And it was always right there

[Taber]

The Jedi. He remembered as a kid, playing with the kids on the neighboring farms, pretending they were one. No one wanted to be the bad guys. They all wanted to be the jedi. And so they'd argued over who got to be what until they resembled Sith warlords. They played with pretend lightsabers, any old stick would do. But of course, you always wanted the strongest one, so you'd win.

Now, years later, thinking back on those times made him smile. He was roughly twenty two years of age, and had spent the past four years of his life working for a freighter company. The ship had some difficulties on this last trip, and an emergency landing had been required.

He walked through the streets, and something had just naturally seemed to pull him in this direction. Out of town a bit, to the recruitment center. He laughed a bit to himself as he stood outside.

Being a jedi....those were just childhood fantasies....werent they? But the kid in him resisted, tugged him inside, where he found now found himself.

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

Ki Adi approached the man with a calm spirit.

" Greetings, I am Jedi Padawan Kindo. Why do you wish to see the Jedi on this day?"

[Xazor Elessar]

A woman watched from the shadows.....a smile crept over her lips as the newcomer entered and looked about. She stepped into the light, and eyed him for a moment, then bowed her head.

"Greetings......I am Warrior Jedi Knight, and Council Member, Xazor Dawnstrider. You seek the Jedi this day......"

She said gently. Her waist length blonde hair hung in Garou Warrior Braids, interwoven with golden coins around her shoulders and down her back. The red robes she wore clung around her and gathered on the floor at her feet, like the sand on the beaches of the ocean. She glowed with an inner radience that spoke of peace and love......and trust that he could find in her.

[Taber]

Taber grinned at Ki Adi and shrugged almost bashfully. Instantly, he wondered why he had come. He wasnt going to be a jedi. He wasnt sure he even believed in the force.

"Just childhood memories..." He replied as Xazor approached.

And then she spoke, asked him if he sought out the jedi. He supposed he had. He was here, afterall.

"Im not sure what I seek." He replied.

"I guess I just wanted to see for myself that the jedi existed.."

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor lofted a brow with a questioning look.

"So you do not wish to join us? Indeed, we exist and are serving everyday...."

She said, wondering why he had a change in aura about him...almost as if he was searching to join....but then was not now....

[Taber]

ooc:

I am looking to join. My thoughts here were that he hasd no idea he's force sensitive - but he didnt wind up there by just wandering - he was drawn to it - perhaps someone could fill him in that he just might be?

ic:

He smiled.

"Oh I'd love to join you, dont get me wrong, Jedi Dawnstrider. But I dont think I'm jedi material exactly."

He had stepped inside out of a childish curiosity - to see if the people he idolized as a child truly did exist.

He wasnt force sensitive, at least that he knew, anyway.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor closed her eyes and stepped up to the young man. A smile crossed her lips as she placed her hands on his shoulders. Stepping back, she opened her eyes and bowed her head for a moment.

"Indeed, you are Force sensitive....the Force runs deeply through you. I sense that you did not just come here out of curiosity afterall....perhaps you felt....drawn, here?"

She questioned, knowing that she too had once felt the pull of the Force to this place. Many people before him had felt the same way to....

ooc: Thanks for the clarification! :)

[Taber]

ooc: *smiles* sometimes ya forget others can read your mind.. ;)

ic:

He was a bit surprised when she reached to put her hands on his shoulders, and even more surprised by her annoucement to him.

His expression showed a bit of disbelief.

"No disrespect, M'am, but I think your force radar might be a bit off today..." He replied, a hand going to touch his shoulder for a moment where her hand had been. As if she had left some sort of imprint there with her light touch.

As she questioned whether he had been drawn there or not, as if she was trying to make a believer of him, he paused, considering.

"Im not sure, really..." He answered honestly, perhaps even a bit doubtfully. How had he ended up here, exactly? He knew nothing of the planet - had never been there before.

"Would it mean something if I was?" He questioned.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor grinned to herself and eyed him as he spoke. He doubted himself....and that was alright, at least he was not cocky as some others she had greeted in the past.

"Yes...if you were drawn here, then you have encountered the Force. The Force flows through all things...you, me...the tree and the rock. It gives off different messages to those that listen...and if you were drawn here as so many others before you, then you heard it speak to you as well..."

She said with a gentle smile. Hopefully he would begin to see what she was talking about...and maybe he too would believe in this hidden power that he possessed.

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

Kindo, who was beside Xazor, spoke up.

" She's right. Do you honestly believe you came here just to come here? Their is purpose vehind everything. Is it so hard to believe the Force directed you here? I don't think so. The Force is very powerful. We Jedi learn to be one with it. We follow it's will. Perhaps you are doing the same? Perhaps you are following the will of the Force by being here?"

[Taber]

The force? Speak to him? He wasnt so sure about that. He didnt think he was any different than anyone else. Afterall, he was just the second oldest brother of a family of seven, who'd left the family farm to work for a freighter company.

"You think the force is what brought me here?" He asked, more questioning himself, than her.

"I just..our freighter needed some repairs, so we stopped down.." He added, as if trying in his mind to disprove her theory. Not that he didnt want to believe, he just hadnt ever thought that maybe he could be the jedi he'd pretended to be as a kid.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor shook her head and eyed him for a moment, knowing that was not the reason why he was here.

"It was the Force....Taber..."

She had found his name by a quick search of his mind. A smile crossed her lips as she eyed him steadily, wondering why it was so difficult for him to believe...

"It was the Force.....you know it, but your thoughts betray you..."

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

" We have people from all kinds of walks of life come to be Jedi. I myself was a politician. It doesn't matter where you start off. Here is your chance to become something you always dreamed of. Although, i will not lie. It is not an easy path. It requires sacrifice and sometimes even pain. Your joy come form knowing others are protected and safe because of you. But you will make a diffrence. The will of the Force brought you here, stop denying it and look inside your self. You know its true."

[Taber]

That she knew his name did not surprise him. She had told him she was a jedi.

And now they both seemed to be recruting him in a sense.

And it seemed to good to be true. He worked for a freighter company. He hadnt exactly ever thought of giving it all up to become a jedi

"I dont understand...you mean - if I choose...I would stay here and you would train me to become a jedi?"

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor nodded gently and smiled.

"Yes, if you choose this life, then you could stay here and train to become a Jedi..."

She said with a gentle smile....

[Taber]

This was unbelievable to him. Never had he ever truly considered this kind of career. He'd worked for the past few years to help his parents get by. Seven kids made things difficult financially, even with the best of farms. Freighter work didnt pay a lot, but enough that he had enough to get by, and some left over to send home.

This was the only thing that would prevent him from joining. He wanted to - but who got paid to be a jedi? And he couldnt desert his family now.

"I dont know..." He replied. There was reluctance in his voice, but only because of his concern for his family. If he hadnt felt the responsibility that he did, he would have jumped on the chance in a heartbeat.He just wasnt all that comfortable discussing his or his family's financial situation with strangers.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor closed her eyes and read his thoughts. He wished not to speak of family issues in front of them....he was hesitating because of that. She smiled gently and opened her eyes, looking at him.

"And if you care to make money while training, they are looking for help down at the Bar sometimes....or perhaps you would care to be a hand servant to someone for a while. It is always nice to have some money on hand. Here's to help you get started if you need some things for your room....perhaps..."

She tossed him a large money bag with nearly a thousand credits in it. Money was easy to come by for Xazor...due to her past, she was quite rich. She smiled gently and winked at him, telling him a secret message of hope....

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

" You will find the answers to all your situations when you look into the Force. The Force is your ally, and if you learn to work with the Force then you will find that some of your situations that seems so hard are not so hard has they were. Let the Force help you friend. The will of the Force is not for you to be a Freighter guy, its to be a Jedi. You know that, don't you?"

Kindo turned to Xazor.

" This one will find his way in the Force. Has soon as he quits letting doubt overcome him."

[Taber]

Xazor's offer was tempting. But the credits he would not touch. There was too much pride in him for such a thing.

And then he looked to Ki Adi - the words of this man confused him. How was he to look to the force when he didnt even know he was capable of doing it. What did it look like?

"And what happens if I dont make it?" He asked. He supposed he could always look for freighter work again....but still, he needed someone to tell him it was ok to do for once what he wanted - what would make him happy. In his love for his family, he had forgotten that such a thing was important.

"What if Im just not....a jedi."

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

" Thats only a decision you can look inside yourself and make. Sorry, but i must be leaving now. May the Force be with you sir."

He turned and bowed to Xazor and walked off in to the distance.

[Xazor Elessar]

"Ki Adi speaks the truth......that's a decision that only you can make. You must have faith in yourself and the Force......."

The Knight said softly. She wanted to open his eyes so much, but only he could do that for himself.....