Private The Best Offense Is A Good Defense

[Shan Pavond]

"First Aid...and Force? I think. I'd just soothe people whilst I was applying bandages. I'd always used the credits my mother gave me to buy books to use to study. It was...a simpler time. When I could see things as being right or wrong. But the more I grow as a Jedi, the more shades I realise there is in the world. It's much more difficult to say someone is simply good or evil. There are shades...different levels of morality."

Shan sighed at the memories. It was so much easier when he was younger. Just waking up day to day to go out on the streets and treat people who were sick or hurt. Now he had to worry about his actions a lot more than back then. It was possible some people might get attacked for getting created by Shan now. Though he was slowly but surely starting to figure out what his purpose was. What he wanted to do in life.

"I can feel pain since...it's a simpler emotion I think than the others. There's plenty of reasons for someone to be happy, or angry, or sad. But when it comes to pain...it's simple. You're hurt. Either emotionally or physically."

At that, Shan winced as Zaiya hit the board again and her hand didn't go through the wood. He was happy at the very least that he didn't try going with the droid idea. He felt like getting hit constantly by beanbags to the chest wouldn't have fell fun either. Though he shook his head at that, listening to Zaiya's next question.

"We're all...different in our own way. Aris can do something like this easily. I can do healing easily. And I'm sure there's things that you can do easily, but at the same time, we all have things where we struggle. I struggle with the idea of causing pain to anyone. It's why a lot of my techniques rely around causing as little harm as people, or directing harm. I learned how to redirect electricity, purely to protect others, even though it puts me at extreme risk."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

“Oh brix it!” Zaiya swore under her breath, pain lancing up her knuckles. Yup. This was hard. How did others make it look so easy?

A grimace and another ripple of white followed by an ombré of brown. This time the ache lasted.

Zaiya understood what Shan Pavond meant that everyone had things they were good at. But it didn’t stop making Zaiya feel a little bit jealousy and frustrated, a faint flush of lavender edged with silver painting her skin.

“I know. It’s just realizing I’ve a lot to catch up on,” she admitted, moving to once again heal her hand.

However it was Shan’s commentary about shades of morality that sparked her interest.

“What do you mean shades of morality?”

Sting removed, Zaiya would try once more to channel the Force. If it didn’t work then she’d take a break.

Perhaps that bit of determination was what she needed. For as soon as she punched the plank, the skin and bones of her hand would harden to punch through the plank with a solid thwack!

For a moment, Zaiya was dazed. Then her skin immediately began to glow in her bioluminescence, dancing in joyful vibrant tones in exhilaration.

“I did it!!! I really did it!!”

​

 

[Shan Pavond]

"You've got this Zaiya. You're still young. I didn't join the Jedi until I was sixteen. I had a lot of catchin' up I needed to do. It didn't help that I felt like I was alone in the Order. Everyone seemed to want to fight. Spar. Practice. All I wanted to was study. Learn more about the Galaxy and the people inside of it. Of course, I realise I'm not alone anymore...but it was an uphill battle. Being a Jedi isn't easy."

He could most definitely say that again. Instead Shan tilted his head at Zaiya's question about shades of morality, trying to figure out how he was going to answer it. If he had some form of colouring utensil, he could have used that. Instead he supposed using the metaphor of scales would work as Shan held both of his hands out in front of him towards Zaiya.

"So. Say one hand is the light side, and the other hand is the dark side. Very few people are extremes on one side or the other. I'd argue that I'm somewhat around...here on the scale."

With that, Shan raised the light-side "scale" up a fair bit, whilst lowering down the dark side one, though it was still there. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe that he was pure. He could be greedy sometimes. He could be angry. But he rarely acted on those emotions, and when he did act on those emotions, it was in a rage room.

"Life is never clear. It's never obvious if an action is good or bad. Take me helping people on Nar Shaddaa when I was young. Sounds pretty nice right? But then those people I helped would get attacked again. Or people would be jealous of them for getting helped. Of course, there's always the chance that the person I helped ends up helping someone else. I believe every action in life causes ripples through the Force, no matter how small they are. Someone you help, could end up saving you along the line..."
Wow. This was getting quite philosophical. Shan was quite adamant in his beliefs, but he wasn't going to force them on anyone. If Zaiya thought his idea of their actions causing ripples was silly, then that was fine with him. He was here to help nurture her growth, not to reduce it...Though he couldn't help but grin at the sight of her managing to break the wood, as he threw his hands up into the air.

"Yes! That's how you do it!"

His voice echoed through the woods for a moment...and then there was a small thud as an Ewok had fell from a branch from the sudden fright. The little teddy Bear staring at Shan and Zaiya in shock, before pointing at Zaiya's glowing patterns, saying something in Ewokese before rushing off into the woods.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

Zaiya was about to ask what was the Lightside of the Force and what was the Darkside of the Force in the wake of her jubilation when the thud and sudden scurrying of an Ewok drew the Lovalla's attention.

"Uhh... what was that?" She asked, now wary. The Force was starting to let her know when there were others nearby, their life signatures blooming in a sort of aura for her to pick up. She only barely felt the Ewok's presence just before he fell, but in her excitement at punching the plank, missed it. A medley of colors would paint her surprise, wariness, and curiosity over her skin, resonating a slight glowing bioscience.

"Should we investigate?" Zaiya asked, turning to Shan Pavond , unsure.

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Hm? It appeared to be an Ewok. They're indigenous to this planet. They're relatively peaceful, I believe. I can't speak to them...I really should have gotten a translator droid like Master Kahlil always said."

Shan sighed, running his hand through his hair before glancing over towards Zaiya, giving the Lovallan's hair a little ruffle as he was still proud of his padawan. But she also had a point. The Ewok might have hurt itself falling out of the tree. Of course, he doubted it but Shan knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at night in fear that some little critter had gotten hurt because of the pair of them.

"Just stay behind me. Ewok like to lay traps. Not for people, but for their hunting. Don't want you getting swooped up into the air or somethin'. This'll work great as another lesson though. Dealing with situations where you can't talk the same language as someone else."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

"Oh-h," Zaiya replied, bright citrine hues painting her rosy golden skin in avid curiosity. Will they be able to meet a native of the moon? "Have you've met an Ewok before?" she asked, curious, as he seemed to realize having a translator would be best in these situations.

"And I have a version of a translator, but not sure if their language would be picked up on it." It was an application on her datatablet that she utilized due to the different students that she'd met at the University who required a translator. Upon checking, Ewokeese, or whatever the language was, was not one of the languages in the application. Likely due to the remote nature of the moon of Endor.

"Although I guess I could make a version of one...." she murmured thinking. No no, focus on the now. Dealing with situations when one doesn't know the language would be a good practice.

But that reminded her of what she had wanted to ask. "So what is the Darkside of the Force, and what is the Light side? And why are they called Dark and Light when there are so many other colors?"

 

[Shan Pavond]

"No. I've heard of them, but I haven't quite an Ewok myself. There's a few that roam through the Galaxy because of their curiosity but I have yet to cross paths with them. They're also a highly spiritual people..."

Spiritual...Now that Shan thought about it, maybe that was why they were so interested in them. Or at least Zaiya. She was all glowing, so maybe they thought she was something related to their religion. Of course, he couldn't be sure himself since Shan wasn't familiar with their culture to that extent...Hm...The Mirialan shook his head, turning his attention back towards Zaiya as she asked her next question.

"Originally, the Force was known as two sides. Bogan and Ashala...or Ashla. I forgot the exact way to pronounce it. Ashla, is what we normally use. The Light Side. Whilst the Dark Side is mostly what the Sith use. It is believed to corrupt people, distort who they are and destroy them from the inside. It feeds off more negative emotions..."

He frowned to himself at that. Did he tell Zaiya his opinion towards the Sith and Dark Siders and potentially cause her to get hurt because of his own naivety or try to hide it from her...hm...

"...I want you to be able to form your own opinion on the Dark Side and the Light side Zaiya. So I'm going to tell you my opinion on it, but it's not the right opinion. Technically, I'd say there isn't a right opinion. But...I feel pity for plenty of Dark Siders, or Sith. They fall into this rabbithole of needing power to save themselves. They're afraid, or angry at something and the Dark Side is right there for them...but it's like a drug. The Dark side is trying to entice you all the time. Once it gets its hooks in you, I think it's hard to get it out....Of course, this isn't from experience. I've never fell to the Dark Side. But there is always the possibility that I might. That's another thing you should remember Zaiya. It's always possible for you to fall to the Dark Side...even if you think you are doing the right thing."

It was true. Shan felt like the more firm you were in your beliefs, the more rigid you were...The easier it was for you to fall to the Dark Side without realising. Part of him wondered if that was why it was harder for him to look to the Dark Side. Because he was flexible in his beliefs, willing to compromise or change his viewpoint on things...

None of that was important right now as he followed the small little tracks he could find of the Ewok, pointing out to Zaiya every so often the remains of traps hanging from the air that had been cut open.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

Zaiya listened to Shan Pavond 's explanation. The more he detailed the differences and origins, the more things were starting to make sense on why some people or areas felt icky while others did not.

Thoughts immediately came to mind. More questions. Zaiya's mind raced at these possibilities.

"But why does it feed on negative emotions? The Darkside of the Force that is? Isn't it normal to feel things? Just because someone feels sad, or angry, or upset, doesn't mean that they are bad. I can feel jealous and upset but that doesn't make me bad. That's just how I'm feeling because a specific situation came up. Emotions are emotions. They paint my skin in colors to show off what I'm feeling. That doesn't mean one color is better than the other... well.. no, that's a lie. No one likes a dull Lovalla if they aren't as bright." which if she thought about it, were dull colors like when she felt sad, upset, or in pain.

Wait a minute...

Zaiya began to frown, and the patterns over her skin darkened into a burnished amber in contemplation as she followed Shan on the trail for the Ewok.

At the sight of the traps, Zaiya gave a tilt of her head. "Were those triggered by the Ewok or someone... or something else?"

 

[Shan Pavond]

"It's normal to feel them, to an extent. Yes. Nearly all emotion is normal to feel sometimes. It is when you let that emotion reach to an excess, that it isn't good. The older generation of Jedi believed that it was best to cut yourself from emotion, so as to not risk losing control of them. No familial bonds, no relationships, nothing like that. They believed that the best way to control your emotions, was to have no emotion whatsoever. I believe the best way to control your emotions however is to feel them. That way, you can control them, instead of them controlling you...Master Kahlil can give you a better explanation of the Dark Side than I can however. He's been on both sides."
He wasn't going to restrict Zaiya in her education. Just because he was Zaiya's master didn't mean she had to exclusively learn from him. In his eyes, the more people you learned from the better. You'd get to see so many different viewpoints, theologies and ideologies. It let you form your own kind of belief system. He was never going to force his thoughts onto someone else. It went against what he believed. Either way, he turned his attention towards towards Zaiya and her question, tilting her head at her.

"Ewoks are hunters. They also protect themselves using these traps. Don't worry Zaiya. We'll be fine. There's probably a village of Ewok nearby. No way would they let any predators be nearby."

Shan tried to reassure his padawan that they didn't have to worry about the creatures that the Ewok hunted...As meanwhile, they were being hunted in a way. A small congregation of Ewok following the pair as they searched for the one that had fallen. Chittering away to themselves quietly, as Shan was oblivious to the little guys himself.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

Zaiya mused over this. Honestly, she thought the same thing Shan Pavond did. Emotions were emotions. They weren't bad; they painted and brightened the world and allowed people to bond and grow more intimate in relationships together. Maybe because she was a Lovalla, she looked at it differently.

"For my kind, emotions are just part of how we communicate. They are expressed on our skin over our patterns and base color, and when we find our mate, then we start syncing so that we both start resonating with the same color combinations because we are now one. Emotions are important for us; they strengthen our bonds and let us know when we have finally met our one."

As they continued she also added,"But that can also mean that a mated pair that has been together a long time could end up harming each other if they are separated too long."

A sigh, "Figuring out how the Force works with my biology is strange. There are things that are different than what I expected. I am not sure if it is the Force or maybe I'm the strange one."

Something would tickle at the edge of Zaiya's senses, and a ripple of concern and curiosity would paint her skin. She paused, but she couldn't hear anything. But she could feel them.

"....I think... there might be others."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"I know it's going to be easier said than done, but you should try to see if you're able to...mute how your feeling. Or at least try not to show it. Sith will find it easier to take advantage of you, if they know how you're feeling at all times. That reminds me though, another day, I'll need to teach you how to shield your mind from people trying to read it."

So many things he had to remember to teach Zaiya. Ways to defend herself, how to defend others. How to make a lightsaber, if that was what she wanted at least. Teaching was going to be hard, but if Shan was being honest to himself, he was enjoying it. It was as much of a learning experience for him, as it was for her.

"The way I look upon it Zaiya, both biology and the Force are weird. They all work in mysterious ways that not everyone can always define. I mean, we have Biologists who try to figure things out, but at the same time, it's not always definitive. Same with the Force. As much as you might think you know something, you can always be surprised at the end of the day."

He froze however, at the mentioning that there were others, presuming that Zaiya meant something in the forest around them and the Mirialan glanced around, holding his hands up into the air whilst putting a friendly smile on his face. Ewok weren't overtly aggressive in his studies, so as long as they didn't show aggression to them...They should be fine, right?

"Hello there! We come in peace. We're just wanted to check on one of your people....They fell out of the tree back there."

Shan just spoke out into forest, jabbing his thumb back the way he came, keeping a grin on his face...At least until the group of five Ewok came tumbling out of the bushes, with three of them holding spears. The spears weren't pointed at anyone...yet, but Shan was doing his best to try and look as friendly as possible. There was at least one "familiar" face amongst the group, as one of the unarmed Ewoks appeared to be the one that had fell out of the tree. Compared to the rest of them, it seemed somewhat smaller, almost like an adolescent.

"Just...smile Zaiya. They won't attack, as long as you don't."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

Mute my feelings?

The thought was just... so crazy that Zaiya couldn't help but give a shocked, perplexed expression at Shan Pavond . That, was just...impossible. A Lovalla couldn't help but feel. How could she mute them? Let alone hide them? The color shifting was an unconscious resonance, as much of her identity as she could possibly have. While logic and reason told Zaiya that there was a good reason why she should, it still stung.

There was no hiding how her colors seemed to dampen, the rosy golden hue of her skin losing its luminescence and turning into a silvery hue. Confusion darkened her patterns into greys, and Zaiya wasn't sure how to process all that until her attention drew to Shan calling out into the jungle.

There was barely any sound when the five Ewok's came into sight. Curiosity brightened Zaiya's skin in orange colors, and a bit of the rosy golden tone returned to her base colors.

"Oh!.... they do look like teddy bears..." Zaiya murmured quietly to Shan. None the less, she gave a wide happy grin, light blue washing away the confused grays in joyful cheer.

"Hello! How are you doing? I'm Zaiya!"

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan didn't mean to make Zaiya upset. That was far from his intentions whatsoever. He had just wanted to warn her, because she reminded him of himself. And so he didn't want to any Sith to take her innocence yet. She still had a few years left where she'd be allowed to be innocent in his eyes. Hell, all of the Padawans should have been allowed to live out their childhood without having to worry about the horrors of war, but that wasn't something that was easily done. He couldn't protect them all. So he might as well protect the only one he could right now.

As Zaiya introduced herself, alongside the introduction of the shifting colours, the smaller Ewok started to hop up and down, pointing its little paw in the direction of Zaiya. Chittering away to the unarmed Ewok next to it, which seemed to be draped with various feathers, bones and pendants who seemed to listen to the younger Ewok...before it seemed to break into a series of chuckles. At least it sounded like a chuckle before it turned its attention over towards Zaiya and Shan

"I Sorry. Chipchip think small one glowy creator. Put spear 'way"

The Ewok waved its hands towards the armed members of its group before waddling forward towards Shan and Zaiya, looking closer at them for a moment, whilst the one called Chipchip stayed behind watching from a safer distance. Their attempt at speaking basic was honestly cute to Shan. It was probably hard for them to speak basic in the first place so who was he to judge them?

"I Peeboo. I speak for tribe. Do deals. Come. Come. We have you for food."
The Mirialan glanced to his padawan, blinking for a moment. He assumed having them for food meant...bringing them along to eat dinner with the Ewoks, but he wouldn't blame Zaiya or anyone else for assuming that the Ewoks might have meant that they planned on eating the pair. Though he doubted Zaiya would believe that.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

"Glowy creator?" Zaiya repeated a bit befuddled, the teen hilarious confusing the broken basic sentence to mean that she created a glow effect, which, technically she did, with her skin.

"Oh, yeah, I can create all the glow effects. Colors too!" Zaiya pipped in, only to get another titter from the Ewoks and a chuckle from the main Ewok speaker. Blinking a bit in confusion, Zaiya turned her head towards Shan Pavond .

"Are they inviting us for dinner?" The Lovalla teen didn't feel anything that would indicate anything malicious. If anything, the longer Zaiya stretched out her senses, the more she could pick up bits and pieces of intentions. They didn't seem to want to harm them.

And Zaiya was always happy to eat.

"Oh, I'd love to eat! Actually I'm quite hungry!" Trying to make her skin from soft to hard spent quite a bit of energy. Would be nice to get a little gnosh in to eat.

Besides, making friends while eating was the best way to get to learn about other people and cultures.

"Come on!" Zaiya said, all happy to join as she tugged Shan along. No turning back now.

 

[Shan Pavond]

"No. No. Not maker. A creator. Chipchip think you create glow. Create light. Think you come from star."

Peeboo pointed a stick he had picked up towards Zaiya, before pointing up towards the sun, in particular. Letting out a little chuckle afterwards before carrying on their little waddle towards their village, with the assumption that the pair were going to follow them. Chipchip meanwhile was just staring at Zaiya in its own sense of confusion. The concept of changing colours and glowing seemed so strange to it though Chipchip quickly hurried off after Peeboo to make sure it wasn't left behind.

"Hope you know what you're getting us into Zaiya. They like to eat a lot of meat."

Zaiya probably didn't have the same problem with that statement that Shan did. Shan wasn't much of a carnivore. He'd eat meat if it came to it, but he much preferred to live off a vegetarian diet. He ate what he needed to survive, with minimal pain to the living Galaxy. Shan thought to himself...before bumping into Chipchip who had suddenly stopped, causing the Mirialan to stumble and nearly fall onto the little teddy bear like Alien. Chipchip just looked up at Shan...before holding its arms up at him, hopping up and down on its feet.

"Up! Up! Up!"

It squeaked in the very little basic it knew. Huh. Looks like the little one wanted to ride on Shan's shoulders. Made sense, Shan was probably one of the biggest friendly creatures it had seen. With a nod from Peeboo, Shan crouched down to let the little Ewok up onto his shoulders where it wrapped its little paws around Shan's head to hold itself on. Though as they walked on, he'd slowly start to regret his decision as Chipchip started tugging at Shan's hair, trying to figure out if it could make Shan change colour like Zaiya kept changing colour.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

"Oh. Oh!" Zaiya exclaimed, realization blooming over her expression in a tell tale swirl of colorful swatches and becoming glows. That was one of the prettiest and nicest compliments she ever received. With a wide grin, she returned and waved at Chipchip, going, "Oh, haha, thank you. I'm not from a star, but I appreciate the compliment." She told him, giggling. It was a cute thought.

Returning her attention back to Shan Pavond , she gave a nod in understanding. While Lovall was mainly vegetarian, Zaiya had been exposed to a wider variety of cuisine at the University of Commendor, and she enjoyed branching out and trying new things, including meat. She had a personal motto of trying everything at least twice because perhaps it wasn't made well the first time.

​

"Well, I like to eat all kinds of burgers, so I think that's fine." It seemed like an easy enough thing to do; granted, the young Lovalla teen didn't consider just what sort of meat they'd be offering. Perhaps it was best that she didn't.

With a snort giggle at Chipchip's antics as he now was riding on Shan's shoulders, Zaiya followed, watching as much as she could the Ewoks as they all walked single file. Before long, they came to a series of rope ladders and massive trees that would lead up towards the canopy. Zaiya felt the presence of all the villagers before she saw the, the Force seeming to paint their auras as little flickers of light in the teen's mind. Her ability to sense others was growing. A small gasp came then, when she realized that the Ewok's village was built in a series of bridges and treehouses on along the trunks of the trees themselves.

"Whoa....okay, that's super cool."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"The Ewok are a very religious creature. They probably thought you were a Goddess because of your whole...shininess."

Shan chuckled to himself at that, though winced every so often as Chipchip pulled at Shan's hair, trying to direct him like Shan's hair were some kind of controller to make Shan head in different directions.

"You know you can just as-" "Forward! Fast! Fast! Go Fast!"

Chipchip jabbed its little paw forward, implying that he wanted Shan to run for the Ewok and well...they were pretty close enough to the trees near the village, so Shan broke out into a gentle jog, as the adolescent Ewok let out a squeal of joy, raising its paws up into the air as Peeboo snickered to himself. This was honestly a nice little moment to relax. Though Shan eventually stopped running once they arrived at the tree, waiting for the others as Peeboo yelled up towards the village. With that, a small little wooden lift came down from above, and Peeboo beckoned everyone to climb onto it.

The creaking sound from the wood didn't exactly fill Shan with much safety for the lift, but both Peeboo and Chipchip seemed fine with the sound so he just relaxed, glancing over towards Zaiya to make sure she was alright.

"I wasn't exactly...expecting this for one of our lessons if I'm being honest. But I think it's a good experience for you. Meeting new species is always a valuable moment."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Zaiya couldn't contain herself anymore; her laughter bubbled forth and rushed through to pain her skin in glowing hues of light blue and cyan; mischievousness and amusement at the entire situation of Chipchip trying to guide Shan Pavond like an Equus was sheer hilarity.

"It's okay. I like meeting new people and every interaction is an opportunity to learn something," it had been a phrase her mother had always told Zaiya before she passed.

Glancing around, Zaiya was impressed by the craftsmanship and engineering of the treehouse village. They were led into the lift, then brought up to the canopy with a series of pullies, where long hanging bridges would connect one tree to another.

"Whoa," Zaiya murmured, impressed. Other Ewok's soon noticed them, and of course, with Zaiya's curiosity causing her skin to shift in different bioluminescent colors, they also pointed and began to murmur in curiosity.

It wasn't long before they were brought to their leader and what looked like to be an Ewok Shaman of sorts.

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Exactly. Everyone and anyone you meet has something new to teach you. No matter who they are, or what they do."

Shan smiled at how Zaiya seemed to have the same thought process as him. He turned his head over to look at Zaiya as she seemed impressed by the Ewok's craftsmanship. More and more, this was seemingly the best choice he could have done for training. Zaiya got to learn a useful skill and meet a new species. He followed along the group...Not really having much of a choice right now, as he kept getting his hair tugged in different directions.

As they were brought to the leader, Peeboo started to chitter away to the Shaman, who ndded along every so often. Glancing between Shan and Zaiya with what seemed to be frown...before looking bewildered as it realised Chipchip was ontop of Shan's head and tapped the ground a few times with its paw, causing Chipchip to clamber up down from the Mirialan's head and hurry over towards the Shaman. With a bit more chittering and nattering away, Peeboo then turned back over towards Zaiya and Shan.

"Okay! Food time. I go take you to table and you sit down."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

​

Zaiya watched it all with vast interest. Honestly, if she could watch to see how they made the food, it would have been better. However, Zaiya followed Peeboo as he led them to a table.

They were big round tables made out of wheels of wood with stools. Zaiya sat down, watching curiously, unable to help how her colors would shift to bright orange in avid intrigue.

"So what do you know about Ewoks then, Shan?" She asked Shan Pavond wondering. Or would it be better to ask Peeboo? This was a first for her.