A Day at Work (Rhea, open)

[Devon Russels]

The large spaceous room of objects was an awkward one to say the least. Rubber balls, small tables, pens, papers, durasteel pipes and all types of things were scattered around, some disfigured and others seemingly untouced. Though the coloring and design of the room was reminiscent of the old Bear Clan that was taught long ago by the great Master Yoda, it seemed more like a orphange's recess area. Yet, inside, sat a young man near a table, a rubber ball in his palm and his eyes closed.

He had been at it for hours upon hours, not a single Jedi who walked pass the gate-sized, doorless entrance even giving him a single comment. That, however, was far from his mind. In many ways he was hoping for no interruption, it'd probably shatter the already questionable concentration he had.

Even in the few hours that he was in the room, he had only managed to move the ball a few inches with his troubled mind. Though he had learned a few methods of focusing back on the spaceport from Teras Kasi experts that had ran through for parts, it was hard grasping them nearly a decade after they were taught.

So, he stayed, continuing to focus, to no avail, on the ball, unable to move it.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea Kaylen looked down at the little map on her datapad another time while continuing to walk forward. She watched the glowy blue dot marking YOU ARE HERE moving along one of the lines on the map, corresponding to her movements, and smiled.

Knowing for a fact that if she tried to find the Jedi Temple's TK and mindwork training rooms on her own she would get hopelessly lost and end up in a broom closet somewhere, Rhea had downloaded a Temple-and-grounds map from the computer terminal in her room onto her datapad. Master Tondry had told her that, starting tomorrow, they would begin working more strenuously (translation: ridiculously hard) on her use of the Force in telekinesis and telepathy, and Rhea, finding herself with some free time and wanting to familiarize herself with the place so as to arrive on time the next morning, had decided to go find the mindwork training area. She was hoping to scope it out a little, maybe see what she'd be looking at in terms of a training regimen.

The little electronic map had been invaluable so far, and suddenly Rhea found herself looking down a training corridor with doorways opening up at intervals along the passage. Grinning, she thumbed off her datapad and stuffed it in the pocket of her trousers.

It was a little quieter down here than in the lightsaber-training hallway, and the air was thick with something akin to anticipation. The Force felt tensed, here, drawn taut like a bowstring and carefully controlled to do the bidding of Jedi minds. It was a stern atmosphere that seemed to demand a degree of reverence, and Rhea crept along accordingly, quietly moving down the hall and trying not to make any noise. She threw glances into rooms as she passed.

There weren't many people training right now: a young woman in one of the right-hand rooms carefully stacking boxes without lifting a finger as she sat cross-legged across the room; a bearded man who bore the look of a master rapidly whirling through training-motions with a non-functioning, stick-bladed lightsaber haft, while a myriad of objects flew past him. He deflected the most part of them and avoided the rest, moving almost too fast to follow. Rhea gaped.

A little farther down the hall, in a room to the left side of the corridor, Rhea peeked cautiously inside to see a young man sitting perfectly still in the midst of an array of small objects and flotsam. His hand was held palm-up in front of him and what looked to be a small toy ball was placed right in the center of his hand. The man's eyes were closed, his posture stiff. He looked almost like a tableau, a perfect holo-image frozen in a single position, but for his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. He was deep in concentration.

Rhea felt she should move on, but something about the stillness of the young man in front of her suggested something about to happen, and Rhea, curious, stood looking around the doorframe, making no noise, waiting for Astrel-knew-what.

[Devon Russels]

The mind. It is filled with intriguing concepts and thoughts, nervous systems, blood and neuronic movements. Even in the Force sensitive it is a thing of focus to get situations done, but it had grown ever so harder as the moments passed for Devon. The stillness of his body wasn't helping the concentration, just his physical restraits. His mind seemed like a light switch that children were playing with. Flashing back and forth with numerous thoughts that swing back and forth from the ball to a woman.

The visions of it all was blurry, as if it was smashing back and forth together into one three dimensional scheme. He had trouble really placing vision on it, his reliance on his eyes for sight was far too much to pin-point every single fragment of the image in his mind, but he tried. Trying was all he knew how to do, and on normal occasions it was something that produced great things, but not this time. It was different, there were objects he had to exclude and thoughts he had to erase.

For any normal human teenager that would be far too much, but for a Force-Sensitive Jedi it was nothing. Yet, in his mind, he felt a troublesome theory about it all coming to. Maybe Im not cut out for this he thought, the words in his head echoing as though a void of silence was all that was there beside himself. The thought of not being able to do something was far too much for him to actually grasp. In his youth he had accomplished things that everyone else couldn't, but somewhere deep down in his mind he had began questioning his abilities as he matured. His talents seemed to deminish into simple hobbies, things that were phantom as unacceptable by the community and society.

The galaxy frowned on creative men, and intelligence. He was those things, but he also crave popularity. Assimilation was the dog that ate the graceful cat from his soul and it had grown harder to regain it. In it he would regain the basics, the ability to move that single ball.

The void of silence in his mind had grown ever darker, eerie and soundless. He didn't like it, but he knew if he allowed his thoughts, instead of his heart, tell him that, it was an end to any hope of using his Force abilities. So, he sat, motionless still, his mind releasing all focus of the ball.

In not focusing, he managed to feel everything. He fell on a cloud of air and all he felt was feelings coarsing through him. The galaxy in him was formed into the rubber ball and slowly everything seem to become clear. The blurry image of a woman began to fall into place, along with the objects in the room.

The whole Jedi complex was an image in his mind and the Force was traced everywhere. The awkward feeling of it all was hard not to embrace, because he was apart of it. So, in a matter of miliseconds, he fell into it all, comforting himself, like the Force was the replacement of a bed in his most tired moments.

The ball moved...

It rised, slowly, twirling about a bit. Then, suddenly, it moved radically, bouncing against the walls and all about the room. It had a mind of its own and it linked with the Force inside Devon. He had managed to do far more than he had expected, but he had yet to even notice, for his eyes managed to stay closed throughout the whole thing.

Yet, when they opened, the ball dropped like a rock, bouncing only a bit against the floor.

"What in the Frell of Seven Rings just happened?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea jumped, startled, at the sudden and erratic movement of the rubber ball. It pinged around the room like a rogue atom, suddenly loosed from its molecular bindings and spinning off in all directions at the speed of light.

Then, as quickly as it had started flying, the ball jerked to a stop and plunked to the floor.

Rhea stared at it mutely in shock. When the young man's voice violently broke the silence, the Imrani woman jumped again.

The young man--teenager, Rhea saw now--had opened his eyes wide. He'd asked a question, but Rhea wasn't totally sure how to answer, or even sure if the question was really directed at her. It would seem the boy had not realized what he'd just done, though Rhea didn't know how that was possible; she'd seen Jedi do many similar wild things by the sole power of their minds, and had done a few of them herself, but it had always been her experience that the person was aware of whatever-it-was they were doing, as they were doing it.

Rhea blinked at the boy. "Um...didn't you mean to make it fly around like that?" she asked stupidly.

[Devon Russels]

Devon blinked at the sounds of a voice. He thought he was still in silence, and it made it more of shock, seeing as his back was to the entrance. Standing, he turned his head, slowly, calmly and carefully, gazing at the lady. A smirk came to his soft, young and sometimes even attractive face. The body, the figure, the face of the woman was reminiscent of something that he had seen before, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint where from. Inside, he shrugged it off, there was no real reason to dwell on it.

So, quickly, he turned, placing his hands in his pocket. A sense of freshness twirled in his soul. He felt rejuvinated and invinsible, though he knew somewhere in his mind he was being told the exact opposite, but like usual he managed to avoid thinking about it.

It is much more rewarding to think about this fine thing, his mind told him as he looked at the lady, the smirk still not whiped from his face.

Even as he took to a kneel to get his rubber ball his eyes stayed fixed on her. There was something he found attractive about it. Maybe it was the hair, the body, the face, there was something he liked, but he ignored it like he did many things that made him uncomfortable.

"So, you saw what happened?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

The boy was smirking devilishly, as if hiding something, and his eyes sparkled. This confused Rhea a little, but the spark of mischief in his face reminded her powerfully of her fun-loving uncle, and she couldn't help but be somewhat drawn to the boy's knowing smile.

She wrapped her arms around herself and took a step into the room, trying out a little smile. The boy was kneeling down smoothly to pick up his dropped projectile. Rhea nodded.

"Yes. That was pretty amazing--I don't think I've ever seen anything move that fast."

[Devon Russels]

The smile he wore slowly was torn into a frown of disbelief and confusion. His brows arched as his forehead wrinkled in thought. He could remember it all, somewhere deep in his mind, but he couldn't completely grasp it in all graphically. Everything seemed to move in a blurr, like a flashback from his childhood.

Yet, as his mind focused, it became all the more clear, like a droid had came past and cleaned his the windows of his vision. It was an interesting concept knowing that he had that ability, but harder to understand exactly how exactly he did it.

All he remembered was letting go, reaching his arms out to every aspect of life and then it went blank. The focus on the ball seemed so past tense that he could be telling children about it in his best groggy, aged voice.

At the thought of that, however, his frown was worn out and formed a smirk again.

"I did all that, eh? Can't remember it too well, think you can help me out with it this time 'round...since your here."

[Rhea Kaylen]

It was Rhea's turn to frown. He really didn't know what he'd done with that ball. But...if he hadn't known what he was doing, then how had he done it?

Rhea came further into the room, to within a conversational distance of the strange teenager. She could see he was handsome and enigmatic in the way that teenage human girls probably found irresistible, and even now the momentary frown he'd borne a few seconds ago had been replaced by that grin, again.

Quite a bit like her uncle, actually, Rhea acknowledged.

"Well...you were just sitting there, and the ball rose up out of your hand a little. It spun for a couple of seconds, then it shot off around the room, bouncing off the walls. When you opened your eyes, it stopped. Were you doing a training exercise?" As obvious as the answer to this question seemed to be, Rhea was growing less and less sure of what exactly the boy had been trying to do. If he'd been trying at all.

[Devon Russels]

"Yea it was training session...but I didn't expect what you said to happen. I just focus, then let go....completely. And I could hear it spinning and twisting, but I didn't know it was happening."

The voice of Devon came smoothly out his mouth, but it held an undertone of raspiness and maturity. He was well on his way to being a full fledge adult, not only by looks, but presence, but he seemed somewhat imposed by the questioning. However, it took him only a few seconds to regain his composure and let his gaze drop back on her, instead of looking away with confusion.

Placing his hands in his pocket, he calmly recollected the moments, the thoughts. He had managed to focus on the object and let go quickly. The method was probably unorthodox, but he could care less. He had manage to do something tremendous, though it took hours to caculate and do.

Maybe, somehow, he could do it again. Yet, he would have to do it with eyes open, to view and see exactly what was proceding.

Suddenly, his eyes twitched, his focus in that split of a second jumping on the ball like cat on yarn. It only took him a matter of seconds for him to invision it in his clenched fist. Slowly, he let his hand open, the ball rolling around in his hand as his focus gained stronger and stronger.

Then slowly, calmly, he tried to let go, his thoughts drifting away from his vision. He could feel the Force all about him, something he had only felt in his dreams and as a youngling. It felt so weird, like when he had saw the fishes. He embraced it...once more.

The ball spun over his hand, levitating, his turning from the zebra haired woman and fixed onto the rubber ball. For a second, it held, then quickly, it droped again.

Suddenly, his calm features became that of anger. A snarl formed on his lips while his left eye stared down into his clenched palm over the ball, almost twitching.

"Damnit!"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea watched the boy's attention drift, latch onto the ball, seem to drift, again...then she saw the ball obey his unspoken command and lift over his palm just a few centimeters. It shuddered and wobbled; the young man's eyes were fixed on it, fierce and burning. Then the ball or the boy, one, seemed to give up the struggle, and the toy dropped back into his palm.

Judging from the teen's reaction, it was the ball that had disobeyed, not the boy who'd tired out. His anger rippled through the Force, disturbing the otherwise steady energy flow. His face was nearly frightening, full of unbridled rage. Rhea blinked.

"What are you trying to do?" Rhea said soothingly, her voice barely above a whisper, as she had no desire to cause the boy more irritation. She didn't know how he'd respond.

[Devon Russels]

The face of the young Devon calmed. He let out a sigh, grabbing the rubber ball again. Throwing it in the air, he allowed it to fall down, down, down and into a quick catch from the mid of the air. He had grown all the more defensive in the last months of his life, but to woman, the subjects were always different. He, even at a young age, was always taught to treat them as queens or atleast have them treat you like a king.

So, he did just that. Allowing his frustration to slither away like a snake and into some other normal person, like a ghost haunting the world.

Turning his cold, ocean, but deep blue eyes over to the small statured lady before him, forcing a cheerful smirk on his face.

"Im just trying to get this to levitate...rise...do something. Its not goin exactly how I want it. Anyways...whatcha name"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea cocked her head, glad to see the boy had shaken his frustration.

"Well," she replied, more cheerfully. "Has your master started helping you with that, yet?"

[Devon Russels]

"Master?" He said, quickly and confused. Even though he known there would be some sort of apprenticeship, he sure he hadn't gained one yet.

"I dont have any kind of master...not yet."

[Rhea Kaylen]

"Oh." Rhea tapped her cheek. "Well, I'm sure your master will be much more able to give you the kind of help you need to perfect the skill. You're right, it's very hard to do...always was for me, anyway."

She had a thought. "But...if you want, I might could give you a little help. I mean, I'm not very good, but I can levitate and move objects around."

[Devon Russels]

Devon smiled at that. He had been awaiting help, though it was too hard to admitt to himself, but he wasn't going to be stupid enough to turn it down. Falling face first into the helplessness, he grabbed at her hand, his soft, warm clothes tightening a comforting grip around her bare knuckles. Pulling her aside him, he ran toward the table he was at, nudging he just a tad to sit on the other side.

"So...whatcha name, and what do you do," he said in one quick swing of words as he sat down, placing the ball on the middle of the table.

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea let out a squeak of surprise as Devon seized her hand and dragged her over to the tale at which he'd been sitting when she first saw him. But his enthusiasm was catching, and the childlike way in which he burst out talking made Rhea laugh, charmed.

"My name's Rhea Kaylen. I'm a Padawan, here; my master is Master Pierce Tondry, who likes a lot of hard work and doesn't make sense all of the time, but he's an excellent master and a good man. And, you are?"

[Devon Russels]

In the months around scoundrel, fiends, crime lords and all sorts of interesting people, he had learned to be witty. It had grown into a habit to react with rude, sly or flirtatious comments and it seemed, deep inside, as something he would normally pounce on.

The way she seemed clearly unaware of these quick, but troublesome thought of a flirtatous approach to the conversation was something baffling to say the least, but there wasn't even a single show on his face as the pause between her question and his answer came into the room with a prominence.

So, instead of being a sly devil that he was, he adjusted his mindstate to a more curteous and casual way of responding. That path seemed more...sociable, instead of overly direct.

"The names Devon...Devon Russels. So, can you help me with this lil problem I have with getting in touch with the Force?"

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea sobered and thought about it. "Well, like I said, I can try. I'm no expert, by any means. Hmm...maybe you'd better start out by telling me what you have been doing, so I can see if you're coming at it the wrong way."

Of course, Rhea realized, there may not have been a "wrong" way to connect to or use the Force, so she may have already started them down a dead-end alley. But if he could give her some idea of how he felt or visualized the Force, maybe there was some way she could help him focus it more efficiently. Unlikely, but it was a starting-point, anyway.

[Devon Russels]

OOC: Switching to first person. Its mad easier for me to do that.



It took me a while to get the question. The whole idea had never come to my mind that there was a bad way of reaching the Force, but I knew there was a successful way, and I wasn't reaching that at all.

"Well, its kinda weird," I began. "The way I do it is just try my best to clear my mind, focus and then...suddenly, as fast I can, unfocus. I dunno...its weird."

[Rhea Kaylen]

Rhea frowned. Yeah, so she had no idea what she was doing. Still, this sounded to her like a very unorthodox way of going about using the Force--not a bad way, certainly, as there was no sign Devon might be touching the Dark Side, in any way--but certainly a difficult one. After all, if he was unfocusing his concentration right at the point of execution, it was no wonder he'd sent that ball around the room a dozen times without realizing it.

"Well, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with doing it that way. But how do you keep control of the object--or whatever--once you've got it?"

But Rhea was already pretty sure she knew the answer: he didn't.