A Learning Experience (Krest)

[Abbigail Knight]

Abbigail was on Kinyen in search of something... Anything really. She had no idea, actually, what she was looking for, just that she had had an interesting dream a month back about coming to the agricultural planet and finding something, or someone, that would be very important to her future in some way. She didn't ever question such visions, she just wished she knew what it was she searched for. In her dream, it was represented by the face of what appeared, to her, to be a devil, except that it only had one arm and one leg. He was asleep, or waiting for something.. That's about all she could remember at this point, and she thought that it was extremely vague. Little did she know, the force had given her a rather spot-on description of what she was looking for, she just wasn't thinking about it in the right light.

With an exasperated sigh, after a particularly long day of finding nothing in a large, empty mountain range on good old Kinyen, Abbigail retired from her search, for the time being anyway. She located a small system of caves that she had come across earlier and delved deep into them. The place was actually fascinating, but poor Abbigail couldn't actually see all the wonderful colors that comprised the rocky walls; hues of green, red and purple, occasional spots of gold. It really would have been breathe taking...

She stopped in a small dead-end of a cave, having a seat and starting to meditate on what she had experienced on the planet of Kinyen so far. Maybe her dream had something to do with going underground, since it appeared to be a devil? Or maybe it wasn't a devil at all, and the whole thing had been a metaphor for some poisonous plant, which grew only one petal and one root? No, that would be ridiculous. All she really knew at this point was that she would much rather be back in the sorcerer's compound, learning about the force from some mysterious expert there. Though, she hadn't actually seen anyone from her faction, yet... For all she knew she could be the victim of a rather mean prank. As she waited, meditating in the cave, she lost track of time and several hours passed. As they did, she sensed that, soon, her search would come to an end. Even more exciting, she felt that some sort of adventure was on it's way to her. "Please tell me this isn't just wishful thinking?" She said aloud, her voice echoing through the caves.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Mountains were just jagged pieces of earth. Forced to the surface, forced to rise as the plates below the ground crashed into one another. They were born of violence, but the effects of the war below the surface took thousands of years to be shown. It was on these ledges born of a natural conflict that Krest stayed. Kinyen was another stop on his trip around the galaxy. This was by far his favorite spot though. Here among the peaks he communed with the earth, feeling the layers beneath his feet. This was a new skill to the Zabrak, but one he picked up quickly. The ground and him were one.

Fang, a Bha'lir, walked with Krest. He and the knight had their own bond, a bond made through the Force. What Fang felt, Krest felt. What Fang saw, Krest saw. The two had become one mind in two bodies. The tiger was large, coming up to the Zabrak's chest on all fours alone. The beast brushed up against Krest's tunic, a loud purr sounding off. Fang was happy to be here, and it only rebounded off of the Zabrak. They were alone on this mountain. Alone to grow stronger themselves.

Or so they thought. Krest felt it, something abnormal. The presence was not the earth, but a human. Well, a humanoid. He had no idea what specifically, but it was close. It took only a moment, but there it was, the cave entrance to the presence. He moved into the cave, following the signature he felt. Fang kept close, on edge. What ever could be in here they both wanted to know. Deus was on his hip in it's normal spot, so the Zabrak rested a hand lightly atop the swords handle. If what ever it was he found proved violent, he would be more then capable to deal with the threat.

But it was the girls voice that rang out. The question. Krest only blinked as he listened to @[member="Abbigail Knight"], unsure on what he should do. How he should answer. He cast a glance to his large cat buddy, raising a brow. Fang only nodded, motioning ahead. For the moment the female sounded less of a threat and more lost, and the Zabrak couldn't very well leave her be. He called out, answering her question as best he could at this point.

"Depends on what you're thinking about."

 

[Abbigail Knight]

@[member="Krest"]

Abbigail could vaguely make out the figure of the zabrak male slowly approaching; him and his large tiger friend that is. It put her on edge to see an armed man coming closer, with such a beast of an animal as his companion, but she forced herself to calm her nerves, as the force had surely guided her here for some reason other than to be killed in a random cave. If she were to die, there were plenty of other chances for it to happen already. No, the man with his hand on his sword only had it there because he was equally unsure of her appearance, or at least that was what she would have to assume, to avoid panicing.

When Abbigail finally heard the man's voice calling out, she was a bit surprised. Only in that she hadn't expected him to announce his presence to her, or answer what she had meant to be a rhetorical question. Clearly, he had better manners than she initially gave him credit for. "Well, I was thinking about a man with the visage of a devil.." She said, beginning to suspect that the man approaching, now, was who she was looking for; or at least would know who she spoke of. The force had a way of doing her little favors like that, from time to time. ".. And only one arm, and one leg too. Do you know a man like that?" Abbigail asked, not yet noticing that the Zabrak fit her description perfectly, as she was only getting a distorted view of him, through the cave walls.

"I believe the force has led me to this planet, to these mountains, to meet such a man." Abbigail continued, following up this last statement with complete silence, even her breathe was being carefully controlled so as to not make much noise at all. She didn't know why it felt so fitting to be so quiet after saying her piece, but she knew that it did feel that way, at least to her. She wondered, briefly, if maybe she was being too forward, or even perhaps too formal in her address, as she wasn't normally so calm and rational in her speech. But, in the end, she knew that questioning her actions too much would only lead to a flare-up of her indecisive nature, which was never pretty, so she kept her mind still on the matter. If she had mislead the man approaching her in any way, it would simply be remedied in the near future.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Well, I was thinking about a man with the visage of a devil.." Krest blinked, watching @[member="Abbigail Knight"]. A man who looked like a devil? What kind of premonition is that? His gaze drifted down to Fang. His thoughts weren't just his own, and the beast seemed to answer him. Krest for a moment saw himself in the large cats eyes, and it almost cause the Zabrak to burst out into laughter. So here was a girl looking for a devil man with one arm and one leg. A man like him.

"You know, I've been called Sith before more then once. But a devil? That's a new one for sure." His voice was calm, almost teasing. He stepped over to the girl slowly, slipping his hands behind his head. At this point in time there was no threat, not from her or anyone else in this cave. At least, if he was the devil in her 'dreams'. He wasn't dismissing her premonitions, in fact he trusted her words about it. The Force was always working in ways he didn't understand, and he always preferred it that way.

Fang kept in the distance, not wanting to overwhelm the girl with multiple people approaching. The point was not to be a threat, and it was something the Zabrak wanted to be sure he wasn't. He kept his hands visible, nodding to Abbigail. If it was indeed him she saw in her dreams, he wanted to know the purpose himself.

 

[Abbigail Knight]

When the Zabrak male began to laugh, Abbigail too started up, though in more of a light giggle than anything. She didn't know what was amusing, but she always found laughter to be rather infectious. Plus, she was relieved, for now, that the man wouldn't be any sort of danger to her. With her eyes still closed, Abbigail stopped herself briefly from the giggling she had started up, so that she could speak, "Yes, with the red and black face, and the horns, one could say you look like one. A devil, that is." Abbigail smiled warmly now, and as she finished speaking she would lay down on the cold, hard ground; surprisingly she seemed comfortable.

"Are you a sith, by the way? I'm sorry if asking seems a bit forward, it's just that you mentioned it... And I can't quite make out your aura, for some reason. It seems more troubled, than anything." She wanted to know, in other words, if she could trust this man. Depending on whose side he was on, of course, meant she would trust him in different ways... If he were a jedi, she would trust him not to attack her if he ever felt like it. If he were a sith, she would trust him not to mind her being an apprentice sorcerer and escaped slave. Of course, in this equation she was simply generalizing the terms 'jedi' and 'sith' to mean light side and dark side. Had she spent more time with Barnik, she would have known that was a wrong assumption to make.

"Lovely tiger, by the way... I can see the connection between you to, it's truly beautiful in my opinion. Could you... Maybe... Teach me how to craft one such bond?~"

 

[Darth Ferus]

The Zabrak leaned on the cave wall beside him. Troubled? That was a new description he had yet to hear about his aura. He hoped it wasn't troubled, more neutral and in balance. His troubled aura... Troubled him. But he hook his head clear, and towards her first question. "I am no Sith, but I am no Jedi either. I was a Templar, those who choose to neither push themselves to be better then human emotions nor lower themselves to the primitive beast all of us have in side."

Fang, who was nodding along in agreement suddenly stopped, casting a glare at Krest's back when he said beast. The large cat moved up behind him, smacking the back of his head with a massive paw. Krest stumbled forward from the hit, clearly off balance. But he only stumbled for a moment, catching himself on a rock conveniently jutting out. Well, a rock he himself pulled out. He grinned for a moment, waving a hand without even looking at the cat as the floor Fang was standing on suddenly shook, causing the cat to stumble around.

The two remained silent afterwards, Krest with a massive grin on his face. The two were communicating through their minds, and it showed with their body language. It took a moment, but Krest finally turned his gaze back to [member="Abbigail Knight"], nodding his head. "I can show you how to commune with an animal and then some. It all depends on what you want to learn."

 

[Abbigail Knight]

"Oh, I see! That makes sense, it explains why I can't really tell... You must have a fairly neutral stance, in regards to the force, then, don't you?" Abbigail asked, finding herself very interested in pretty much all aspects of the man she was witnessing now, but whether that was because of her vision or because she was just naturally curious was hard to tell. She stood up, slowly, about to go give a formal greeting to the man, when she saw him pull up a stone to catch himself, after he made a careless comment in front of his comrade, who wasn't too happy about it. It seemed playful enough, though, as it didn't look like any damage was done, so Abbigail wasn't worried.

She was, however, extremely interested in whatever it was that the man had just done. "Wh-what was that? That didn't look like levitation, you pulled the stone up to meet you! That's.. amazing!" She was becoming more and more excited about meeting this man, especially now that he had offered to teach her how to use the force, in some ways at least. Getting a bit carried away, Abbigail marched boldly up to the Zabrak and looked up at his face; or at least appeared to do so based on the new position of her head. "Well, if it depends on how much I want to know, I think you'll be very busy with me, mr... What is your name?~ Anyway, it's because.." With a dramatic pause, and a bit of a snicker, Abbigail turned her back on the man and gestured out towards the cave, arms outstretched as if to address many people, or many things for that matter. "I want to learn it all!~ I wanna become the best at the force!~" The childish way she spoke of such an intricate, vast, and much unknown thing was almost... cute. Like a child who wishes to know everything there is to know in the world.

Turning around again to face the Zabrak once more, Abbigail spoke up with a determined look on her face, "So, mister!~ Will you teach me what you know?~ Anything at all would be nice.. I don't even know the basics. Oh, and let me introduce myself properly!" Abbigail stood up straight now, bringing her feet together and clasping her hands in front of her in an innocent-looking pose. "My name is Abbigail Knight, I'm a Miraluka!" As she said this, she opened her eyes to show that she actually had none, and simply had two empty sockets in her head. She waited a moment before closing them again, to make sure that the Zabrak would have enough time to see. It would likely come as a surprise to him, as well, considering the few interactions she'd had with people who knew her true race, so she remained silent to allow him to process the information. Apparently, Miralukas were supposed to be an extremely rare, almost mythological people nowadays. Which made sense, since she had only ever seen a small colony of them herself, on a small planet in the outer territories of space.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest had opened his mouth to speak, but he promptly shut it, blinking at [member="Abbigail Knight"] . Needless to say the girl was weird. He nodded on as she spoke, leaning in close to Fang. The big cat suddenly snickered, and it was clear the Zabrak made a comment about how the girl acted to his big furry friend. Krest was paying attention however, watching her movements, her reactions. And her eyes. Those caught him off guard more then anything else. Just the sheer lack of eyes, the empty voids. It sent a small shiver up his spine.

Fang was the first to nudge him out of his small shiver though, nodding his head back to the girl. Right, she introduced herself. "Krest, just that." Krest didn't have a last name. Probably weird to others, but to him all he needed was the name. A name of strength. Her over eagerness was.. Exciting for the Zabrak. Someone who wanted nothing more then to learn, and become a master of all. A good goal, one he'd assist her in if he could.

But, she was too eager. Krest was a stranger still, and she was just trusting his word. So he reached out, flicking her forehead suddenly. "First lesson, don't go trusting random strangers. Even if the Force guided you here to me, don't assume the dream is a good thing. It'll get you killed. And if you die, how can you learn anything let alone become the best at everything?" His words were playful, and he was smiling. Her happiness was rubbing off on the Iridonian, and he was alright with it.

 

[Abbigail Knight]

"Ooooh, Krest, huh?~ Is that so! Well how fancy! You don't have a last name.. I'd suggest you go purchase one, but I hear they cost an arm and a leg!~" Abbigail paused for a moment, waiting to see how the Zabrak would respond to her little joke, or if he would even catch it, before reeling backwards and starting to laugh like mad. Of course, when Krest spoke again, starting with the words 'first lesson', she immediately perked up, only now realizing that she had been flicked on the forehead. She gave a small pout and started rubbing the spot that the Zabrak had made contact with, sticking her tongue out just a bit at the man.

"Well... Meh!" She protested, before starting to giggle again as she saw Krest starting to smile. "I can't help it!~ That's just how I've always been.. I trust people not to hurt me, unless I give them a good reason... Or unless they have a really bad aura... Or are a Gammorrean.. Smelly, fat meanies."

Abbigail sighed lightly. She did see the man's point, in the end, and nodded her head. She wasn't sure how she would manage to not just trust people, without starting to question everyone, that is. But perhaps that was the way of the world, and she just didn't know it yet. Whatever the case, she smiled again and held out a hand to Krest. "Besides, you're no stranger. You're Krest!~ And you're nice to me, so... But I do see your point, master. I guess I do have to learn not to trust everyone I meet.. It's just so hard to think poorly of people. I always see the best in them! Or I try to anyway." She nodded quickly as she finished speaking, a determined gesture meant to show that she understood the man, but also didn't plan on changing the fact that she liked to see the good in everyone. Though, she would be a bit less blindly trusting. "Okay!~ Now, I'm ready for lesson 2!~ What do I get to learn?~"

 

[Darth Ferus]

His smile faded at the joke, his lips formed into a frown. This was a ruse, but he figured she might believe the frown, especially when he turned his back on her. He crosses his arms over his chest, winking at Fang before he spoke out, his voice rough, forcibly annoyed. He wasn't an actor, but he thinks that he could be one if he tried. "You know, insulting your master wont get you trained. For Jedi, you'd be scolded about treating your elders better. Sith would beat you."

He turns on his foot, flicking her head again. The smile was back, forming almost into a grin. "Good thing I'm neither right?" He offered [member="Abbigail Knight"] a wink before continuing on. "This cave is large, beautiful. Solid walls run down by water. I can't show you how I moved the earth, not yet at least. But first we need to unlock the Force in you. Meditation is the best way, so you're going to have to sit for this one."

He'd turn, motioning to the vastness that was the cave. This wasn't the first person he's taught how to feel the Force, and hopefully it wouldn't be his last. The thought thrilled him however, helping make another stronger. Especially this one. Abbigail seemed far too trusting and nice, but she had some common sense, and hopefully she could work on that. Hopefully before someone breaks that trust. A shadow of a grimace formed on his face as his thoughts traveled, but he dismissed them with a shake of his head.

"You have an advantage with how you see, a basic understanding on how to feel the Force. But for this you're going to have to let it flow through you, feel the Force and let it become one with you. Feel everything in this cave, not just see."

 

[Abbigail Knight]

At first, Abbigail seemed very worried that she had said something wrong. She fell for the Zabrak's little act very easily, that is, and was just about to raise her hand in an attempt to stop the man from walking away, or whatever he was about to do when he suddenly turned around. The motion was so fast she couldn't quite manage to react to it as his arm thrust forward, aiming straight at her face. And then she felt the flick on her forehead, and her overactive imagination calmed down almost immediately. She was just about to panic, thinking she was under attack, but all along it was just a little practical joke that her new master was playing on her. "Hah.. Good one, master Krest!~ You got me really good!~"

Now, as she listened to Krest talk about the beauty of the cave and explain that she would need to meditate. She took a seat as soon as he suggested that she would need to do so, quickly taking up the position she had for the years she spent on Coruscant. Miraluka were naturally aware of the force, and she liked to meditate for relaxation, but even despite her 'superior' connection to the force, she had never quite thought of using the meditation to get more connected with the force, even though that was pretty much the most basic way to do it. She took a deep breathe, attempting, now, to close herself off from the outside world, while paying minor attention still to her master.

It was difficult, Abbigail was trying very hard, now, to force a deeper connection, to make the force flow through her -- rather than simply let it do so, as it would have if she simply understood. She was straining noticeably to do this, clenching her fists and biting her lip, starting to get heated and frustrated that it wasn't working. Every time she seemed about ready to give up, though, she managed to calm herself down again and re-try, starting from the beginning. She kept making the same mistake over and over though, it was obvious that she didn't quite understand how she was supposed to do this, as she was repeatedly trying to shove her way into the connection. "M-master.. I can't... It's not working.."

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest plopped down across from [member="Abbigail Knight"] , leaning against his furry friend. The two shared their own personal conversation, a mix of emotions plain on their faces. For what ever reason, the big tiger seemed out of place, casting a glance to the exit and back to the Zabrak. Maybe there were other people around. Hunters probably. The Zabrak himself frowned, scratching his chin before turning to watch the girl. She was so focused, straining. Doing it clearly the wrong way.

"Kid, you can't force it. The Force will come to you on it's own. Flow through you like water through a pipe. You have to keep the end open through serenity, not clamped tight through strain. Otherwise, the Force will avoid you." He spoke calmly, arms crossed over his chest. At this point it was a matter of guiding Abbigail to the goal, not much else he could do.

 

[Abbigail Knight]

Abbigail took a deep breathe, her exhale sounding much more like a sigh than anything as she listened to Krest's instruction on what she was supposed to do. It made little sense to her, since she had not been with her people long enough to be taught even the more basic knowledge of the force. She couldn't quite understand how she could just let the force flow through her, but at the same time she felt like she did. She recalled the visions, little snaps of the future -- or past -- that had guided her all throughout her life. Those had come to her through the force, and she had not sought it out even once. Perhaps she needed to focus less on the force, less on everything, for that matter.

Abbigail calmed her mind, breathing slowly now and removing her emotions, eagerness, and confusion from the equation. She felt herself slowly emptying, and she thought that was probably a good thing. Excitement welled up inside of her as she thought she might be close to a breakthrough, but she had to force herself to calm down again, until she stopped really thinking altogether. Or at least she seemed to, thoughts weren't forming in her head as they normally would -- rather, she was simply aware of everything around her. She could see, or feel, the tiger and her new master sitting across from her, even though she had closed herself off from her force vision and her concious, reflexive mind. She also sensed something now, some presence outside that she had not noticed before with just her vision, however she had already reached a state of emptiness that prevented her from reacting as she normally would; which would have been mixed fear and curiousity.

It was clear that Abbigail had reached a state of meditation now, as she seemed extremely calm and closed off externally, though those skilled in the force could easily tell she had reached a level of awareness that they were likely familliar with, themselves, from the times they meditated. It wasn't anything as fancy or impressive as floating meditation, at least not just yet, but it was definitely the meditation she had trying to achieve. The whole process that Abbigail had gone through to get to this point after her initial failure had only taken about a dozen minutes, which was fairly good for an initiate such as herself. She was a fast learner, after all.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The presence outside seemed to multiply, forming into three. What ever they were, they came. Into the cave mouth they went, hunting, searching. [member="Abbigail Knight"] would be the first to feel them, for Krest even though Krest was scanning for intruders himself, he was not in the deep meditative state Knight was in. But the presence was felt by Krest soon enough. He moved over to the girl, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder and shaking her.

"We have to move now." His voice was hushed, and Fang nosed her arm as the big cat went by. The Bha'lir ran down the hallway, quiet as a soft breeze, searching if the cave had a second outlet. Krest himself seemed on edge, one hand visibly paler from his grip on the handle of his blade Deus. What ever was going on, Krest seemed to know enough to be visibly worried.

 

[Abbigail Knight]

Abbigail was watching the hunters, or more like feeling them, with growing interest, wondering why they were stumbling into the caves so noisily. What she didn't realize is that they were actually being quite sneaky indeed, she was just so at one with the force at the moment that she could feel everything it touched around her. It was too much for her, though, the distractions became too numerous, and even as she was being roused by Krest she had been broken out of her own meditation by her inability to focus well enough. The ground was a particular nuisance, her contact with it had grown very bothersome. She would have to learn how to either eliminate outside stimuli, or eliminate that distraction. Maybe she would try floating next time... She'd heard rumors of that.

Whatever the case, Abbigail was awake now, and back to her normal self, which of course meant she was confused and worried deeply about the current state of things, especially after seeing the look on Krest's face. "W-what's going on, master?" Abbigail asked, whispering. She was personally worried that the hunters who were now coming through the cave's entrance were actually Gammorreans, come at last to take her back into slavery. She could not have that, and the look of worry grew heavy on her face. She stood immediately, looking around with her force vision in an attempt to see through the cave walls to some sort of exit, but she wasn't having much luck. Perhaps Fang would find something, beyond what she could see with all of the walls in the way. Being able to see through things like they were translucent only got her so far, after all.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest shook his head slowly as he looked at [member="Abbigail Knight"] . He placed a finger to his lips, motioning to where Fang went. "Go with him, do not stop." The Zabrak himself would go towards the presences, soon drifting from view. Abbigail would be left alone at this point and with a choice. Listen to her mater, stay put, or go with Fang.