Kyra's Bizarre Adventure

[Kana Truden]

And there it was. Kana’s heart jumped up her throat as she realized that before her stood no-one. A very confused teenager looked at her and she promptly apologized for the mistake before she walked out the front of the clinic. Kana had sworn to Kyra's Order that she would watch over this kid, and what does she do? She runs away. Of course she ran away, they always run away. These kids were all the same, like a constant reminder of why Kana would never have a child even if that choice had been left up to her own devices.

So now, somewhere out there, was a kid. A lone kid, a dumb kid, a kid that Kana had thought to simply talk to and try to help in some way. Maybe heal some wounds, maybe make sure she didn’t do this whole thing again and generally make something out of the encounter they had. Hell, maybe just try to relate to her, one person to another. But no, instead here she was playing hide and seek with a zeltron teenager who wanted to run from her troubles.

To say that Kana was frustrated was an understatement.

Up ahead there was the faintest traces of stress and worry. Like a determined terminator, Jedi Master Kana Truden picked up the pace and crossed into an alleyway opposite of the clinic to see the faintest shape of a Zeltron teenager. A prolonged sigh parted Kana’s lips as the girl seemed to mix into the crowds on the other side.

Grrrreeeeeeaaaat…

Kana approached the flow of people and let on another sigh, an almost longer sigh, as she stepped into the mix as well. Now, to follow that trail of hormones and rash decisions.

 

[Kyra Perl]

It didn't take long for Kyra to feel like she was in the clear. Just a street or two-- a few glaces back-- a momentarily escapade through the inners of an arcade, and then the girl's pushing paced slowed.

She had no where to go. No where in mind, nothing to do. The freedom her fleeing had gained sat heavily in her chest, the young zeltron unsure what to do with it for once. This was not the first time she ran. Though usually she had a destination in mind-- a need that just had to be met.

What was her need this time? She had to admit, she didn't know. Air maybe?

She had been with the Silver Jedi for months now, a time frame which usually marked the start of her stirring shit until she got visits home. She couldn't help but to acknowledge how much she missed Zeltros. Her mother, her bed-- in the face of her overwhelming embarrassment, all she wanted was a hug from Joza Perl . Her eyes stung, her throat tightening against the homesickness that bore down on her.

She could go home then? Maybe?

Once again, her fingers traced the hard outline of her mother's credits in her pocket. All the while the girl wavered unseeing in front of an ice cream shop, her gaze blank as the crowd swam around her.

 

[Kana Truden]

Oh great, an arcade. Even more teenagers with even more hormones and to some extent even more angst. Kana shook her head at the situation once more and went for the easier route. Kyra was not going to run into an arcade if she wanted to hide. At least not for long. She would by most accounts probably try to head right through it, use the thing to have Kana lose her scent. By all accounts a smart move, but Kana had tracked war criminals through jungles to see them delivered their just due. She had arrested criminals and slavers that had gone underground after her arrival. This was a vastly different scenario, but the means of getting there was not.

So, if you can’t go through it you go over it. It would be an overt usage of the force but at this point who cared? Kana lept up to the roof from a nearby sidealley. Acting overwatch she swore she had the trail down below and Kana would descend into the street once more to pick it up. It seemed the girl had slowed down here. The target was close by, she felt it.

Crossing the corner, there she was. A single person in a steady flow of people. Kana let in a deep breath and then a slow sigh. The kid was just confused. It wasn’t too unlike what they had seen some of the older Jedi recruits act out when Kana had still been in the Republic. It was a pity to see, but…

Kana approached Kyra from behind.

“You know you can’t just keep running away, right?” She said and did little more than stand there. Kana shook her head. “Why’d you go off like that?”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra didn't startle. In a way, she had expected to get caught. If she truly wanted outie she would have tried much harder, gone much further. Perhaps it was just the illusion of fleeing that she had needed. The illusion of an escape.

She gave a half hearted shrug to Kana's question. "I don't know," she answered honestly. She kicked at the ground, sensing Kana's need for a more detailed answer and flailing internally. She glanced up then, noticing the shop sign before her. "Ice cream?" She offered.

She stepped forward, pulling out her mother's credit card and placing it on the order counter. "Want one?"

Definitely not a change of topic or attempt to distract. Newp.

 

[Kana Truden]

It was pretty clear that it was a distraction, but if that was what she needed if she wanted then by all means. Although it felt wrong to let Kyra pay for the thing, Kana would slowly nod and let on as much of a patient smile as a recently worried-out-of-her-mind healer could muster. Children overall were aspects of life that Kana did not enjoy, or perhaps to be more specific it was the childhood part of it. Of course there were good children, in fact there were more good than bad, but from her own lack of one it was hard to relate. That was to say the good childhood part.

“Sure.” She said with an uneasy exhale. “Look, I-... I worried, okay? That was not what I had expected. At all.”

Pushing the topic wouldn’t serve a point. At this point Kyra probably didn’t need it either.

“Just… Small heads up for the next time you run, please? Even the odds a little?”

 

[Kyra Perl]

That kinda defeated the purpose. Kyra gave a vague nod of agreement anyways, not wanting to risk the jedi finding her too tedious and dragging her sorry ass right on back.

She wordlessly ordered two cones, and when hers came out it was the size of her face and utterly dripping in sprinkles. It was a small bandage for a bad day, but it seemed to brighten her mood to a small degree. She sat on a provided bench and nibbled at the loose sprinkles, her feet swooshing.

"...You found me pretty fast," she noted. Faster than most, at least. She woulda thought the thick crowd and head start would have granted her some extra time for angst on her own. Then again, she perpetually underestimated what jedi were capable of.

Herself included.

 

[Kana Truden]

If retail therapy worked for her, that was all the more power to her. Kana dreaded to think about the bill Kyra’s mother would receive at the end of the day, but perhaps just this once it was for the better. Ice cream was a familiar concept to many, if that kept you grounded and away from notions of running again then that's what the situation called for.

“I did, huh?” Kana said and rubbed her neck. “I guess that small soldier part of you never really goes away.”

Not that Kana enjoyed it. She wanted to heal people, not be reminded of her time on the battlefield. She offered to sit down with Kyra and simply enjoy the ice cream. Either seated or standing she would remain vigilant on the fact that the girl could run. She wouldn’t really expect her to do so, but the chance was still there.

“For what it’s worth, I understand how you feel to some extent. I joined at the itty-bitty age of nineteen.” Kana smiled in remembrance of those early days. “I just didn’t have anywhere to run at that point. My home had been blown up, and my family and me were-... are… Not on the best of terms.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra froze, her gaze locking up at the imparted facts. "Your... home was... what?" She exclaimed, unfreezing to turn and level a horrified gaze up at Kana. It might be clear by her reaction that such declarations were new to this sheltered padawan. Zeltros wasn't known for harboring bad vibes, and her mother had kept her even closer to her chest.

It was a cruel world out there.

Her ice cream dripped, rainbow jimmies falling down her hand and into her lap as she gaped.

 

[Kana Truden]

A quiet exhale of a chuckle passed between Kana’s lips as she grinned. It was a long time ago now, the pain was gone but the memory wasn’t. She looked at Kyra’s ice cream as it dripped into her lap and kindly pointed the fact out as she prepared herself to retell the story.

“It was blown up.” She said rather bluntly, again. “Or at least, the part of Alderaan that I liked to call my home was, in the war with the Sith. I am actually from Coruscant, but I ran away as a teenager to get away from my family. They weren’t kind to me, and I just sort of got fed up. Especially after, well…” Kana slowly extended her leg and gave her metallic shin a knock before she tucked her pants back into the boot again. “They had never cared, and… Well, I knew they’d never accept me so I got out. Ran to Alderaan and made a life for myself repairing electronics.”

There was more to it, but Kyra would have to ask first.

“Started drinking, got into trouble, made several wrong calls with relationships, tried to fill a hole that I thought someone else could fill for me.” Kana shook her head. “... Was eventually brought to the Jedi Order by an old Knight called Shaw McKeller.”

It was positively a rant at this point.

“Now, this was an Order in wartime. I was pretty much drafted the second I got off Alderaan, and no sooner than I got off Alderaan it seemed as if I was brought back. Only this time, the Sith had bombed the place. Started to pervert it with bioweapons, vongshape it, if you have ever heard of that.” Kana sighed. “It wasn’t something that was easy to see. All those memories just… Gone.”

It did still weigh on her but not as heavy as it once had.

“So trust me, I get this whole thing about wanting to run away. I wanted to do the very same when I had joined the Jedi. For me it just seemed as if everyone was so able, so good at what they did. And then there was me, nineteen year old and surpassed by kids half my age. I mean, my best friend at the time had an ability and wisdom that went far beyond my own.” Kana turned to look at Kyra with a smile. “It’s easy to let that get to you.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Why was she chuckling! Where were the tears!

Kyra stared on at the woman as she retold her past with a discerning level of dissociation. It was as if she was talking about someone else-- their life, their loss. And it didn't reach her at all.

In the back of her mind she was reminded of her encounter with Bryn. Sith touched too, the woman had very little connection with her emotions. Or life. Deep concern blossomed in Kyra's chest, followed by her usual need to fix and protect those that... didn't felt right.

Maybe Kana could come back with her. Another lost Jedi she could bring home. She wouldn't be the first.

These thoughts were derailed as Kana turned the topic back on Kyra, relating her own past to the girls. Kyra frowned deeply at this comparison. ... And the accuracy in her assumptions about Kyra's life.

She was behind the others. It did bother her greatly.

She turned her frown into her ice cream, licking up the dropping bits. "So.... you think I shouldn't give up? Stick it out? ...Go back?" She asked, her voice soft as she carefully looked up at the woman.

 

[Kana Truden]

“I know it isn’t very tempting right now, but yeah.” Kana said and let her smile linger. “The Jedi are sometimes a bunch of self-righteous jerks that like to pat ourselves on the back one too many times every now and then, but I’d say we’re still preferable to the alternative.”

Kana continued on her ice cream and looked out at the crowd for a moment before she turned back to Kyra.

“And as far as I am concerned there is no rule on how to be a Jedi beyond following the code. Jedi of all sizes and colors have come and gone throughout the ages, yet the only ones we remember are those that preferred to act and show what it meant to be a Jedi rather than those who read and share stories about it.” The damn ice cream was dripping all over the place. “The impor-” Kana had to cut herself off to keep the snack from pouring out onto her hand. “Is-” She had to try again and gave up with a sigh as she pulled the paper piece up above her hand. “What I am trying to say is, you are not bound by those around you. Strength isn’t measured in the force, it’s measured by what you say or do.”

Kana looked at Kyra to see if she understood what she meant.

“You’re a smart kid, with or without the force. I mean, just now you evaded me by knowing how to maneuver a crowd by trying to lose me in an arcade full of people. Not many Jedi raised in the Order would think to do that.” She chuckled. “You can bring knowledge to them about your world and how it works, same as they can bring their knowledge to you.”

“Get what I mean?”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gave a slow nod, a small smile creeping into the corners of her lips.

"Yeah. I think so. .... Don't give up... everyone is different .... try your best and you're doing the jedi thing right?" She gave Kana a side glance, waiting for sign of confirmation before exploding into a--

"Great! So you'll come back with me then!" She jumped off the bench, smiling wide as she offered Kana a hand. "You'll looooove Silver Rest, I bet it hasn't changed a bit. Except for the food... that's gotten worse. But! Can you cook? I know someone that can. We'll make burgers and fries and I can come visit you for girl talk!" She tried to tug Kana up, forceful in her idea.

 

[Kana Truden]

A small chuckle parted Kana’s lips into a grin. Her eyes closed as she tried to find the words to speak, opening only to a small “Well, yeah-” before the excited girl cut her off and Kana felt her heart drop in an instant.

Would the Master go against her word now and undermine everything she had just said, or push on against her own better judgment and go towards the Silver Jedi? At the behest of a Padawan no less. Kana’s brows furrowed for a second as she gave it some thought.

“I mean, I can always come with you to Kashyyyk.” Kana nodded. “But, I am from the Republic branch of Jedi people, the very same branch of Jedi people that the Silver Order broke off from due to our differences. I am not sure if my presence there would be all that appreciated.”

And for the first time in their conversation Kana would show genuine uncertainty at the fact. It had been a while ago, but that didn’t mean those wounds were closed. The master rubbed at her neck.

“I can cook if my life depends on it, and… That does sound pretty neat.” Kana let air burst through her nose as she extended her hand for Kyra to pull her up. “I can’t forego my own oath to the Circle of Healers, but I could certainly make an effort to have more of a presence on Kashyyyk every now and again, if the leadership is okay with that.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Oh, pish posh. They're Jedi! They won't care." Naive words from a naive girl. Or perhaps words of truth that flawed men couldn't measure up to. Either way.


Unadulterated enthusiasm radiated off the girl, in a way that was more than just 'I'm sensing your emotions through the force'. The force echoed with her feelings that cocooned her like a halo, subtly pressing against the minds of those that stood inside of it. It was not unlike standing inside a warm beam of sunshine.

Or in a thundering dark rain cloud, if that was how she had it.

Thankfully, she was nothing if not elated to have gotten her way. Her little mind trick, while unintentional, mirror the function of pheromones. At least she wasn't assaulting Kana with those as well.


"They've been doing a lot of guest teachers-- small little classes to help us learn wider skills. Mesa thinks they're worried we're not ready enough." She shoved a big bite of ice cream in her mouth, the liquid dripping down her chin as she spoke through it.

"Probably right. You can teach us something. Like healing, that's pretty handy. Dont you think?"

 

[Kana Truden]

A wrinkled forehead wrinkled even more as Kana tried to imagine that conversation. She knew that she was one of the more moderate Jedi amongst the Republic, but she certainly associated herself with more than a few that weren’t as open to it as she was. As Kyra began to radiate her warmth and happiness Kana would begin to blank out the most likely unintentional waves. She was after all a teenager. Those generally weren’t always in control of certain aspects of their own selves. Nothing wrong with that.

“Undoubtedly though, the Silver Rest already has its own enclave of healers.” Kana said and placed her hands on her hips. “And for all they know, you might not be ready. That was always the big issue for us in the Republic and losing members to the Sith. Some kids just weren’t ready for the reality that is war, some of our more senior members weren’t either for that matter.”

“I can certainly teach you something, though anything substantial would take quite some time.” Kana said as they began to truly consider it. “Though, you would need to start with meditation.” The healer raised her brow. “You said you loved that, right?”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra pulled a face.

"Why does everything have to start with meditation?" She protested, leading Kana through the streets. She walked with intention. If one paid attention, they might even notice her straight forward path to the shipyard.

"You know my mentor, JJ, doesn't make me meditate. He says its useless for me. That there's better ways to go about doing stuff. Maybe you should try that. Better ways. Not everyone has to go about being so conventional- Oooooh," she cooed, stopping short in front of a shoe store. A pair of black leather combat boots stood front and center in the display, rotating on a small plate.

Her eyes reflected the bright display lights, growing wider the longer she stared.

"That's just my size!" And with no warning, she turned and walked in.

 

[Kana Truden]

It seemed more and more people shied away from meditation. Kyra even called it a conventional means to finding peace, and never in her life had Kana felt more old. She let a wary hand prod and poke its fingers against her just ever so slightly wrinkled forehead as the kid continued to lead her down the road.

“Mentor, huh?” That wasn’t a master. “So what does your other mentors say, Kyra?”

Hey, it wasn’t as if Kana judged her. The blonde herself had never had a master, and she was just fine enough without one. Maybe she was turned to the dark side that one time, but that was more on her. Had she known meditation was a good way to avoid that Kana would have meditated a great deal more than she had up until that point.

“You are just full of impulses, aren’t you?” The healer asked the girl as she approached the window, one eyebrow raised at the boots on display. “Is that why you don’t want to meditate?”

“Okay. I get why, I just don’t see how-” Kana shook her head and sighed. “How is meditation a convention— Okay then, how…” Why was she arguing with a girl? Kana shook her head and sought to understand this unexpected situation regardless. “What is this unconventional way of finding inner peace. And for the love of everything in the force. Don’t say sleeping with others or I will seek out this mentor of yours and strangle him dead.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stopped halfway down the aisle, her expression pulling into one of utter disgust. "I do not do that!" Exclaimed the little pink Zeltron.

A resounding 'duh' rang out through the air.

And then she was off and walking briskly to the boot aisle, leaving Kana to keep up or be left to the dust.

 

[Kana Truden]

“Look, I am not saying that you are. Or well, I didn’t meant to.” Kana said and rushed after Kyra. “It’s just a problem that is very prevalent in which mentors are as likely to sleep with students as they are likely to teach them anything.” A groan passed Kana’s lips as she walked next to the girl. “At the Circle of Healers we once had this problematic member who claimed his shriveled up elephant-slug was a healing stick.”

“Having that kind of person around you, gathering that kind of a cult following of men and women alike was just…” The grimace on the healer’s face would say it all. “We are meant to save people thought actual healing. Not… That kind of healing.”

And finally, the healer took a deep breath. “Look, I am sorry. What was this unconventional means to finding peace? Really? I can’t wrap my head around that.”

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Ewewew!" Kyra proclaimed, half flailing her hands through the air and stopping short to stare at Kana in pleading horror.

"I'm not having sex, alright? No one is having sex. No sir ree, this is a sex free academy! Gods, you're worse than my mother," she declared, taking back off. She came up to the boot aisle, stopping before the nice, supple, solid leather boots she had seen in the window.

"Just because I'm whatever and quarter zeltron doesn't mean I have to be so stupid as to do that- And Judah Lesan Jr. respects me. Trust me. I've pheromone bombed him like. Twice. And you know what he did? Went for a run. He looks out for me."

She grabbed a pair of socks and busted the pack open, sitting down and fussing to shove of her slimy shoes and dampened socks. She pulled the fresh set of socks out from between her teeth and slipped them on, making a mess of the show packaging as she went for them next.

"That's what he has me do by the way. Run. It's quiet in the woods. No fussy people." She made a face, half shuddering.