Terris Rhyson's training

[Damel Girte]

Perched on a branch within sight to all those that looked closely enough, Damel waited and watched for the arrival of her new padawan. Seated in the swaying canopy, she looked around, smiling slightly and letting the memories swirl around in her mind as she waited for Terris.

[Terris Rhyson]

The sandy haired boy walks out into the open, and spots Damel...

"Hey Damel!! I'll be up in a couple of moments."

He runs up to the tree and climbs, as if he was born to do so. He soon reaches the branch at which Damel is perched.

"So...Wanna start?"

[Damel Girte]

Damel turned to face Terris, and smiled. "Yep. But first, before we get started... tell me about yourself. A little about your past- also, why do you want to become a Jedi? And what do you hope to do?"
She paused to let it sink in a little, then continued. "You said your parents taught you a little about the Force... what do you know so far and what is the Force to you?

And you can use more than one breath this time." She grinned.

[Terris Rhyson]

The sandy haired boy takes a seat on the branch.

"My mother was a great jedi. She taught me to never to give up, and patience is very important. I know mostly about lightsaber stuff, because that is what my father taught, and he was the last one to teach me anything jedi-related. I learned about the force, what it was, and how it could be used. I learned to sense things with the force, because I was told my eyes and ears could be decieved. I learned to lift and throw things too. There were some things they would not teach me, because they did not want little tornados and sandstorms. Whatever they meant by that. I could talk to my parents-*he points to his head*-with my mind. Telepathy, I believe."

He pauses, smiles, pats the tree, and continues talking.

"I want to become a Jedi because it is in me. To be a Jedi, it's in the family, and it's in me to be a contribution to the universe. Not a detriment."

Terris grins.

"I was always told I was using words bigger than my mouth."

[Damel Girte]

Ooc: Terris, I apologize for the delay… some unexpected RL problems cropped up, and I couldn’t get to the boards until now. Sorry about that…
Ic:

“You’ll become a great Jedi someday, I’m sure.” She grinned. “Words can be very powerful tools. It’s fine if they’re bigger than your mouth… sometimes, many times, you need them to express ideas. Just don’t let them get bigger than your mind. Using …extraneous verbiage… for the sake of being fancy, or sounding big- it means nothing. Makes your words ring empty because the thought doesn’t fill the words.”

She clapped her palms together. “But enough of that…”

With one hand, she gestured around them. “Look around. We’re sitting on a tree… there’s grass beneath us, wind blowing through. You can hear the birds and the beetles and the creatures. Everywhere we go, we’re surrounded by life. Here, we’re surrounded by life… can you feel it?” Seeing him nod, she continued. “The Force is a part of life, and life is a part of the Force. It’s everywhere. Around us, and in us- and although we can’t see it, we can feel it. You can feel it. It surrounds us, brings us together…connects life to itself. I want you to reach out… and try to sense it. Become part of it- reach out with your senses, get in touch with it, and let yourself go. Not with your sight or your hearing- with your mind. With the Force. Give it a shot.”

The girl watched Terris for a few minutes, giving him time to reach out and explore the world. Then she spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper, so as to not disturb his concentration. “ Now I want you to direct your attention to that tree over there… the one right in front of us… reach under the branches with your mind… and tell me what you see.”

Underneath the flowing branches of the nearby tree, whose dense foliage reached nearly to the ground, forming a thick curtain, three hoops of wood bent in concentric circles hung affixed to the trunk, swaying in a sort of bulls-eye in front of the wood. This construction was entirely hidden by the leaves. There was no clue as to its existence whatsoever; the only way one would know it was even there would be through careful probing with the Force.

[Terris Rhyson]

"I see...or rather feel...three hoops, attached to the trunk...kind of like a bullseye or dartboard....What about them?"

[Damel Girte]

"Good. Now see that pile of rocks over there?" She nodded at a small heap of fist-sized stones piled against the base of the tree.

"Concentrate on one... feel it like you did the hoops... and then lift it. Throw it at the hoops... you know where they are. You can feel them. Take one... push it. Sort of push the Force in the rock over there... here, watch."

She pointed at one of the stones, and it began to rise. Suddenly, it shot towards the suspended target at high velocity. As it whipped by, it stirred the leaves aside just long enough for Terris to catch a glimpse of the stone passing cleanly through the center of the inner hoop. Damel grinned.

"Try for the bullseye... but work on control. See what you can do."

[Terris Rhyson]

Terris keeps a 'mind eye' on the hoops, and picks a fairly large rock. He points to the rock and twitches his hand in an upward motion...The rock shoots up into the air with speed, and Terris points his thumb over his shoulder and takes two steps to the left, and the rock whizzes past his ear. The speed forces of the rock when it goes through the hoops makes them vibrate a bit. Terris brings the rock down and looks at Damel.

"How was that?"

[Damel Girte]

ooc: I'm really sorry this is taking so long, Terris... school's ending and they took back the computer, so I'm going to try to find someone that can train you better, because I won't be here over the summer.
ic:

"That was good, Terris. Especially for the first time. But remember that hand gestures like this-"

Here, she flicked her hand up, and the stone she had thrown earlier zipped from the ground into her palm.

"They don't mean anything; they're just for show." She tossed the rock into her other hand and dropped it back at the base of the tree. "You don't really need 'em to use the Force."

She settled back and looked at Terris. "Try calling it back like that- just reach out and give it a tug."

[Terris Rhyson]

OOC: That's ok. Hope to see you in the fall.

Terris flipped from the tree and landed on his feet, quickly doing a shoulder roll and springing to his feet.
He called the rock to him, this time just feeling it out and pulling it without moving his body. He looks at the chono on his wrist.

"I gotta go. Cap is expecting my call. Then maybe I'll get something to eat. I haven't eaten in hours. "

He runs off to make the important call.

[Damel Girte]

ooc: Thanks, Terris. Leia is going to continue your training... good luck. I think you'll do wonderfully. See you in the fall, too. Thanks for understanding.

ic:
She watched him walk off for a moment, a smile on her face. He'd grow up to be a great Jedi someday.

After a few moments, the figure of Terris had receded into the distance. Then Damel hopped off the branch and, with a backwards glance at the swaying leaves, walked slowly away.