A Padawan Potluck [Padawan Clans]

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili entered the dining hall cautiously, ceramic pot held tightly in his grasp. He'd not worn his Padawan robes, instead opting to wear his normal clothing with the dragon clan symbol pinned to his shirt...he hadn't really felt like much of a padawan in the last few months. Not with Axxila becoming Sith territory after the dissolution of the Mandalorian Empire...or atleast the bulk of it. He wasn't sure if there were a few bucket heads still walking around like they were about to manifest their destiny in about 19 different types of blaster bolts at anything that moved.

He wasn't sure why Axxila was bothering him. It wasn't like it was a good home. In all honesty he'd already vowed never to step foot on its 'surface' (in so much as a hive planet can have one) for the rest of his days. But he still found himself wondering, often at length, what must have changed since the take over. The Undercity was probably fine; being a den of thieves and criminals somewhat insulated it from the trials of a regime change. Didn't really matter to a Hutt who was in charge, so long as they stayed out of their way when it came to business. He wondered how his siblings were doing...

Kaili shook his head to banish the thought, hood falling back as he did so. He'd spent the last few months cooped up in his room, absorbing whatever info news feeds could gleam of his home world (very little, which he guessed was good news) and training by himself in the late hours of the night (with similar results). Sighing he pushes his way through the crowd towards the dinning table, whispering hushed apologies and as he occasionally bumps into folk before finally making it to his target.

Wordlessly he places the ceramic pot down, wondering if he should...leave a note explaining what it is? He doubted anyone was going to eat it anyway...most jedi seemed to be rather well to do. So something like this might be seen as inedible to their more refined tastes. Carefully he opened the lid, the smell of root vegetables and meats immediately slamming into the room with the weight of a bantha in a puff of steam.

Back home they called this Waste Plant stu, an eclectic mixture of discarded organs (in this case, non-sentient ones) various local fungi and whatever vegetables that could be found. All cooked at a low heat in soup stock until it basically resembled something that would pour of...well, a waste treatment plant.

Kaili wasn't....100% sure what was in this one. He'd raided the kitchens the night before late, taking whatever materials he could that smelled ok or looked familiar. He knew bantha tongue was in there....somewhere. Or it was at one point. At this point the globs of meat that intermixed with globs of fungi where basically indistinguishable from one another. The vegetables were nowhere to be seen, having thoroughly deteriorated into the biomass of the stew long ago.

Setting the stew aside he quickly grabbed a roll and backed away from the counter, deciding it was probably for the best he clear the area until everyone had grabbed their fill. A lot easier to sneak left overs back to his room when everyone was too full to notice afterall.

 

[Nida Perl]

Nida’s apprehension died down as she watched the young blonde scarf down a cookie, noting her more even demeanor after having a snack. “No need to apologize.” She gave Jamie room to speak, delighting in the other Padawan’s enthusiasm. While an anxious person by nature, Nida’s own nerves had calmed somewhat with training. Settling nicely into the role of a Jedi learner and using her skill as a healer had helped to keep her mind focused elsewhere. This young woman, similar in age to the Zeltron, reminded Nida very much of herself when she’d first arrived to Kashyyyk. Nida may not be a nervous talker, but she certainly was excitable when it came to her own interests and passions.

“A pleasure to meet you, Jamie.” She offered a smile by way of greeting. “I was not present on Hapes, but I am glad to hear that you and your brother are out of danger, and decided to join us here on Kashyyyk.” Dark pink eyes glanced around their vicinity briefly to see if she could identify the brother, before they settled back onto Jamie. “How are you faring so far? Why don’t we try more of the food—” Gesturing to the banquet table spanning out in front of them, Nida had picked up on Jamie’s hunger. “—and you can tell me about what made you pursue the path of the Jedi. Maybe we can find out which clan you’d be best suited to that way!”

[member="Jamie Lysle"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Red picked up a piece of food and looked at it. He couldn't recognize what it was, he had never seen it before. It was something new, something different.

"What in the world is this monstrosity?" Red wondered aloud to himself. Red continued to examine this strange piece of food.

"I've never seen anything like this before."

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"I would, were I just a Jedi," he explained to Siggy while the tray was loaded up. "As it happens, I am also hungry and I've got a sweet tooth, so that's two against one right there."

Once they all found a place to sit, Thurion scooted into the corner to sit beside his granddaughter and oversee the large room. Already those who had joined him began to dig in, him being no exception, stuffing their faces with all the goodies they could imagine. For the aged Jedi Master, it was liberating to indulge in such childish behaviour for once; not just to hear the sweet laughter of his grandchild, but to finally do what he wished he'd done many decades ago when he was a just boy training to become a Jedi. Yes, even Thurion Heavenshield was once young.

"Of course - Ura, come join us!" He waved the Lervon over to sit at their round table littered with baked goods, right before he found a sugary doughnut to bite into, covering his lips and beard in its sticky sweetness. Days later he would still find crumbs and grains of sugar.

By the end of their frenzy, he sat leaning back against the wall in a bit of a daze. At Thora's suggestion that her tummy was as big as his, Thurion lazily poked at her belly to make her squirm and squeal with laughter. He then patted his own. "Methinks the young lady has some growing to do first," he chuckled.

But then he leaned forward, hands clasped together upon the table as he looked each of them in the eye. "Cherish this time, when you are young and still learning about how the world works. When your only concern is your training and, when the time comes, passing your trials. This moment will never come again. So please, cherish it." Grandpa took Thora's delicate hand and placed a kiss upon it.

If his end was soon to come, he wanted her to remember him with joy.

[member="Sigyn Vanir"] | [member="Ura Iolar"] | [member="Milla Caranthyr"] | [member="Thora Heavenshield"]​

 

[Kyra Perl]

The only warning Nina would have was the sudden clatter of feet behind her. Kyra collided into her, wrapping around her back in nothing short of an awkward hug. Kyra squeezed her tightly all the same.

“Nida,” She breathed, utterly aware that she had crashed a conversation and careless all the same. This was her sister after all. And she had run quite the distance across campus to make it in time to see her.

One would usually expect immediate cheerful prattle from her, but nah, a good deep hug and catching her breath served her well enough. It wasn’t often enough that they could cross paths, and certainly it felt like Kyra had grown even more since their last encounter. She now dwarfed her older sister in both height and weight, and while it was a subtle difference, it was there all the same. Kyra hugged even tighter, pressing her face into her Nida’s shoulder blade and inhaling.

She hummed, releasing Nida and giving the girl Nida had been speaking to an apologetic smile. “Sorrry, I crashed something, didn’t I? Been a while,” she explained off, plopping into the seat besides Nida and snatching up a cookie. “Right! No! Don’t mind me. What’s going on? How are you? Carry on!” She picked up a cookie and placed it in front of Nida as well, practically bouncing in her seat.

[member="Jamie Lysle"]
[member="Nida Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

(Eek, it double posted. Mb)

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Red continues to examine the strange piece of food.

"This looks like what most people call a 'sweet'. It looks terrible for health, and it is definitely an eyesore. Those colors are too bright, and the shape is like a choking hazard." Red said aloud to himself.

Red looked around. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Red's training didn't really say anything about socializing, so he was usually by himself, on the front lines of a battlefield. Great, Red was, once again, alone.

He continued to examine the sweet..

 

[Jamie Lysle]

"Oh! Yes, of course that is why we're he-" The Younger Lysle began to peruse the food on the table before her gaze was turned to the rushing of feet coming from behind [member="Nida Perl"]. "Ummm, Nid-" Interrupted once again, the Hapan only had a second before she watched another pink figure almost tackle her current companion as she hugged her from behind.

Jamie just stood there, admittedly a bit confused despite the calming air around Nida. This new girl, [member="Kyra Perl"], was a ball of energy and the Hapan was a bit confused with how to deal with it.

Do I wait for Nida to say something? Do I introduce myself?

As their new companion sat down and addressed the pair, Jamie assumed that the latter was probably the best one to go with.

"Oh uh... Don't worry about it." The initiate chewed her lip a little before continuing, her voice a bit shaky after being confronted with this ball of energy. "Oh my name is Jamie Lysle, and I'm alright I suppose?" Was that an actual question about how Jamie was? Did she mess up?

Her hands wrapped themselves behind her back naturally as she waited for a response from her newfound friend to handle the situation with optimistically more finesse. Jamie was a bit embarrassed as she felt herself hoping Kiegan show up, his obnoxiousness was usually a good way to clear the air.

 

[Nida Perl]

“Oh!” Nida stiffened in surprise as someone crashed into her from behind—quite purposely, by the feel of arms wrapping around her middle. The voice belonging to her assailant was unmistakable, as was her presence as the elder Zeltron turned to face her sister.

“Kyra! I haven’t seen you in—my, since you were shorter than me.” Nida took her sister into her arms before pulling back to examine her. It had been nearly half a year since she’d last seen Kyra, busy with her Jedi training as she was. The littlest Perl had wanted to follow along and begin her own training with the Silvers, but mother hadn’t been too keen on letting her last baby go. “I’m glad to see that you’ve finally made it here. Come, Kyra. Meet my new friend, Jamie Lysle. Jamie, this is my younger sister, Kyra.”

She motioned towards each of the women as she spoke, introducing the two.

“Kyra, Jamie is a newcomer to the Silver Jedi as well. She comes from Hapes, which recently came under Silver protection." As she spoke, she idly played with Kyra’s hair, subtly trying to tame the wild red strands. She looked so much like their mother with her fiery hair, even moreso than Yula. A brief pang of sadness seized her gut as she was woefully reminded of the fact that they were not biological siblings, even if she’d always been treated as a sister. Kyra herself was only a toddler when Nida had first come to live with the family, and as such her older sister had always been a fixture.

“I believe Jamie’s brother is around here as well—isn’t that right, Jamie? I suppose we’re not the only family with more than one Padawan in the mix!”


[member="Jamie Lysle"] | [member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

“Oh awesome!” Kyra chirped, giving Jamie an even wider smile. She seemed ready to vibrate off her seat. She slid closer and closer into Nida’s side, until sure enough she was smushed into the seat with her and stealing another hug again.

It was no secret that Kyra had not been doing well lately. While it was hard for her mother to let her go, it was equally hard for Kyra to be gone from home. Over the years she had tried and failed multiple times to join an order and complete her training. The double edge sword came in the form of home being too quiet and still for Kya with her siblings gone. So while leaving her mother was hard, staying home had been even harder. r

Being coddled as the youngest had left her rather soft in that regard, but Kyra swore that this time was different. She wasn’t a child anymore. And if she wanted the chance to see her siblings and get out there, well! She’d just have to stick through the torturous training of sitting still and looking within oneself.

Kyra gave Nida a tighter squeeze, unconsciously trying to smother the twinge of pain right out of her sister’s chest.

“You better hope he’s the same age of you, or you’ll never see him,” she complained. “Or that he’s dumb and slow. Why can’t you be dumb and slow?” She asked Nida, resting her chin on the girl’s shoulder.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Next to him, [member="Kyra Perl"] slammed into [member="Nida Perl"], causing a loud commotion. Red was caught off guard. He was never caught off guard. But he was so perplexed by the strange piece of food known as a sweet that he wasn't his usually hyper-perceptive self. He fell off of his seat with a yelp, from being surprised by the loud outburst, and fell to the floor. He lay on the floor, exasperated.

"What the hell was that?!" Red exclaimed. He didn't understand why [member="Kyra Perl"] acted like a... Well, Red had a few "colorful" adjectives, but that's not important. He didn't understand normal people, they weren't like scientists or other experiments. Really, being an experiment, most of his childhood was spent training to be a cold-blooded killing machine and the only organic contact he ever had was with scientists and other experiments, but both of them were extremely weird.

 

[Jamie Lysle]

"Actually I believe that he is around your age, Mas- Nida," Catching her slip up once again as she stared at the ever-intertwining pair of pink-skinned girls sitting besides her. "But I'm not entirely sure that that is something to hope for. He can be a bit... incessant." Jamie's brows raising up as she gave her warning.

There was a reason that she didn't entirely want Kiegan to run into her little group here, keeping an eye out for his curly blonde locks as she continued in the conversation. He certainly was nice and outgoing, but she was trying to make some friends and the elder Lysle was a bit of a flirt when it came to girls around his age. And Jamie really didn't want him to scare off these two, they seemed nice.

"Dumb and slow, however..." The Hapan's anxious look gave way for a grin as she chuckled to herself a little bit. "Well he's got both of those in spades, I'm afraid."

The younger Lysle grabbed some danish, unable to tell what type it what. Food is food however and it was nice to have something that wasn't created by the chefs of the temple or Kiegan's cooking. It was weird, but it made Jamie feel more independent.

[member="Nida Perl"] | [member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Nida Perl]

The Perls had always been a loud, affectionate bunch, and Kyra was no exception. While often the most reserved of the brood, Nida couldn’t help but lean her head onto her younger sister’s shoulder, given how close she was. “I…don’t know.” Nida shrugged, not really sure what to say. At times she certainly thought of herself as dumb and slow, and didn’t want to sound arrogant by disagreeing. “I can try? Maybe?”

Nida was glad that Kyra had ventured out beyond the nest again, silently hoping that this time would stick. The healer had always pictured herself as the odd one out, the child who wouldn’t be able to cut it in the galaxy at large and would end up living with her mother for all of eternity. But the Silvers had been the right move, allowing her to find strength in pursuing her own interests and learning a measure of independence. She hoped the same for Kyra, and would do whatever she could to support her.

“Perhaps we should meet him….later.” Jamie’s description of her brother did not go unheeded, but Nida did not wish to be rude. Family was important, after all. No doubt Jamie took comfort in her sibling, the same as did for her own. Idly, she squeezed Kyra’s hand.

Her attention was draw somewhere to her side, where a young man who’d been examining a strange candy had fallen out of his chair. “Oh!” Nida untangled herself from Kyra for the time being, stepping over to the redhead who lay sprawling on the ground. “Are you alright?” Leaning down, she extended a hand towards him. “I’m apologise if we startled you." By ‘we’, she met Kyra, who was the most excitable of the bunch. But Nida could never blame her, and in fact she envied her zest for life.

[member="Jamie Lysle"] | [member="Subject 73 Red"] | [member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Nida Perl"] [member="Jamie Lysle"] [member="Kyra Perl"]

Red looked up, and noticed @Nira Perl looking down at him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It's just that I was so intrigued in something I had never seen before, and that loud outburst startled me." Red told her. Then, he took her outstretched hand and stood up.

He looked at her. She was pink, so, logic said that she was a Zeltron. Zeltrons were a peculiar bunch, a lot like Red. Although, he was a trained killing machine and he was bred to be an ultimate supersoldier. Still, Red was fascinated by their culture and their way of life. He was actually interested in every species way of life, as he had spent his entire life in a lab, with little outside contact. Really, the only social contact he had were with other experiments and scientists, which were a wide assortment of species.

Red, not knowing how to greet the group, stood at attention in a salute. "I'm Red, ma'am." Then, he relaxed, his arm dropping to his side. He still wasn't sure on how to greet people outside of the military. "Er- sorry about that. I'm Red. Yes, that's my real name, and yes, this is my real hair and hair color. Blood red. The same with my eye color." Red told them.

Then, his gaze drifted to the other members of the party. Another Zeltron, and what looked like a human but could possibly be something else, like a Mandalorian or a Hapan. Red himself looked like a human, but he was classified under Experiment.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stared down unapologetically, grinning widely at the jumble of a boy on the floor. She always got a kick over how she affected people- a sense of exciting zest that fueled her. This was no different, only it was exasperated by a jumble of nerves she was trying to act unaffected by.

“You sure it’s not a wig?” She challenged, and while the words were cruel her tone was lighthearted enough. Like kitten batting at curtains just to see it swirl about. Harmless. Playful, even. She kept going, turning to Jamie.

“Hey, maybe your brother can go for him.” The smile only grew wider, Kyra looking instinctively to Nida for approval over her joke. Surely, that would only spur her on further, her nerves covered in this dash of reckless bravado.

And she wondered why she had a hard time getting on at other academies.

[member="Subject 73 Red"]
[member="Jamie Lysle"]
[member="Nida Perl"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kyra Perl"] [member="Jamie Lysle"] [member="Nida Perl"]

Red smiled at the other Zeltron's comment. "I'm sure it's not a wig. I've had this forever." People often asked him that. It was one of the many things that confused people.

He tilted his head at her other comment. "Pardon? What did you mean by that?" He asked.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra made a kissy face.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Kyra Perl"] [member="Nida Perl"] [member="Jamie Lysle"]

Red looked at Kyra in confusion. What was that supposed to mean?! Red didn't understand people. They were so strange. Especially females, females were the worst. They were the most confusing and bizarre to Red. Except for the experiment females, they were a lot like Red, and he could understand them. But normal females? They were still a mystery to Red.

"Can you elaborate on what that means?" Red asked, still confused.

 

[Nida Perl]

Nida smiled at the young man and his salute, finding the posture all too reminiscent of someone she held dear. “It is nice to meet you Red, and please, there is no need to apologize. The service of the Antarian Rangers is invaluable.” With a hand on Kyra’s shoulder, she introduced themselves.

“My name is Nida, and this is my sister; Kyra. The young woman to our left is Jamie, we are all Padawans of the Silver Jedi.” Kyra wasted no time in jumping into the conversation, a trait that Nida had always envied. Confidence was plentiful among the Perls, save for the smallest sibling. “Oh, Kyra.” She admonished the girl lightly, lightly because Nida was not very good at scolding. “You know that red hair such as his can be natural. Why, just look at mother.” Did their mom dye her hair? If she did, they’d never know about it.

With that squared away, Nida allowed herself to indulge in another cookie before she was struck with the realization that there might be one more thing to take care of.

“Kyra, are you trying to set two people up again?” [member="Dagon Perl"] was not happy the last time his blind date had shown up. Turning to Red, she attempted to sort this one out. “I am sorry, Red. My sister is trying to introduce you to Jamie’s brother as a romantic partner. “ Next, she addressed Kyra with that same attempting-to-admonish tone. “Kyra, it is up to Jamie to present her brother as a romantic interest to another male. Please, leave that task to her.”

And with that she lifted her cup for a long drink of water, unable to help the twinge of a smile from behind the long sleeve of her robe.

[member="Subject 73 Red"] | [member="Kyra Perl"] | [member="Jamie Lysle"]

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Nida Perl"] [member="Kyra Perl"] [member="Jamie Lysle"]

Red nodded. "Well, obviously, there are mostly Padawans here. Including me. Nice to meet you all." He told them.

He then tilted his head at Nida's apology. He was confused. There was a word he had never heard before. "Ro-man-tic?" Red asked, sounding it out to spell it in his mind. "What does that mean? I've never heard of that before. Can you tell me what you mean by that?" Red asked.