Garden Retreat

[Pash Tafo]

Pash found Epistor to have remarkable perspective, or perhaps it was that she possessed the grace to accept what she cannot change and to focus on the future. She also showed the capacity for forgiveness. He did not attribute any of those virtues to the Force that seemed to move strongly in the woman, but to the credit of her upbringing, the society on Sargus Novia or simply a commendable inherent character. Regardless, it was clear there was some sorrow in the fate that lead her to the place they now tread.

Pash nodded, offered a small smile in return. "I believe the Jedi are better for it." He added, his tone sincere. Then his attention returned to the search for the discus. "I have to confess, and I hope this doesn't sound vain, butI haven't found anyone here who could provide as meaningful a challenge, physically, as you. I hope we can do some training together. I think we could make each other stronger."

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

Epistor's brows rose in slight apprehension, but she agreed with an, "I hope so."

After his suggestion, though, her worry was gone in favor of, again, her good-nature. "Oh, is that so?" she laughed. "I'm no wrestler, and on my world we have no armies nor navies, so I am neither yet a soldier." Still, she knew her way around a sword, a shield, or her dagger, effects of both trying her brother's metalworks and having to protect her herd from the periodic predator.

Epistor stepped to the side, allowing another tree to pass in between them. Though she stepped closer to Pash once again, her eyes remained trained on something in the grass. "There it is!" she exclaimed, jogging over to a small patch of slightly bowed grass. It extended under a bush, so it had been difficult to notice that something was obstructing the grass and not just thinking that it had grown shorter than the stalks around it.

​Having retrieved her discus, Epistor quickly dusted it off and reslung it on her way back to Pash. "But I will try my best," she added with a smile. "And I agree; we both would better." With that, she began to head back the way they had come, seemingly counting out her naturally-paced steps if her focus on them was to suggest anything.

 

[Pash Tafo]

Pash nodded as Epistor seemed to express a lack of challenge in the arena of combat training. His thoughts didn't necessarily relate to actual martial training, but to the physical, much like the tree pull-ups she had shown him.

His clarification was interrupted by the discovery of the discus, which Epistor promptly retrieved and stashed away. Pash lingered until she returned, their conversation resuming.

"We don't have to spar, as such. Just help encourage one another with some good physical fitness." He replied with a grin. "But you will begin to become a warrior, among other things."

Pash fell silent as the began to head back, seeing Epistor trying to estimate the distance of her throw. Through the woods and across the open space he followed her, until the returned to the spot where she began, the grass still slightly trampled where her feet spun during her throw.

"So," he turned to face the Sargus Novian athlete, "how far was it?"

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

"Ah, that I can do," Epistor agreed after hearing Pash's confession, though a fast-lifting curtain of renewed apprehension fell over her expressing at the mention of becoming a warrior. That, while it was true as she had learned, would not go over well with her people. She was willing to become one more of the weapons that the Jedi could wield against the oncoming dark, as she thought it to be a war worth fighting, but she did not look forward to having to explain to them that she was becoming exactly what they had transcended.

"About eighty-six paces," she replied, when they returned to the spot of launch. "My pace is...er..." Her mouth contorted as she did the mental math. She would not win any races in the calculating itself, but she proved to be effective. In competitions, there was normally a professional mathematician employed to measure throws. Still, Epistor had gotten used to doing it herself during training. "About sixty-three meters. Not bad." Suddenly, she frowned, but the corners, slightly quivering, betrayed her jest. "I blame the gravity here."

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~

 

[Pash Tafo]

Sixty-three meters. Pash had no idea himself how far they threw the discus on Sargus Novia, but it was an impressive throw in his eyes, and from what he knew, and had seen, of Epistor, it would indeed be a damn good throw back home. One thing he knew, he couldn't do it, not the way she did.

He laughed at her tongue-in-cheek excuse. "Of course, one cannot change gravity." He complied with her jovial comment, patting her on the shoulder. Then the Matukai's features drew a more sincere visage. "You are good, aren't you? Don't answer that, its obvious you are. Through hard work and determination I am sure." A small, regretful smile touched his lips. "I am not skilled in the sports. Not enough time as a child for such things, or so my parents taught me. " He admitted, glancing out again to the distant woods Epistor had reached with her discus. "It seems we are the flip side of the credit. I was raised to be nothing but a warrior."

He coughed an ironic laugh, his brighter smile returning. "Yet here the both of us are."

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

"Flip sides indeed," agreed Epistor. "Maybe we also have different things to teach each other, then. Become the whole coin, and not stay on our own sides."

She was speaking only a little despite herself and what she really felt. Though she had known, more or less, what she was coming to Kashyyyk for, she still held her reservations. A warrior's blood did coarse through her veins, in some amount, from her distant, in-warring ancestors. She even had their ancient sword handle here, with the hopes of using the same hilt in her own. Despite all that, she was a daughter of Sargus, son of Novis, and of the new generation at that. A generation that had pledged themselves to peace. And so, that was what she mostly was, a woman from a near-utopia that had collectively forgotten how to fight, the pastime of their recent past.

But, from what she had read and what she had heard--of the Sith, of the Ren, of the Empire and Order--this war was one worth fighting. She would make this one exception. She knew that for it she was right, but she could not smother that voice in her head telling her not to fall for a life of violence.

​Well, maybe it was inevitable that she would. After all, Novious had three gods for war, and not one for their treasured peace.

 

[Pash Tafo]

Pash nodded in agreement. It was precisely what he was looking for when he came to Silver Rest. To learn new things, expand his experience, and to side with those who followed the Light. Doing so could only improve the person he was. The Matukai was, in a way, finding his redemption. His recent history was one of which he was not proud, one he feared would jade other's opinion of him, including Epistor. But he was making things right, becoming again the man Tara would have been proud of.

"One coin. I like that. And not only in physical feats or martial training. I am a warrior because the path of the Force I follow makes me fit to be one, and compels me to use my gifts for good. I don't crave war, I desire to free others from those who crave war." He waved his hand in apology. "I am beginning to sound like a holonet ad for the Resistance." After a chuckle, he added. "I hope to learn many things from you, and the other Jedi." A boyish grin slipped across his features. "I also like the coin where one side is you making Loukoumades, and the other is me eating them!" He winked as he shifted the collapsed wan-shen in its sheath.

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

His young companion was not at all bothered by his short explication of what his path meant to him...though she did not get the HoloNet reference. But she did not have but a minute to think on it before she could not help but laugh at the mention of Loukoumades. She nodded with a covered mouth, stepping back a little to contain herself. When she had settled, she commented, "Yes, I remember you had quite a liking of them." Then she nodded. "That is why I made them. And will continue to make them," she added before looking past him, up at the sky.

She rose a hand to sheild her eyes, musing, "I am still getting used to Kashyyysk's sun...but it looks to be around noon." The daily solar cycles here was, in fact, a little different than those on Sargus Novis, but she had quickly caught on, much like how she had picked up Basic reasonably quickly. She had--yes, she had heard of the time keeping mechanisms here, such as a datapad widget or a holowatch, but a celestial understanding akin to the use of a sundial would never break or get lost provided thin or no cloud cover. Her own quick laugh. "Though, the stomach never lies.

"I made spanakotyropita and lentil soup for my lunch today," she continued. "They are spinach and cheese pies. I left it back in my clearing." She pointed again generally where she had been training by herself before misinterpreting Pash's. She looked back with a warm smile. "Would you care for some? And perhaps we can reconvene."

Suddenly, Epistor frowned in realization. "...Half of our interactions have been me offering you food. Please, do not feel obliged to accept."

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~

 

[Pash Tafo]

Epistor had a pleasant laugh. Pash's smile broadened, but he was serious about those native pastries of hers. It may have been considered one of the few vices the Matukai had, indulging in delectable foods that were not necessarily the most healthy. As Matukai masters, his parents raised Pash on a strict diet that complemented the strenuous physical training he underwent. When he was at his lowest after Tara's death, Pash feasted as much on junk as he did on drink. Now, he was trying to strike a balance.

As the padawan looked up at the sun, Pash's gaze followed. He was not opposed to keeping time with a device. He had a small chronometer, but carried it only when it was necessary. The Matukai rarely had a schedule to keep, but that would be changing as he settled into Silver Rest.

The strongest confirmation that Epistor's estimate was correct was also his stomach. He had packed nothing, planning on wandering back to the temple when he was hungry enough. But when the athlete described deliciously the Novian fare she had packed, it was more than sufficient to whet his appetite.

"My dear friend," Pash replied with a slanted grin, "I would not utter one complaitn if all our meetings involved food! Come on, before my mouth watering becomes embarrassing." He teased, lightly clapping Epistor on the shoulder before turning back towards the main garden.

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

"Very well," said Epistor before she picking up her goblet that had remained nearby her ritual circle. Then she turned to catch up with him, and to lead them back to the clearing she had claimed at the beginning of her day.

The area was still unoccupied even though Epistor had left behind very little to hold the area: just a basket. She went over and knelt beside it. After setting down her kylix, she opened the basket and pulled out the same terracotta bowl she had brought to the courtyard days ago, along with a linen parcel bound up with a soft, leather cord. Following them was a neatly folded, colorful blanket. After spreading it out on the grass, she placed the foodstuffs on top, uncapping the bowl and untying the package to reveal that they were so.

"And there we have it," she announced proudly, "a shepherd's field lunch!" Secretly, she was glad that, for probably the first time in her life, she would not be bothered by sheep as she ate...but she sorely missed both Opision and Acrenon, whom she often ate alongside at one time or another.

But she tried not to think about it. Instead, sat down on her knees and took up one of four spanakotyropita triangles. She never expected company, but she rarely forgot to pack in preparation for it. For her, and in her greater culture, a meal was a gift not just because of what one ate but who they enjoyed their food with.

"The first morsel goes to the guest," she claimed, smiling up at Pash and holding out the palm-sized pie.

 

[Pash Tafo]

While Epistor unpacked her basket, Pash jogged back to the spot he had been training and retrieved his robes, though he did not don them, preferring the comfortable undervest he wore. Back at Epistor's clearing, he laid his robes over a stone bench nearby and returned to find a picnic laid out. Pash recognized the painted earthen bowl from the party at the temple.

The Matukai knelt across from his companion, eying the triangular savory pastries laid out between them. The padawan took one up and offered it to Pash. "How very kind!" He answered, readily taking the spanakotyropita from her hand. The outside was a tempting golden brown, and the aroma was tantalizing. At her encouragement, Pash took a bite of one corner.

The crust was flaky and the insides unusual but very tasty. He nodded his approval, wiping away a crumb from his lip with a single finger. Once the bite was manageable, Pash hid his mouth politely behind a hand and spoke around the mouthful. "This is amazing. I have never had Sargus Novian cuisine before coming to Silver Rest, but I am becoming a big fan!" He eyed the insides of the treat, curious of the ingredients.

"What's in there?" Pash inquired, having savored his first bite long enough, swallowing it.

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

"That is not at all surprising," she commented. "We--a year ago at this time, I would not have imagined life beyond our world." Sargus Novis, though no action of its own, had remained isolated in what Epistor now knew as the Tingel Arm of the galaxy. No one visited, and no one left, not that anyone would have wanted to do the latter...nor probably the former just yet. Life on Sargus was a good one for natives; as for foreign visitors, the problem was two-fold. Her kinsmen and women were not hateful, but wary of newcomers and that could sour a well-meaning visit. Also, as far as Epistor knew, there was no spaceport on the world, and finding a place to land could be difficult. "Maybe you would like the place as well." It was not really a serious invitation but more of a comment of what may be true.

Epistor shifted slightly, sitting now cross legged. "It is mostly spinach and cheese, with some onion and seasonings," she explained, taking up a pie for herself. With it--the pointy corner furthest from her--she motioned to the bowl, now filled with her soup. It was itself a thin stock, but its many chopped ingredients seemingly rendered it too difficult to drink. "This has lentils, some sausage, and assorted vegetables." That assortment looked to be carrots, tomato, and celery.

"Oh." She seemed to realize that as well, and reached back into the basket for her spoons. She put one before Pash on the blanket.

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~

 

[Pash Tafo]

The spanakotyropita was eaten in much smaller bites than Pash's appetite demanded, so that he could enjoy every bit of it. The more of Sargus Novis he learned, the more he thought he would like it. Rich, undiluted culture, relative peace, and if the rest of its residents were anything like Epistor, a noble people. "Yes, I think I would like it." He replied with sincerity.

Epistor continued to explain the meal she had shared, the contents of which seemed rather common, but the manner in which they were used, or the method by which they were made, rendered the spinach and cheese pastries and soup anything but common.

Taking up the spoon Epistor had given him, Pash realized they would be sharing the bowl. While it didn't bother him in the least, he assumed his host would have thought likewise, seeing there was no other means to separate out his own serving.

Cerulean eyes darted up at Epistor, spoon in hand, as if waiting from one last approval, then Pash dipped his spoon into the lentil soup and tasted it. Like everything the discus-thrower had shared, it tasted good. It almost made him feel...at home.

"Mmm... good." He nodded. "Such simple ingredients, but so satisfying. Thank you for sharing your lunch. I'll have to find a way I can treat you in kind." His grin widened before taking another spoonful of soup.

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

Epistor took up her own utensil and, carefully, poured her spoonful of soup atop her spanakotyropita; somehow, it ran down the sides of the pastry but did not drip down onto the blanket below. Then she took a bite slightly bigger than it should have been as far as manners were concerned. A particularly stubborn piece of spinach refused to be broken in half by her front teeth and, as she pulled away, it followed. "Goodness," she muttered through her full mouth. "Pardon me."

When she had swallowed her food, she smiled. "I am flattered you like it, but reciprocity is not necessary. But, if you mean to stick to that intention, I will not complain either," she added, echoing his reassuring words of a few moments ago.

She cleared her throat, either to clear some food residue from her windpipe or to signify change of topic--maybe both. "Do you mind me asking about where you come from, Pash?" As she awaited his answer, she took another bite out of her pie, much smaller this time.

 

[Pash Tafo]

As he enjoyed the generous meal, Pash could not help but notice the trouble Epistor was having with her pastry. A tight-lipped smile crept across his features as he restrained a laugh. He didn't want to embarrass the woman, though he felt she wouldn't hold it against him if he chuckled a bit. The padawan's response to his offer reassured Pash that Epistor did have a sense of humor, and his thin smile broke into a wider one.

Taking another spoonful of soup, Pash pondered Epistor's question. "No, I don't mind at all." He began. The Sargus Novian had been kind enough to share much of her past, and her culture with him. "I was born on Lothal, and my parents were Lothalian." He lifted his bared arm, looking down as if to indicate the coppery tone of his skin, a trait of the Lothalians. "But we left when I was about six, only returning a few times during my childhood, and never for long. We traveled much, sometime just the three of us, sometimes with a few others. Those who follow the way of Matukai do not settle for long, and don't gather in large groups." He explained with a small shrug. "I could say I am from Lothal, but I don't identify with being Lothalian, if that makes sense."

Pash took another bite of his spanakotyropita. "I am Matukai." He added around the mouthful, as a final thought. It was the only real culture he could call his. It was not as rich and broad as the one Epistor had come out of, and was still very much a part of her. A small tinge of envy was quickly pushed away.

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

Epistor ate some more in complete silence, thinking. Finally, she offered, "A shepherd goes where the proverbial sheep go. It can be lonely, especially when their sheep do not go back home every night." But always to a new pasture.

Even Epistor herself thought the analog a little strange and ill-fitting, but she said it anyway. She understood nomadism in some small way, and she wanted Pash to know that she did.

"It makes perfect sense," she added, nodding.

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~

 

[Pash Tafo]

A quiet moment passed between them, but Pash didn't find it awkward, Epistor seemed to be pensive, considering their conversation as the two of them ate. When she finally spoke, it was Pash who held his piece for a moment, processing the parable Epistor posed. There seemed to be a tone of personal experience in the woman's reply, as if there were a perspective of Pash's position with which she could identify. It gave Pash a small comfort knowing Epistor understood.

Pash's demeanor was subued, but no solemn. "I imagine it was not easy for you to leave. It seems you were happy on your homeworld. Perhaps we both can find a new sense of belonging among the Silvers." The last bite of his spinach and cheese pastry disappeared. Then his gaze lifted again to the padawan woman. "I am grateful for your friendship, Epistor, if you could say we were friends. I consider you mine. " He admitted. "A friendship that is based on more than food, contrary to how it may seem." The Matukai added with his wry grin.

-[member="Epistor"]-

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

Epistor sat, hearing Pash out and finishing her entree, and then laughed that wholehearted, pleasant laugh of hers again. When she had collected herself, she gave a playful scoff and shot back, "Why, count me disappointed. I though it was a good bribe." Another moment of silence passed between them, and a slightly more serious smile from her to let him know that her following words were not made in continuous jest. "But, really, you make me glad." She nodded. "Yes, let us be friends."

She back-tracked then, confirming his afore judgement. "Also yes, it was. Very hard. Not the choice I wished to make, but it seemed the one I ought to." The athlete-padawan gave, now, a tight-lipped smile. When her hazel eyes began to mist over, she drew her lower lip under the front teeth and gave a small, almost defeatist shrug. "I,"--a slight break in her voice caused her to try again with a stronger, albeit quieter, voice--"I can only hope it still is."

Maybe it was just her break of emotion, but Epistor suddenly felt cold. She quickly sat back on her haunches and rose her knees, so that she could nudge back the portion of blanket under her. Laying her shins back onto the grass below, she smoothed the portion of blanket over her mostly-bare thighs, careful not to pull vary hard and disturb the food. She also leaned over for another spoonful of soup, though it was anything but warm now. However, with a little imagination...

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~

 

[Pash Tafo]

It gave Pash a good feeling to hear Epistor's laugh, to know she enjoyed his company. She was indeed the first friend he had made since arriving on Kashyyyk, probably the first since he lost Tara. In the depths of his sorrow and self-pity in recent months, Pash kept people at bay, letting no one get close. He didn't think he could stand losing anyone else. Light has begun to shed that apprehension, more so since he found himself among the Silver Jedi. Epistor, with her honesty and kindness, was no small part of that.

"Good." He replied with an authentically happy smile and a twinkle in his eye, brushing an unruly strand of hair from his face.

Epistor continued, confirming Pash's assumptions about the difficulties of her departure from Sargus Novis. A melancholy fell over the moment as he saw the woman's visage change, the attempt to control emotions still close to the surface, hazel gaze beginning to glisten, as if threatening to tear up.

As she struggled to answer, her voice wavering, Pash's eyes lowered, his heart saddening as he realized how truly difficult the recent events had been for Epistor. She was a young woman possessing a power proven to be very dangerous, turned over to strangers who took her from the only home she knew to learn a new way of life. It only proved that behind every face at Silver Rest was a history of separation and struggle.

The Garden fell silent again as Epistor shifted to cover her bared thighs with the blanket, though Pash was unsure whether it was due to a chill or sudden sense of modesty. She sipped quietly at the soup. Pash lifted an azure gaze again to the woman, for whom his respect and admiration only grew the more he knew her.

Pash cleared his throat, his eyes drifting to survey the beautiful gardens, then finding their way back to Epistor. "I haven't known you long, or well." He began, feeling compelled to share his heart, "But it is not difficult to see what sort of person you are. You are kind, dedicated, generous, disciplined." His eyes darted to the discus at her side, then back to her gaze. "And I would never belittle the life you had to leave behind, but... someone like you... well, can make a difference where you are now. You have the qualities that are the best of what a Jedi should be." His sincere countenance was graced with a very small, honest smile.

Pash fell silent again, shifting to spoon another portion of soup into his mouth.

-[member="Epistor"]

 

[Epistor of Phasekion]

Stunned, was perhaps the only word for it. Epistor had received heartfelt support of similar caliber before from various relations to her--her brother, her partner, a few of the governmental advisers--but she had not expected it from one who had just become her friend or whose job was not to give encouragement. It was not that she thought the people here at the Rest acted kind when they were not so; it was just, for an unknown reason, unexpected.

The young woman forced a smile upon her face; in such, it did not look quite right, coming from the wrong place. "You flatter," she softly accused, "but I will accept your judgement." Epistor sighed, drawing and letting out a slow, shaky breath. She had more to say, but her throat had already begun to burn with her last words, and she dare not continue because of it.

~ [member="Pash Tafo"] ~