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Thread: Learning Empathy [Draiya] - 10.100

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    Closed Thread Learning Empathy [Draiya] - 10.100

    Serena clasped her hands behind her back, looking at the view. She was standing on the "wrong" side of the Whaladon, it's shadow reaching away from her to the right, the camp hidden behind its bulk.

    She had taken a new padawan, and she was to meet her here in a few minutes. For now she mediated.


    there is no passion; there is serenity
    there is no death; there is the Force


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    It was a day she'd been looking forward to for a while. She'd been a padawan for months now, but aside from her general courses and training, hadn't yet been assigned a master. Although she'd secretly hoped for Abarai Loki or Bryna Belargic, she grudgingly understood those two ideal choices weren't to be. The latter because she herself hadn't been made a knight yet (but oh man that would be kuu'ai if she was!) and the former because he was...Loki. Draiya admired him from afar. He was the kind of Jedi who chewed granite for breakfast because there wasn't anything with more crunch.

    Clear your mind, dork.

    Draiya's face went serene. Control. It wasn't the easiest lesson for her to learn, but she was trying. Loki'd taken to giving her a few knocks on the head to make sure she stayed on the straight and narrow. She respected the tough love, but at some point she was going to have to be the source of her own discipline.

    At last ready, Draiya made her way to the arranged meeting place. She knew Serena Laran. I mean everybody did. She was one of the few Jedi Masters. That was incredibly kuu'ai, and Draiya knew she'd been granted a great honor to learn with one of the best.

    Rounding the corner of the Whaladon, Draiya spotted the red-haired Jedi in serene poise. She approached her, giving respectful distance to her meditation.

    "Masterr?"

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    "Come stand beside me, Padawan Naaianeya," Serena said, not taking her eyes off the distant snow capped peaks. "Tell me what you see."

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    Doing as instructed, Draiya closed the distance to Serena, positioning herself to her side so that they shared the same vista. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, allowing her expression to draw serene as she regarded the view. The serene expression didn't last long, as a look of confusion took its place. She was hoping that she'd discover some less-than-obvious sign by sharing in the moment. All she saw, instead, were...

    "Mountains?"

    She frowned. Grown-ups loved cryptic clues and sending their youngers on wild chases after them.

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    Serena looked down at her, and smiled. "Now, Draiya, close your eyes." The young girl did so after a moment's hesitation, and she continued, "Tell me what you see."

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    Draiya could take that hint. Another deep breath. Her face serene again, and now Draiya's eyelids fluttered closed as she exhaled slowly from her nose. She took to her training, reaching out with her feelings, beyond what her eyes could see. Her other senses augmented what her eyes denied her. Her sense of smell keened. Her ears picked up that which was hidden. But more important, she could feel others. The presence of living beings in the force had its own light that not only shined, but both pushed and pulled. You could almost feel it on your skin. Serena was brilliant, sensed this way. Her radiance in the force almost dominated her senses, and she had to strain to look past. The serenity on her face strained somewhat.

    "Masterr..."

    Expelling her remaining breath in a sigh, her eyes opened and she shook her head.

    "I sense you, the people overr therre...the younglings class. Some bugs."

    Draiya frowned at the mountains beyond.

    "It's too farr."

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    "It is far," agreed Serena. She clasped her hands in front of her and joined her newest padawan in meditation. There was an undercurrent of disappointment, cut through with excitement, running through the girl. It was no secret that Draiya had had designs on being Abarai Loki's padawan, but the council had agreed that the fifteen year old knight was simply not old enough to command respect from a padawan nearly his own age. Most of the time his demeanor and assumed maturity was enough to keep his classes in line, but extended contact, day after day?

    Draiya would find a crack and worry at it until Abarai crumbled. The right padawan learner would come in time for the young Knight, that much she was sure of.

    Serena took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Can you feel your place here? Feel the connections between you, the Force...me. The grasses and rocks."
    Last edited by Serena Laran; Mar 25th, 2014 at 11:09:57 PM.

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    Draiya nodded assuredly.

    "I can, but it's..."

    She tried again, stilling her mind, closing her eyes. She shook her head.

    "...it's harrd to sift aparrt."

    Her eyes widened as she came out of concentration again. Turning to Serena, Draiya shifted on her feet.

    "It's loud. I mean, not like sound, but, you know. You'rre loud. Rreally loud."

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    Serena opened her eyes and met Draiya's gaze. "What do you mean, loud?"

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    Draiya made an awkward face. How else was she supposed to describe it.

    "Well I mean not like ow my earrs loud. I dunno. Like something I should be able to hearr. Orr see. Orr touch."

    She scuffed a boot toe in the grass as she tried to make sense of her own inadequate way of describing her experience through the force. Biting her lip a little, she looked to her Master to help clarify the matter through her own experience.

    "It's not like that forr you? When you feel, you know, the everrything and all."

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    "Some things have a stronger presence that others," Serena nodded. "If I am an overwhelming presence, try focusing beyond me. Focus on the grass under your feet. Tell me about it. In fact, let's sit." She sat on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, long skirts in the grass. "Start with meditating, emptying your mind, and then spread out your senses."

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    She wanted to be told about grass. Draiya could barely hide the incredulity from her face. What was to tell? Still, Serena obviously thought there was more there than the obvious, so Draiya dutifully sat. She laced her fingers together in her lap, and gave a few slow breaths, letting her eyes drift closed. Again, she relied on her sense through the force, and the sensory kaleidoscope that was Serena Laran dominated everything around her. No, focus. Draiya's expression frowned, and she dipped her head, angling towards the ground slightly. Beyond the beautiful corona of Serena's energy, she could feel something verdant and different. The warmth of the sun against the grass, and the life that ran from each feathered green strand to the lacing roots below.

    "It's one and all..." Draiya began cryptically, her mouth slightly open as she focused.

    "I feel energy therre. Drrawn frrom the sun and the earrth. I can feel..."

    Her mouth was dry, and Draiya swallowed heavily.

    "...connection. With each otherr. Like it's talking, saying the same thing, but togetherr. Separrate but also togetherr."

    Realization dawned on her face, and the Syragori's eyes opened. She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding back.

    "I neverr saw it that way beforre."

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    Serena could almost see the light turning on in Draiya's head as she made her discovery, and it was beautiful. "The Force is in everything around us, from the dirt to the clouds, to those far away mountains and the even further stars. But for now, the grass."

    The Jedi master ran her hand over the green blades, the tips tickling her palm. "It covers a large area here. It's energy is subtle, passive. Grass grows only so high, no higher, unlike trees that reach for the sky. It is a minor thing, but necessary for the ecosystem. It plays host to bugs and small rodents, fills the atmosphere with oxygen while filtering carbon dioxide. Investigate the grass, Draiya. It grows under us, and under the feet of the younglings playing. Can you feel the connections?"

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    She doubled her efforts, expanding upon the truths she'd discovered to learn more. Indeed, what Master Laran stated was true. She could feel the connections between the grass, and the unseen creatures within. Without higher minds at work, it was still difficult to find them, but there they were going about their simple roles in the chain of life. But didn't she already know this? From school? Was there a hidden truth in doing beyond learning?

    Introspections and doubts clogged up Draiya's mind, and she severed her link, sighing frustratedly.

    "Masterr Larran I can feel what you'rre saying, but why is it imporrtant? I mean, grrass? Bugs? They don't think. People think. Shouldn't ourr attention be focused on people?"

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    "Bugs do think," Serena chided softly, putting out her hand and encouraging a small purple beetle to fly up from the grass and rest on her palm. "I know you have a great deal of innate ability when it comes to the minds of sentients, Draiya. This must not become a crutch to you, however, or something to concentrate on at the expense of the other areas of the Force. Rummaging around in someone's mind is not a thing to do lightly, either. Too much pressure and the mind can snap, damaged irreparably.

    "Turn back to the grass. It connects us to the younglings on the other side of the Whaladon," Serena encouraged. "Tell me what game they are playing. The grass can tell you what you cannot see."

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    Doubt at Serena's farfetched claims was clear on Draiya's face. She's insane, she gawked, her unbelieving eyes reluctantly moving from Master to grass. Still...she reached a careful hand to the green patch below. Her fingers splayed as her hand stretched out carefully, treading each tapered blade of verdant green before the fingers sank into the depths. She resumed her search, feeling the now-familiar energy of the grass and its many-but-one voice and all of the things within. The look of doubt on her face suddenly turned to surprise, and she drew back from the green patch as if she'd suddenly touched a hot stove. A sharp gasp of breath, and her eyes flicked open.

    Immediately she plunged her hand back, returning to where she was. That strange junction between the living force of the grass and the environment, and the world around her. Draiya stretched those boundaries, running distances beyond where they sat. Far beyond. She could hear voices and see movement. The connection to the living force was a live wire, a conduit that energy flowed through freely, allowing her to perceive the world in a way that should be impossible, but nevertheless...

    "Duck Duck Nuna!"

    She gasped, surprised at how freely it had come.

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    "Very good, Draiya," Serena said, allowing the beetle to fly away, it's wings iridescent in the sun. "Connections - they form the galaxy around us. We are all connected, from the lowliest creature to the largest star." She reached out and took the padawan's hand in hers. "How good are you at reading emotions?"

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    Her face brightened a bit, smile betraying a skill set in which she excelled.

    "Like I said, people arre easierr. Thoughts, intentions, emotions arre clearr."

    Taking a student's initiative to show by example, Draiya reached her senses towards Serena. Emotions were like color. No form or shapes, just easy-to-see hues that could be caused by nearly anything. A casual brush through Serena's mind, and the Padawan's eyes widened, a surprised grin on her face.

    "Love? Who do you..."

    The open book of Serena's mind slammed shut on her, the effect extremely jarring as Draiya flinched and drew back slightly.

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    She quite firmly closed that part of her mind to the inquisitive padawan, a wry smile on her face. "Apologies, Padawan. But that is a conversation for another time." Serena squeezed the girl's hand to show no harm had been done.

    "Every action in the Force has a reaction. Drop a rock in a pond and it ripples the water all the way to the distant shore. Kill an insect, and a flower does not get pollinated. Or, perhaps it is pollinated by a different insect. Tweak the mind of a person, and you can do untold damages. I know you have the ability, but together we will create the control you need in order to use your gifts responsibly."

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    Still a bit shocked by the emotional shuttering, Draiya nodded in agreement. She hadn't anticipated that response to browsing that had been innocent enough. What else might happen if she was too reckless in someone's mind.

    "How will I know?"

    Draiya's expression was guarded and a little apprehensive, as she'd never considered those kinds of ramifications before. Where Serena's mind before had seemed an open book, it now appeared as a mousetrap. Fraught with danger to both parties alike.

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