Throwing stones

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

Jacen had been reluctant to take on a padawan. His recent trials had tested his control and made the very worst aspects of his self-doubt resurface. Yet Quinn had made the task exceptionally easy. His lack of a preconception on the training was a boon rather than a bane. She had so far approached every tasks with a determined attitude, large blue eyes always watching inquisitively.

However, today was one of those days where he had to be a little on the cruel side. A Jedi’s strength flowed from the Force, but it was their concentration that gave them control. Emotions had to be set aside, all distractions put to the back of the mind.

Rather than allowed his student to prepare he came back her quarters late at night. There was already a thin sheen of sweat from the rucksack of heavy objects thrown across his back.

He slammed his fist down on the door. “Up you get Quinn, surprise training session!” Hopefully she would be slightly groggy by now, making the task of holding her focus that much more onerous.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

A yelp of surprise would escape her mouth as groggy eyes reluctantly fluttered open. Oh kark... What time is it? 3am...It's still early..What's the problem...Both eyes closed once more, but the sharp loud noise that had woken her up was revealed to be a series of harsh knocks on the door followed by the instructor-like voice of her master, Jacen Voidstalker. Oh god..this early in the morning?!... She reluctantly opened a single blue eye, staring at the door as the knocks failed to cease.. "I'm coming.. I'm coming." She groaned as she stumbled to the floor to open the door.

Hands fumbled with the handle of the door, unlocking it before opening it. The master's eyes would lie on the presence of Quinn's dishevelled self, sleep still very much prominent in her face and body. "It's 3am master...what do you mean by surprise training..It's not funny..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

"If it was supposed to be funny, i'd have started with a knock knock joke," Jacen replied in a deadpan tone with a raised eyebrow. Apparently that wasn't amusing in the small hours. To be brutally honest with himself, it probably wasn't at any time of day.

He could sense her scrambled thoughts, the slow turning of the cogs as her faculties returned. This was exactly as he had hoped to catch her, just to make the exercise that much more trying. A Jedi in the field might have to work on just three hours sleep over several days.

"We're going down to the Plo Koon training hall for some telekinesis and concentration work. Come on!"

 

[Catherine Romanov]

The sleeply look Quinn had was momentarily replaced with one of deadpan as her master made a joke. Looks like both of them were bad at jokes. Master and student pair indeed. She sighed at the thought of training so early in the morning when she hadn't even gotten enough sleep yet. Her thoughts were indeed scrambled, but were mostly revolved around sleep right now.

However, the gravity of the situation would be soon made known to her as her body slowly woke up, and her faculties returned to normal working order. Master Voidstalker had ordered that they were to proceed to Plo Koon training hall for telekinesis and concentration work. The padawan began walking behind the Jedi Marshall as he begin to make his way to the training hall.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] 1 : Quinn Byrne 0

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

OOC/ going to make the assumption we might have done some tk training before now to make it interesting. Let me know if that doesn't work.

"So..." Jacen said as they reached one of the smaller halls. He grunted as he set down the back pack. It made the sound of a bag of rocks being shaken. That was because it was a bag of rocks.

"...juggling," he stated, still not being clear on the purpose of the lesson. He pulled several objects out from the bag and each started to float in the air. Mostly smooth rocks of various sizes, but also wood and brass.

"Each has a different feel through the Force. As I keep saying how each individual experiences the Force is entirely personal. For me as I brush against the texture of wood, I feel it scraping gently against the palm of my hand. Perhaps I'm a bit boring. One Padawan said he could smell wood chips, another saw trees," he added with a shrug.

"You're going to hold as many as you can in the air, then we're going to see how well you can move them," four objects started to spin in a small circe, perhaps a metre across, in the air before him.

With a gentle shove he released his control on a wooden ball. It flew towards Quinn. "Catch!"

 

[Catherine Romanov]

This wasn't the first time they had telekinetic training, but it was the first time they were doing one with so many objects, so many that Master Voidstalker actually need a backpack. So, juggling. Those were his first words. Quinn knew full well that the juggling he was talking about did not involve hands, but rather through the mind and the force through the use of telekinesis. The objects in the bag was then revealed to her. Stones, wood and brass. Three very different types of materials. As her master commented on how the individual material feels like within the force, she paid close attention, the effects of sleep were more or less gone now, and her focus was returning to her.

She closed her eyes, and felt within the force for the materials. The wood felt and smelt of wood to her, the texture of rough unsanded wood, and a smell similar to what one would smell in a wood workshop. The stones smelt somewhat ashy to her, like they were burnt, its texture, one of smoothness. The brass smelt of metal, just like the pots and pans she had smelt plenty of times before. The texture was mostly smooth, unless the surface was rusted and unpolished.

Quinn opened her eyes once more as her master began speaking once more. Her next task was to hold as many of these objects in the air, before trying to move them. With a simple gesture, the Jedi Marshal sent a wooden ball flying through the air to her. Remembering her training, she simply stopped the ball, simply letting it float in the air.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

One by one Jacen gave each object a telekinetic kick, before relinquishing his grip. The impulse was carefully weighted to send each one on a gentle arc towards her in turn. “Keep your breathing steady, find your centre. Just try and hold as many as you can for now. If you have to let one go, let it go, but don’t drop the others.” He instructed in a calm voice. At this stage, he doubted she could handle more than three or four – as light as they were. Concentrating on several items at once was more taxing than dealing with one exceedingly heavy object.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

The objects were sent towards her with a light telekinetic kick from the Jedi Marshall, and Quinn got ready for the exercise. She kept her master's words in mind to aid her in the task. Keep your breathing steady and find your centre. That she can do. The padawan slowly regulated her breathing, keeping it steady as she reached into the force in an attempt to keep the various objects up in the air. She easily kept the stones in the air, but faced a slight difficulty when combined with the piece of wood. The wood sank and dipped in the air for a bit, before it recovered, floating back up to the same level as the stones. The next one would definitely prove to be more challenging indeed.

The piece of brass, the metal object. Heavier than the rock or the wood, the metallic object dipped and rose in the air, as though it was in the rough waves of the ocean. I can do this. Keeping her hands steady, concentration focused on keeping the rest of the objects up as beads of perspiration began to form on her forehead. The brass would eventually fall, sinking to the ground with a 'Clunk' as her attempt to keep the heavier object up failed. Damn it.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

The brass ball floated up and joined the others before Jacen. Then they all came together and we're bundled back up in the bag.

"We're not going to push the limit of what you can focus on today, but find a comfortable limit and try and break your focus," he explained as he walked around her.

To emphasise his point he stepped closer and jabbed a finger in his side.