Private New Hobbies

[Iris Arani]

".. I can't talk about all of it, but.. Since Valery was named the Sword I've sort've taken over training Silas and Cailen. Preparing them for the wars to come. I.. I don't want them to end up like me, y'know?" Scarred, broken. Missing pieces. That was the worst feeling in her opinion. Her gaze shifted to her injured hand. She had to learn how to paint again, after her first encounter with Thalia Senn . Now? Well, she could draw with both hands at least.

".. It's coming along fine, I think." She'd gotten to the shading part, and seemed to be doing pretty well. No colors this time.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

That part was actually not expected. She had heard of Valery's rise to Sword of the Jedi, but had no idea what that actually meant in practice for Iris and the other padawans. "That's… quite the responsibility for someone your age." Amani wasn't going to sugarcoat the obvious. Iris was an apprentice in her own right. Having to prepare her younger peers for coming bloodshed was a depressing thought that only added to the weight.

She offered the girl a sad smile, "But you're a great Jedi, Iris. You have the strength in you to be even greater. They'll be lucky if they end up at all like you." It wasn't fully what the padawan had meant, she knew that. But there was more to be said about Iris than she was giving herself credit for. "If it's ever too much maybe you can, I dunno, drop 'em off at my doorstep for a few hours. Give yourself a break and I'll wear them out." She chuckled a bit, joking about the others as if they were small children. "Not like I have any padawans of my own to worry about in the meantime, right?"

Amani nodded in agreement with Iris' critique, "Yeah, it looks great. I should know, I'm basically a drawing expert." Another smile.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris stayed quiet for a moment. Just mulling over what Amani said. A great Jedi, huh? She didn't feel too great, given how many wounds she'd gotten just trying to fight on the front lines. Not like her Master. She closed her eyes. no, honestly, this made her happy. Hearing Amani tell her that. She just smiled, turned her gaze towards the elder Jedi and nodded.

"Yeah. .. I probably will, if that's okay. Having more hands to help train them would be.. It'd really help."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

“Of course. Just say the word.” Amani smiled and nodded. She could use the experience anyway. Probably wasn’t a great sign if the padawan was already getting a better comprehension of what it was like to step into the master role than the knight was. Iris was still a learner, and a teenager. As far as Amani was concerned, Jedi or otherwise, a teenager needed some time to just be that: A teen, a kid, with a chance to not worry about the stress of years to come.

“Being a Jedi isn’t about knowing how to swing a lightsaber,” Well, maybe it kinda was. But that wasn’t really the core of being a tried and true Jedi. “It’s about your heart. Caring, and compassion, and a desire to do good. And you have a lot more heart than some of your peers combined. That’s why you’re a great Jedi.”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Not about how to swing a lightsaber. Iris agreed with that much, but.. Caring, compassion. She frowned a little. Did she really have those? All her life she didn't, so wasn't she just makin- No. Amani wouldn't lie to make her feel better. Her frown turned to a smile as she nodded. ".. I try. I still don't know what it all means, but I try."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

The fact that Iris seemed genuinely unaware of it was equally surprising. Amani studied the girl's face with a look of concern, "I've seen how willing you are to help people, for no other reason than because you can. Always finding the good in things. It is hard, but for just trying, I'd say it's working out pretty well." Some may have gone for the 'do or do not' spiel, but to Amani, trying was often a good enough sign of one's character, "If that's not being a Jedi, then I don't know what is."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris was quiet for a moment, her gaze back on her own drawing. She closed her eyes, then.. Nodded. It was weird to think about for herself, but Amani wouldn't lie. That she believed firmly.

".. Thank you, Amani."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"Anytime," Amani flashed Iris a smile. She'd say it however many times the girl needed to hear it. Beat her over the head with it if she must. Iris had more potential than she realized. Apprentice to the Sword of the Jedi, with raw talent in her own right. Every Jedi had faults to work through, but underneath there was promise. An uncut gem.

Amani sighed and stared at her painting, before offering a change in subject, "I heard you met Nida." She shot the girl a knowing side-eye, "Maybe you and I will finally get an extra pair of hands in the healing halls, eh?"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Nida?

Oh. Iris just cleared her throat and offered the briefest of a nod and the faintest of a smile.

"Yes, I did meet her. She is a wonderful person. Though.. She's a healer? I didn't know that. She'll.. Yeah. It'll be nice to have some more hands to help us."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"Mhm!" She confirmed, "It'll be nice for us all, I think." Nida clearly wanted to be back in that setting, healing people. And Amani wasn't going to say no to the help. Even if she and Nida didn't know each other all that well during their Silver days, it still felt like having a familiar face back.

"A few more healers. A rebuilt temple. At least some things are looking up for us." Amani at least was feeling a lot more grounded these days. Though she knew that wasn't the case for everyone. Maybe something more was needed to lift the spirits.

"Y'know I was thinking… Now that the Halls of Healing are open again, I've been trying to make things look a bit nicer. Bringing in some plants and things to help liven it up a bit, and save us from all that bright white. But- and I can't promise anything yet- but, how would you feel about giving those Halls a fresh paint job? Something calm, and soothing. Help patients feel more at ease, y'know?" She held up her hands and reaffirmed, "Again, I don't have the clearance for something like that yet, but it's something I'd really like to see happen if we can. And I can't imagine there's anyone more qualified than you."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked slowly, glancing to Amani, then to Amani's painting, then to her own drawing. Then back to Amani again. Paint, the Halls of Healing? Wasn't that- Iris painted the Temple all the time, sure, but wasn't more illegal and frowned on than anything else she did? Oh, there it was. No clearance. Alright, yeah, that made sense. "Well, if there is permission I might do something. Or.. Maybe if I'm sneaky enough we won't need permission, heh."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"Well, the hope is that this would be a chance for you to do that without getting in trouble. Or without having to be sneaky." Amani smirked. There weren't exactly a lot of other Jedi known for their obsession with painting. The thought that being sneaky would change anything in the long term was amusing, "Nothing wrong with a new wallpaper right? People paint the inside of their houses all the time." Why not do the same with the Halls of Healing?

"I'll see if we can get a commission from the Council. I think it'd make things look a bit nicer. And it would be a way for you to leave your own personal mark on the Halls, y'know?" Amani gave her own painting another long look, when an unrelated question popped into her mind, "What do you actually... do with these things when you're done with them?" She gestured to the canvas.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Hopefully they'll be alright with it. Worse case I can just use my invisible paint and go from there." Paint for just the patients to know exist. Thinking about it, she might do that anyway for the kid section of the halls. Anything that might brighten their day would be worth whatever punishment she might get for the.. Illegal tagging part.

Then she blinked, glancing to her canvas. And shrugged.

"I leave them out somewhere for people to see. Whatever happens next, I don't really know. It's up to those who go by to decide what happens next with them."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani raised a brow, "You have invisible paint?" She didn't even want to know what that meant, but in any case she was more or less in Iris' corner when it came to artistic liberty.

Or, at the very least, she had no intentions of snitching.

"Really? Just… somewhere? Hm." The mirialan looked between her painting and the padawan, before taking the canvas off of its easel, "Well, in any case, I entrust my painting to you, Iris. Do with it as you would your own art," She would know how to treat it. For a moment there was a sense of attachment Amani seemed to struggle letting go of, but quickly relented. Just leftover nostalgia of a different time, she told herself.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Mhmm. If you take a black light to it, you can see it. It's helpful to leave behind messages when you need to." On Denon, especially. She didn't even think that Amani would snitch or anything. Though, the idea the Mirialan might go around with a blacklight to see if Iris had left anything in the halls was a fun thought. A thought that fell off as she glanced to the canvas, then to the Knight.

And she smiled, ever so softly.

"No, it's yours, Amani. Do with it what you feel you should. Keep it, let it go, that's not a choice I can make for you."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"I will keep that in mind…" Amani said suspiciously. She couldn't help but wonder now if Iris had secretly covered the entire temple in invisible paint. Or maybe just one very small message in some random spot that no one would ever find. Iris was here. Forever leaving her mark on the ancient Jedi structure. The mirialan scoffed a chuckle, finding some amusement in her own reverie.

She held out the canvas, only for Iris to suggest Amani keep. A blink, "Think so?" She studied the piece once more, then nodded with a flat smile, "Okay. I'll bring it with me and… figure out something from there." Keep it, or let it go. Maybe Alicio would like it? Was it pretentious to hang up your own art? It felt like it would be. She had no idea what she was supposed to think about most things related to art these days. But, she had enjoyed it, of that much Amani was certain.

"Thanks for this, Iris. It was nice to try something new and just… relax."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"You put the effort into making it. You should have the say on whether you keep it or not. And giving it to me to decide is just cheating." Well, cheating might be the wrong word, but it was the one Iris used anyway. She smiled bright, nodded. This was actually relaxing, then? Good! Good. She wasn't worried it wouldn't be at all. She never second guessed painting at all.

Nope.

"I'm glad you had fun. Or at least had some peace. You looked like you needed some."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani snorted, relenting to Iris' view on the matter, "Cheating? Well I guess we can't have that." A nod, and she held a canvas just a little closer. Not too close though. It was still drying after all.

"Definitely. We'll have to do stuff like this more often. It's a nice excuse for us both to ignore the rest of our problems for a little while." She had made a similar revelation on her excursion with Valery. Even Jedi needed some time off to just be people every now and then. Amani turned and readied to walk out the door, before adding, "Don't forget what I said. If those boys start causing you too much trouble just send 'em to me. In any case, though… just make sure to take care of yourself." She smiled, and with a parting nod, made her exit.

Iris Arani​