "Was it a test, or was it just a new method Master Selak interested to drive our awakenings in the Force? A very stiff prodding? I'm not yet certain...", he shrugs, "I was certainly surprised that the Master would put us so directly at odds with one another, with the promise of a material reward as the result.

Perhaps that part was a test?", he shrugs again.

"This is a time of great excitement, to be sure... Excitement can dispel peace, as just a notion. I hope none of you, brothers and sisters, read too much into any one thing you may have experienced, or seen, or not seen in these past days or hours...", he looks to Ian meaningfully.

"I hope you will seek a greater understanding."

As the twi'lek finishes her questioning, Zepharo flashes a pointy-toothed grin, and waves a black-nailed hand dismissively, "Meh, I cannot keep up. But you should know by now, one learns more from listening, than by talking."

Piodas took quite his time to leave his meditation and the vision where he managed to see his crystal... but he joined the others after he just got a few pointers from Master Selak... but not many since it seemed quite fair whre the crystal was and how he could obtain it... or so he thought.

Slowly, he just joined the others and without knowing what they were talking about he just took a deep breath and exclaimed:

"Having the grasp Master Selak has on the Force is quite admirable... how could his previous teachings relate in the long run to where our crystals would be? Or is that just with me?"

Running a hand through his hair, Ian sighs as he follows Alyx to the meditation cave. Glancing back he lowers his voice once he's sure they're out of earshot of the others. "I saw somethin' -pretty- bad. Not like Taryn's mopey crystal. There were these three people in black armor. I yanked'a lightsaber off one of'em an when I switched it on, it was -red-." He frowns and shakes his head, sending his long braid swaying gently. "So was the sabers the other two had. Blade was pretty, I guess, but I did -not- like'the look'a those assholes."

Keeping an eye out for the others, Ian shrugs in what looks like resignation. "An Master Selak confided in me that he thinks he's gonna die." He frowns sharply, looking down at the floor, kicking at it irritably. "I'm guessin' that there ain' no coincidence b'twixt him sayin' that an me seein' these assholes."

Concerned, Alyx touches Ian's arm. "It will be ok. Come on, let's sit down." She goes to a spot on the floor and sits down and crosses her legs.

He nods slowly as he follows suit. Folding his legs he lets out a quiet breath, "Fuck me if I didn' know somethin' like this was'n gonna happen someday, though." His frown sharpens as he closes his eyes, the trickster and prankster he normally is having vanished and left behind a quiet, thoughtful young man.

She scoots over until their knees touch, and she puts a hand on his. "You mean, Master dying? Or having to face the evil he's been training us for?"

He squeezes her hand, "Both." He gives her a soft smile, looking amused, "Even took'the time ta work up'a seventy-three point plan. I told Master Selak 'bout points one through six." He pauses to take out the lightsaber hilt he'd been given, "Step one was weapons. Real lightsabers." He lets out another sigh as he puts the inactive hilt away. "I wonder how many points his plan has."

"Either way, it will be ok." She glances up as the other Jedi student/s arrive. "Ok, time for meditating." She waves them over with a smile.

Avi shoots a soft, approving glance at Taryn when he corrects himself. She doesn't answer him about botany, not wanting her brothers and sisters to linger on that too much, and instead urges him to find the cards. "Cards, yes. C'mon. Let's have some fun, please."

The twi'lek shrugs off all of Zepharo's suggestions, joining in the soft mockery. "Of course you wouldn't understand. His intentions are clear, my horned brother, and I shall bring light to your darkness." She makes an over the top swirl of hands, to help her sound preachy. " The test, in actuality, was to see if we were humble enough to understand that we are not yet ready to become a padawan. We failed when we accepted his challenge. Why, otherwise, would we have to face everything we faced if we were truly ready?" She dissolves her joke into a laugh as she eyes Piodas approaching.

"Oh, I'm sorry Piodas, but we already talked about what happened during our tests. You got here late." Her tone is rather taunting, albeit playfully so. " We arrived at the convoluted conclusion that we already are Jedi Knights. Yay." Zepharo's interjection makes her raise her eyebrow. What did he mean by that? "Sure..." She answers, clearly not sure. If he's implying that... Hm...

She clicks her tongue and looks at Taryn. "Did you find the cards, T? Zepharo's going to play with us. Apparently, he can listen really well. And you know how having sharp senses is important for cards." The twi'lek stretches her arms as she sits on the floor, and not wanting to give Zepharo the chance to bail, immediately speaks to Piodas. "Wanna play? The others are meditating. And sure, meditating is important, but don't you wanna see how the cool kids spend their time for once?"

Avi was the first one to reply about it... which just caused Piodas to use his right hand to scratch his right side just below his chin, he just listened for a bit and began to ponder about what she said about the conclusion... about being Knights... he was about to open his mouth but he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. He had strong opinions if it was really the conclusion they all reached... but he didn't want to reopen the subject once again.

In just a moment, he was invited to play some cards... while others were meditating... he felt for a moment that perhaps it would just make sense to meditate after the visions... but the taunt got into him for a moment... wasn't he a cool kid? what is their meaning of cool anyway? what else could be cooler than being a proper Jedi?

Taking a deep breath, he decided that it was better to just go with that flow and learn about this... it would allow him to understand better mundane things... although a Jedi often took priority to his duty, this time around he thought that his duty was on hold and no meditation was needed... yet.

"Very well... I'll play" he said as he approached them and took a sit "What exactly are we going to play?"

Zepharo casts a sideways glance at Avi, "You know I am a better card-player than I am a Jedi, yes, sister?", he edges up to the game.

Taryn has always found meditation more a chore than a source of calm, at the best of times.
"Come on, Alyx, you know me. Meditating about it is only going to stress me out even more."

He graciously thanks Evelynn for the burger, and resumes his quest for the cards. Overhearing Avi's conversation with Zeph, he interjects "I don't know... I feel like I learnt more despite his teaching than because of it. The Master may be a great Jedi and whatnot, but I just don't think he's very good at teacher."

"Did you find the cards, T?"

"No... Wait... maybe... Yes! Stuffed deep in Kit's backpack."
He grabs some drinks and sits down at the table.

"What exactly are we going to play?"

"Pauper's Sabacc." Taryn Replies, "Which is like regular Sabacc, but without the electronic bits that make the cards change, because I haven't found the parts for that."

When Evelynn comes to join them, Ian raises his hand in greeting. "Hey, nerd." He grins slightly, "Betcha didn' think you'd be hangin' out with me after all this crap, huh?" He does go along with meditative practices, but like always Ian's approach to meditation seems a little haphazard. By the end of it, he's calmer and more relaxed but it couldn't really have been called 'communing with the Force'.

Alyx smiles at Evelynn, the returns her attention to Ian. "Ok, I think we should do some alternative meditation today. Instead of seeking knowledge, or oneness with the universe, We are going to seek for personal acceptance of our place as one of countless creatures held within the Force." Her voice is soothing and firm, and an odd light touches her blue eyes that might be recognized as the trance-like presence Alyx often achieves when focusing. "There is nothing to fear: even death will not harm us when it arrives," she murmurs, reaching out to the part of the Force that, within her vaguest of memories, she recalls buoying her through the loneliness and isolation of space. "We are the Force. The Force is us. All connecting. Never ending."

Within her mind, she finds herself swimming in the void, lack of sensation but for the knowledge of transience and connection. All things she feels pulse within reality, the very fabric of space-time and the rippling pull of the stars drawing her inexorably within them.

Avi clicks her tongue out loud, as she looks mockingly offended by Zepharo for a moment. "But brother! Winning is not everything. Besides, I've been practicing." She proceeds to sit down at the table, crossing one of her legs under her another one as she leans her torso against the surface of the same, locking her elbow on it as she rests her chin on her hand. She seems surprised at Taryn for bringing drinks, but she does flash him a genuine smile.

She also chuckles at the nickname he gave the game. "It's because we're poor, in case you don't get it." She says, shooting a playful glance at Piodas. Avi proceeds to straight her back as she clasps her hands together. "So, a long time ago, the Jedi fought the Sith. While the battle for the balance was being fought, the ordinary people were, well, utterly bored. So they invented Sabacc. To play Sabacc is to carry on the sacred legacy of those people." She waves her hands around as she tries to be as mystical as possible, always looking at her brother's eyes with a large, feline smile. "So! As the Sabacc Master Idon'nou would say: Enough chitchat. Who's dealing?"

"Yeah," Ian mutters quietly under his breath, "ta kill us." As he settles in, trying to listen to Alyx and Evelynn's words, he slows his breathing. He's not paranoid, it's just that all the Jedi are dead and the last one they know about admitted to him that his death was a forgone conclusion. He's not paranoid, it's just that he'd seen a vision of the other side of the coin, that terrifying image of what sort of 'Jedi' were alive and well.
He breathes, trying to let go of these thoughts, or at least find some sort of resolution to them. The spiritual side of the Force had always been tricky for him. He believed in it, certainly, he'd be stupid not to. He trusted that it was real. But it was when anyone attributed a -will- to the Force that he got nervous. It felt like a contradiction. If there was a will then how could the Force even be used mistakenly? If there was a will then wasn't the logical conclusion that the Force -wanted- the Jedi to die out?
That's what was difficult. He hadn't been very old when he'd snuck aboard that shuttle but he knew loss, he knew death. And that's what troubled him the most is the reconciliation between the idea that the Force was all-powerful and the demonstrable fact that Death defeated it -every- time.

He heard the snap-hiss of the lightsabers in that cave in his mind again. Like a bell toll it focused his attention on that singular idea. Behind the fear and worry about the vision was an iron-clad resolve: to live.

With that his mind begins to clear, his emotions calm and after ten minutes of quiet contemplation he rises to his feet. "I need both yer help."