An Unexpected and Unwanted Arrival (Loki, open)

[Felix Flint]

In the early hours of the morning on one clear Coruscant day a delivery had arrived at Master Yoghurts Bar and Grill. It was so dark that not a single member of staff had awoken yet and so the package remained outside in the chill for some hours before it was stumbled upon by the early shift workers. Receiving deliveries was not out of the ordinary for the bar, but this one did seem quite unusual.

All that had arrived was a large traveling case and a little ginger cat, who lay in a heavy dreamless sleep on top of its counterpart. On the side of the case in large neat letters was spelt out ‘FELIX’. For a minute or two the workers stared at what was before them before one ambled inside to start preparing the establishment for its daily custom. The other, however, noticed a letter of some kind was pinned beneath the cat.

Careful not to wake it up, he pulled out the letter then called back to his co-worker.

“Do you know a Moggie Flint?”

“Uhhhh… no, should I?”

“Says here she works here.”

“Nope… must be a wrong address.”

“There’s no return for it…”

“… Why does the cat have a trunk, anyway?”

“Should we look inside it?”

“No! We might get in trouble!”

“Suit yourself.”

Blowing out air through pursed lips, the first man shook his head and began to read the letter in his hands:


Dear Moggie,

We would be ever so grateful if you could watch Felix for us for a while.
Some things have come up at home that are making it difficult for us to
care for him properly, and so we would be eternally in your debt if you
could watch him for a couple of months. All of his things are in his trunk
and he really doesn’t need much doing for him aside from a meal now and
then. I hope he will be safe with you, since you live in and around the Jedi.

We’ll be in contact with you soon.
All our love,
Tom and Duchess
xxx

PS. Don’t forget he is allergic to fish!

There wasn’t much the two bar workers could do, they summarized, except bring the things in. Somehow the cat managed to sleep through the whole ordeal, and ended up still sat on its case in warm corner of the bar, where the sunlight would spill through onto its slim body as it slept. They were counting on the fact that someone would come and collect their things – but no one would, and by the time the usual stream of customers came in there was still no sign of anyone arriving to claim the trunk and Felix the sleeping cat …

(OOC: Obviously things aren’t what they seem in this thread. It would be best if it was one of the younger – as in younger in age – Padawans joined this thread.)

[Loki Ahmrah]

Lunchtime. In walked twelve-year-old padawan, Loki Ahmrah, he looked weary and there were tell-tale traces of sweat glistening on his clammy brow. A droid wheeled up to him and well familiar with the sight of him trudging into his favourite haunt at this time of day asked if he would like his usual order and with a lazy nod he sent her on her busy way.

"Two more months of Anbira's intensive stamina program." He whined through a thin breath. Three times a week his master would give him an almost unbearable training exercise designed to build stamina and determination, it was suggested by his son, Jubei, who during his time with Tiger Clan had convinced the boy that he had some strange sort of fetish with torturing padawans. Loki's muscled ached all over.

"That was fast, thanks Dolly." He smiled at the droid who had brought him his 'Force in a Can', an energy drink that was scientifically proven to give you an energy boost when your tank was low but of course, it wasn't literally the Force in a can although Loki fancied it tasted like it. Setting his drink down ham-handedly with a clunk, he cast his eyes around the room, it was the usual sight of patrons of neopolitan Jedi and civilians. That was until a sleeping feline caught his attention, the small cat's fur shimmered golden in the afternoon sun and it's chest raised and fell hypnotically with it's purring. It appeared to have no owner.

"Where is this cat's owner?" Loki called out, particularly to the droid who had been serving him but loud enough so anyone could answer.

[Felix Flint]

If anyone in the bar did own the cat, they were not willing to speak up and say so. Behind the bar one of the morning shift workers, passing cloth back and forth over the bar, heard the Padawans call and was the only one to respond. He strode out through the swing door at the counters end over to where Loki was sat, his eyes drifting back and forth between the young boy and the placid feline.

“No idea. Just arrived in this morning claiming to be meant for someone who me an’ Pete had never ‘eard of; Moggie Flint, it said,” he said in a hushed tone while wringing the cloth in his hands, as though fearful that the cat would hear what he was saying.

“Been about five hours now, I reckon, and it hasn’t woke up. Not a peep, not even when someone went to ‘ave a look at its trunk,” he added, nodding at the worn thing the little beast was sprawl over.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Wow, that is strange." Replied Loki, glancing back at the cat, his eyes narrowed.

"It--" He hesitated, noticing the large, bold lettering on the side of the case. "Felix has his own trunk!?"

The bartender nodded returning the padawan's look of bewilderment, he shrugged and returned to his work behind the bar where a trio of Mon Calamari pilots had grown restless. Loki sat in silence, taking great gulps from his drinks can until it was finally empty, for a minute he stared at the bar, then down at his fidgeting fingers and then at the chronometer on his wrist. He had just under an hour left until he would have to meet up with Master Rie Mysst and a few other padawans at the hospital wing for a couple of hours, it was a fundamental aspect of her healing program.

Finally, like a ticking time bomb, curiosity had the better of him and he found himself kneeling down next to the trunk, reading through the letter. When he had finished, he sat in thought, stood and walked over to the bar.

"Excuse me, you said that there is no-one here to take care of him--" He pointed to the motionless feline across the room, "Felix, I mean, well-- would it be alright if I could look after him?" The bartender through him a supicious look, Loki continued, "At least until his real minder turns up, who knows how long that could be and he can't just be left here!"

[Felix Flint]

A little wary at first, for fear that he might land himself in some sort of bother should the real owner turn up and be displeased, the tender made a collection of mumbled hums. His partner, who had brought the thing into the bar originally, was not around and so the decision fell to him alone. He squirmed uncomfortably under Loki’s gaze.

“Well I sup-”

A fist thumped into the bar and the man jumped as one of the angry patrons slurred something awful in Corellian to the man sat by him. The two aliens had been brewing up a row all morning, downing ale after ale until finally one of them had lost their temper

“Koccic suing! Min min vil ut valle Nharquis!”

Security were already swooping in, thankfully. The barman allowed his heart a moment to slip back down from his throat before speaking.

“I suppose you can see to it just until the owner gets here. Don’t go doin’ anything silly with it though!”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"I wont, you can count on me!" Loki beamed and immediatly trotted off to the trunk which he picked up as delicately as possible so as not to disturb Felix and made his merry way back to his personal quarters. There was some difficulty in swiping his keycard through the slot next to his door with the trunk in his arms but after some unbalanced stumbling he was finally inside.

He set the trunk down next to his wardrobe and fetched his mess tin, which was only needed for away missions, and put some water in it because he didn't have any milk handy in his room. He placed it carefully on the floor and stood up to admire it with a proud smile, at the back of his mind he was hoping, as selfish as it might be, that the cat's owner would never show up. He'd always wanted a pet and his quarters were certainly large enough for one.

"You don't look too comfortable there, Felix." He frowned, staring at the small thing curled up atop the tattered case. His bed would be more comfortable, so as carefully as possible he scooped the cat up a rested him on his bed. Felix didn't even stir. Loki sat for a moment and watched the cat sleep then happily, he picked up his datapad and essay for AmazonBabe and headed for the hospital.

[Felix Flint]

“Wurh!!”

Felix awoke with a start. The bed creaked and groaned underneath him as he jumped with fright, as though he had just been dropped onto the bed. Disorientated, his eyes darted back and forth across the room. His head was beating so fast that if it was running it could have done a mile a minute. He rocked himself forwards and saw his trunk placed on the floor with a little bowl of water next to it.

It was then that he remembered what had happened yesterday evening.

Late on his parents had arrived into his room and explained:

“Felix, we think it would be best if you go to stay with your aunt for a few weeks. She lives in a nice neighborhood; there are lots of children there for you to play with. I think you’ll enjoy it, think of it as a holiday.”

Looking around now he could only guess that this was the guests’ room in the house his aunt kept. He stood up and tested his legs, wriggling his whole body. After changing he always got a bit stiff and achy (‘… but mum says it will wear off eventually!’). The more he looked around the room, the more he was in awe.

“Blimey! Aunt Mog has got everything sorted for me here,” he said to no one in particular as he turned from a bundle of clothes to rise up onto his toes, peering out of the window.

“Aunt Moggie?”

Felix waited a little while before calling again. No answer. He looked down at the chrono on his wrist and realized it was about dinner time. She must have gone out and left him to doze. Well that was a bit inconsiderate! What was he going to eat? Then he remembered his trunk and skidded down onto his knees, popping it open.

“Alright mum!”

There was a big cooler box of sandwiches and, more importantly, sweets inside. Felix took out a flask of something hideously brightly colored and a pack of chocolate something’s, admiring his new room as he scoffed down his ‘lunch’.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Sorry to disturb you again Felix, just forgot my scrubs again. Master Rie will kill me!"

The door swooshed open and in flew Loki, throwing open his wardrobe doors and on his knees scrambled through several piles of clothes, from out of the wardrobe flew shoes, trousers, socks and shirts massing in a tall heap behind the boy. He caught sight of the mint green garments he'd been looking for so frantically and just as he was about to sieze them, froze with dead stillness. Something was very amiss and then it hit him. From behind one of the wardrobe doors his head peered, a look of total disbelief written on his face.

"Who are you?"

[Felix Flint]

“Feewucks,” was all that could be managed through the mouthful of rich chocolate that Felix was apparently trying to swallow in one. After a moment or two of staring while he finished off the last mouthfuls, he leant to the side and peered inside of the wardrobe which Loki had almost emptied in his search.

“Are you staying with Moggie too? Mum didn’t’ say anyone else would be,” he managed to say before taking another block off of his chocolate.

“Mud a but of uh mess there … gulp… our Aunt will go off it with you,” he grinned for a moment, the traces of his dinner all over his teeth, and offered out one of the collection of bars to Loki.

“Want some?”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Oh, no thanks." Loki said with the utmost politeness, his manners switched on instinctively and then turned off again. His face was screwed up in confusion, he stared at the boy who had appeared in his room.

"Moggie? Our Aunt? Felix?" Loki regurgitated bits of what the boy had said to him, trying to make sense of it all, his lips moved a little, as if he had thought of something to speak but stopped himself. Finally. "What did you say your name was again? It sounded like--"

Suddenly, he jumped upright, and saw the crease in his pillow where he had laid the cat down moments before. He was gone, he spun around and looked straight at the intruder.

"Where's Felix?" He snapped, pointing to the pillow. "What have you done with my cat?"

[Felix Flint]

A mixture of confusion and fear crept over the boys expression as he looked up at the frantic Loki. He set his chocolate down and glanced back at the cushion, where some ginger fur had been shed. That had been were he had been sleeping. Turning his head back slowly to the other boy, the dumb puzzled look still on his face, Felix shook his head.

“I’m Felix, and I haven’t done anything with your cat. I was asleep until about ten minutes ago when I bang outside woke me up,” he explained, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable being alone in the room with the boy who didn’t seem to be all there.

“… Are you supposed to be in here?” he added, watching Loki with suspicion.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Supposed to be in here?" Loki repeated, healing lessons and Master Rie's wrath now crammed into the back of his mind somewhere. He pointed to the floor to emphasise his next point. "This is my room!"

"I left here five minutes ago after bringing a cat up here and leaving it on my bed right there!" He pointed at the empty pillow. "I come back up here now to find the cat gone and a stranger here who claims to have the same name."

He paused, in thought then his eyes went wide with realisation and he smiled, relieved. "Ah, I see! You're a new padawan here and this is all a practical joke! Ha! Good one!"

He settled down, content that he had solved the mystery. He glanced around the room expectantly. "So where did you hide my cat then?"

[Felix Flint]

“I’m a what?”

Felix glugged down a swig of the bright blue juice which made his already pink eyes water. He scrunched them closed a moment, shaking off the sour taste that made his skin come out all a flush with goose bumps.

“I can’t believe Aunt Moggie has got me sharing a room with this nutball,” he thought to himself, with a bit of a glum smile.

Slowly, the penny was beginning to drop with Felix. It seemed quite likely that the cat this boy had brought into his room had been Felix himself. He had been so tired after the journey from Corellia that he had assumed a less conspicuous and admittedly far easier to sleep in form – that of a small cat. His whole family could do it, even if Felix was still learning.

He ruffled a hand through his unkempt strawberry hair, “Er, what color was the cat?”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"You're not a padawan." Loki realised and fell back onto his bed miserably. The reason why this boy, Felix, was standing and eating away in his room was still a mystery but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes to help find the missing cat.

"He had ginger fur." Loki said with worry, now on his hands and knees searching under his bed, he looked up and around the room. "There are no windows open are there? No. Good."

After several minutes searching all the places feasible to hide a cat, he stopped searching and sat on the flour, slumped against the floor defeatedly. "That bartender is going to kill me, I said I'd take care of that cat, the woman who was supposed to pick it up--" His nose wrinkled in thought. "Um-- Moggie, didn't turn up but when she does, her cat will be long gone, wherever he is."

He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair, brushing his braid back behind his ear. "I'm in so much trouble."

[Felix Flint]

“Err… Aunt Moggie doesn’t have a cat.”

Felix looked decidedly embarrassed now, as he watched Loki search in vain for the lost feline who in actual fact was sitting right there on the floor by him. His freckles were showing through even more now that his cheeks had turned a beetroot shade of red. If this boy didn’t know who his aunt was, then … where was he?

“I think what you’re looking for might be me,” he was shaking a little bit now.

“… Where are we?”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"We're on the grounds of the Greater Jedi Order." Loki answered plainly. "On Coruscant."

As troubled as he was currently, Felix was certainly having a good go at trying to confuse him more, what an odd boy, Loki thought. Sitting upright against the wall he surveyed the freckled face with scrutiny.

"What do you mean I'm looking for you?" He asked, his eyes were narrow in thought behind those glasses of his, he pushed them up and saw that Felix was the one who was looking worried now. "Are you okay?"

[Felix Flint]

“No.”

Now he had gone from being red to being white as a sheet, highly distressed that this quite obviously wasn’t his aunt’s house. He should have put two and two together earlier when he’s seen all the people dressed oddly outside. Swallowing back a bit of an ill feeling, he looked back to Loki.

“I don’t think I’m meant to be here,” he said in a mousy voice.

Shifting awkwardly where he sat he looked down at his trunk. There was no money inside of it and no contact for his parents. Obviously they had thought his aunt would have all of this for him. Both boys needed an explanation, and so Felix gave his.

“That cat was me… my mums a shape shifter. We don’t shift much though. I only did it so I could get some sleep. I bet that’s what’s landed me here. Wait till mum finds out…”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Oh--" Loki managed to say, mouth aghast. His shot from the trunk, to the mess tin, to the pillow, to Felix and then back again. He fumbled for something to say. "Oh--"

"--Dren."

He stood and made his way over to his mess tin, emptied the water out in a wash basin then tucked it away in a drawer. Felix was staring at him with the look of someone who was desperate to hear good news but Loki had none and the guilt boiled in his stomach.

"Listen, Felix, I'm sorry--" He began, awkwardly. He gestured to a chair next to a desk. "--Take a seat. I thought you-- um, I had no idea that this would--"

He sat on the edge of his bed and sighed.

"This is quite a pickle." He observed, then perked up and began his explanation. "My name is Loki Ahmrah, I'm a padawan learner at the Jedi Order here. You were found this morning outside the Bar and Grill, an establishment frequented by many Jedi and padawans. Your Aunt Moggie hasn't turned up, at least no yet and I, thinking you were a cat, offered to look after you. That's how you ended up here." His eyes narrowed, searching for a clue. "Do you have any idea where you were meant to be going at all?"

[Felix Flint]

“No, I haven’t been to our aunts since I was a kitten,” Felix said, feeling his stomach churning. There was a little hint of green mixing in with his pallid complexion now.

“And mum said she wouldn’t be getting in touch with me for weeks.”

The red head slouched down into the chair he had been offered, his hands clutching his knees. For a little while he just looked between Loki and his own lap, forgetting entirely the bounty in his trunk. He’d never been alone before, not without a member of his family.

After a long time of silence, he plucked up the courage to ask, “What’s a Jedi?”

This was troubling him, silently. He hoped it wasn’t anything that had a tendency to eat small boys – but then he didn’t see how Loki could be one if that was the case … but still! He might be in training to become a man eater. Felix shifted his chair a little further from Loki.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"You've never heard of the Jedi?" Loki said in disbelief, Felix shook his head with a look of fear and the padawan laughed. "There's nothing to worry about, honest! The Jedi are peace keepers, we dedicate our lives to improving society and ensuring that justice is carried out. You're safe here. In fact, now that you've unofficially moved in, how about staying here uuntil your parents or your aunt gets in touch with you." Loki beamed excitedly. "We could be roommates!"

[Felix Flint]

“Errr…”

Felix looked down onto his hands for a moment and considered the situations. Now that he thought of it, he was quite lucky. He had turned up with people who seemed friendly, not to mention his own age (providing the others were like Loki). Maybe the Jedi were like some sort of school.

“I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad, yeah.”

Plucking up a little Felix looked back to Loki and smiled. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. In just a week or so he’d hear from his parents, and until then maybe this Loki would make a good friend.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Great!" He nodded with satisfaction. But then it dawned on him that there was a lesson at the hospital he was missing, so he shot up and bolted for the door, scrubs in hand.

"I've got to run right now, though!" He explained, opening the door. "Late for a lesson and it looks like you have a lunch to finish. Fancy a tour of the place later?"

[Felix Flint]

“Oh… oh yeah that would be cool.”

Felix was stood up now, his normal color fully returning.

“Have a good lesson, if that’s possible,” he added with a bit of a wave.

In Felix’s experience school was not something you enjoyed but rather were put through to torture you in the early years of your life. Since Loki was already late, on his account, he didn’t imagine the lesson would be any pleasanter. Never the less he had all the things in his trunk to get back to and although he didn’t feel in the mood for the sickly sweets anymore he could definitely do with some of those sandwiches!

[Loki Ahmrah]

The screen on the desk seemed to turn itself on along with Holonet.

"There's a few hundred channels there for you until I get back, then we'll have a word the bigwigs and straighten everything out. See you later, Felix."

During his race to the hospital wing, Loki swam through all that which had transpired since lunchtime in his head; he had made a new friend who could turn into a cat and if he is to be his roommate by that reckoning, the padawan thought, amused, at least he wouldn't take up much room.

[Felix Flint]

Back home his parents hadn’t let him watch Holonet very often. His mother said it perpetuated rumors and dulled the mind and his father said that there was far much more to the world than sitting in front of a screen all day. One of his friends mothers, however, took the opposite approach and whenever Felix went to their house he would get to watch it a while.

This was even better, though. He had full control over what he was watching and flicked through all of the channels one by one to see what was on, eyes transfixed as he pushed bite after bite of sandwich into his mouth. His curiosity to search around the room was forgotten as he engrossed himself in an old action holoflick, where a daring hero was currently charging down a speedway after the villainous man in black.

Felix cheered along through a half full mouth as a fight ensued and would proceed to do the same for what seemed like hours before flopping onto his back and just staring up into the ceiling, the sounds of the screen still ringing in his ears as he chewed on some fruit and thought about today.

[Loki Ahmrah]

Loki found he had overreacted about Master Rie and him being late, she simply smiled and said she believed his reason would have been a good one and asked him to try not to be late in the future. As it is, Loki is something of a model padawan; punctual, hard-working and polite so his being late is a rarity and easily forgiven. He had wondered what Felix had meant when he said: 'Have a good lesson, if that’s possible.' If his new friend had a disliking for education and learning, he was sure he could help him think differently.

Before he entered this time, he knocked and Felix beckoned him to come in. Grinning practically from ear to ear, Loki entered along with a shorter, younger boy who had a pale face and a head of fair hair which looked like it had been shaved to almost bald-headedness. It was in fact growing back. Loki hadn't told Giger that Felix could turn into a cat, he figured that it might be considered private information and as such would leave it up to Felix to disclose as he saw fit.

"Hi again, Felix. This is Giger, another padawan here."

[Giger]

Giger stepped forward proudly. He was never embarrassed when meeting people, as some people were. Instead, he was full of confidence and eagerness to get stuck in when it came to socialising and other activities such as public speaking and performing.

"I'm infinitely pleased to meet you Felix. Loki's told me... welll... not that much about you to be perfectly honest. What brings you to the Jedi Order?"

[Felix Flint]

Having muted the HoloScreen, Felix got up and dusted off his hands on his trousers, expecting a handshake. None came and he was somewhat thankful. He didn’t really understand the point of it.

“Er, well it’s sort of an accident really,” a bit of a lop-sided smile came over him.

“I’m not meant to be here, but since I’m here and there isn’t much I can do about it I’m going to try and enjoy it,” he proclaimed, beaming at Loki.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"And you will do, I've no doubt about that!" Loki clapped Felix on the arm cheerfully. He had been wondering what to show his new friend first, which would be more fun, he had wondered but had concluded that they would enjoy themselves wherever they went.

"So Licks," Loki began proudly, having decided upon an appropriate nickname for Felix. "What sort of interests do you have? Do you have any hobbies or anything? Gigsy here fancies himself as quite the performer; singing, acting and even a spot of magic. I like reading, fencing and Jedi Chess! Which reminds me--"

He looked to a board atop his desk, it had small marble figures of famous Jedi; Luke Skywalker was the King, Leia Solo the Queen, Yoda the Bishop, Obi-Wan Kenobi the Knight, Mace Windu for the Rook and an assortment of padawans for pawns. "--Time to move in for the kill!"

Suddenly, one of Loki's white marble Yoda's took out a walking cane and hobbled over to a terrified looking padawan, he grunted as he neared then with a fierce battle cry, the tiny figure cast his walking aid aside, ignited a green lightsaber and leapt and hopped about the padawan, cutting him up to pieces. The remains of the padawan flickered out of existance and the holo-Yoda took his place.

Loki looked to Giger with a victorious grin, "Check."

[Giger]

Giger sighed at Loki's exclamation. The bald-headed one stood next to Loki's bed .

"I really hate it when you call me that, Loki! My name's Giger, it's not that hard to pronounce. As for your move..."

It appeared that Giger's black marble Palpatine "king" was being checked by Loki's Yoda. Fortunately, Giger had already taken Loki's first Yoda and only had to deal with one. There were several options available to Giger, but the one he chose was the most controversial (for a Jedi!). He held his hand out towards the chess board and concentrated. he tried to move his Queen via the Force. But Darth Vader just didn't move. Even for a chess piece he was remarkably stubborn and uncooperative. Giger concentrated even harder but still it mwas no use. Eventually, Giger concentrated so hard that he was forced backwards slightly and ended up falling backwards onto the bed.

"Whoopsie daisy!"

Since his abilities in the Force weren't going to help him here, he stood up and walke dover to the chess board and simply entered his command on the keypad. A second later, Darth Vader bound relentlessly towards the great Jedi Master, removing his lightsaber from his belt a she did so. ONce he was within range, the Dark Lord ignited his blood red saber and swung high with it. The blade clearly missed the dwarf-sized Yoda. It seemed the software of the holo-chess board were designed that way, and so the taller pieces aimed for similarly build pieces. Nevertheless, Yoda's head still fell from his robed body. Giger let out a laugh as it looked rather funny.

"Well I never ever thought I'd say this Loki, but it seems you are no match for the dark side of the Force!"

[Felix Flint]

Felix squinted as he watched the little pieces play battle with one another. It looked like a sort of boring game, but he didn’t say this aloud – he didn’t want to offend his new friends just after he’d made them. Perhaps once you learnt how to play it became more exciting.

“I really like sports… I wanted to join one of the local Phrenbi teams back home but mum wouldn’t let me. Says I need to wait until I’m older and have some life insurance.”

An impish smile came over him

“She lets me play smashball though. I’m quite good at it now,” he added, his gaze shifting back to Giger as he realized for the first time how unusual (at least in his terms) the little boy looked.

[Loki Ahmrah]

Loki pulled his attention away from the chess board but not before giving Giger a spiteful glare. His face changed immediately as he attempted to hide his embarrassment for allowing his second Yoda to be decapitated. Something Felix said had caught Loki's attention.

"Life insurance?" He blurted in suprise. "What sort of game requires life insurance? Phrenbi doesn't involve using Rancor mouths for goals does it?"

[Felix Flint]

“My brother Tom played it and ended up in hospital… he says people get decapitated sometimes when they play! Sounds like it would be awesome,” Felix replied, bristling with excitement at the thought of good game of Phrenbi – smashball was good, but it had nothing on that.

[Giger]

"Thats dreadful!"

Giger winced at the thought of losing his head to little more than a full-on tackle. He leaned back from Felix slightly with a look of disgust on his face; his mouth wide open, his eyebrows scruntched up and his breath held.

"You actually enjoy taking that kind of risk with your life!?" he asked, hoping for an answer contrary to the implication. He added, sarcastically, "Mind you, what risk is there if the players are insured!"

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Well, I wouldn't mind a game of smashball." Loki said thoughtfully, he sat down on his bed. "But a game of Phrenbi would be too dangerous I think, for a game that is. I've been in all kinds of dangerous situations since I've been a Jedi, life-threatening most of them so I suppose you'd love it Licks--" His voice suddenly trailed off and Loki stood up sharp, staring excitedly at Felix.

"--Why don't you give it a try? Why don't you become a padawan like us?"

[Felix Flint]

“It’s dangerous?” This had his interest piqued. Felix had a paradoxical attitude towards danger. He really liked getting into it, but then somehow once he was actually in the potentially life-threatening situation, he wanted out of it as quick as possible. His mother called him headstrong. His father just said he was a bit of an idiot. “What do I have to do? They do good things right… like superheroes?”

OOC: I’m dreadful for forgetting this. I’d like to carry on, if you still want to.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Like superheroes?" Loki repeated, stopped in his tracks a little, he thought and concluded: "Well, I've never really thought about it that way but yeah, Jedi are a bit like superheroes; we're the good guys."

Excited as Loki was about the possibility of his new friend becoming a Jedi, he decided to tone it down a little, after all his enthusiasm can be somewhat excessive and Felix was wrapped in uncertainty so the padawan tried to reassure the red haired boy with tales of Jedi adventures.

"You'll be glad to know that the life of a Jedi can be perilous but we don't seek out danger and adventure, instead the adventures seem to find us and more often than not danger comes hand in hand with them. It's difficult work and there's plenty of training but it has it's merits. The first thing you'll have to do is enrole with the order then get yourself a master but I'll help you with that."

No problem, I'm happy we can continue with this. :)

[Felix Flint]

“A Master?”

The boys eyebrows rose in unison. The word Master had all sorts of uncomfortable connotations of control and obedience. Then again, if having one of these Masters meant that Felix could be lifted to superhero status, perhaps it wouldn’t be all that bad.

For a moment, thoughts of his family popped into his mind. How long had his parents meant for him to spend with his Aunt? They would come back for him eventually and quite possibly be very, very angry. There was also the possibility that his Aunt, not receiving word from her Nephew, could contact them both. There would be a manhunt for little Felix. The thought of everyone fussing and panicking over him was one he didn’t really want to entertain, so he pushed it out of his mind, filling his head with thoughts of adventure instead.

“… Alright, where do I, err, enrole?”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Don't worry, Licks, having a master isn't as bad as it might sound; the instructors here are very friendly, really nice people, and you'd probably come to think of at least one of them as a parent. I'll introduce you to my master sometime, Anbira Hicchoru, old guy but a master of telekinesis."

Standing once more, Loki headed across to the fruit bowl found on the table on the far side of the room. He scooped up an apple and returned to his seat opposite Felix and looked him over for a second then smiled.

"You can enrole at the recruitment centre but first close your eyes for a moment, Licks. Trust me."

[Felix Flint]

“Telekiwhat?” Felix frowned, then waved a dismissive hand. Whatever it was, being a master of it had to be good.

Felix eyed the apple suspiciously for a moment, wonder if it was some Jedi gadget in disguise. He closed one eye, still peeking at the devious fruit for a moment longer before squeezing both eyes shut. He would have bet his lunch that at that very moment that apple had revealed its true nature, and started sprouting antennae or aerials or something else equally cool. All of a sudden, he winced- the idea had just dawned upon him that Loki was simply going to throw the apple at him and tell him off for being so gullible.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Just relax. Clear your head and calm yourself."

Loki said this over several times in different ways with a quiet voice until he was content that Felix was about as relaxed as he could be; this meant he was still quite highly strung and anxious but who could blame him - he was about to have an apple thrown at his head. And away it went, Loki could barely watch.

[Felix Flint]

The apple hit his head with a smack and bounced off down to the ground. Felix opened his eyes, one hand coming immediately up to the point of impact- melodramatically expecting there already to be a little bruise growing there. Sure enough, he’d fallen for it. Turning a little red in the face, he looked down accusingly at the fruit, then back at Loki. “Owww. What was that for?”

[Loki Ahmrah]

After staring down at the apple, Loki looked up and met his friend's face witha lob-sided frown and then he apologised.

"Look, I'm really sorry about that." He picked up the apple and gave it to Felix.

"I was trying to test you before you went down to the Recruitment Centre, it would save time but they have more accurate and, unfortunately, more extensive methods of measuring your sensitivity to the Force. Watch."

Standing, the padawan walked to the end of the room and stood in front of the door, his back to Felix and his eyes shut tight.

"Throw that apple at me and throw it as hard and fast as you can."

[Felix Flint]

“Tests,” he muttered to himself, hoping none of them involved mathematics. He shook his head and looked down at the apple. Felix wasn’t one for revenge, but he wasn’t going to say no to Loki. He got to his feet and shook his hand out, as an attempt to relieve any stress in it. A couple of years of playing smash ball had given him a fairly strong arm and although he was used to playing defence, if need be he could give the ball a good hurl. Winding up the throw, he sent the apple careening towards Loki, so that it would strike him square between the shoulders.

[Loki Ahmrah]

One moment the boy's back was turned as the apple flew for him and the next he had turned, the apple held tight in his hand. He smiled, somewhat relieved because his palm was now stinging from the force with which the apple slapped into his hand.

"Woah, that was quite a throw! I bet you're going to have no problem with the combat training." Loki threw the apple up into the air casually, caught it then dropped it back into the fruit bowl on his way back to Felix.

"You see, I was wondering if you would be able to sense the apple coming at you or not, it takes time though and you do need to clear your head. I suppose I was rushing into things a little." He confessed, looking apologetically at the red mark on Felix's forehead. "Are you okay?"

[Felix Flint]

A lop-sided smile came over his face. “This?” He prodded at the little bump. “Nothing. You should of seen some of the bruises I had from playing ball back home! Huge, might as well of been one big bruise covering my whole body!” He lifted and parted his hands for emphasis. It seemed likely that he was exaggerating.

“You could sense that coming towards you?” he asked, steering the topic away from his trophy bruises. “Wooow. That is cool.” Felix grinned then gave the air a couple of jabs, beaming at the thought of combat training and being able to fight like the silent-but-deadly warriors of the Holoflicks he enjoyed so much.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Yeah, it is pretty cool." Loki agreed, pleased by his friend's enthusiasm. He gave his scruffy looking counter part another look over and smiled, he seemed rough and ready, quite the opposite to himself when he first came to the Jedi Order; not an ounce of toughness in his body back then. How he had changed and he had to wonder how Felix would change through time and training here.

"There's plenty of other tricks you can learn too; remember me mentioning telekinesis before? Well, that's the ability to move objects just by thinking about it. Watch."

Loki pointed to a book on the dresser next to his bed and it levitated, it remained steady and floated over thin air and landed in Felix's lap. Then, seemingly of it's own accord, the book flipped open and the pages turned one after the other.

"It's really handy especially when you're feeling lazy."

[Felix Flint]

Felix couldn’t have opened his eyes any wider if he tried. Gob smacked, he looked down at the book, awed. He waved a hand over the book, as though testing to see if he was somehow unable to see the hidden wires that were holding it up, but there were none. Loki was genuinely doing that with… his mind.

The ‘shifter stifled a laugh, “Blimey! I can’t wait to start learning how to do this.”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Well, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication; I've been with the Jedi Order since I was eight years old. So it's not exactly a school, it's more a way of life but you never know, you may find your calling here."

The book closed itself shut and returned to the dresser.

"There's plenty of other things to know about the Jedi but you'll discover all this when your training begins. Speaking of which, if you want, I can take you across to the Recruitment Centre now if you want. No time like the present. What do you say?"

[Felix Flint]

Frankly, he was glad Loki hadn’t likened the place to school. Felix had never been a big fan of school, outside of the physical education lessons. No, the stuffy classroom wasn’t for him. The teachers often chided him for wandering off into a daydream during lessons – his parents made the excuse that it was the feline in him that drew him to the outdoor world. At the young Jedi’s question, Felix gave an emphatic nod, “Yeah. Let’s go!” After all, he didn’t know how long he would be here, so it would be best to get started as soon as possible!

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Great." A nod of approval and Loki headed for the door, he was about to hit the panel to the right of the room's entrance when he stopped suddenly and turned, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"But first, would you show me?" He asked, giving Felix a broad grin. "Can you-- you know-- change?"

[Felix Flint]

“Err, alright. But keep the door closed.”

While for Loki the ways of the Jedi were commonplace, shifting was an every day occurrence for Felix. He lowered himself to his knees and flashed a grinned up at his new friend. The first sign of the chance happened, as his pupils narrowed to slim ovals. His red hair seemed to grow a little thicker, and then all of a sudden everything seemed to be happening very quickly. Noises like phwish, shluck and crick all were heard in succession. Felix seemed to vanish into the clothes he’d previously worn, as they all dropped to the floor. Then, out of the neat little pile, the small ginger feline peered. It mewed quietly, its tail flicking back and forth as it looked up at Loki.

The cat trotted out of the pile and looked at Loki, in a way that somehow conveyed its wish for him to look away. Once the Padawan had done so, the noises of the transition were heard again, followed by a rushed sound of someone tugging at cloth. Evidently, the process was not the most convenient or speedy. “Alright, you can look.”

When the Padawan turned around, Felix was in the process of struggling with the sweater he’d been wearing. He gave his head a shake and wrinkled his nose, “Mum says our family is one of the only ones left who can do this. Wish you could just change with your clothes,” he added, groaning a little as he finally pulled the sweater down over his head.

[Loki Ahmrah]

"That is so cool!" Loki beamed, wide-eyed with delight, not apparently hearing his friend's grievances about shapeshifting with clothes. The boy's head was swimming in ideas and the first of which he blurted out like he couldn't say it fast enough.

"Just think of the possibilities, Licks, you could become the greatest spy in the galaxy; no-one would suspect a thing." Loki passed Felix his shoes as he took a seat on the bed to finish getting dressed, all the while not missing a beat in expressing, very vocally, his awe at what he'd just witnessed.

"I've seen Jedi reach unfathomable heights with a single leap and run faster than the eye can percieve but never have I seen anything like that before and to be honest, I don't think I'd have been able to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes."

Now that Felix had his shoes on and was ready to go, they headed out, Loki laughed.

"Remind me to grab a bag of kitty litter on the way back from the centre."

[Felix Flint]

He shook his head at Loki’s remark about kitty litter, laughing along regardless as they walked. “I wouldn’t be much use as a spy. Can you imagine the news reports? International terrorists foiled by cats – witnesses say the critter purred at the villains until they gave up.” Again he laughed, genuinely amused by the mental image of a cat donned in all of the spy garb shown in Holoflicks, including a little tuxedo. Then as an afterthought he added, still grinning, “I suppose I could smuggle things though, eh? People would never suspect the cat!”

[Loki Ahmrah]

"Not yet they wont but after meeting you, I can safely say we'll all be much more alert when we see a cat around; who knows, Detective Licks could be on the prowl!"

[Felix Flint]

“You’ll be able to spot if it’s me from a mile off!” he scoffed, tugging at a strand of his unkempt hair. “Sticks out like a sore thumb.” At this, they both laughed. For all he had been a bit concerned to begin with, Felix had now warmed to the idea of staying here. Hopefully, when his parents did come back they’d let him stay. Until then, he wouldn’t worry about such things. Living with Loki seemed like it could be fun, especially with the added bonus of learning things from the Jedi. All he had to do now was, as Loki had explained, enroll…

OOC: Continued here ( http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35624).