Private Healing Waters

[Kai Bamarri]

<The same way you would manipulate something with telekinesis. Or sorta. You just reach out with the Force and touch somebody’s mind. Then once you’ve made the connection, they should be able to hear your thoughts… though it can be hard to control it at first.>

He took a seat on the edge of the roof. <You try it on me. Just make the link first. Your mind to my mind.>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

".. Right." Just reach out. Through the Force. Truth be told she still wasn't the best at that. Iris plopped down, eyes closed as she raised a hand to try and focus her mind. That's what Jedi did, right? Used their hands to focus the Force? All manner of doubt filled her mind as she tried to figure it out. And.. She didn't. She'd try for a while, far longer than most would before giving up. And even then she didn't exactly give up.

She just got distracted. The colors around her again, the city. Her eyes closed as she focused instead on them. Rather then send a message, she ended up letting a wave of calm wash out of her.

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

As far as Kai could tell, Iris had not established a mental connection. Instead, she was broadly transmitting her emotions in all directions—in this case, a sense of calm descended over even the birds perched on a nearby wire. He had a sense that she was becoming distracted again, though he didn't know why. Maybe the ride to the rooftop had been too exciting for her.

<Not quite, but you’re close. Keep trying. Just focus on reaching me. One person.>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

The calm broadcast cut off as Kai Bamarri reached out to speak to her again. Iris frowned. "Ah. Sorry.. Distracted.." The Padawan cleared her throat as she refocused on the task at hand. Telepathy. Something to help her focus. Heh, ironi- No, distracted again. Her brow furrowed as she actually focused. Reached out. The colors around her streamed towards Kai. A simple thought came through.

<This, right..?>

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Yes!> He leaned forward eagerly. <Hold onto it, remember it, and you’ll be able to talk to anyone this way.>

Pausing to give her a chance to get used to it, he then asked, <How does it feel?> hoping she would answer telepathically.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<Huh.> Iris opened her eyes as the thought trailed out. Then she smiled. Excitedly so. Wait, she figured it out! A goofy sort of grin formed as she stood back up, practically buzzing with that new excitement.

<This is so cool!>

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai smiled. This entire affair was a welcome surprise for the doppelganger. After all that he had gone through with Jem, he was glad that someone else had not only expressed interest in telepathy, but seemed to appreciate its merits.

More than that, Iris was just an all-around nice person to be around. A little ditzy, sure, but that was better than nastiness or apathy.

<That wasn’t so hard, was it?>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<It's.. Actually not.> There was a surprise in her 'voice', or at least that was the emotion that accompanied the thought as she sent it. The colors swirled under her direction. She'd only just started to learn how to affect the Force herself, but this? It opened a door she hadn't expected. Colors were being painted by her hand, bringing words to Kai Bamarri . Was this something she could do? The colors weren't just something she needed to exist among, but she could change it.

<The colors actually make sense like this.>

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Colors?>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<They're.. The Force? .. Something like that. Emotions, life and death, I see them as an array of colors. It's overwhelming at times. Here is nice though. Pretty.> She nodded once, then unshouldered the pack she had. The sound of numerous cans clinking together was obvious before she unzipped it to pull out a spray can. With the lesson over, the other urge was coming to surface. She needed to paint what she saw.

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<I guess I can understand how someone would see it that way.> For him the Force was… well, indescribable. Boundless raw energy that could be found in any living thing naturally took the shape of many different things. No single metaphor could do it justice.

Kai watched with interest as she set her bag down and began rummaging inside it. Were those paint cans?...

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<There's more to it, but.. It's hard to put in words.> Or thoughts, in this case. Iris hummed softly as she clicked off the cap, then immediately set off to work. Didn't matter this was technically someone's property, she started to paint on the flat surface. <Colors is just the easiest way to describe it. And I like to paint.>

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Hey! You can’t spray paint here without permission!> Kai protested. He approached her from behind, ready to grab her and throw her off the roof if necessary to prevent this vandalism.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris paused, glancing to Kai Bamarri with a blank stare. Then blinked. <Oh, right.> She frowned, glancing down to the empty surface. There was a clear turmoil before she clicked shut the spray can to tuck it away. <Ah well.. It'd of been so pretty here.>

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Do you do this a lot?> Kai asked, gesturing to the little bit she had sprayed before he stopped her. <Why not paint on canvases instead, or your own walls?>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

<Because I want people to be able to see what I can see. Even though it's not close, I want to try and help people see that beauty. What good is that to be contained to a wall no one will see but me?> She tilted her head. For her, it was an easy answer.

<Back home it was so much easier. Everyone loved my art. .. No, they just didn't turn me in I guess.>

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai crossed his arms over his chest. It was clear he’d hit a nerve, if not something that mattered a great deal more than he thought. Still, he couldn’t just let her do as she pleased, to something that didn’t belong to her. That wouldn’t be right.

<I don’t know about that,> he said. <But what’s beautiful to you isn’t going to be beautiful to everyone else. That’s just… the way it is. It’s better not to try and force it on others.>

He laid a hand gently on her shoulder. <We can go get a canvas instead, bring it up here so you can paint.>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Not.. Beautiful to everyone else? Iris just stared, mulling it over. Eventually she just nodded to Kai Bamarri before her gaze fell to the spot she had already put on the roof. She'd been forcing her art on other people.

"Huh."

The sound escaped her before she thought about it. <I think a canvas would be best, yeah.>