Have You Ever Heard the Worf Cry to the Blue Corn Moon?

[Micah tol Powl]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTCuQ5FzhYg[/youtube]​

O S S U S

The children's holo played into the bedtime hour, an animated musical about a Corellian explorer's quasi-historical relationship with a native to an Outer Rim world. The lightning through the vaulted chamber had been dimmed as the younglings started to wind down from their day at the Jedi Academy. This particular room was where Clan Womprat slept and played, a mixed gender assortment of children of diverse species who ranged in age from eight or ten years. As the chronometer approached the nine o'clock hour, most of the younglings had migrated to a spot around where the holo was playing in the room, painting the room in a variety of color as the light of the holo washed over the dimly lit room.

The room was decorated with colorful artwork, depicting scenes meant to inspire some ideal or tenant related to the Jedi Code. Clean tunics of varying colors hung for their use tomorrow on hooks beside a rack containing the training sabers. Shadows along the floor betrayed the presence of toys which had been left behind to litter the landscape. Action figures related to the Adventures of Jono Jawa franchise or colorful dolls inspired by My Little Del-Ya: Friendship is Astral, a few of which were in the hands of children as they watched the animated holo. High sleeper beds supplied a sleeping space and a desk for each near-human child, while a salt water pool supplied the living space for those children who ordinarily under the sea.

Three heads stuck out of the water. The bulbous eyes of a Mon Calamari were even more pronounced on a child, the lower half of the red skinned fish-girl's face in the water as she looked out on the holo. A Tynnan youngling was stacked on top of the small Nautolan boy, who rested partly out of the water with his arms rested up on the pool's edge and his head resting down on his arms. The large, black eyes of the amphibious boy drifted shut for a minute, before fluttering open. Blinking, the green-skinned boy gave a yawn. His eyes fluttered closed several more times, before he dozed off to sleep...

...his eyes snapped back open, feeling the Tynnan pushing off of him before a splash marked the beaver-like child's escape underneath the surface of the water. Blinking, confused, the Nautolan realized that the Mon Cala girl was gone as well. The credits were rolling on the holo, as one of their teachers came forward to switch off the holo and put the younglings to bed. The Duros woman wasn't a Jedi, she was part of the Jedi Service Corps, and was something of a den mother and homeroom teacher for Clan Womprat. Her hand came down, resting on top of the boy's head as she tousled his head tendrils and spoke in a soothing whisper.

Zak actually wasn't certain what she said, listlessly hanging on the side of the pool, already half-asleep. He got the gist of it. Goodnight. Go to sleep. Go to bed. Something along those lines. Pushing back from the edge of the salt water tank that was flush with the floor, the Nautolan sniffled and yawning a second time... before plunging down under the surface of the water.

He slept in an aquarium, filled with plants and tropical fish native to Glee Anselm, Sanctuary, or Lamaredd. In the same way that the teachers would walk through the youngling room, there were spots where one could peer into the tank to look in on the aquatic children. The pool looked small from inside the youngling room, but spread beneath the floor in varying levels to provide the aquatic children room in which to swim. The level of the tank around the opening into the youngling room was rather shallow. The floor slanted downward as one swam toward where the human children slept in beds above the floor.

An artificial reef contained the bunks for the Nautolan and the Mon Calamari. The latter slept in a bed of anemone, hovering over the top of the reef. Zak slept in a coral hollow, tucked away along the floor of their small, artificial sea. Drifted down to the floor of the pool, the small Nautolan settled into a bed of seaweed and closed his eyes...

- - - - -​

"I'mma Jedi Guardian, Byss!"​

...in dreams, Zak Dymo was a Jedi. A Guardian, the youngest Jedi Master in the history of the Jedi and the first Peacekeeper Weapons Master Jedi Ace! A blue, double bladed lightsaber whirled through the air. Electrum accented handle, with aurodium wiring and phrik alloy making it as indestructible as he was. The hordes of the Sith, the Primeval, the Yuuzhan Vong fell like weeds before the awesome power of his sheer awesomeness...

"You gotta deal with this!"​

...an explosion ripped overhead, and the boy found himself re-cast into the scene that had taken place on Cyrillia. A lightsaber ignited in his hand, and a man slumped over on the ground in pain, pressing his hands against the side of his head to try and stem the flow of blood. A piece of his ear lay on the ground...

"Good job, Zak!"​

...Master Sovint's words to him. As the boy turned and watched his master sever the arm of a man with her lightsaber...

...looking around, the boy saw people staring at them in fear. "No wait," the boy called, as faceless masses began running from the Jedi. "We're here to help!"

"Master Harrison!"​

...Mon Cala now, and a Jedi with a badly dislocated shoulder crying out for help. The small Nautolan was struggling to keep the man's head above water, and helpless to do anything more. Here was Jedi that had come to Zak's rescue, and Zak was unable to do the same for him...

...all his training, and he didn't know how to save anyone...

​

- - - - -​

There was no way to gasp under water.

A sudden rush of air bubbles exploded from out of the Nautolan's mouth, as the child snapped awake with a start. The boy stared blankly into the darkness which now shrouded the artificial reef, as though confused to find himself in his bed. The dream had been a vivid recollection, intertwining memories and fears. It represented questions which the child had been wondering, but too embarrassed to ask.

The child's head broke through the surface of the pool a minute later, peering into the youngling room above. It was close to midnight now, the children of Clan Womprat comfortably asleep in their beds and no teachers in sight. Leaving the Nautolan to ponder questions alone.

Stepping out of the pool, the boy picked up a towel to dry himself enough so not to drip water on the floor, then snuck off in pursuit of someone to talk to.

He wondered if the Golden Nerd was still awake...

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri was awake oddly enough. A faint light glowed from his skin as he sat on his bed in his small private dorm looking through the pages of a small leather bound tattered journal that he carried even as a youngling. In it held the visions that filled his dreams as a child. Different events of his future. Always changing despite believing each and everyone one would come true. His master was correct however. The future wasn't set. As he thumbed through he saw many that never happened some where part of it had changed. He had almost forgot half of them. The corners marked which were good and bad. Ripped in the top corner meant they were good. Ripped in the bottom meant bad.

The bad were the reason he had the small room with just enough space for the bedroll, a small dresser, and a window. When every he had a bad dream premonition he thrashed about in his sleep or woke up screaming. It was disruptive to the other younglings so he got his own room. Uri really didn't mind however. It reminded him of his room he had in the monastery. However the door was different and he didn't have the window. The monks didn't have any electronics. If you wanted to open the door your hand slid it open. Such was the simple life in the monastery. As he got older his room seemed to get even smaller however he didn't complain. He didn't really need a lot of space.

Their were more good visions rather than bad. Among the writing were also illustrations in coal. Quite a few were recognizable. Severally of jedi. His master and a few of his friends. Drawings of places as well. One identified as Coruscant even though he still has yet to be there to this day. A youngling monk on Agamar drew Coruscant before ever even leaving his monastery. Uri smiled at the thought. Such was the will of the force. His mind had no doubt of this. Also images of weddings and celebrations. In the bad, he had drawings of evil looking people. Some he could even confirm as sith. Those who looked manic and hateful. He had images of war battles fought on planets deaths of those he knew and of those he had still yet to meet. The worst one in his book already came true although differently from how he drew it.

His head lifted has he senses a presence outside his door. Who would be up this late? The signature was small vaguely familiar. Uri rose from his bed heading to the door before finally opening it.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Sneaking out wasn't for the faint of heart.

Most kids Zak's age had only their parents to contend with. Maybe older siblings, if they had them. More than likely, that's who they learned to sneak out from though. If they went to one of the elite academies and lived at a boarding school, there might be teachers running interference instead of parents or siblings but, by and large, it wasn't even medium level security. It was a day spa guarded by Frank the Rent-a-Cop.

Living in a Jedi Temple?

Sneaking out was on a whoooooole different level.

Concealing his presence in the Force, a small shadow detached itself from the one cast by one of the interior support columns, gliding along the wall as the small green youngling passed behind a pair of Jedi temple guards. The youngling clans were housed deep within the inverted pyramid of the temple, not far from the dormitories of the padawans... but there were still a number of halls and passages which the Nautolan would need to traverse before he arrived at the section where the Hrakian resided.

This was some real [member="Kian Karr"] chit. Keeping his presence concealed, avoiding the main passages, staying out of the light...

A sudden premonition drove the youngling straight up into the air. Grabbing onto the column, the child shimmied up so that he was nearer the rafters of the roof as another patrol of temple guards came around the corner. The pair stopped, standing underneath the shadow of Zak's pillar, as one produced a datapad which he held out toward the other.

"Watch out for this one. He likes to sneak out and cause problems."

Peering down, Zak had a god's eye view of a screen bearing his picture on it. It was from the last Jedi Academy Picture Day, and not even the good picture -- the one when he'd done his best wampa impression. No, it was the one where his head-tails were pulled back and he was told to smile and look like a good Jedi.

If he had to change who he was to look the part, then what did that make him normally?

"This is what we're patrolling for? He looks like he's eight," the other guard remarked, laughing.

The small Nautolan made a face. He was nine. And not even like a new nine. He was nine-and-a-half.

...well, nine-and-one-quarter maybe. But still. He was absolutely NOT eight.

"What kind of trouble could an eight year old get into?"

"You know [member="Nefertari Sovint"]?"

Uh-oh, the boy thought to himself. Whatever they were about to say, he was probably guilty.

"The... Chandrila chick, right?"

"Rolled her starfighter."

The child just blinked. Yes, he'd toilet papered her starfighter, but that had been two weeks ago! Wasn't there some statute of limitations? Just what was the institutional memory here? And did anyone even stop to consider that she might have deserved it?

...wait, had she deserved it?

It was two weeks ago. He couldn't even have said why he did it now. And why did it matter when it was some ancient history chit? Seriously, people, what's done was done. Let it go!

"The Naboo N-1?"

"That's the one. And then three days ago, he egged [member="Corvus Raaf"]'s shuttle."

Okay, that was skrog.

Li-Ang Kicklighter in Bear Clan had egged Grandmaster Raaf's shuttle. But did anyone care? No. Had anyone even asked if Zak had done it? No. It was like anytime that anything happened that was bad, the answer was automatically assumed to be Nautolan.

Had Zak told anybody that Li-Ang had egged the shuttle? Of course not. That wasn't how the Code of the Jedi Playground worked. No snitchin'.

So he'd been the one who'd had to clean it up. And then apologize to Grandmaster Raaf. And then serve detention on top of all of that.

That was just part of the joy of being Zak.

"How is this kid still here if he's that much of a menace?"

The elder guard just put the datapad away, as the pair started on down the hallway. "Beats me, kid. Sith could have him as far as I'm concerned. At least then he'd be wrecking havoc on them instead of us..."

As the temple guards disappeared from view, the mottled green amphibian jumped down from his make-shift perched. Falling down between the wall and the column, the boy kicked and somersaulted down to the floor using the gymnastic techniques that had been drilled into the Jedi hopefuls since they could walk. As his bare feet slapped down onto the floor, the child dropped into a three-point crouch.

He wasn't certain if he was angry, or frustrated, or upset. Or if he even cared at all. Raising up, the boy flipped a hand gesture that he'd seen the Republic military guys use around the hanger deck, speaking softly to the backs of the Jedi Sentinels as he swore and said, "She'buy'ce."

They were too far to have heard him.

He still felt better for having said it.

He relaxed his guard when he arrived at the door to the padawan suit he'd ventured out to find, though his hand hesitated over the announcer chime. What if Uri was asleep? Zak didn't want to be a problem by waking the Hrakian up...

In answer to the boy's concerns, the door to the padawan's room snapped open then, revealing the frame of the teenaged healer as the Nautolan's large, black eyes mirrored the golden light radiating softly from off the older boy's form.

The boy usual happy expression at seeing his favorite superhero quickly melted into confusion. Every other time that Zak had been around Uri, it had been daylight. So he knew that the Hrakian had gold colored skin, but he'd never realized that the hue was more than just how the sunlight reflected off the older boy's skin.

Tilting his head to the side, the boy screwed his face into a very perplexed appearance as he uttered, "You glow in the dark?"

That wasn't exactly hello. Or nice to see you. Or an explanation as to why there was a youngling out and about at this time of night, but it was the Zak equivalent.

The child's head snapped up, a broad, toothy smile forming as the boy seemed to suddenly come to enlightened realization about his personal Jesus. "You're a nightlight!" the child breathed in awe. "Astral!"

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri looked down at the small amphibious youngling. Green skin, large black eyes, head tendrils, use of the word 'astral.' It was Zac alright. Uri stood there quietly as the small boy reveled in the fact Uri could glow. His face showed indifference. Uri wasn't angry or confused as to why the boy was up too late. Even at the mention of Uri being a nightlight. No, he just patiently observed the boy at the door admiring Zac's excitement.

Uri finally couldn't help himself. He smiled lightly as well. He had a soft spot for the Nautolan. Uri rescued him after all. For that they shared a bond most didn't a connection. Maybe a life debt, but as a Jedi, Uri would never expect the nine year old to work it off. It was a debt he hoped the small boy would one day get the chance to repay. By saving Uri or maybe just saving the life of another.

Uri let out a light sigh keeping the smile on his face, "It's a gift I've had for as long as I can remember. It's late. What are you doing up?"

Uri peaked into the hallway glancing both ways then ushered Zac into his room. The last thing either of them needed was to see the grandmaster in the morning as to why neither of them were in bed. If need be Uri would walk Zac back later.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

At the invitation, the small boy wandered inside of the older Jedi's room.

The child's head moved side-to-side, down and up as the boy's eyes tried to take in everything about this brave new world he'd just discovered. A teenager's room! And, he didn't even have to share it with, like, twelve other people either. As opposed to Zak, who lived in a clan grouping. For most things anyway. There were only three other aquatic younglings in Clan Womprat, and only Zak and the Mon Cala girl actually lived or slept underneath the water. Which, what stood out as alien about the teenage monk's room was the last of moisture.

Arboreal species kept their rooms so... dry.

At the question, the child spun around to look up at the teen with the particular kind of innocence that marked him as a youngling. "I had a bad dream," the boy confessed simply.

With that, the boy fell silent and allowed his eyes to begin wandering around the room again. A leather bound book near the bed caught the boy's attention, and he started toward that, as though intent on taking a look at what it was.

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri knew all about bad dreams. The true he couldn't escape however was that one day his could come true. He didn't bother Zak with that. The youngling came to Uri for a reason. Comfort? The boy didn't see too shook up by the dream. He seemed fairly calm actually.

"So what was the dream about?" Uri asked as he pressed on the pad and shut the door back. After that he turned to catch Zak heading for his journal. First instinct was to beat him there and snatch it up but after a quick step forward he stopped himself. A lot of those pictures and writings weren't for 9-year-old eyes. Why did Uri hesitate? He couldn't have answered. The force was his best guess.

Uri moved beside him instead sitting down on the bedroll then motioning Zak to sit down beside him. Uri lifted the book from the child's hand careful in the way he held it the book was almost as old as Uri. His finger went through the pages thumbing through to find a certain pag.

"Want to see a scary face?" He paused stopping a showing him the certain page with the jedi on it. "It's best no one knows about our sneaking out."

Spoiler

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The small Nautolan was flipping curiously through the leather-bound journal.

It was a picture book? No, there was some writing stuff in there too. But there were a lot of pictures. Only, they weren't like normal illustrations in books. These looked like they'd been drawn in art class.

Had Uri drawn them?

At the question, the green-skinned boy turned to look over at the taller Hrakian. "I dunno," the youngling answered, in part evading the question and in part honestly uncertain as the images that had been so sharp earlier were now starting to fade. "It was about Cyrillia and Mon Cala, and stuff..." the boy explained, as much as he felt comfortable, as the golden boy lifted the book from out of the Nautolan's smaller hands.

At the invocation of the scary face, the child's black eyes narrowed slightly, before he giggled in what seemed like recognition. "Is that Master Raaf?"

After another moment of looking down at the journal, the boy turned his head up toward the older Jedi and suddenly asked, "Uri, how... how did you know you wanted to be a Jedi?"

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

"Oh? What made the dream bad?" Uri liked to believe it was good to talk. He did it rarely so this would be good for the both of them.

Uri smiled as Zak recognized the grandmaster. This particular drawing was an important one. This was the first time he got a clear view of who his master was which made it easier for him to identify her when she came to Agamar for him.

His question was one that made Uri scratch his head. He had never had that question before. How did he know? He was told. Thinking about it now, he knew because the visions showed him that he would become a Jedi. He decided for that reason and that reason only. Part of him believed it was his destiny and that is why he became a jedi. Because he was suppose to.

"See this book?" Uri handed it back to him. "For as long as I can remember I've had dream premonitions of a life well beyond my young years, and I wrote them here in this book. In here, I predicted that I would one day become a jedi. I predicted that Master Corvus Raaf would be my master years before even meeting her. I predicted battles that have since passed us. Would it be odd for me to say this path was decided for me?"

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

What made the dream bad?

The youngling squirmed slightly, suddenly uncomfortable, as he looked down and away from the golden knight. "People got hurt and stuff," the boy answered simply. His head turned this way and that, as though peering around for something with which to change the subject.

At the comment about the book, the boy looked back up. Peering up and around, his head-tails swung across his shoulders as the boy's dark eyes fixed on the journal.

What Uri said made sense, even though Zak didn't have premonitions. But, being here instead of Glee Anselm, and growing up in this temple... was being a Jedi always something that was decided for people? "So... so you, like, see things before they happen?" the youngling asked, curiously. Would that be weird? How would that work? Could you change things that you saw? Like if you were playing a game and knew what your opponent was going to do, could you change what you did in order to win?

His brow furrowed as a question formed on his face before he'd voiced it aloud. "Is that how... is that how you knew you were gonna be a healer instead of, you know..." the youngling inquired, before adding. "...a real Jedi?"

It was past his bedtime and he had jokes.

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

"I use to. After I turned 14, I sort of grew out of them," his arm went around the shoulder of the small nautolan like how an older brother would draw in their younger brother. It was meant to comfort the small boy and make him feel protected. Uri didn't know the feeling of having an actual sibling. He called the monks brothers but they were a different kind of brothers. Like how some of the other padawans called him brother.

Uri laughed lightly at Zak's next question. It appeared like a sincere question but the wording was far from it.

"No, I decided to be a healer," Uri smiled at him. "That was the one thing that the dreams never told me I was. It just seems right. Even if I'm not a real jedi." Uri ruffled Zak's headtails.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The Nautolan giggled as his head-tails were tousled.

Jerking his head away, the youngling switched into play mode as he was tickled. Pulling away and then pouncing at at Hrakian, as he tried to play wrestle with him. He'd stop if told to, or when Uri had pinned him down (whichever came first). After which, the youngling tried to catch his breath as he thought over what the golden knight had actually said. "I dunno what I want to be," Zak remarked aloud finally.

"I really, really wanted to be a Guardian," the boy commented, which would hardly have been a revelation for Uri to hear come from the boy. It was his ideal version of himself or what he'd do in the future. Whether those ideals or fantasies could be reconciled with reality was the problem which the youngling had been left to sort. "But, on Cyrillia, I wound up hurting some people who were attackin'... they were, like, shooting at Master Neffy and stuff," Zak explained, which may have helped to elaborate on his earlier bad dream.

"I didn't like that."

Which part hadn't he liked? The shooting part? The hurting people part?

The answer was all of it. He hadn't like any of it.

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri grinned at Zak watching him suddenly get playful. Uri caught him mid-pounce then tossed him across his lap to the other side of him. He let the boy hit the bed roll with a thud then began to tickle and scuffle with him. When they both tired, Uri just smiled and laughed then patted the boy's stomach.

The next moment was a serious one. For the first time, it seemed like the last thing Zak wanted to be was a guardian. Uri never thought he would hear that come out of the Nautolan's mouth. War was a hard thing. It made children like Uri and Zak grow up too fast.

"We are keepers of the peace, not soldiers," Uri pet the small boy's head trying to make a soothing motion to make him feel better. "As Jedi, we do what we must to protect those who need protecting most. However we are merciful beings, taking a life should be our last resort. You did well to protect your master, Zak."

Uri smiled at the boy patting his head.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Giggling, writhing, and squirming, the small Nautolan was flipped through the air and tickled.

When he had settled down, the boy had curled up beside the Hrakian. The teen's hand on his head did make him feel better. But, there were still some questions that the golden knight's words didn't seem to answer. Craning his head around, so that he was looking up at the glowing Jedi, the boy struggled to try and capture those uncertainties into words. "But, the... like, the holocrons, they..."

The youngling paused, finding himself tongue tied and started over.

"On Cyrillia, when we were fighting, everyone was afraid."

In the chaos, those who heard the blaster shots had been startled. Those who saw the lightsabers had been frightened at what was taking place. Zak had been worried about Master Neffy. He had the sense that Master Neffy had been worried about him. "The masters tell us that fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering," the Nautolan uttered, repeating back the words of one of the holocrons that his youngling clan had watched. Turning back to his question, the boy asked, "How can we keep the peace if people are afraid of us, too?"

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri waited patiently for Zak to continue smiling lightly as the boy collected his thoughts. Uri thought back to when he was a youngling. He couldn't remember. He knew he wasn't as rambunctious as Zak at least. Was he this confused and curious? He remembered his master was always so understanding even as he got older and still acted like a youngling. That's what Uri strived for. Being naturally patient himself made it easier to achieve.

The boy's question was a good one. One that Uri hadn't given much thought to himself. "It's natural to fear what you don't understand, and since they weren't exposed to jedi as much as people would be here on Ossus. Then they wouldn't know jedi anymore than they would know sith. Fear leads to anger when that fear is fueled instead of... managed?"

Uri paused now to collect his own thoughts lightly huffing and smiling as he did, "Pretend there is a small lake owned by a group of Nautolans on Glee Anselm. Now a group of Anselmi come by an decide they want the lake so they capture they Nautolans and make them slaves so the Anselmi could freely use the lake. At first the nautolans fear for their lifes because the Anselmi force them out of their home, but eventually they get angry at them for capturing them and taking their freedom. The Nautolans eventually hate their slavers. If they want free, they will fight them for their freedom. This is when suffering will happen."

"Does that make sense?"

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The Nautolan's jaw just hung open, his eyes glazed over as he attempted to follow that story.

Did that make sense?

Let's see, so suffering was Nautolan freedom? "Uhh... yeah," the child began, sitting up on his knees as he began a series of hand motions while trying to capture something in words. Or, was the suffering the Anselmi being all hater an' stuff? "What? No..."

Finally, the boy just looked up at the Hrakian, threw his short arms up in surrender, and exclaimed, "That had waaaaaaay too many meda floors, brah."

If you thought that metaphor was in a nine year old's vocabulary, especially with this kid's Galactic Basic Standard grades, then you have been sadly misinformed. But, he gave it a good effort anyway.

Flopping over in defeat, the youngling crashed atop the bed and then curled up on his side. Now he was tired and confused. Like, he was tired and confused before, but now he thought he was even more confused! Pushing himself up from the bed, the small Nautolan threw his arms around the Hrakian in a hug. "Thanks, brah," the child whispered quietly, as a yawn overcame him.

His eyelids were starting to droop. It was probably time to go back to bed.

[member="Uri Aureleos"]​

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri smiled at Zac and laughed as he mixed up the word. Uri remembered his Agamarian accent was so thick that people would often correct him for words he couldn't say any other way. Uri watched Zac and how animated he is. Uri couldn't remember if he was the same. He was shy as a boy however he remembered that. Zac yawned and Uri pulled him close. Uri loved younglings, but he still didn't spend enough time with them to know when what he said would go over their heads. He should have socialized more as a youngling. Maybe then..? He wasn't sure.

"You ready to go back?" Uri pet the small boy's head in a soothing motion.

[member="Zak Dymo"]