Nature and the Living Force: A Discussion (Marcus and open)

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran sat in the temple, a peaceful place of contemplation. It wasn't quite as appealing to him as a clearing in the woods or a natural waterfall, but it would work for now. He sat, quietly and in thought, waiting for his guest. He had left the message a day ago. It was rather simple:

Jedi Master Marcus Q'Dunn:

I would much like to meet with you for discussion. Your reputation informs me of your natural affinity to nature and the living Force. I would like to converse with you in order to learn more. Please meet me in the temple at dusk tomorrow. Thanks you for your time.

Terran Starek, Padawan Learner


Terran hoped that Master Q'Dunn would recieve his message and have the opputunity to visit with him. It would be interesting to meet with another who had the same interests as his own. He knew, inside of his spirit, that he could learn much from the man.

He would now wait, entertaining anyone who happened to stop by. All were welcome in Terran's eyes, and anybody who should stop by to discuss his/her own opinion would be appreciated and heard.

[Marcus Telcontar]

*Tries to think of good reply but cant, so simply sees messgae and goes to Council room *

OOC : Okay so sue me, I'm nt feeling creative tonight :p

IC : "Godd evening.... you wanted to speak to me?"

[imported_Terran Starek]

OOC: It's ok. I understand. No worries!

IC:

Terran stood as Master Q'Dunn approached him.

"Hello and yes. It is great to finally meet you." Terran said, bowing to Master Q'Dunn. He had heard so many stories, so many tales of his exploits. To meet him now...Terran was impressed that he had such a grounded, easily apporoachable style. Many of the Jedi Masters were a little more difficult to approach and perhaps, in some cases, too busy.

"I have learned that you are a hunter and outdoorsman. I have also heard that you are a friend to nature and well attuned to its voice. I, too, can hear the wind speak. And I wish only to understand it more everyday." He spoke with passion, as he was deeply enthralled with the living Force around him. "I thought that maybe--in a non-training sort of way--you could help me do this."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Well, yes I can, but how do you know this? It is not something that I speak of in these halls and nor does anyone really know or understand - unless you have been speaking to Xazor. She would know this well"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran smiled.

"You obviously know her well. Yes, she shared these facts with me because she knew that interacting with you would benefit me." He spoke truthfully and looked forward to talking with Master Q'Dunn.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Know Xazor well? That qualified as the understatement of the year, but Marcus wasn't going to explain out loud, not here. The Life Bond was the closest held secret that neither Xazor or Marcus was going to tell anyone about. Even Helenias didnt really know.

"Aye, she knows me resonably well - Now, what you ask is not something that is particular to a Jedi, although such abilities can be increased by The Force. So, you hear what the wind would say as it moves through the grass? There are few who would profess to that, not in places of concrete and steel"

[imported_Terran Starek]

"It is truly amazing, Master Q'Dunn. I don't know how or why--it just seems to connect. I have always had a strong love of nature in general--the trees, the grass, the rocks even--they all have different stories to tell. It seems that they have to share them with me." He almost laughed at himself--it must have sounded so silly to a Jedi Master for Terran to speak of such things. He wondered if he was making a mockery of Master Q'Dunn's intelligence by trying to explain it.

"It could be true that I am in fact crazy," he said with a slight smile. "I know that the Force exsists in all things. Everything seems to have a voice with which to speak. I hear them. The trees, the wind, the frogs--they speak to me." Terran guessed the true test was here. If Master Q'Dunn thought he was crazy, that comment that would seal the deal.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"And each one has it's own language, it's own way of speaking, if we stop for a moment to bother to listen. What tales the trees can tell of all whom pass, the birds that soar, what they see, the beasts and the breeze, what songs they sing! Those whom cant speak Basic, they do speak and yet others seem to say they dont. Like my cat here.." he stated, picking up a large black cat with glowing yellow eyes that had begun to circle his legs "..he says that you have the smell of Xazor on you. Stig here could tell you many things about yourself if you listened"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran was pleased to hear that he wasn't crazy. Master Q'Dunn understood exactly what he meant. His comment made perfect sense, and solidified the notion that nature had a voice.

He understood the variety of it all, too. The frogs--they had a very throaty voice. It was so deep, it took awhile to understand. The trees--some of the wisest spirits in the wood--were so whispery. They spoke slowly and he had to learn several new words from them. All in all, he came to understand the forest better than any creature.

Terran listened as Master Q'Dunn talked about Stig, his cat. The animal purred with his touch, closing his eyes in soft content.

"..he says that you have the smell of Xazor on you. Stig here could tell you many things about yourself if you listened"

Terran looked down at the cat and let his mind clear. He wondered if Stig would speak to him. He smiled, using one of his favorite and most practiced skills--animal handling. He let his aura reach out and touch the spirit of Stig. It was warm and inviting, as nonthreatening as a soft kiss. He looked into the cat's eyes, wondering what he was thinking. Cats--above most small, domesticated animals--were mindbogglingly intelligent. He wondered if the feline would speak to him.

[Marcus Telcontar]

(Just think that this is Stig for a moment :D )

The cat looked back that the human, it's eyes seeming to glow as it stared.

Is the kitten Xazor has inside her, yours?

[imported_Terran Starek]

ooc: gotchya

ic:

Terran smiled and chuckled. Was the irony of the comment funny or was it the curiousity of Stig. Maybe both.

No, my friend. The kitten does not belong to me. He let his thoughts reach Stig. He looked back up at Marcus.

"So it's true? Cats are as curious as we their playful persona conveys?" He flashed an inquisitive smile. "I suppose it would be only fitting if I wondered whether or not they had nine lives?" He chuckled.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Cats are amazing creatures - yes indeed they are exceptionally curious. Stig is more over curious about Xazor, as she to him is a canine. He sees her Garou side as only a cat can. And dont laugh about the nine lives thing, sometimes I'm convinced they really do. "

"Come, walk with me. We have things to discuss."

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran smiled and ackowledged Master Q'Dunn's request. He took to his side and followed him, as the Jedi Master beckonned. To be in his presence...he was awed. It seemed that no one could quite feel the same things that Terran did. No one understood how he spoke into the wind. No one could feel the breath of the rocks. Untill now.

"I wanted you to know something. This...coming here and conversing with me...it means a great deal to me." He let the words stumble out, as he was never exceptional at dealing with his own emotions. He never had a problem with empathizing with others or comforting his friends. But his own jumbled thoughts always seemed to taunt him.

He smiled, wondering what Master Q'Dunn had to discuss.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"It would be reward enough for me if you... for the moment, forget I am a Jedi Warlord and you are a Padawan. Think of me for a few minutes as someone who is concerned for a mutual friend. And is with this I would speak to you first before we continue on the original path. You had a spy watch you a few nights ago... the very one I now hold. Stig conveyed to me words he did not understand, but I could. Terran, I would have no wish to see Xazor be hurt, she is a dear friend of mine and more to the point, Helenias adopted her as a daughter. She is family to me. There might be few whom I would call that, but we are fanatically loyal to family. "

There was no way Terran could know that Marcus shared a far more intimate link, a Life Bond with Xazor. He felt her pain and her sadness aculy, understood her attitudes and her past. This was a talk they needed to have, before anything went further

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran listened intently. He hadn't expected this subject to arise--truly foolish of he. He should have known. It wasn't negative by any means--Terran had always wondered about Marcus and Xazor's position. Now, he could understand.

He gave his full attention to Master Q--his friend now--and let the words he presented sink into his mind. His brow furrowed as he took in all of what he had to say. Each and every word soaked into his heart, as he could tell the other was quite serious in his speaking.

They must have had a past together in friendship, or perhaps they survived a traumatic event together. To call someone not of your own blood family was a bold statement. With it carried more than Terran probably knew. He could feel the seriousness in Marcus' voice.

"To call her your family...you must be very close." He smiled. He was in an exceptionally good mood, especially around Master Q'Dunn. "I am sure, then, that you know of our past together. Xazor and I...well, you know." He paused for a moment. The words he would speak next would be thought out and well meant. He had troubled finding them, as he always did with his thoughts. "I love her. I really do. I have since...since ever. Since I was very young. To come back to her--when I arrived here--and to see her and know she was with another..." He paused again, "It was hard. But I respected her and took my place by her side--as the friend she needed. It pained me--as I still love her. Nothing has changed. Untill now. Now..." He stopped. He wasn't sure how to follow it. "Now..."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"yes... you could say we are close"

So close, Xazor herself is part of me, and I part of her. That is how a Life Bond works. Created by an accident, but she can, right now hear every word you say to me Terran. I know how strong her feeling are for you

Out loud however, with no sign of his inner thoughts, Marcus continued. "Xazor is a Dawnstrider and a Garou, none of that can be changed. But she is also a dear friend now and my wife's daughter. I have watched her.... her weakness is her emotions, because they flow strong in her. And now, when she carries child, they grow stronger again. I wish for her to be settled. I want the best for her. And I want to you to understand something. Enter her life here, you have entered mine - and both of us walk a dangerous path. You have to be prepared to walk it as well. You will need strength and ability to do that. What see gives me hope that you might be able"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran listened. He heard the conviction in Master Q'Dunn's voice. His concern, his care. It pleased him to know that someone like this was near to her--someone to connect with her on levels maybe he didn't understand. He probably never would.

What could he do now? Only listen and listen carefully. To let Q'Dunn's words make a true impact. To analyze and remember. Above all, to realize the importance of his tone.

He hoped that the statement was one of confidence, and that Marcus believed in him. Something inside of him said that he did. That, if he didn't, he wouldn't have wasted his time here, having this conversation. Doubt could be conveyed much more easily than words of confidence and encouragement.

"Her emotions do flow, it is true," he spoke with a slight grin. He loved that about her. She could be difficult at times, but he loved the way that she could never hide her true feelings from him. "I...I want to be prepared for this. I want you to believe in me. I believe in Xazor. And I trust you." Some of his own emotions leaked out. "I only want good for Xazor. I want her to be happy and carefree again."

[Marcus Telcontar]

"You speak well and I hear the conviction on your voice. But, it is but words until actions bear it out. Actions are the defining part of a man. If you do not act as you have said, you have failed not only Xazor, but you will have failed yourself. A Jedi my friedn does not fail. Remember that"

He looked around where they were, breathing in the air.

"I wonder where the Force will lead you? What paths you might take, the places you will be? Maybe you can feel the wind telling you"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran took Master Q'Dunn's warning seriously. He firmly believed what he said--a Jedi doesn not fail. It was something he believed in. The Force had a will, and it was the goal of the Jedi to respect and understand it.

As Master Q'Dunn finished, he smiled. He had listened to the wind so many times, hoping to hear what it said about he and Xazor.

"It seems that the wind becomes a whisper, almost inaudible, when it speaks of Xazor and myself. I've never been able to see or hear the future that well. It has only said one thing." He again smiled, as he squared up with Marcus. "It whispers 'love.'"

He had wondered what exactly the wind meant, but had always been happy to think of it positively.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"The future..." Marcus said quietly "Oh, I could tell you some things from the future"

His mind drifted to the Omen Helenias has pronounced on Xazor's baby, the lives that it would affect ... and the final scence, the last stand against an evil that may not be overcome. And now that Marcus thought about it, with the other participants known and the choices set out for all of them, why was it that this young man here was not among them? Dasquain, Helenias, Arya, Jina, Marcus and the baby were seen, but if Terran was so in love with Xazor, why was it he was not here? Something was not right and the more the thought about it, was very, very odd.

But the ability to see through the mists of time was an imprecise art, even if Helenias was notiably good at it. Was it something she had missed or was it.... something she had been denied allowance to see? He gave the Padwan a look, thinking as this new possibility came to mind. Nowhere had there been anything seen that this latest twist in Xazor's life, a Jedi Padawan of good regard and potential. A person from her past, no less.

What was making these thoughts all the more compelling was the feeling of rightness about Terran. Something felt in place, like something meant to be.

It was very much worth thinking about and all the more important he got to know this young man a good deal better.

"So, what are your plans with Xazor? What would you do now?"

[imported_Terran Starek]

He always knew the questions to ask, to make the padawan think.

"Well...to be honest, I haven't thought much about it. I mean, this situation...it materialized so fast, I just let thoughts and emotions materialize with it." He indeed remembered how fast everything had moved. He hadn't been prepared for the degree to which his and Xazor's relationship had moved. However, he was very adept to adapting.

"I know one thing: I will be here for her. Whatever comes of this new promise, I want to be a part of it. Her child..." he thought of the life that grew in her womb. "I will not let it grow up fatherless. I will become important to her again. I love her and I don't want that statement to be just a statement--it will be reality." He looked at Master Q'Dunn with an intense, purposeful gaze. It was obvious that he was being honest and certain.

[Pierce Tondry]

(ooc) The thread did say open, and this looks like a very good place for a cameo... Hope no one minds. :)

(ic)
"Be careful what you say," Pierce Tondry said from somewhere to the side of them both. "Because you might get what you wish for. Reality, I've found, tends to be more than you bargain for."

"I only overheard a little bit," he added by way of reassurance. "I was just teaching Jax here the basics of sneaking." He gave the boy a tickle.

Jax giggled and gave a jerky wave to the two the pair had encountered, then caught sight of Marcus' cat and peered at it with interest. "See that, Jax?" he asked. "That's a cat. Caaat. Can you say 'caaat'?"

Jax bobbed up and down. "Kaaadd!"

Pierce laughed to himself. "No, little one, that's the cad," he said, pointing at Marcus and giving the Jedi Warlord a sly grin. "That is a caaat."

Jax tried again, waving a hand for emphasis. "Caaad!"

With a sheepish shrug and a sly grin, Pierce gave up and set his son on his own two feet so he could better examine Stig. "What can I say," he grinned. "The boy can recognize a cad when he sees one."

With a quick laugh at his own joke, Pierce extended a hand to Marcus. "How are you today, Marcus?" he asked. "And who's your charge?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

Marcus had the look of a man greatly amused, but trying to hide it. But also, not very well.

"Well, what can I say? Guilty as charged" He reached out, his rough and calloused hand taking grip with Tondry's and firmly shaking. "Good to see you again, Pierce. Terran, I wouldnt exactly call th this pirate a friend - yet - but he is one to respect greatly. Pierce Tondry. Pierce, this is Terran Starek, Jedi Padawan. We were just discussing some interesting aspects of The Force"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran smiled, extending his own hand to Pierce.

"I am pleased to meet you." He looked towards the young boy, watching him as he giggled and gawked at Stig. He was a very happy young boy. It reminded him of his role to come. He only hoped he could fill it as well as Pierce appeared to be.

"Marcus' knowledge reaches much farther than my own. I wouldn't call it discussion as much as I have been listening and not talking." He smiled again, flashing a look at Marcus.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Yeah, Marcus can be pretty impressed by the sound of his own voice sometimes," Pierce agreed, throwing the Jedi Warlord yet another grin as he shook Terran's hand. "But usually he has something relevant mixed in with the mumbo-jumbo. Or so people tell me."

"Back to what I was saying earlier," he said. "Taking care of a kid is- well, it's something. There's so much they need, and they can't tell you what it is. Then there's the times of the day they wake up, and when they need changing- it's enough to rub anyone the wrong way."

Pierce then gave Terran a sad smile. "And that can be where it all falls down. Sometimes, the parent just has it too hard already and they can't handle the extra burden of a kid. They get upset, frustrated, and they do something wrong or fail somehow. That failure can be devastating to a child. I'm terrified that one day, I'll fall into that trap. And I'm an Intel agent, too, so I'm used to people who can't communicate with me, and being up at odd hours."

Pierce paused, then gave Terran a meaningful look. "Keep that info under your hat. Most people don't know my day job."

Stig, meanwhile, had been playing with Jax by letting the boy pet him and by tickling Jax's nose with his tail. Pierce smiled to himself and picked his son up again. "But the most important thing about kids to remember is what they are," he said quietly, staring at Jax who stared right back at him. "They're small, helpless, and they need you. In the end, a good parent is destined to give more to their children than anything they could ever hope to gain."

Jax gave his father a quirky smile, then lay his head on Pierce's chest and got comfortable. Pierce tilted his head so that it touched his son's. "There's a lot of pitfalls everywhere," he said. "You've got to go into each day with an open mind or risk losing something important to you."

Pierce's lip twisted. "For that matter," he added. "The same could be applied to women and marriage."

Suddenly, Pierce laughed. "Listen to me going on like I know it all," he chuckled. "When all I am is an old pirate with a family."

[Marcus Telcontar]

At the mention of women and marrige an odd look came over Marcus' face, as his thougths switched to whom Tondry's wife was - a Sith Master, dangerous and unpredictible.

IF you were just an old pirate, I'd wonder how things would be. But your not, are you? If you were any less of a man, De'ville would have ground you up and spat you out.

The private thoughts, he gave no indication of, choosing other words to say in their stead. "No, I'd pretty much agree with your assessment, with one important point... if you dont mind my mumbo-jumbo. A child we can have a chance to mold, to help to nuture and bring up. A parent will many times know more about their child than the child knows about themselves until they well and truly reach adulthood. A Wife however.... even after 12 years, I still am unsure what Helenias will wake and be. I'd think the pitfalls with a life partner, especially ones who are strong themselves - that presents a real challenge. Being with Helenias, that is a true adventure. You Terran, if your serious about Xazor, you will see the same. And you Pierce... well. She must keep you on your toes"

[imported_Terran Starek]

Terran listened to both men intently. He had always believed in absorbing the wisdom of the others around him. Especially with the two men that stood before him--they were weathered and experienced, wise and meaningful. It was exhilerating to be in their presences.

"Yes, Master Q'Dunn." He acknolewdged Marcus in the respectful way of the Jedi. He turned to Pierce. "Thank you, Mr. Tondry, for sharing your own wisdom." It was little he could do to appreciate what Pierce offered to him.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce laughed aloud and Jax giggled, sharing in his father's mirth somehow. "It's something you'd learn eventually," he said to Terran. "Better you hear it now and not after-the-fact."

"Well, I have to be getting off," he said. "Got things to do and Jax is probably hungry."

As if to confirm his statement, the young boy began bobbing up and down again. "Easy, little one," Pierce laughed. "I won't let you go hungry. Good to see you, Marcus. Terran, good to meet you. Xazor can and will be quite a handful, I think. Goodbye Stig."

"G'pie, 'tik!" Jax said, waving at the cat. Pierce shook his head and smiled at his son's linguistic fallacy.

Then Pierce left, having not responded to Marcus' implied statement.