Moving in (complete)

[Rhea Kaylen]

Whew, I think that's the last of it, Rhea Kaylen thought, plunking down a light but rather unwieldy packing box in the middle of the bare Temple Living Quarters dorm room that was to be her home for the next indeterminate amount of time. Nudging the box out of the doorway with her booted toe, Rhea gave the room another critical once-over. The Jedi had apparently put all their money into the opulent gardens and marbeled hallways and state-of-the art map and training rooms elsewhere in the Temple, because they certainly had gone bargain-basement in the LQ.

The carpet was extremely non-descript tight grey weave, almost more of a mat, and not well-padded; the duracrete floor was hard beneath the rug. The walls were plain off-white plaster, the furniture and fixtures clinical stainless steel, and the single window an ugly bare crank-panel design.

There was certainly room for improvement, Rhea decided. Some shelving would be the first thing to install, then probably a replacement window pane. She made a face at the gleaming steel sideboard, chest of drawers, and bed. Nothing she could do about that until she earned a bit more money, unfortunately.

But there was something she could do about these horrid white walls, right now. They were starting to hurt her eyes. She turned to get at the boxes with her rugs and blankets in them. The one she had just brought in had two or three quilts, and another box (she discovered after climbing-stumbling-bruising her shin over every other packing box in the room) had most of her rugs inside but all her wall hangings seemed to be missing.

Quickly she counted the boxes, then swore between her teeth. One short, dang it. She wiped her sweating forehead and, irritated, shoved her flyaway hair out of her face and eyes. The LQ was uncomfortably warm, it seemed. Scowling in annoyance, Rhea peeled off her light jacket and strode out of her room and down the hall.

More than five minutes later, she swung back around the last corner and was hurrying back to her room, errant packing box clutched precariously in her arms, when her toe caught the carpet speeding by beneath her. On her way to the floor, the only thought that crossed Rhea's mind was, How typical.

Then she slammed to the ground, the full length of her body sprawled along the carpet and her packing box a good five feet farther down the hall. With long-practiced expertise, Rhea pushed herself onto her elbows, wincing at the rug-burns on the heels of her hands. She suddenly thought of just how complete this wonderful moment would be when one or more of the nearby doors inevitably burst open and any number of her fellow Jedi happened upon her prostrate form.

"Oww..."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"Sounds great, Hayden." Rikki smiled as she talked to one of her best friends on the comm. "I can..."

Thump...crash!!

"What the..." Rikki said as she looked at her door. "Let me call ya back in a bit, Hayden. Something is going on in the hallway."

"Okay, talk to ya then, Rik." a male voice said politely as she closed off the connection.

The teenager placed the comm on the desk in her quarters and headed for the door. After she opened it, she found a young woman about her age, sprawled on the floor.

Rikki gasped and quickly went to her. "Oh my, are you alright?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Right on schedule.

Rhea quickly rose to her knees, lifting her eyes to the owner of the strange voice. A pretty young woman with fair skin, dark hair, and wide, concerned eyes was hurrying toward her where she sat stupidly in the middle of the dorm hallway. Rhea smiled shyly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," she said politely, running a hand over her hair to flatten all the wild strands back into place. "Really, this is nothing; I'm just practicing, you see. I'm selling tickets to a show tomorrow--I'll be throwing myself down the back stairwell."

She grinned and stuck out her hand. "I'm Rhea Kaylen, by the way. I'm new here; after a while you'll get used to the fact that I'm hopelessly clumsy."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

Rikki smiled and shook the new girl's hand, then helped her to her feet. "No worries, I won't tell anyone. I've had my moments as well. Rikki Van-Warren, it's nice to meet you, Rhea."

She stepped back for a moment. "Would you like some help or company? I'm free and pretty bored."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea, still unsure of herself and unused to people actually spending time with her, had to remind herself not to gape. She...she's volunteering to help me? Wow, how nice!

"Umm, sure! I'm just moving this last box into my dorm room, but, if you like, I'd sure appreciate a couple of extra hands with the unpacking. It's just this way..."

Quickly Rhea collected her packing box and led Rikki the last few yards down the hall to her open doorway.

"Er, excuse the mess," Rhea muttered, kicking a box out of the way and dumping her armful onto her bed.

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"Oh, think nothing of it, Rhea. Moving in can be both fun and hectic. Which box would you like me to start on?" Rikki asked with a smile.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea looked about contemplatively. "Well...hmm, how about that one over there, the open one." She pointed to the box of rugs and blankets she had opened earlier. "If you could just lay those things out on the table so I can decide what to leave out, that would be lovely. After that, just pick a box and dump it out. Then we'll figure out how to organize the room."

Rhea was unexpectedly happy, now that she had someone to talk to--maybe make friends with.

"So, are you a Padawan, Rikki? I-I don't know many people here, yet; tell me a little about yourself."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

Rikki nodded. "Alrighty." She headed for the box and carefully laid out the rugs and blankets.

"These rugs are quite nice." She said as she placed a few onto the bed.

"Well, I've been here for about three and a half months and I'm from Naboo. I graduated from college there as a physical therapist and then came here to become a Healer. Only my own healing needed to be done, before my training could even start. I'm a Padawan and my master's name is Falcon Gyndar. He's awesome and in a lot of ways he's my family. Do you have a Master yet?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea nodded. "Yes. I just got here early this morning, but when I arrived Master Pierce Tondry offered to be my master. I'm actually still a little nervous about working with him, though; I mean, Master Tondry seems a good person, but what if he doesn't like me?"

Silently, Rhea wondered what Rikki had meant by "her own healing," but knew it wasn't right to pry. "But then, if you like your own master so well, maybe I'm worrying about nothing."

Rhea joined Rikki by the cot-bed and pulled out a bunch of wall-hangings, dropping them in a heap. She smiled down at the colorful woven rugs Rikki was nicely stacking and laid her hand on one of the tapestries. "Thank you," she replied to Rikki's compliment, belatedly. "They're handmade--my grandmother's work, mostly. She was good at this, and very domestically inclined. Though, this--" she yanked up a particularly vivid specimen, "was a birthday present from a friend, and this one--" a traditionally blue-and-green quilt embroidered with silvery half-moons, "I did many years ago, when I still lived on my home planet. One of my grandmother's projects was to turn me into a good housewife, but I pretty much managed to thwart that endeavor." She smiled at Rikki.

"If you like, I can try making one for you. I don't know how much time I'll have here at the Order, but if you just tell me the colors you want, I'll do my best."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

Rikki admired the handwoven rugs with great interest. "These are fantastic, like peices of art and many done by your grandmother, wow. Your own work is beautifully done, Rhea. I can barely sew a button on a shirt, let alone anything of this magnitude. I'd love to have a rug like this, if you would have time. That would be awesome."

She looked over at her with a smile. "You must've been close to your grandmother, then? It's always nice to have family watching out for you."

Rikki never really had that, oh she was well brought up and cared for, but mostly by nannies and maids.

"My parents were both surgeons and never really had time to do much outside their jobs." She stopped for a moment. "I mean, I was always taken care of, but not by the ones who you would think mattered the most. That's why I really like it here, Falcon takes time for me. He cares about me and what is happening in my life. Something I never really had...I'm rambling. I'm sorry, it's just...well, I guess I don't really have any friends who are girls, except my therapist...ugh..."

Rikki shook her head in embarrasement. "That sounded good." She rolled her eyes. "That is part of my healing process that my Master thought I needed. So, who's to argue." She laughed slightly. "But, really. You'll really be glad you came here, the Jedi care and it's a place that I can finally call home."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Wow...home? This could be home? Rhea found the concept a little bizarre--Imran was home, always had been.

But, then, a new home, somewhere she could fit in, was what she'd been looking for when she came here, right? She hoped Rikki was right--she hoped she wouldn't regret coming back to Coruscant.

"Please don't apologize for rambling, Rikki. I don't mind a bit. I don't have many friends, either--let alone friends who are girls. You're welcome to ramble to me. I'm...sorry your parents weren't around a lot when you were younger. I'm afraid I can't really imagine what that must be like--if it wasn't my parents, it was my grandparents, or uncle. So, yeah, I was very close to them all. But I'm very much looking forward to meeting new people here, working with my master, learning new things. I'm a little scared, too, mind you..."

She contemplated the rugs and wall hangings on the bed. "Well, I badly need to do something about this awful floor and walls. Hey, how about you pick out the ones you like the best. I have way too many to put out all at once."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"You know, ummm." Rikki looked down at the rugs. "I have a two bedroom apartment just a few doors down. If you'd like, you'd be more than welcome to move in."

Rikki gave it a long shot, but friendship had to start somewhere.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea blinked in disbelief. Seriously?

A slowly dawning grin broke over Rhea's face, rather stupid-looking but, in her surprise, unavoidable.

"I--I...I'd love to. I wouldn't want to just barge in on you though; are you sure you don't mind? I mean, I'm not a noisy neighbor or anything, but I'd hate to bother you, or be an inconvenience."

Rhea was completely taken aback by Rikki's invitation--not displeased, just shocked. Honestly, she'd never had a--what was the word for it?--"roommate" before, but, as nice as Rikki had been thus far, Rhea figured it wouldn't be a bad arrangement.

And, if it worked out, Rhea could say she had a new friend in the Temple. That was worth a little faith.

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"I'd be glad to have you there, Rhea. I've been here for three months and it gets lonely with no one to talk too. My master has just returned, but is still out of commision for a bit, so the arrangement couldn't have happened at a better time." Rikki smiled as she looked back down at the rugs and ran her hand across one.

"If we started now, we may have you all unpacked and comfortable by this evening. My place is really nice, I hope you like it. The closet space is great and there's two fresher's. Whoever built the apartments were definitely thinking female occupants."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea laughed, goofy smile still in place. "Well, then, Rikki, you've got yourself a 'roommate'!"

Quickly Rhea began packing (throwing, more accurately) her blankets and rugs back into their boxes, very glad that she and Rikki had gotten no farther than these two crates before deciding Rhea should change rooms.

The Imrani woman eyed all the other boxes ranged over the carpet. "Rmm, what we could really use is a hoversled...or a really well-built Jedi man." Rhea glanced half-heartedly toward the still-open door. "I don't fancy the two of us moving all these boxes by ourselves--getting them in here was hard enough, thanks."

But, resigned, Rhea hefted the nearest box and looked over at Rikki. "Lead the way, Rikki. I can't thank you enough for this."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

Rikki smiled. "No problem, it'll be good to have a new friend, oh and I can get some of these boxes."

The Naboo girl turned and looked at three of Rhea's boxes. She studied them for a moment and touched the Force. With a smooth movement of her hand...the three boxes stacked and lifted into the air.

"This is about all I can do with the Force, it's another reason I came as well." Rikki said softly as she eased the boxes through the doorway and began leading them down the corridor.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea was surprised at Rikki's ease at utilizing the Force. Rhea herself would have had to take several moments more to get those boxes to do that. Because of the way she had been raised, Rhea was more accustomed to doing things the "civilian" way, by hand and elbow grease--a practice which seemed to come second to the use of the Force here in the Temple.

Yet another thing Rhea was going to have to get used to.

Toting her box and craning her neck to see over its top, Rhea followed Rikki down the hall.

"Did you have this sort of ability with Force-usage before coming to the Temple, or has your Master taught it to you since you came?"

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"Well, I've always had this ability, but I never really used it until I went to college and some of my friends saw what I could do. They said it was a Jedi trait and that I should go put it to good use, so after that I began to use it more often. My parents didn't like it that I could use the Force and told me that they didn't want to see it when I was around them...which wasn't very often."

Rikki shrugged. "So, then I came here after graduation to learn a bit more. Here we are." She said as she stopped and pulled out her code key.

"You have one of these in your top drawer of your bedside table."

Rikki opened the door and led in the boxes. The first thing walked into was the far side of a small kitchen and it led into a larger living area, with a hallway that led to the two bedrooms and one of the baths.

The furniture was the same cream color as every room and had cream colored carpet.

A far as the walls, pretty plain with a few artistic pictures. "Pretty boring, huh?" Rikki smiled. "I don't know much about interior decorating."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea followed Rikki into the suite, taking in the new surroundings. She had listened to the young woman's tale with understanding and sadness--Rhea well knew what it was to be disliked and shunned, even by those closest to her.

As the two of them walked through the apartment, Rhea smiled at Rikki's comment. "Eh, a lot of human decorating I've seen isn't nearly what it's cracked up to be. Actually, I like this just fine--not boring, simple!"

Rhea and Rikki entered the empty bedroom. Rhea set down her box and, opening the top drawer of her bedside chest of drawers, fished out the code key, mentally making a note to return her old room's key to Temple security.

"This is a very nice apartment, Rikki. Thank you, again." She turned and smiled. "I appreciate your help. I've got a lot of work ahead of me."

Rhea was curious about something, and as she opened and rifled the boxes she and Rikki had brought in, asked, "So...you went to college and are going to become a Healer. Was school hard? I never studied beyond the age of eighteen. And what has your Healer training been like here at the Temple?"

[Rikki Van-Warren]

Rikki was pleased to know that Rhea liked the place and believed that the two of them would become very close friends.

"Well, school was very stressful at times. I wanted to become a physical therapist and my parents wanted me become the next master surgeon. I studied well and made decent grades, but sometimes things just get out of hand and when I came here, it bacame beyond my control."

Padawan sighed as she remembered talking to Felicia. Don't be afraid to be truthful about your problem. Truthfulness, is how one heals.

Rikki fiddled with a string on her tunic for a few moments. "Master Falcon was a godsend to me. He really was and I owe him alot. You'll meet him one of these days, he's on leave at the moment. He saved my life, along with another friend of mine named Kack. You see...I..." She stammered a bit.

"I was...bulimic when I came here and with the help and dedication of some very strong Jedi and Felicia, I've overcome it. I hope that my story doesn't scare you off."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Scare me off? Should it? Rhea wondered. She could tell that whatever condition Rikki had revealed she had suffered was serious, but Rhea had never heard this word bulimic before.

Perhaps this is not a bad thing. Maybe if I knew what it was I would be scared of it.

Rhea could tell that it had taken an effort of will for Rikki to tell her this. It was obvious that Rikki had endured much with this illness, or whatever it was, and that the pain--physical and deeper than physical--had been great. She was saddened that the young woman had suffered, but, even without knowing what the nature or cause of that suffering was, Rhea was thankful that Rikki had beaten it. She seemed like such a nice person, and strong, too.

So Rhea smiled a little. "Of course not, Rikki. Please, do not be afraid to tell me anything that concerns you; I may not be much help, but I'll always listen." Gently she laid a friendly hand on Rikki's shoulder. "Your master sounds like a good man, and you obviously have very good friends. You are a lucky girl, Rikki. I'm very glad to have met you."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"Thanks," Rikki smiled. "I've been blessed since I came here and I doubt I'll ever go back to that old life. Everything changes, even the type of healing I wish to proceed in. Since being with a therapist for bulimia, I'm thinking on the same terms as her. I think, I want to help people deal with eating disorders."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Eating disorders? That sounds a bit more familiar... But Rhea was still drawing a blank. Darn it, growing up Imrani had its disadvantages--her knowledge of Basic slang, in particular, was sometimes sorely sub-par.

Perhaps she could ask questions without sounding a complete idiot. "How do you train to do this? Is there a particular way you will have to learn, or will your--experience--be much of the training you need? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know much about this," Rhea admitted. "Healing in general has never been my strong suit."

[Rikki Van-Warren]

"My experience is a start, but I'm sure I'm going to have to take some courses at the local college. But, being in with the Jedi will be a very good start as well."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Well, Rhea supposed she would have to take Rikki's word on it and look the condition up later. In the meantime, she nodded to Rikki and smiled a little.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you're here." She blushed a little, hoping that, in her enthusiasm, she wouldn't sound too much like a schoolgirl. "You are my first new friend, not counting my master. I hope you have good fortune with your training and classes."

She paused and looked around her. The room was bare and a little too warm, but it was hers, her new home.

"I hope that you are right," Rhea said, leaning down to open a packing crate. "I hope that being here in the Temple will be a good start for both of us."