Silent Tribute

[Taiden Keth]

In the hallway stood one silent Echani. Long silver hair down today, usual white attire on, ceremonial dress taking the robe a step further it draped down his sides. Taiden waited patiently, not buzzing or knocking, almost with a calm reverence for where he was. He carried nothing, held nothing except a modest white box between his hands, lowered down to his waist.

Not a word was said to indicate he was there, or a sound made as anyone passed. He was almost meditative, but stood straight, motionless to the movement of the corridor or the work inside the office. Not betraying motive or intent to anyone passing, observing the world as it moved in front of him.

It wasn’t until the grandmaster either had a break in his busy day to sense the arrival, or just happened upon a lone Echani in the hallway that he nodded calmly and presented the box forward. There were no words said, just open palms in a gesture of giving. Reading him would be hard but not impossible, as his mind was finely balanced on the act of stillness and the giving of the box.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

It's always a good sign that you need a break from paperwork when you find yourself asleep face-down at your own desk. Fatigue from the painkillers he has been taking to alleviate the pain from his injuries sustained on Midvinter weeks earlier, coupled with a hint of boredom, had apparently caught him off-guard as the Grandmaster stirred from his brief rest. His entire body felt stiff, and as he sat back up in his chair a piece of paper remained stuck to the side of his face. He sleepily got rid of it and crumpled it up before tossing it in the waste basket.

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes Thurion stood up and stepped into the adjacent bathroom to wash his face with a splash of water. He caught himself in the mirror, and upon closer inspection he found a few extra wrinkles across his forehead and around his eyes. Albeit minor and barely noticable, they reminded him that time was moving ever onward, with or without them. It also reminded him to enjoy every moment in life.

Having gotten cleaned up and now with a glass of blue milk in hand, Thurion thought to step outside for a walk around the premises, as he often would partake in. Only this time he was surprised to see [member="Taiden Keth"] stood outside his door, as if waiting to be let in. "Taiden? What brings you to my office?" Thurion casually sipped from his glass while leaning against the door frame. "Were you... waiting for me?" he asked with slight confusion.

 

[Taiden Keth]

Lowering his head forward respectfully as Thurion approached, then back to standing. “Yes Grandmaster, a gift.” Taiden kept the box held forward, to the considerably larger figure, having interacted little with the grandmaster, he hoped as ever that he had not overstepped the bounds of etiquette. The small box was actually two gifts inside, and so smaller still when opened, quite fragile for the giant humanoid but constructed well.

“We reach maturity in our 24th cycle, it is our custom to give our eldars gifts on the 8th day of the 8th month. Having no family eldars, I choose your family to present the gift to. If you will allow it, as they allowed me an accepting haven to learn and live within, and there is no greater gift I've been given.”

Matsu and Nima were next for him to seek out as his teachers, but he considered the heavenshields those who had acted as custodians, and at 24 years he was finally considered an adult back on his homeworld.

“With open hands you receive all comers, no judgement or prejudice, I have learned to do the same in my time here.”

Inside the box. One gift for his daughter, one for his wife, both intended to be shared with others which was the point of this, and the subtle way of saying thank you for the family atmosphere, something that Taiden would never say or admit openly of course, not with the level of distance he kept to emotion.

First there was a lightsaber pearl, an ultima-pearl, silvery lustrous from the ocean floor of dac, shining you could see your reflection in it. Taking great effort to install or work with, but just the sort of thing a daughter might find creatively fitting a necklace, lightsaber or other trinket, a weapon and a decoration.

For Coci and Thurion too he had an entirely different gift, a case of old musty scrolls. Not very thrilling, until you realised that Taiden had in his spare time catalogued every silver Jedi’s time here, how they trained, speaking to them quietly, and asking to record a few quiet words of thanks, almost all of them had happily said something. "For the harder days", the days that workload piled up to read and remember why they were doing what they were doing, and how many they helped.

“I hope one day to be able to offer gesture for your son,” Taiden said quietly and respectfully, aware he was on break from their order.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Thurion said nothing, instead looking on with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape. This certainly was unexpected, to say the least. Proof that every day brings with it surprises. Setting the glass of blue milk aside on a nearby table, he carefully took the box from the young man's hands and examined it, before lifting his gaze to meet that of [member="Taiden Keth"].

"Thank you, Taiden. Really. I humbly accept your gift," he said before bowing, only to then be reminded of his son's absence. "Théodred's... not here," he said on the subject. "But, I am sure that when he returns you'll get plenty opportunity to see him," he added with increased optimism.

Neglecting to pry into Nina's gift, Thurion quickly found the parchment intended for him and Coci. He went silent as he looked over the countless names, recognising each as a member of the Silver Jedi, alongside some who were not and even a few Antarian Rangers. It seemed Taiden had been busy collecting these. The well-wishes for the Grandmaster and his family were a joy to read, and he soon found himself unable to resist.

He reached forward and settled a hand upon Taiden's shoulder before pulling him in for a light embrace. "Thank you, my boy. One could not ask for finer gift."

 

[Taiden Keth]

Feeling a twinge that he had caused discomfort, silently he vowed to run a search for Thurion’s son later to assist somehow, subtly from afar, “thank you Grandmaster.” Taiden said with another bow of reverence, repressed as you might ever see another individual regards emotion, but tone full of respect. The otherwise motionless Echani, receiving the light hug unexpectedly. Echani didn’t hug often if at all, but he made his best effort with a few light pats on the huge Grandmaster's back.

Finding his usual curiosity getting the better of him, Taiden looked inside the office from outside, seeing the mountains of work going on inside, “if you ever needed someone to assist you with filing or record keeping, I would be humbled.” Dipping his head.

The Padawan’s rooms were beyond organized, like someone had taken time to line up ever spec of fluff along the floor, or those houses where they looked great but you knew nobody ever used them, well Taiden did, every room he left somehow had become more organized than before he was there.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Turning his head to look over his shoulder at the mess in his office, Thurion awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as his gaze returned to Taiden. "I-uh... I guess it is in need of a bit of organising," he confessed. Force knows he was never one for paper work; he didn't know how to either read or write until he was eight years old, when Asha taught him. Suffice to say Thurion wasn't exactly a bookworm, and often times found long paragraphs of text tedious. Why waste so many words on something that could be summed up in one sentence?

"I thank you for your offer, Taiden," he then spoke. "But, for now I don't think I want to see this room for a good hour or so. I think instead I shall go for a walk, clear my head for a bit." He smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

[member="Taiden Keth"]​

 

[Taiden Keth]

“Great men make waves,” not Taiden’s words, a certain ancestor had left them as a legacy, and certainly this included some chaos while working to help others. For once the Echani smiled with Thurion, but so short and quick was that smile you might doubt your eyes that it had truly appeared. It might be said Taiden actually wasted time being ultra-tidy, but that was something the padawan would never realise on his own!

“Thank you for your time Grandmaster,” and with hands braced together he nodded, and after Thuron had departed, the Echani turned to leave also. Departing as silently as he had come, footsteps light upon the floor, back to a walking meditation of sorts, which put him fully into the moment he chose to call his own.

Focus. His ceremony was just beginning, now came his three day long dueling exercise, grueling mental preparation as much as physical because after so many hours the muscles would burn, and then the body would sag, and only his mind would keep his form straight…

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​