Padawans Don't Party

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius was on Ossus. Mostly because it was one of the few places where the various Jedi Orders tended to meet, no matter who actually held dominion over the world. He didn't belong to any particular group; he was a part of every order. He went on crystal hunting adventures with silvers, studied with the Republic, and helped lead soldiers within the NJO. The teenager was a strong believer in unity, and Ossus tended to be a symbol for such.

Now, the actual reason he'd come here was rather simple; Darius had made friends in Zak and Roshki, who just so happened to be padawans as well. Padawans did not just hang out - okay, sometimes they did, but usually they were productive. His experience with lightsabers left much to be desired, and what better way was there to learn than with friends?

Droids, general forms, and blasters were easy. Opponents wielding lightsabers of their own? That was a different story. He had to gain some experience in general combat, and more importantly, get away from alliance politics.

He rather liked Roshki and Zak anyway. The two both had more experience than he - Darius hoped they could pass some of it along.

Alone he awaited in one of the temple's dueling rings; going through the general sets of Djem'so's opening motions.

[member="Zak Dymo"], [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The small Nautolan knew the underground rivers of Ossus quite well.

He'd grown up here, a tadpole staying more in the water than out of it until he'd learned to walk on land and breathe air like a terrestrial. It was a side of the Jedi Temple, and the planet, few were privy to outside the aquatic races. Underground reservoirs. Interconnecting waterways concealed by miles of earth and rock.

It was tranquil and peaceful. Without light, yet not without life. Intuitively, the small youngling navigated the deep and dark, until he'd surfaced in a reflecting pond on the temple grounds near the training arena.

Puddles marked the footprints of the barefoot boy, as the wet Nautolan ventured toward the dueling rings where he'd once faced off against [member="Megan Rhymes"]. Picking up a towel from near the training saber rack, the boy mopped himself so that he at least wasn't dripping water as he stepped out into the training area.

Without a word, the boy fell into step next to Darius. Mapping his every move, going through the opening motions of Djem So as the human brah did.

It was a lot like dancing.

Step, turn, now guard. Step, back, now slash. Turn. Overhead. Down. Left. Step. Turn.

[member="Darius"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]​

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[Member="Darius"] [member="Zak Dymo"]

I let out a rather loud (and completely unintended, I swear!) belch as I walked up to the two other Padawans, licking the icing off my fingers as I finished off the delectable pastry I'd, ah, "borrowed" from the Temple pantry. Maxi padded beside me, mostly because when I'd tried to make him stay in my room he put on a look that I'd learned the hard way meant, "You let me do what I want to do or else I'm going to drool on your favourite boots!"

...Yeah, not fun.

Pulling out a napkin, I wiped my face and fingers off before coming to a halt outside the ring. Darius was already there, doing something whose name I couldn't care to recall, but looked graceful enough. Lords knew if I tried, I'd probably fall on my butt. Which was ironic, considering the balance and grace I needed to avoid looping off my arm, but oh well. Standing next to him, mimicking his moves was--

"Squid Head!" I squealed, flinging my arms out as if I expected a hug. Which, I did not, but as I didn't get to see my favourite little Pipsqueak all that often, I had to make as much use of my time in order to pester him sufficiently. "It's been too long! My, my, I think you've even grown a centimetre or two since I last saw ya!" Maxi flopped down at my side and began to pant happily, his tongue lolled out as he casually watched what was going on.

Baring my teeth in a creepy smile I knew he had to remember from the last time we met, I added, "Didja miss me? Come on, I know you missed me!"

 

[Cedric Grayson]

(Would have posted sooner, but the damn notifications are being wonky again!)



Darius did not notice Zak immediately. He was too wrapped up in the motions of Djem so, too distracted by the blur of the lightsaber. When the little Nautolan finally showed up in his peripherals, Darius almost dropped his lightsaber. He might have yelped in surprise; just a little bit.

"By the stars Zak, I almost thought you were some kind of temple monster," Darius sighed and doused his lightsaber. He gave the Nautolan a half smile and clipped the weapon to his belt, "Except...you weren't really sneaking around were you? I really need to work on my precognitive skills." The padawan reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

His lips parted to speak further, but then Roshki was doing Roshki things. He did not dare get in the young woman's way as she greeted the boy. Darius knew all about getting between women and children - it never went well.

"Hello Darius, it's good to see you," he snickered in good-natured sarcasm. His gaze shifted to Maxi. "You're at least happy to see me, right?"

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"], [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Step. Turn. Guard.

Overhead. Step. Cut. Cut. Step. Guard...

The boy's rhythm was halted when the man beside him suddenly jerked back, as though startled. Or rather, when he was startled. As appears to have been the case. The child giggled at the man's plight, though he rather liked the idea of himself as a temple monster. Putting his hands up, and assuming his best monster-ish pose, the youngling offered his best Wompa roar. "Rawr!"

A butterfly may just have fled in terror.

"What's pre-cog-native?" the child inquired curiously, picking up on the word the man had used.

And then he felt it.

The cold.

The gnawing sense of some impending doom.

The abject terror.

Not even the boy-worthy belch could mask the foul stench that was the Pink Side of the Force. And nothing was more pink that ruddy skinned Togruta, arms outstretched as she emerged into the room like some void-born demon. Now it was Zak's turn to yelp in surprise.

Was she about to hug him?

Unwilling to let Darius remain neutral in this conflict between the Boy Jedi and the Girl Jedi, the Nautolan ducked behind the larger human. It was nothing personal, Darius, brah, but Zak was going to need you to jump on that cootie grenade.

Peeking out from behind Darius, the green-skinned youth calmly addressed the Pink Lord's question. "Master Booger Breath," the boy began, feigning politeness. "...so good to see you again."

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Darius"]​

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Darius"]

Maxi indeed remembered Darius from their misadventure on that one planet which, as a Blarth, he did not care to remember. All he knew was that this Two Leg was familiar. So, with a happy yelp, the pup ran at Darius, tongue to the side and leaving a trail of drool.

I, meanwhile, threw in my own snicker at his comment. "Hey there. How are you and--" I broke off, waggling my fingers teasingly as Zak hid behind the human. "Darth Bed Wetter doing, huh? Warm-up stretches, or what?"

Smirking slightly, I turned away and took off my outer robe. It was nice to wear it outside, but I expected to do a little sweating today, and a thick robe was not the ideal thing to wear. Instead, I wore training clothes that allowed for better movement. And yes, it was sleeveless, which meant the pink scars around my inner elbow, along with the scars I incurred on Alderaan, after escaping the Netherworld, were visible.

Normally, I was shy about exposing my arms because the scars tended to raise questions I didn't want to answer, but around these two (yes, even Squid Head) I suspected they wouldn't care much. Which was funny, since I hadn't known them for very long.

Oh well. The good news was, the scar on my right shoulder I got from Lothal was covered up. Now that story, while not necessarily a doozy, was too raw yet for me to divulge.

Turning back, I tapped my lightsaber hilt. "Oh, good news. I figured out how to put my blades to the same intensity as a training sabers so we won't have to worry about calamari." Alright, alright, a little mean, but Squid Head deserved it for calling me a Booger Brain.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Like seeing things in the future. Not the far future, but soon-ish. Soon future." Ugh. Darius just shook his head and sighed. No way he was explaining that one correctly.

Maxi cared about him at the very least. Not like he needed sentient friends, nope. The chubby little princess would quite likely prove to be his greatest ally in the days to come; of this he was absolutely certain. Because of this love (and the lack of it from the friends present that could actually speak) Darius opted to retain his position of neutrality between the two warring parties.

Unfortunately Zak decided to use him as a shield, as any good galactic power would choose to do. thus he was dragged into the war of green and pink. How sad.

"I'm doing alright. Finally got my lightsaber built, and -" he glanced down at Zak, "Don't eat him Roshki. You'd make me cry." He cracked a warm smile and reached down to tap his lightsaber.

"Figured we could do a bit of sparring. Stars know I need the practice."

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"], [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The youngling gave a scowl at the calamari comment.

His head-tails perked up slightly, as though he were a cat bristling it's fur. As Darius talked about lightsaber sparring, which was usually something that the boy could jump on without a second thought, the youngling found himself instead looking over the Pink Lord for the absolutely obligatory retaliatory strike that was called for.

The totem-like device was, perhaps appropriately, the target of the boy's attention. "That's your lightsaber?" the child asked, the skepticism dripping like venom from his words.

What was that? Wood? It was a lightsaber, not a chia pet!

Oh, and it was even painted. With faces or something.

"Oh, Master Body Odor, that's so..." the boy began, trailing off as he feigned being at a loss for words. Locking eyes on the woman, the boy smirked like a little Sithspawn and said, "...so you."

Was he being rude and ignoring Darius right now? Absolutely.

But then, he was being rude, period. So what was one more?

[member="Darius"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]​

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Darius"]

Maxi, still panting, decided the best course of action was to lean against Darius's legs. He wanted a belly rub, dammit! And his mistress was not obliging his demands, which meant the Blarth had to beg from his new Two Leg friend. The Small Two Leg smelled funny.

In the meantime, I gave Darius a grin. "It's about time! Scatterguns only work when you're far away, anyway." Snapping my fingers, I tried to call Maxi over to me, but the pup wasn't having it.

Traitor.

Zak was talking again, and it took all of my strength not to strangle him for his comment. I didn't care if he jabbed at me. I could handle attacks like that. Hell, I was even lenient on jokes cracked about my Blarth.

But my lightsaber...the handle had a special meaning to me. It was my last connection with my friends on Commenor; but how was this little nine year old Pipsqueak supposed to know that.

"Good," I replied blandly. "Because it belonged to my dead friend."

I probably shouldn't have said anything, but kark it. Now that he was aware of what was going on, I put on a-- well, not a happy face, but my usual "kark the world" face. "Now, Sushi Face, how about we show Darius what it's like to fight with a lightsaber, huh?"

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Maxi was nice. There was nothing better than an animal to focus on while everyone else was arguing. Darius bent down to scratch the chubby little beast's belly; not paying to duo much mind otherwise. They were having their pissing contest, an he would be damned before he got in the middle of it.

"At least you're not going to start yelling," he cooed at the little beast, amusement lacing his words. It was only when Roshki brought up a dead friend that he turned his attentions to the argument. Things were getting a bit heavy, and he might need to step in.

Fortunately, Roshki changed the subject pretty quickly. Darius really wasn't in the mood to play peace maker right now anyway.

"Absolutely - not getting rid of the scattergun either. That thing's saved my life a dozen times over," Darius grinned, "Figure we could have a good little spar, without insults getting thrown either way."

First he looked at Roshki, then Zak. Darius was going to be Jedi mom today.

"Shall we?"

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"], [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

As the young man looked at the Togruta, the Nautolan pointed one finger to an inky black eye as he stuck his tongue out at the girl from behind Darius' back.

By the time that the older padawan had turned to look at Zak, the boy was innocently rocking back and forth on his heels. "That sounds good to me," the boy opined, with a cheesy grin.

And a sidelong glance over toward the Pink Lord.

Sistah, you are goin' down!

[member="Darius"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]​

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Darius"]

"Bish, I ain't saying you should get rid of your clunky, antiquated, outmatched gun -- but I think you should probably get rid of that gun." I tossed a grin at him, glad to go to this topic. "And, bish, insults are the best part! They add a little...flavour." I wiggled my fingers for added effect.

I stepped back until I was at the other end of the circle, directly across from the boys. "Maximillius, come!" The pup let out an exasperated groan and gave Darius a big, slobber kiss on his leg. He then sneezed on Zak before waddling over, looking up expectantly.

"Good boy. Now, sit!" I pointed over by where I'd dumped my robes. The pup gave a tortured moan this time and slowly walked over to the heap, flipping down right on top with a heavy thump.

Shaking my head, I withdrew my lightsaber and ignited both blades. "So whatcha wanna do first?"

 

[Cedric Grayson]

There was nothing like a bit of animal slobber to start the day off right. Darius avoided making a face, though it was a concious effort to retain his look of amusement. Maxi was cute in his own way, and just that, in his own way. When he was wandering around slobbering over everything and everyone unlucky enough to be in his path? Not so much.

"Well Roshki, since you're so experienced, why don't Zak and I duel you?" A hint of challenge laced his words. He'd heard her remarks about his beloved shattergun - the thing was as dear to him as Maxi was to her - and they had sealed her fate. Darius was neutral previously. She'd forced him onto team squid kid.

"I'm just a novice, and Zak is short," he reached down to set a hand on the little green padawan's head, and left it there, "So I figure it's only fair, yeah?" He lofted a brow.

Darius cracked a thin smile.

"Don't you agree Zak?"

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"], [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

It was difficult to stay mad when you were sneezed on by a pup.

The initial "Ewww!" quickly melted into youngling giggling, as the small Nautolan's attention was pulled to the terrestrial four-legged mammal following the Pink Lord around. Given her obvious witch-like qualities, did that make this creature a familiar?

Ignoring the over-sized, adult type people in the room, the boy knelt down in front of where the pup was now sitting. Because the pup was currently much more interesting than anything either of them were doing. In fact, Zak had toned out the entire conversation.

That is until Darius' hand had come to rest on top of the boy's head.

Had they been talking to him? Craning his head back to look up from the pup, the boy said, "What?"

Darius then asked if he agreed.

To what?

"Uh huh," the boy answered easily, again ignoring the two as he focused instead on the pup.

[member="Darius"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]​

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

#slackerbutt

Two versus one? That was unfair -- to them.

I grinned again, hearing the challenge in Darius's tone and answering it with one of my own. "Sure, sounds like fun." Unclipping my lightsaber, I ignited both ends and held it ready. There were no fancy swirls with me, though. Like the last time Darius and I had fought together, my attacks lacked the usual flourishes of, say, Makashi. Mine were oftentimes quick and to the point, going for the kill instead of dallying around like an idiot.

But my stance soon relaxed as I pointed a finger at Squid Head. "Though, looks like the green one has already dropped out."

Pleased to once again be the centre of someone's attention, Maxi gave a happy little grunt and wriggled closer to the Nautolan, panting happily and just begging for a belly rub or an ear scratch. He even went so far as to give the boy a big, slobbery kiss.

[Member="Darius"] [member="Zak Dymo"]