A Journey has to start someplace(Satara)

[Aston Jacobs]

if he wasn't always scolded by his unusual runs and activities throughout the forest. It would be his inability to sleep and actually find comfort in sleep which was a downfall for him. Sometimes he often thought that that his life would be shortened because he never got enough rest, hardly ever. Night had just drifted across the Singing Mountain Clan domain and here the young man stood outside in the cold. Not because he didn't feel welcome, or because it was cold.

He just couldn't sleep...again.

Winter was coming, that was evident enough as slowly the snowflakes began to drift among him. Some fires were lit around to those that lingerer on the outside. There weren't many, but just enough so that he couldn't be called a fool for staying on the outside. And there was the other thing...

The cold didn't affect him, like hardly.

While he wasn't sleeping, for however brief a time it was. Aston was doing anything and everything possible to help throughout. Aston returned to Dathomir just recently as he needed to come back to his roots and just breathe, which meant a lot more than it actually sounded. So for now, Aston stood with his arms crossed staring deep into the fire like he was expecting it to do something else other than sway back and forth and flicker when he moved the embers around it. Still, it was a good night.


@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

When everyone was fast asleep, Satara found time to do the more peaceful and more personal things. When she was little, she did this a lot. Stayed awake at night and played in the forest. She would make things for herself, dolls, so she could play with them. She could never do that during the day. Oh no, when the sun was out, she either trained or accompanied her mother. And later, she hardly had energy left after the training her aunts had put her through. It had been years since she had wandered off to the outskirts of their territory and just made things. Perhaps it was an echo of the past, something she could do to remind her of quieter times. She still remembered perfectly how Pa'tre had taught her.

She had made two of them tonight. Picking them up in her hands, Satara rose from the ground. She only now realized it was snowing. The Witch smiled. Sure, there was magic that could make it snow. Illusions, Element manipulation. Nothing she was foreign to. But the real thing was so much better. On her way back, she caught a fire burning. It didn't take her long to realize who was standing in front of the fire. Her youngest. He wasn't much of a sleeper either.

Slowly moving towards him, the Witch rose her free hand and concentrated on the Force, summing Telekinesis. The embers of the fire slowly rose and circled the air above the fire as she approached Aston. "Can't sleep again?"

@[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

His eyes closed slowly as he took a breath of the cool night air, and then slowly exhaled. Aston opened his eyes and then watched his own air drift off into the unknown places of Dathomir. All the while wondering what was going on in that crazy galaxy. Still young and had been through quite a lot already. A formation is what then caught his eyes, and his full attention. Aston looked to the fire and watch as it circled around. The young man smiled and then cocked his head to the side. He felt her presence, the presence of his mother. And then he heard her voice and then he let out a small chuckle.

"I haven't slept the past 3 nights." Aston turned to face his mother and give a small incline of his head in respect. "Sleep can be overrated sometimes...."

"What keeps you out this late, Ma'dri?"

@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

Three whole nights? Satara came to her son's side. The embers slowly fell back into the fire while her current connection to the Force faded. Apparently, sleep could be overrated. "Perhaps. A little. But you need the energy if you wish progress," she pointed out flatly. Something she had learned in her own growing up.

What kept her up this late? The Witch raised her hand and showed Aston the two dolls she had made from straws. "Something I used to do when younger than you. Your grandfather taught me how to make them." Her children knew her father had been there until her earlest double diget years though to them, he had merely passed away. Satara spoke rarely of Tocho. Sometimes, it was a bit to hard to bring him up, to remember. But the dolls reminded her of a happier time, that should talk of.

@[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

Aston glanced back to the fire and thus as the embers fell back in their rightful place, his smile however still remained. "Of course, its the only way to progress." While much had been on the young man's mind, whether or not his mother could sense it or not, he wasn't going to dwell into that right now. While he had much that he wanted to do, and so much of it. However he wouldn't be able to do that without a little bit of help. Aston knelt down and used a stick that was on the ground using that to rustle the pile just briefly. "Mother...." Aston said in plain words as he leaned against the stick for a moment, with the other end just being hot so this was no problem.

"I need your help, you can allow me the time. I request to be trained, I have received training from a Jedi Master and even one Force user that had was Rogue. Can you help me?"

@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

Her mismatched eyes watched her son carefully as kept his smile on and focused on the embers falling down. She imagined that after three whole nights of sleeping, there would probably be things on his mind but Satara had promised long ago that she would never even try to invade her children's minds or emotions. They would tell her these things when they were ready.

And he did call out to her again, beginning his long request. Satara's brow arched at the size of said request. He needed her help, if she would allow him the time. He wanted to be trained. She smiled now and shook her head. "Such a long demand for something I've been waiting to you to tell me long before the Jedi took you away from me," she told him simply. Perhaps Spencer and Aston would not remember but when they were little, Satara began telling them of the magic but before their training could properly take place, the Jedi had come for them.

She was curious about one thing though. "What did this Rogue person teach you?"

@[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

Aston felt a bit guilty at his mothers words. While he wasn't regretting his time with learning the Jedi had taught him,yet he knew that he wanted to learn first from his family. Would you call Aston, homesick, that wasn't quite it. The best place to start was home, and with that he would return as he did now and learn from the one who gave birth to him.

"I'm truly sorry it took so long mother. But I'm here now and ready to learn everything you can bestow upon me." Aston smiled as he looked to her and then she asked a question about the Rogue.

"To be quite honest, I can't quite remember what he was. I know he was very gifted in the ways of the force. Spencer had requested that he train me, specifically. The lightsaber form Soresu,some subtleties of the force and..........Nonetheless, I appreciated everything he offered me as far as the force and lightsaber combat tactics."

@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

The clan mother smiled softly at her youngest. He had mistaken her words into thinking she wanted an apology. That wasn't it. Raising her free hand, the mother fixed a lose curl on his forehead. "No need to apologize. I was just reminiscing." It was nothing that couldn't be fixed.

He didn't remember who the Rogue was. Just that he was very gifted in the ways of the Force, someone Spencer had requested for him. He had taught her son certain thing. "Alright then, well, that's good." Her mind stored away the little details, about his lightsaber tooth, things within the Force. Perhaps that would come up for now.

For now, there were other things to be done. "Now, about your training. Go rest and and when you wake up, we'll start." And as soon as she said it, Satara gave him her 'don't wanna hear it' face. That was how it had to be. He hadn't slept in three nights, even attempting his Trial at that point would be extremely dangerous.

@[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

He smiled softly at his mother and glanced at the ground for a moment before looking back to her. He chuckled lightly at her face that she made after she mentioned, well much more than that to get some rest. "I'll see you in the morning, sleep well mother." Aston bowed his head lightly in great respect to her and made his way towards his own small, rightly small hovel he had created for himself. A nice sturdy place, good enough for him, to stay warm, with a fire and just enough for ventilation. He laid back on the small mat and took a deep breath laying on his back with a small fire going a few paces from him. Actually getting a good nights rest as the dawn crept up on him several hours later, he looked up towards the ceiling and then next to him was a scroll that he immediately reached for and opened and started to look over the words, repeating them in his mind over and over.

Aston stood up and got dressed rather quickly holding the scroll in his hand. He quickly made his way towards the forest, the wind was blowing rather nicely as he made his way towards his spot on the edge of the waterfall, a rocky cliff overlooking it. It seemed like the perfect place to call upon the elements.

@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

The Witch had followed her advice, retreating to her home. It barely took moments after she lay next to her mate for sleep to take her but it would last only a few hours. When she opened her eye again, it was still dark. Satara got up ever so quietly and left her bedroom, quickly going through her collection of scrolls. While Madoc had long since made a small book for her to write scrolls in, she kept the scrolls themselves in perfect condition for her children. When she had found the right one, she got dressed and left house, made her way to the small one Aston had made herself. There, she barely opened her doors before her palm faced up, holding the scroll. Focusing quietly, she let the Force hover to scroll inside, landing just at her son's side before she closed the doors and left him there.

After that, she had gone to do choirs needed to be done for the morning before the clan would rise to their feet and fill the space with their voices and life. Satara worked best in this time.

When all that had been done, she headed to the Forrest where Nadie was already waiting for her. Her rancor friend always knew, sometimes better than others what Satara's routine was. Approaching the creature, she smiled widely and knelt down, gently petting her head. Nadie enjoyed that, throwing back her head and softly growling. "Ashton will be here soon. It's time for his Trial." Nadie understood, turned her head towards Satara, gently nuzzling her head into the Witch's neck. "I know, I'm happy too."

Nadie perked up suddenly, making her look around. Aston was arriving, scroll in his hand. Satara just kept a smile on her face as she stood up then sat on Nadie's back, leaning slightly on the rancor's neck. Her companion didn't move an inch then as Satara settled, making sure she wasn't in any way harming her friend. She didn't speak, merely, smiled at Aston as he approached and then gave him a nod. He could begin when he was ready.

@[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

Aston approached and he could see his mother and Nadie, the Rancor whom Aston was always happy to see. The young man looked to his mother and gave her a small nod and a big smile as he then looked to the small cliff that was just overlooking the waterfall. The young man came here often, well as often as one could when he wasn't busy helping the clan with pretty much anything that needed to be done. He didn't speak to his mother yet, not wanting to disappoint her, and then he felt and knew that he would not do so. He moved to the cliff and then took a deep breath as he looked over the edge and down towards the water.

"Allya give me courage, courage to do the task before me." Aston muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes and held his hands together directly in front of him. "Dammi la forza e il potere di controllare i piani elementali, e vieni sotto il mio controllo, come vedo in forma. Allya grant me the beginning power so I can protect my home." Aston trembled slightly just as sweat began to appear on his brow as a slight wind began to blow. The energy seemed to pull back and forth around him and it was so strong. His mind wandered as his sister Spencer came flashing through his mind. It was strange, he hadn't felt her presence in the longest time. In some ways he felt her to be in trouble, in despair and then there were time of happiness. Aston trembled more as he looked up to the sky and it began to drizzle just lightly for a few seconds. and then stopped. Aston immediately pressed his hands together once more calling upon that power. "Dammi la forza e il potere di controllare i piani elementali, e vieni sotto il mio controllo, come vedo in forma."

And there it was again, Spencer, her face crossed his mind again. Why this was happening and now of all times it was unclear. While he shook and trembled lightly as if there was some dark demon before him and while he was aware that it was supposed to get easier. It sure didn't seem like it as the light rain began to fall once more, just briefly and as it stopped once more the young man burst into words again. It felt as this entity was calling to him and challenging him, forcing him to go into this continues form, while an hour he had, just ten minutes had passed thus far. "Dammi la forza e il potere di controllare i piani elementali, e vieni sotto il mio controllo, come vedo in forma."

The rain continued again as Aston looked up to the sky with the light rain falling upon them. That was when he felt the taste of blood reached his mouth. Aston raised his hand to his face and he was bleed from his nose. Aston wiped the blood away that was slowly flowing, he didn't turn to face his mother. He just assumed this was something that he would fight through. The light rain cast upon his skin and the rocky cliff the blood flowing with the water along his hand and dripped down to the cliff surface. He brought his hand together once more as his mouth moved slowly declaring the words out again. "Dammi la forza e il potere di controllare i piani elementali, e vieni sotto il mio controllo, come vedo in forma." As it seemed it was supposed to get easier, it much felt like it was getting harder, even to breath. Aston pressed his hands together as his whole body shook almost violently.

Where did you go Spencer...?

Another image flashed through his mind as cleared his throat and his breathing became labored. Fifteen more minutes had passed as he grasped his hands together and muttered the words again once the rain stopped, Aston shouted the chant again, it echoing through the forest. "Dammi la forza e il potere di controllare i piani elementali, e vieni sotto il mio controllo, come vedo in forma." Aston grunted slightly as he felt a small tinge in his chest just as he started to cough a little bit. Rain started up once more, slowly at first and then started to come down just a little bit more as Aston fell forward on his knees and his hands touched the rocky surface to keep himself from hitting the ground. He coughed again and then again as spit up some blood right there on the cliff, and then he started to breath heavier, and then it lessened and he finally looked up ignoring the blood that was in front of him, or on his mouth and the bloodshot eyes that now had. The rain didn't stop and kept going, and Aston Jacobs just looked up to the sky and let the rain wash everything away at that point.

@[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

There was something. Satara couldn't quite tell what but the Force told her there was something bouncing off her son. Inhaling deep, she sent a thought to his mind: 'You need to concentrate, hi'jo.' Whatever it was that was distracting him was dangerous. All distractions were when performing spells, especially once's first. A single wrong though could direct spells differently, harm the caster. Compared to spells, Force Powers were easy. Spell could harm, even kill the caster if they weren't careful.

She had hoped her words would be enough and she let go, falling quiet while her eyes remained on her son. But when he fell to the ground and coughed, Satara didn't much care for the rain as she bolted to her feet and ran to Aston.

"Aston!" Satara called out his name as dropped to her knees, reaching her hands out to him, ignoring the drops of rain falling over them both now. "Aston, are you alright?"

[member="Aston Jacobs"]

 

[Aston Jacobs]

Aston spit what was left of the blood out on the rocky surface and just watched for a moment as it mixed with the water and floated off to some place among them. He really hated that, he really hated that, that happened. If there was one thing he didn't want to do, he didn't want to look weak in front of his mother. You could call it pride or call it whatever you want, but he hated himself in that moment. And his mother might have been able to see it.

Aston cleared his throat a few time and then took a few deeps breaths and finally nodded his head and spoke. "I'm okay, mother. I just got a little distracted." He looked to his mother and nodded his head just slightly. He reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I swear it won't happen again."

[member="Satara Hawk"]

 

[Satara Hawk]

[member="Aston Jacobs"] spit a bit of blood, causing her to frown. Her son told her he was okay but instead of listening to him, she noticed a bit of blood still remaining on the corner of his lips and picked up the edge of her cloak, wiping off what was left as he confessed getting distracted.

"You can't get distracted. Spells are dangerous. You need to concentrate only on the now, on what you're doing," Satara warned him again, worry still plastered all over her face. She squeezed his hand right back and offered the tinniest of smile. She knew he could do this but he needed to concentrate, to think of nothing else as he did this. When he gave her his word, she got up and pulled away, offering a small nod. "Alright, take a moment and then try again."