Private The Promise of Spring

[Everest Vale]

There was a soft stillness about the temple gardens this morning. Coruscant's spring sun, and the cool breeze that accompanied it, invited peace and clarity to anyone who came to the gardens for a morning meditation. Overhead, a soft scattering of cirrus clouds had spread gently into its crisp light blue backdrop. Amidst the gardens itself, perfectly cultivated trees housed mother birds in full preparation mode to raise their newborn young that hid in their comfortable new nests overhead, sweeping down to the large, ornate planters and plant beds about the area in search of breakfast. The soft sound of flowing water reverberated gently against marble, and birdsong was swept delicately along the breeze.

It was here where Everest Vale had spent much of her morning, away from much of the crowd and sitting silently beneath the trees where the birds were roosting. This place was as close to home as she had managed to find amidst the busy life of a Jedi Padawan on Coruscant, and she relished every opportunity to come here now that temperatures were rising once again. A small finch came to rest on Everest's knee. Smiling softly, she offered a small rip of the bread she had bagged ready for such a moment. Eyeing her for a moment, it gave a single chirp, took the bread and disappeared again into the trees. Everest sighed with reserved joy.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

​

The planet was healing. That was how Shan saw it as he walked amongst the temple gardens in silence. A frown on his face however at that thought. Coruscant was healing from the invasion, but there was still a part of Shan that wasn't. He had failed people. Whilst other members of the order, even his ex-padawan had been fighting on the planet or dealing with the invaders, he had been stuck on an evacuation shuttle until it had been too late to lend a hand. And what had he done after the invasion? Turned tail and left. Ran off to go and study to become a Doctor. He was back now at least but part of him wondered if it was too little, too late. Things had been so much easier when he had been a padawan...

The chirp of a finch snapped the Mirialan out of his thoughts. Blinking to himself as the garden came back into view and he spotted the Padawan as the finch blew away from her. A small smirk came up onto his face at that, shaking his head ever so slightly as Shan put his hands into the pockets of his robes.

"It's always beautiful to see the way nature can grow and come back to places that once suffered. I'm Knight Pavond. Though please, call me Shan. Titles have never really made sense to me...At least for me. I'm just a regular Mirialan."

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

The Mirialan was humble with his introduction, but despite his reserved manner Everest stood from her spot on the grass - a little flustered at the sudden visitor - and bowed in the generally expected way of a Jedi, finished with a soft, youthful smile.
"Hi," she said a little awkwardly afterwards. "I'm Everest. Everest Vale, but people call me Eve." She hadn't ever met a Mirialan before, but she recognised one immediately.

She glanced up to the tree where her newfound finch friend had landed to nuzzle her young. She could hear the tiny chirps of hungry babies overhead, and as she reached out through the Force to sense their presence, she couldn't help but smile warmly. How she loved such soft and gentle creatures.
"They weren't born very long ago, you know," she said softly, entirely distracted. "Maybe a few days at most." She looked back at Shan. "That was their mother just now. She's been on the hunt." She then shook the bag of bread she was holding and grinned.

She was never so comfortable meeting strangers before, but something about the gardens set herself at ease in a way nowhere else on the planet had done. The chance for her to connect with the animals that lived amongst the greenery - few as they may be - was immensely exciting for Everest, and she relished any and every opportunity to be amongst them. It was fortuitous that Shan had arrived when he did, otherwise he would've met a shy and bumbling Padawan girl she usually was. But today was different. Today she was entirely herself.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

​

"Well. It's a real pleasure to meet you Eve. Always nice to see the younger generation of Jedi."

Shan nodded to himself, keeping his attention on their surroundings with a soft sigh and a smile on his face. Nature used to amaze him when he first came to the Order. Having came from Nar Shaddaa, he wasn't used to such vibrant colours and such vibrant life. Though the amazement had dulled over recent times. It wasn't a case of him not being as impressed but more a case of him knowing that he couldn't stop and stare at the butterflies all the time.

"Ah yes. The early bird catches the bread. I've heard that saying before."

He couldn't help but grin to himself as he looked over towards the bread that Everest was holding. The Mirialan folded his arms along his front as he thought to himself in quiet. Staring up towards the birds as he heard their cheeping. In a way, it reminded him of how the Padawans could be. Cheeping away with each other whilst also requiring the guidance of some of the Jedi. Shan shook his head at that, turning his attention back over towards Eve with a smile.

"There are plenty of interesting species you could learn about here. Either in person out here or in the archives. It's a wonderful place to be."

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve grinned a little at his jest, and overhead she noticed mother finch off again for another excursion, this time disappearing over the courtyard walls. She was busy today, Eve thought. The breeze picked up a little, rustling the leaves above. She nodded warmly to Shan.
"I will have to visit the archives. I admit, I'm still getting used to, well, all this." She reflected a little on her time at the temple so far. She had only been at the archives for a few dedicated classes there. She hadn't had much chance to explore it in her own time. "Maybe we can both go today, if you have the time?" But she was suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The breeze came again through the courtyard, harder than before, and the tree creaked and swayed wide in response. Suddenly, a tiny ball of brown dropped unceremoniously out from the leaves and landed flat on the grass beside Everest. Her eyes widened as she watched the little fledgling finch barely move, scrambling helplessly in abject pain. Her heart began racing almost immediately, as everything else around her suddenly melted into the background.

"Oh no, no no no, sweet little one." She panicked, kneeling beside it, shaking uncontrollably as she struggled to know what to do with her hands. Eventually, she scooped up the baby bird. It was barely breathing, barely moving, its little body broken in a dozen ways. Tears came to her uncontrollably as she suddenly became merely a little girl again. "What do we do?" she said to the bird as if expecting it to tell her, barely able to see it through the tears. She looked up to Shan. "What do we do?" she repeated helplessly.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

​

"Of course we can. I don't have any duties today...that I know of at least."

Shan kept a grin on his face as he joked around. Blinking for a moment as he heard the breeze coming, and watched the small ball drop next to Everest. Frowning for a moment at Everest's reactions. It was strange for him to think how...helpless people can feel, even with the Force. Then again, his proficiency in healing was almost natural to him. That didn't mean it came to everyone else as natural as he could. Whilst Everest was a sobbing mess however, Shan was calm. He had dealt with far worse injuries than this. Instead, the Mirialan held his hand out towards Everest, keeping the gentle smile on his face, whilst his other hand rummaged around in his pocket to pull out a small crystal. He couldn't have been more grateful for Saria Rae 's birthday gift to him the other year.

"May I?"

Either way, he'd gently take the bird into his hand. This was going to be simple enough to heal, especially from the aid of the crystal. Of course, there was the idea that he shouldn't rely on the crystal for healing...but this was an "important" patient after all. Shan just focused on the flow of the Force as he normally would when he healed something. Letting the warmth grow from his hand and spread straight to the bird. As the Force knitted back all of the injuries, fusing bones back together, dulling the pain for the small little creature. For Shan, it was pure child's work.

"The Force can help in many ways. Sometimes it may come to you naturally. For me, healing does. It is almost like an instinct for me. A reflex. Others have other gifts that come to them naturally. Elemental control, such as Pyrokinesis or Cryokinesis."

Of course he was going to turn this into some kind of lesson. He wasn't too used to teaching people. At least after Zaiya Ceti . Her and Shan had been similar in personality and temperament. Perhaps this is why he'd need to work on teaching as many people as he could.

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

The Mirialan was so gentle with it. The little finch sprung to life suddenly, chirping for food like its little siblings had been. Through misty eyes, Eve took the fledgling back gently. The shock of the moment had overwhelmed her and, still sniffling, with her spare hand she wiped the rest of her tears away. The baby bird brushed its face against her fingers, its eyes sleepily opening halfway.

It suddenly shook with a tiny sneeze that broke the silence. Everest slipped into a teary laugh and stepped cautiously onto the root of the tree, stretching her arm out and placing the finch back into the nest as carefully as possible. It rolled comfortably back into the safety of its siblings. She smiled at them all as they chirped with what she assumed was gratitude.

Returning to Shan, she wiped her face again and clasped her hands together.
"Thank you, so much. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here. How did you do that?" She eyed the crystal Shan had been using. It swelled delicately with light. Whatever happened, Eve was in awe that the Mirialan was able to bring the finch back from the brink in a matter of seconds. She knew immediately that she wanted to learn everything she could about it.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

​

Shan tilted his head at Everest's reaction, in thought to himself. He knew he was probably just as naive and bright-eyed as she was when he joined...but she still seemed so much more sensitive to seeing things in pain than he was. Perhaps that was what came with being raised on Nar Shaddaa. For once in his life, Shan found himself grateful for his homeworld. If he hadn't been used to seeing others in pain...He'd probably have been a mess for longer than he'd care to admit.

"It's simple really. It's Force Healing. Like I said, it comes naturally to some people. As a Padawan, you should learn the basics of it. Curato Salva, is self-healing. It's also a base to work upon for healing others. You can't treat others until you can treat yourself."

The Mirialan held his crystal up for a moment, breaking out into a little cheeky grin as he let the light around them dance around the crystal. Twirling it between his fingers for a moment before pocketing it away for safe keeping.

"And that was a healing crystal of fire. It's one of the best healing crystals someone could have to help them...but it's also a crutch. It's not something you should learn to rely on."

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve listened intently as the Mirialan explained to her. Curato Salva, he had said. She recognised the name in her upcoming timetable, and nodded with gentle resolve.

"I think I'll be learning that soon," she affirmed. "I haven't been here too long, haven't had much chance to learn anything as amazing as what you just did." Her eyes glided up to the nest. Mother finch had returned already, and was fawning over her babies, seemingly unaware of the terrible moment mere minutes earlier. Eve smiled, thoroughly relieved, before turning back to the Mirialan.

"I would love to talk more about Force Healing with you," she continued, and hesitated. "Would you... Would you consider teaching me sometime?" There was a sudden spark of inspiration within her, as if she had suddenly discovered something important that she had been looking for, even if that was merely an idea. Aside from Animal Bond, she hadn't excelled much in the basics of Force skills, but she became suddenly enraptured with the idea of using the Force to heal those in need, like the little finch.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

A small frown came to Shan's face for a moment as he thought over what Everest had said, folding his arms along his front and just hiding his hands amongst his sleeves.

"I suppose it can be seen as amazing. It is something I've just...always had a connection with. An affinity I suppose you can say. Even when I was young and didn't know I was Force Sensitive, I was out on the streets, trying to help the victims of gang attacks...Only to end up getting hurt myself."

In a way, Shan saw his belief in healing as partly a burden. He was willing to put himself in dangerous situations, to heal anyone, even people who might not deserve to be healed. At the same time he knew it was a foolish endeavour. It had taken him a long time to learn how to weigh risk versus gain. When to focus on protecting himself, so he could help others.

"I can help to teach you. Yes. However, you must make a promise to me Everest."

He turned his head over towards Everest, keeping the frown on his face. The smiles and laughs could come later but if he was going to help teach someone again, he wasn't going to let them make the same mistakes as he did.

"Promise me that every time you practice your healing, you'll practice your saber work as well. For every afternoon of healing, I want you to have an afternoon of drills."
Of course, she didn't have to listen to him. She wasn't his padawan and he wasn't her master. There were plenty of other healers she could ask for lessons from. Shan only made this requirement for her because it had taken him far too long to work on his saberwork. He knew Knights on a similar level to him that had were already quite proficient in multiple forms, but Shan only had his tried and true Soresu. Of course, with it being the main style he focused on, his skill in it was quite high...but in the other forms, he was severely lacking...

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve listened intently to Shan's reminiscence. He was a serious man with a difficult history, but from the short time Eve had been with him she could tell he was a man of integrity and honesty.

Her face lit up when Shan said he would teach her, but it quickly returned to a serious demeanour, as if to match his own. She listened carefully to him, noting the sternness of his manner. She could tell there was a reason he cautioned that she kept up with saber training as well, and while her heart dropped a little at the thought of yet more spars, she knew it was something she couldn't avoid either way.

She gave a resolute nod to the Knight, showing that she understood what he expected of her. Despite so far not being as enthusiastic about lightsaber combat as some of her peers, she nevertheless knew it was important, and respected the Mirialan enough to not defy such a reasonable request.
"I'll make sure to do that. I promise," he assured him. "Thank you, Shan." Her voice was suddenly unwavering and calm as she found a new strength and confidence.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

"There is no need to thank me. You've accepted my request. If anything I should be thanking you."

Shan gave a short nod at that, keeping his arms folded as the Mirialan turned his attention to the sky. Mostly staying in silence. There were plenty of thoughts that were going through his mind at this moment. There were still small doubts he had to himself about his teaching skills. He still felt like he had let people down. Was he ready to start teaching how to heal? Hm...Even if he wasn't, he had already agreed to it. She had promised to do her lightsaber drills, so he had to stick to it.

"I should be letting you get back to your day. The life of a Padawan is busy. So many lessons and drills you have to do. Still so much to learn...Though I can tell you as a Knight, there is still so much you'll need to learn."

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve listened intently to the Knight, recognising the stoic sincerity in his voice and manner. There was a certain something about him that spoke to her; a recognition of something in him that was also within herself. But all of this recognition remained entirely unconscious. She was just appreciative that the Mirialan was kind enough to agree to share his knowledge, and Eve would honour his request. She gave a resolute nod to him.

"Thank you, Shan. I appreciate everything you've done today." Her silver eyes flitted up to the birds nest one more time. Momma was feeding, and Eve couldn't even recognise which one of the babies had fallen, but she was just glad they all were safe, happy and nourished. A soft smiled formed across her face.

But the Knight was right. She probably did have some work to be getting on with. Even on an off day, there were books to read and assignments to start. Seemingly, a Jedi never sleeps. Eve gave a deep bow of respect to her new friend.
"May the Force be with you, Knight Shan" she said, a little stiffly, but in manner laced with respect, and with that she shot another smile, turned on the spot and made her way from out the garden courtyard and on her way back to her dormitory.

Shan​