Private Burning Feathers

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Once more, she was back on Cathar.

This time, however, with a purpose. Her recent adventure with Corazona von Ascania had enlightened her to the Je'ka, a species of bird her culture believed would only seek out those of significance.

The Force worked in mysterious ways, but she wanted to use this as a chance to help Aris train. She knew what was coming. She knew her best option was to train him to the point of being a force of nature.

She could only do so much.

As they left the City-tree into the savannah, Jonyna looked to Aris with a smile. "How you do with running? I know you did some training with Force Speed with Master Katarine Ryiah a while back."

 

[Aris Noble]

"There's no one faster in my age group that I've found. The lightning trick has only made me faster, if I'm honest. It helps I can process everything so quickly, though, if I go too fast I can't really turn." Momentum was pain. At least for the things he ran into by accident. There were a number of temple walls with his indent. Or, was, before Coruscant was invaded. He frowned at the thought, but didn't linger on it.

"Why? What's the plan here, Master?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

"Well, we got a lot of ground to cover, in about..." She took a moment to put a finger in her mouth, before pulling it out and raising it to the sky. "...that direction." She pointed, before looking to the boy who now dwarfed her in height. "So, I figure...you need the practice, and so I do."

And with that, she looked at the boy once last time, and....took off, the golden grass parting with a gust of wind behind her.

She wanted to test him. To push him beyond his limits.

But also, she wanted him to remember to have fun. He was still a boy, even if he was nearly a foot taller than her already. Childhood should be remembered fondly, even for a jedi.

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris blinked slowly as he followed where she was pointing. She wanted to race him? Well. "Master.. Are you sure you can keep up?" He was ultimately very fast. Far faster than anyone should be at his age. It didn't feel fair to race against his peers simply because of it, but did that mean it wasn't a good idea to race against his master? She wasn't another Padawan.

Maybe he'd be the one to have trouble keeping up. That thought alone had him grinning, just a bit.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

"I'M EAGER TO FIND OUT!" She called, waving for him to follow her. "Come on!" She called, "We got a tree to get to!"

Jonyna was never too self absorbed to want to see her padawans surpass her. She'd seen Ko Vuto grow into a well rounded knight, and she was hoping Rayia Si would do the same. Aris was a challenge for her, but one she hoped to see grow. She knew his strengths, now she just needed to hide his weaknesses behind them.

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris blinked as he now realized Jonyna was already running. Then smirked. No holding back, then. He took of in a mad dash, blitzing through the grass as he felt no need to control just how fast he was going. They were heading in a straight line, after all. Why not just run as fast as he could? And he would, without reservation. It was more likely that she wanted to see just how fast he could be.

So he would show her.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

She watched as Aris blitzed towards her, and Jonyna knew the race was on. They had a good 10 miles to run, and Jonyna knew she wanted to push Aris to his limit. So, with that in mind, she leapt forward, breaking into a four legged sprint, embracing her Cathar instincts and rushing forward faster than she could on two legs. She was a climber by nature, but in a pinch her tail allowed her to balance on all fours, and rush up to twice her normal running speed.

Now she just needed to know how Aris kept up.

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris neither slowed or tired. His body's odd physiology was more akin to a robot when it came to his endurance. He'd never slow, at least not in a ten mile run. It took a while for him to properly end up exhausted as he'd learned with Zaiya Ceti , but that limit he'd found had been pushed endlessly over the years since. In a marathon it was good to pace yourself to keep from being tired.

He simply didn't need to.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Eventually, after two miles of pure sprinting, Jonyna felt herself slowly tiring. Aris was good, clearly someone who mastered the body over the mind. She was at a disadvanatage, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. Suddenly, without a word, Jonyna just let out a laugh, and stopped in her tracks.

They were at this point in the middle of open savannah. Ran Dom Kuun could still be seen in the distance, but it was nothing but grassland from here till the horizon line.

"You're fast kiddo!" Jonyna called out, flopping down in the grass. "Let's take a breather, I need it..."

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris came to a stop.

Sort of. His intent to keep running at max speed made it pretty difficult for him to just stop. He'd learned how to at least slow, but it took a couple seconds before he finally did some dozens of feet away from Jonyna. When he did, he turned to jog on back, head tilted in surprise and confusion. "Really? I thought we'd keep going? Isn't there at least a couple more miles?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

"Yeah....just....gimme a minute..." Jonyna huffed, sprawling out in the grass. "...it's...important to...Whoof you go fast...take in the scenery ever....once and a while..."

She really needed to work on her own Force Speed practice. She only learned it after repeatedly rewatching her fight with Quintessa , studying it and the holocrons about it in the temple.

Still...

It was nice to just relax at home. Cathar, her home.

"...The force is all around us. In the trees, in the grass. It's important to just...bask in it, ya know? Pop a squat, kiddo."

That, and she was entirely out of breath.

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris nodded slowly as he took a seat beside her and just, looked around. He was smiling faintly, but it wasn't because of how calm the Force was here. He couldn't feel that. But he could feel the breeze. The grass. Hear how the grass rustled, the leaves. "I know it's there. But I don't feel it. This area is nice though." He laid back then, just, laying out on the ground as he looked up to the clouds above.

"Warm, really."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

"When I was really little, my dad used to take me running out here, hunting for Ha'ra Ranmi, and we sometimes would just...lay in the grass for hours. Talking." She frowned, letting out a sigh. "I miss him. I miss all my family. Never take them for granted, Aris. Your family is all you have. Your mom, your dad. They both care a lot about you, even when you're at odds with them."

Jonyna smiled as she looked up at the clouds. "I care about you too, kiddo. You're a good student."

 

[Aris Noble]

"Don't worry, I don't."

Of all things, Aris never took for granted how important his family was. He also wasn't the one who got into arguments with them. That was all Vera Noble if anyone. He chuckled a little at the thought.

"I try to be a good student."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Jonyna smiled, taking a moment to stand again. "...good. Alright, let's keep going. But before we do..." She paused, trying to squeeze another lesson in. Survival training was the name of the game this time. The sun was coming down in the sky, and she wanted the boy to know something simple. "The sun is setting. What time abouts do you think it is?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"On Niv Hani it would be six fourty five. Dad brought us hunting a lot."

Aris tilted his head though, watching the skyline. "I'm not sure how to translate that to other planets, though."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

"Dad taught me a little trick that works for most planets." Jonyna smiled, putting both hands in front of her. Slowly, she lined up one flat hand with the horizon, putting all four fingers against it, and slowly climbing her way to where the sun was, one set of four at a time. "Every finger marks a half hour on Cathar. On planets with similiar orbits, you can adjust if need be. Maybe it's fifteen minutes, maybe it's five minutes, either way, you've got a decent way to measure time."

 

[Aris Noble]

"Each finger, huh? Wouldn't his fingers be thicker than yours?" Aris canted his head. The logical side of him was showing now, in force at that. He raised his own hand, trying to measure it some. His hands were much larger, but maybe it had to do with the length of their arms? An approximation, not truly a way to tell time? That seemed more likely. He kept his hand to the horizon regardless though, just mulling over his thoughts with quite the serious expression.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Aris Noble

Jonyna let out a snort, as she lowered her hand. "It's meant to be a rough estimate. But it'll help you in a pinch, especially if you get stranded on a planet. Come on, let's get moving. We're losing daylight, and the Je'ka will be asleep soon."

Once more, Jonyna took off without giving Aris a chance to respond. They didn't have time to waste, and she wanted Aris to push his limits. Soon, the top greenery of a massive tree came into view off on the horizon. Jonyna had just visited this with Corazona von Ascania , but she hoped to find where the nest of the bird they had found last was.

 

[Aris Noble]

"You're the one who needed rest, Master."

Aris chuckled a little before he got up, stretched, then readied himself to run. If time wasn't on their side, then there was no reason to go slow, right? He took off in a mad dash, grinning wide and happy as he did. It was always good to be able to run at full speed for him.

Jonyna Si