Private The Great Luncheon

[Aris Noble]

Aris nodded once as he picked up the pot from the bottom. Where it should've still been scoldingly hot, but he seemed unflinching and uncaring of such temperatures. His hands glowed, even, just the faintest red as he walked with it to the counter to set it within a holder for serving. "What stuff are you talking about, though..? I thought we'd finished?"

Mahsa

 

[Mahsa]

She had expected him to lift the pot by its handles like any other sane and normal sentient creature would, so when the Epicanthix approach came from a lower direction Mahsa couldn’t help but stare blankly as she followed his movements.

"Aris…?" Maybe he’d seen something out of place? Yeah, that was probably it, after all who in their right mind would pick up a hot stainless steel pot from the bottom—"A-Aris wait… stop!"

Her concern was genuine as she’d reached out for the boy, but the precious few moments it had taken for her mind to finally comprehend the absurdity of what she was seeing meant Aris already had the pot firmly held by the time she’d acted. "Aris put that down, you’re gonna burn your… self?"

There had been no hiss or wail to ring against her ears, and the expected anguish the Kazelrrian had been ready to feel from him was equally absent as Aris cradled the pot almost as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. The fiery hairs that mingled with her snowy strands gradually began to fade as her own emotions calmed down, finally noticing the faint reddish glow that surrounded Aris’ palms as they held the scalding pot.

"How…?" Was it a Force thing, perhaps? She couldn’t help gaze at her hands then, certain that she’d never pulled off such a thing before… then again, she’d never thought of trying something like that in the first place.

His words finally snapped the Kazelrrian out of her thoughts, eyebrows furrowed as she pouted up at the taller padawan. "Whatcha mean ‘what stuff’?" A hand pointed towards an area of the kitchen where disposable hair nets and gloves waited for those voluntold to serve the food today.

"Gotta get the ladles too, or are you planning to scoop the stew with your hands?" She didn’t wait for an answer though, perhaps worried about what it might actually be, as she began to gather the necessary things for the both of them.

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Aris Noble ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris blinked in surprise. He didn't expect such a response, but maybe he should have? it didn't stop him from at least setting the pot down and letting his hands return to their normal coloring. What had he done that had her so worried? He glanced between her and the pot before the realization hit. Right. "I believe it's the Force? I can't feel it, but I can control a lot of my own body. Including temperature. I use it to hold hot things all the time. I won't get burned, promise."

He blinked again before his cheeks tinted red. Embarrassment, through and through, as he looked to the pot.

".. Okay, yes. We do need ladles."

Mahsa

 

[Mahsa]

The Force… she knew of it, or at least the theories recorded in varying textbooks. She had used it before, or at least that’s the hypothesis Mahsa had finally arrived at, but it had been entirely instinctual… and dangerous, or so her master had warned.

"You can’t feel it…?" The knowledge surprised her. Mahsa had thought feeling the Force would’ve been natural for Jedi and their padawans, but perhaps more perplexing was that Aris could wield it despite being unable to sense it. She’d returned with the materials on hand, her gaze silently shifting away from the boy’s face and into his hands as Aris displayed them—with nary a scorch or a blemish to the skin.

"Alright, I get it… but don’t grab it by the bottom." A sigh escaped her before that golden gaze met the verdant of his eyes again, steady and serious as she spoke. "What if a youngling sees you and they try to mimic it?"

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Aris Noble ​

 

[Aris Noble]

"It's there, I imagine, always. But I don't hear it."

Or feel it. He knew his abilities extended mostly from the Force, they had to, but he couldn't feel it. That was the trade off his father had made to try and protect the new body from his father's influence. Though he did stare at the pot again before nodding slow. Having the younglings try to copy him because they saw would be actually really terrible. He nodded quickly. No, he would not be doing that again.

Mahsa

 

[Mahsa]

"I see…" She hummed faintly while watching the Epicanthix pick up the pot again—properly this time—so they could get to their station. "Y'know... I used to think it was the sound of the wind."

It was hard to describe the exact tune the Force held in her ears, but she vividly remembered the times spent looking for its source. At first it was with Dara, the girls leaving no inch unexplored and no pillow unturned in the sterile room they'd always known, and later on with Ayhan as they moved through the thick forest and the dangers hidden within it... always unsuccessful thanks to how well built the Kaminoan’s station had been.

"It’s soft and soothing." Comforting even, its sound had helped the Kazelrrian remain positive—hopeful—despite the myriad of adversities she’d already been forced to endure. "... I hope you get to hear it one day too, Aris."

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Aris Noble ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris tilted his head a little as she spoke of it. It was good it was soothing for her, but he certainly didn't mind one way or another. If anything, he didn't seem bothered by how she spoke of it. "If I do, I do. But.. It doesn't matter to me one way or another. I don't miss something I've never had, that's a waste of time and effort." He gave a smile before looking back out towards the lunch room. They were going to be serving the food now, so chit chat was probably at an end if he had to guess. At least until they were done feeding the kids.

The Epcianthix kept a calm smile as he helped to serve out the portions to the coming Younglings, and mostly kept quiet as he did. He didn't have much to say, after all!

Mahsa

 

[Mahsa]

One couldn’t miss what they never had, that particular statement certainly rang through for some things in life and Mahsa supposed this was one of them for Aris. However the Kazelrrian had her own reservations about the veracity of such a statement. One could still learn about certain things in life by reading or even watching the interactions of others… and, in turn, mourn the absence of such experiences in their own life.

But that wasn’t a topic Mahsa felt like delving into today, and Aris didn’t deserve to be weighted by her past.

"True… even if you can’t hear it you’ve still found a way to work with the Force." At the end of the day that’s all that truly mattered, and she’d seen enough of the Epicanthix back in Endor to know how reliable his strengths were.

It wasn’t long before the refectory was bustling with conversations as the room slowly filled, signaling a temporary cease to their conversations as they focused on the tasks at hand. While Aris focused on ladling out a portion of the stew to the younglings that lined up she was tasked with ensuring they all had the proper utensils and napkins on their trays before running off to the tables—and a choice of drink to accompany their meal.

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Aris Noble ​