Bad Everything

[Cedric Grayson]

Julius had disappeared without so much as a word, and Darius understood why. He had faith that his teacher would return; the bladesman was off dealing with something of utmost importance and would come back in due time to finish his training. That was the faith that the code brought him, and unlike many Padawans, Darius stuck to it well.

He passed his days productively. Most of it was spent taking in literature from the ages; something he had not always had the time for in his master's company. When that began to grow tiring, he would take to the sword. The young man was a staunch believer that one needed to learn how to swing a weapon with a little bit of weight behind it before taking up a lightsaber. The fact that he had not gotten around to building one yet certainly had nothing to do with it.

His shuttle had come down a few miles out from one of the local trading posts on Endor. His reason for being here? It was remote. He'd always had trouble connecting to other living creatures via the force: their thoughts, emotions, instincts, all things that came very easily to other Jedi. It was a source of tension for him. What kind of Jedi could not empathize with another living creature? Was that not what it meant to be a connected to the force?

He grumbled a curse to push down his private thoughts. The vibrosword in his hands, a weapon easily torn apart by any lightsaber, whistled as it carved another small tree in a long horizontal cut. The bark splintered, and the tree began to tip backward, making a rather loud crashing noise as it hit the ground.

Caked with sweat and detritus from the day's work, Darius ran a long cloth along the blade to clean off some of the grime, and slid it into his sheathe. He cast a look over his shoulder toward the camp he had hastily erected. It was little more than a tent and a fire put together on one of the lower hanging trees. The height would keep him safe from some predators at night; the rest he would need to deal with.


Humming a pleasant tune, the Padawan began to make his way back over to the ship.

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Endor wasn't exactly a great fortress world or noble house of vaunted learning and science. Now was it much of anything, really, besides a place with sentimental vlue for Julius. Truth be told, he wouldn't exactly be here excepting that he had been gifted a rather clear impulse to, during one of his meditations whilst training with his lightsaber. The message had been clear, precise, and almost like a beacon in the night, pulling him here to Endor. But, like many of his 'intuitions', once he was here, boots on the ground, the feeling and guidance had ceased, disturbingly and frustratingly gone like dust in the wind.

And so he had trekked for what felt like days, exploring, relying on himself and his supplies and skills to remain alive. Something within seemed to grow and blossom again, his deadened connection to the Force burning full-bright and powerful, a comforting warmth he hadn't felt in years, since his time with the Republic. Though no guidance was given, and no grand revelations made, the Corellian felt confident, strong, and wiser even. Days were spent above in the tree-tops, armor left in his pack at the base of the giant trees, dueling shadows as he vaulted and fenced among the breeze. Perhaps it was a foolish exercise, and perhaps it was a waste of time and talent, but something told him it was not. Something told him that which he waited for grew near.

Suddenly, as he meditated in the crook of a high branch at the top of a tree, he felt an odd swaying and suddenly a fall. The perch he had taken up was one that he as precariously put jut so in balance, just right, so that not a branch wiggled and moved. Awkward, and dangerous, but in such a deep connection as he was growing into, it took merely a certain honed focus and determination to achieve it. Suddenly though, with a chopping sound, the tree began to teeter and fall, and it was only by unnaturally quick reflexes and honed battle instincts did he manage to land on his feet. And when he did, there was a rush of leaves and dust and twigs, and the snap-hiss of a brilliant saber of green as he rose into a crouching stance, saber held back and behind him, head rising from the ground to glare at Darius, and then his jaw to go slack in shock.

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

There was a serenity Darius had come to love here on Endor. He'd always had problems centering himself when around others. It was just too difficult to focus on something as vast and all encompassing as the force when people where haggling over droid parts a few feet away. Here he did not see people unless he wanted to see them. Occasionally he paid the planetary stations a visit, and had even managed to fend off a Graug war party alongside a Jedi Knight and a Mandalorian Huntress. Endor had become his home, and though he would never admit it to his friends or even himself, he worried it would always be so.

If Master Julius never came for him, then there would be no one to bring him further along the path. If he went off on his own, it was quite likely he would take the wrong turn somewhere and the Sith would find him. Darius had heard some thing -- he had no intention of running into those monsters. In the future? Maybe, but certainly not how he was now. So, until Julius came for him -- something quite unlikely from a logical standpoint -- Endor would remain his home. Possibly until the end of his life.

That was until Julius quite literally crashed into his life. The Padawan drew a worn machete out of reflex, holding it outward to swing if need be. His senses were honed, but individual presences in the force eluded him. He knew Julius was there, but he did not know Julius was there.

"What?"

Darius blinked.

"Master?"

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The lightsaber hesitated, wavering, but then steadied as the form rose, still held in a defensive posture. He knew the face before him very well, knew that voice even. Much like the young man whose facade he saw in front of him, the finer points of sense enhanced Force powers eluded him with an almost comical ease. But there was a doubt gnawing at him as he logical mind came to the fore, discarding and clouding his convictions and a quickly blossoming joy was crushed underfoot of sketpic cynicism the Outer Rim had burned into him. He cursed that he had left his duffel so far away, where his pistols and the like rested. But, regardless, it was a situation without help, and he had to deal with what stood in front of him.

"Darius? What are you doing here?"

There was obvious suspicion in his voice, doubt gnawing at the core of his being like a cancer. This was his padawan, the one he had given up for dead, the one he had written off as one of his biggest failures. Standing here, talking to him... The odds against this were astronomical, but he pushed aside that reasoning, focusing instead on ascertaining if maybe he were dead and this were a post-mortem hallucination.



[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius, unlike his wayward teacher, sheathed his weapon the instant he came to recognize the man. He held his arms out wide and moved in for a hug, but his former teacher showed no signs of lowering his guard. Instead Darius just stood there with his arms held up, lips pressed into an uneasy smile. Perhaps this wasn't Julius?

No, this had to be him. From this short distance he was sure of it. This was the man who had taken in a ten year old amnesiac and given him some faint semblance of a childhood. This was the man who had quite likely saved him from death, or something far worse at the hands of the galaxy's criminal element. His arms fell down to his sides very slowly with all the expected awkwardness to come with such an act.

"Master Sedaire?" He lofted a brow, "Julius? You eh...gonna put the lightsaber away?" He mumbled with a look of confusion. He was not afraid of Julius -- the older man would never harm him, he was sure. Still, the lightsaber did make him a bit uneasy. Perhaps Julius felt something he didn't.

"Endor? It was just kind of on the travel plan. I sent messages!" He beamed, "You are here to get me, right?"

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

The innocence, the offered hug... This wasn't a Sith trick or some attempt on his life... As much as he admired and loved the Galactic Alliance, the constant warfare had hardened him, beyond reason really. There was no threat coming from the youth in front of him. None at all, really... Here was the same nervous, unsure lad he had seen back in the days of his own youth, a proud Jedi Knight for the Republic who had found his first Padawan. What had drawn him to Darius originally that day, he couldn't say. But that same undefinable pull that day was tugging at him now... His prior Master would have told him it was the Force, speaking to him, pointing him to the way that meshed with its' Will, guiding to the path he was meant to trod.

The saber shut off with a sudden click and hiss, dropping to the forest floor as the Jedi just broke into a grin, laughing and roaring, grabbing the child in arms wired with muscle, though in truth he was no longer a child. He bear-hugged the one he viewed just as much as being his son as if he and the lad shared blood bonds, shaking him with a roaring laugh. For once, far too long removed, his eyes actually shone with hope and laughter as he sat his apprentice down, shaking his head in wonderment and thanks at the luck he had been given.

"Hah! Darius! It is me... I... Forgive me... Too long on the Southern Front fighting for the Alliance... I see Sith plots and tricks behind everything, it seems... By the Nine Hells, how did you survive? I left you out on the Rim when I thought you had died.... And yet, you're here... Alive... Breathing... I... I am sorry I never got your messages... I left the Republic shortly after I thought I lost you, so I lost access to that comm channel."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The boy was a bit caught off-guard by the hug, though he heartily returned it when it was given. He'd been waiting for Julius to return for a very long time, and hearing that his messages never came through left him both mortified and overjoyed. The former meaning that, had the force not intervened, he would have been left on Endor to his own devices for the rest of his life. The latter coming about because the force had in fact intervened, and Julius had finally found him. Now he could resume his training, and more importantly, retake his place by the warrior's side.

"That's okay," it wasn't, but Darius was not the type to linger on the past, "I probably would have thought I died too. I came to Endor to hide -- from the Sith I mean. This planet is pretty out of the way. I didn't think they would ever make their way here."

Thank the stars I was right.

He sat down alongside his old teacher and chuckled. For all the warrior Julius was, he had become to come into his own as well. No longer was he the lanky, awkward boy who Julius had seen last. He was a man now; having finally grown into the broad shoulders he'd had as a child. His connection to the force had been grown as well, and though he could not match his adoptive father's skill, he was no longer entirely inept.

It was with the his skill with a blade that needed some work.

"I, eh....I scavenge things. Sometimes I help the locals deal with Graug raiders. They're pretty bad out here," he paused, hands fidgeting at his sides. An old twitch that kicked in when he was trying to find his words. "What uh, what are you doing out here if you weren't coming for me?"

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

"Following threads of probability, is what its called, I believe... I had an impulse, a desire, to come here... What I've learned to recognize as the Force speaking to me, and guiding me. So I followed it, because ignoring it only made it stronger. So, eventually, you err... Found me, I guess is how you'd term it. Though I wasn't exactly envisioning my journey coming to an end by falling out of a tree."

Waving his hand, the saber hilt on the ground leapt into his grip and he replaced it on his belt, nodding contentedly. It was strange, how natural patterns became after so long of disuse. The way you fell back into old habits and routines, and former roles. Everything felt the same, but tinged slightly different. Somehow just a little more if that made sense at all. It would take time for the dynamic to adjust, but it was time he was willing to spend. He had trained Darius because the boy was certainly worth the effort, and he would not loose that potential again.

"Tell me... How have your studies been? Anything you've learned, or saw, or anything? You look like you're finally growing into that frame, at least."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

So the force had brought him here. Whatever weakness Darius might have had in his faith was instantly lost. Not that he would ever have any doubts about that sort of thing, nope.

"I've gotten a handle on some things." He answered, avoiding the question somewhat. It was not that he was making no progress; just that he had made so very little since Julius left. The force was vastly an unknown, and without a hand to guide him, Darius had been hopelessly lost. He'd looked into some things himself, but a lot of it seemed to revolve around things he was not sure he was ready for. The holonet was filled with treatises on the dark arts thanks to the Sith's vocal presence in the galaxy. It was hard to find anything of use that was not tainted by their words.

"Mostly...history. My connection is stronger too. I can pick things up with a bit more skill than I used to," he shrugged, "It's hard to progress without a teacher Master, but I suppose that's all irrelevant now."

Thankfully.

"My camp isn't far at all. I have my ship there too, but --...this alliance thing? I've heard about it a little. Not much gets out this far on the rim. We're pretty remote."

Not that I'm one of them.

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Julius frowned as his padawan spoke about his training, or lack thereof it seemed. He could hardly let it go unchecked, but it was also something he couldn't be too hard on the lad about, he had done as well as he could it seemed. The middle road, again then it seemed, was the truest course. Shaking his head, he reached out and patted the lad on the shoulder, and smiled easily to try and keep him from being too hard on his own self. That was a flaw the young man still carried from day one, a serious hurdle really.

"The Alliance? It is far from perfect, mind you. But unlike the Republic... It doesn't claim to be really... It is doing the best it can, in its own way, to stem the tide of those who would cover the Galaxy in oppressive darkness. I am a Knight in their Order... I've been working recently on learning many things, and thinking of taking a student... But happily, if it is your wish, I don't really need to search for one now, it would seem... If you wish to study under me, again, it would be in the New Jedi Order, as a member of the Alliance... I know I would welcome it, gladly. But that can be after you have met them all, determined if it fits where you see your destiny leading. "

Looking about, Julius nodded, his speech done, and stretched a bit.

"So... Shall we see this camp of yours? We can talk more as we walk there, if you want."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

To be taught by Julius again? Well, it was what he had expected from the very beginning, albeit a bit sooner. The fact that his master was a little late was of no consequence -- he was here, and that was what mattered. The Padawan allowed himself to be led back to his camp; it was a shoddy little place. The ground was dug up in various spot where he'd tried to plant fruit bearing plants. The result could be seen in a single little fruit tree. Salvage and the carcasses of stripped speeders formed a protective wall around the little encampment. a single bed was tucked neatly between two trees, and a hanging tarp provided some protection from the elements.

"This is home," he grinned, "It's not much, but it's enough." He did not answer the Green Jedi's question immediately. Was he ready to return to the galaxy at large? Could he fight in a real war? He had not even managed to craft a lightsaber yet, let alone learn the nuances of using one.

He cast his old teacher a look.

He had to do it.

"Of course I'll come with you. There isn't much for me here anyway Julius."

[member="Julius Sedaire"]