Private For Your Own Good

[Resh]

Vonnuvi Jedi Enclave, Prior to the invasion of Coruscant

The Jedi were at war. The Alliance was under threat by a returning dark side power. All that which had taken Resh in was now in danger. And he, like many other padawans, was grounded. Stuck aboard one of the affiliated ships where they were stowed for safety. Part of Resh was annoyed at being rejected the opportunity to fight for what he had be given. The other part of him knew it was for the best. He wasn't ready. If he was, Maeve would have taken him on her latest mission. Whatever it was, she couldn't even let him in on the details Must have been some top tier Shadow work, because she had been gone for a while now. Such was the life of a Jedi in her position. It felt like a roadblock in the way of his own progress. He had been doing well under her guidance, but now it was all put on hold, and Resh was left feeling sedentary.

The first few days on the Vonnvui, Resh tried to be good and commit to his training to try and keep up. But the generalized lessons coming from the full-class setting just wasn't the same as a one-on-one mentorship. He began to slack in effort and enthusiasm. At this rate, he would flounder completely before Maeve ever got back.

Which is why a sort of locum tenens mentor had already been chosen for him.

None the wiser to this development, Resh was sitting in one of the empty chambers overlooking the enclave courtyard, resting his check on his fist and watching the other padawans train together or with a master of their own. He almost didn't notice when the doors to the room slid open.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna stood in the doorway, hesitating. She had volunteered to take on an apprentice from among the ranks of the young Padawans that had come from Coruscant, but now that the moment had arrived, she felt a little uncertain. Previous students she had worked with were adults, but this one was barely in his teens. None of her children had made it to that age yet, so she had little experience with the age group.

Plus, he technically already had a master—albeit one that had been called away to the war front. That in itself could present a difficulty, as he was already bonded to someone else. Still, she had signed up for this, and the kid needed someone to teach him…

She took a step inside the room and looked around. This was one of the classrooms, with a window overlooking the courtyard. Currently it was empty, save for one lone boy. With his red skin, she might've confused him for a Zeltron if not for the bone spurs beginning to grow from his chin and brow.

"Hello," she greeted him with a small smile. "Are you Resh?"

Resh​

 

[Resh]

Resh's head flicked over to the person in the doorway. She was a pretty lady, with white hair but a young face. She spoke nicely, asking him his name, "Um, yeah," He answered, glancing back over at the window for a moment, "Who are you?" He turned to face her more properly, mentally reminding himself to show full respect to his elders.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Now that she had a better view of Resh, Inanna was struck by how young he seemed. He may have been considered a teenager at his age, but to her eyes he was still a baby.

“I’m Inanna Harth,” she said. “I’ve been asked to train you until your master returns.”

Then, at the risk of things becoming awkward, she asked a question. “Where did the name ‘Resh’ come from?” It was a letter of the aurebesh alphabet, so she assumed it was a nickname.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Train…?" Resh repeated the word as if he didn't understand it, "But-" He stopped himself, processing what he had been told but unsure of how to react to it. The boy's gaze seemed to linger anywhere the wasn't directly at Inanna. When she asked him about his name, he dared to give her another look. That she was asking him conversation questions like that already seemed to indicate she was nicer than Maeve. Still, he and his master had just started to come around to one another. He was afraid of losing that somehow.

"Um, it's the name I was given," He shrugged, "Like the letter." Resh clarified unhelpfully. After a pause, he asked a question of his own, "…When is Master Linahan coming back?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Train…? But—"

Inanna waited for him to finish, but he never continued after he broke off.

“Is it… typical for someone from your culture to have a letter for a name?” she asked, trying to be friendly and inoffensive. The reason she was asking was because she suspected it was more like a number on a prisoner than a proper name. He might want to change it to something more real… or he might not care. Either way, she’d like to know.

"…When is Master Linahan coming back?"

“Hard to say. As long as the war is still ongoing and her help is needed…” She shrugged. “Were you and Master Linahan close?”

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"I don't think so…" He said with another shrug, then followed up more genuinely, "No. But it's what they always called me. The cult. I was with a cult before I was rescued." Resh wasn't sure how much Inanna had learned about him before going into this, but unless she asked further he left it at that.

“Were you and Master Linahan close?”

That was a hard question. "I— don't know." He supposed he had technically been closer with his chaperones in the cult, given they had in essence raised him. Like his regent, Varick. But that had all been a lie. He couldn't see those relationships in the same way anymore, or ever again. He supposed Maeve was as 'close' as close got for him thus far, "But, I was used to her," Resh couldn't think of a better way to express it.

"Why are you teaching me?" He asked. No longer about Maeve, but about why Inanna specifically.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"I don't think so… No. But it's what they always called me. The cult. I was with a cult before I was rescued."

"So I've heard." She didn't know the details, though. Part of her had feared she would be greeted with a sullen, resentful child lamenting that he had been "stolen" from his family by the Jedi. But it seemed her guess had been correct. The cult which raised him hadn't even bothered to give him a real name. "Do you like being called Resh?" she asked.

Inanna had never met Maeve Linahan, and so she didn't know what the woman was like. But she understood what he meant when he said he was used to her. Resh didn't seem to have much in the way of roots, and he probably viewed this as one more failed attempt at settling. She felt a little swell of maternal instinct, an urge to give the poor kid a hug, but she pushed it down. He wasn't her child. Technically he wasn't even her apprentice; he was her mentee. "Well, if it's any consolation, I won't be going off to war any time soon," she said. "I am a non-combatant. They don't send the likes of me into battle."

"Why are you teaching me?"

"Your training can't wait," she answered. "But if you mean why was I chosen for you specifically... I'm not sure." She walked over and sat down beside him. "I was assigned a Padawan once before. As we got to know each other, we learned that we had a lot in common. But it wasn't so clear at first why we had been thrown together. We'll have to find that out for ourselves."

Resh​

 

[Resh]

So Inanna did know something about Resh's circumstance. The question of whether or not he liked his name wasn't something he ever really considered. He dwelled on it for a few moments, then shrugged once again, "I don't know. I guess." He looked up at her, "I'm used to it." He'd always been called Resh. Even before he ever knew it was essentially just a designation. It seemed odd to ever consider anything else. He'd already rejected the other name the cult had tried to give him.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I won't be going off to war any time soon," she said. "I am a non-combatant. They don't send the likes of me into battle."

Resh nodded. He supposed that was of some comfort. At least this teacher wouldn't be disappearing in the middle of his education to go to the front lines, or die in the process. She didn't quite have an answer for him as to why she was now taking that role specifically. That made sense. He supposed what he wanted to hear was that she had some vested interest in helping him, that it was a choice she had made herself to intervene, rather than simply an assignment given to her. Not that he doubted she wanted to help, per se. "Alright." He said, "So, what are we doing first?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

So. He was fine with his name, glad that she wasn't going to leave anytime soon...

"Alright. So, what are we doing first?"

"Uhhh." She hadn't picked out anything in particular, since she didn't know how far he was in his training. "If you tell me about the last thing you did with Maeve, we can pick up where you left off? Or if there's something she already covered that you need help with..."

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Uhhh…" Resh scratched his head, "The last thing I did with Maeve, was track down a witch who had turned someone into a goose." Even he could tell that doesn't really make for a natural jumping-off point. "Um, do you know anything about talking to animals?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"The last thing I did with Maeve, was track down a witch who had turned someone into a goose."

"Oh."

"Um, do you know anything about talking to animals?"

"Uh, you mean like Beast Control?" she asked. "That's when you use the Force to talk to an animal inside their head and make sure they don't eat you."

It was a rather useful skill, now that she thought about it. Her ability to shapeshift might allow her to blend in through imitation, but communicating directly would be like taking a shortcut. "I don't know how to do it just this minute, but we could both learn together," she suggested brightly.

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"I guess so," Resh shrugged. He didn't quite know all the terminology yet. Even Inanna admitted that she wasn't quite experienced in it herself. Her offer to learn alongside him was well-meaning, if not entirely assuring to Resh that he was actually going to learn today. "Well, I did it before pretty easily. With the goose." He added. Did it count if the goose was actually a person? Of that he had no idea, and thinking too hard about the logistics made his head hurt.

"How would we go about learning it?" He asked.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Well, I did it before pretty easily. With the goose. How would we go about learning it?"

"We would find a Jedi who knows how to do it and can teach us." She cocked her head to one side. "But if you were able to do it easily, do you still need to be taught?"

He might be a prodigy in the area of Beast Control, like Inanna was in Telekinesis. She was self-taught, too, having learned primarily through practice and experience. "Although, I guess it would be good to learn more about it regardless," she added. "I think I know someone who can help. Master Avis, the one who's always talking to birds."

Resh​

 

[Resh]

Resh hmmm'd in thought, unsure of how to phrase his answer. Inanna more or less filled it in for him. He nodded, "I can't make it happen regularly. So I wonder if there's something I'm missing." She suggested Master Avis might have the information they seek. "Okay," He replied, "Do you know where she is now?"

He began to move, ready to get going.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Do you know where she is now?"

"I can make an educated guess. Follow me."

She led Resh out to the courtyard. One of the gardens featured an aviary, where the local birds that roamed the Vonnuvi could find shelter and nest. As expected, they found Master Avis there.

Avis was an elderly Chevin, an alien species with a long snout that hung nearly to her ankles. She sat on a bench in the middle of the aviary, tossing breadcrumbs and letting the birds land on her body as they pleased. When Inanna called out, "Master Avis?" she jumped, startling the birds scattering back into the tree branches.

"Oh, it's you." Avis nodded her head in Inanna's direction. "How are you today? Is that your new Padawan?"

"Yes. This is Resh." She gestured. "Resh wants to learn Beast Control. He says he was able to do it once or twice, but ironically has no control over it. I thought maybe you could help."

Master Avis turned her full attention upon Resh, studying the boy with wizened eyes. "Sounds to me like you've got the talent, but just need to learn the craft. That right?"

Resh​

 

[Resh]

It hardly came as a surprise that Master Avis would be found at the courtyard's little aviary. The elderly master was of a peculiar-looking species (though in truth many species seemed peculiar looking to Resh, who had seen a comparatively small pool of sentients prior to joining the Order), but she was nice, in an almost grandmotherly sort of way.

Resh waved his hand when he was introduced, standing partially behind Inanna as his attention flicked back and forth between Avis and the birds she was tending. The she spoke to him, it took a moment before he realized the question was directed at him, "O-oh. Yes. I suppose that is."

"I've made it happen before, and I didn't really try. But I feel like when I do actually try, I can't." He rubbed his arm, "Do you know how?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

While Master Avis listened intently to Resh’s explanation (and Inanna’s more detailed reiteration of the goose story), one of the birds flew back over and landed on her shoulder, ruffling its colorful feathers. She made no move to shoo it away, content to be a living perch.

“But it’s only talking to the animals—you don’t command or compel them to act a certain way?” she asked. Then, nodding her head, she added, “Animals have their own methods of communication different from sentients. You may have some skill with deciphering languages unfamiliar to you as well. Or, you may simply have an affinity for beasts. One way to find out…”

She took the bird from her shoulder, holding it gently so that it relaxed in her grasp and even began to coo softly. “Go ahead, you can pet him. But I want you to try and listen to it like you did before. It’ll be different than talking to a person that was turned into a goose, but you should be able to understand how it feels and why, at least. And then... I want you to tell him to fly from my hand over to that fountain over there.”

Resh​

 

[Resh]

"Yeah, I guess so," Resh shrugged. He didn't recall ever trying to influence the beasts he communicated with, not deliberately so anyway. The way Avis explained things seemed to line up with his understanding though. It wasn't usually a direct conversation in the way a sapient would imagine it. Communication was more a transmission of feelings, intentions, even other senses. But it was able to be comprehended, at least when he found a way to link with the beast in question. The only time he recalled an animal talking back to him, it was the polymorphed goose.

Avis summoned a bird to her shoulder, and tasked Resh with convincing the bird to fly to the nearby fountain. He glanced back at Inanna, then turned his attention to the bird. He reached out a tentative hand, and stroked its feathers gently, "Hi," He said to the bird, trying to forge that connection through the mutual language of the Force. His voice shifted to telepathy <My name's Resh. I'm friends with Master Avis.> He continued to offer friendly pets to the bird, <She wants me to convince you to fly over to that fountain. Could you do that for me? You can come right back.>

His words would translate into a concept the bird could understand, but he didn't hold any direct sway over the bird. His own understanding of the bird's emotions were surface level. It seemed amicable enough. It lived on the Vonnuvi among people, and a Jedi beastmaster in particular. But should the bird prove to be particularly obstinate in personality, there wasn't much Resh could do about that.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

The bird didn't literally know what the red-skinned humanoid was saying, but it understood what he conveyed in feelings and images. It also enjoyed being pet, closing its eyes in contentment as Resh stroked its feathers.

In return for the attention, the dove agreed to do as asked - though it was a little confused at being told that X wants me to convince you to do Y. "Try a simpler command," Master Avis suggested, noticing the bird's bewilderment. "No middleman or explanations. Just 'do this'."

Eventually the dove flapped its wings and glided through the air, alighting on the edge of the fountain, where it lifted its tail and shit on the ground. Master Avis chuckled. "Animals will be animals.

"You did well," she said, addressing Resh. "This one's quite agreeable. A more stubborn beast might give you trouble."

"What do you think?" Inanna asked her apprentice. "Do you want to keep at this?" Avis had introduced the possibility of doubt earlier, so she wanted to make sure this was what Resh wanted. Sometimes it was hard for kids to speak up for themselves; prompting him would make it easier.

Resh​