The Repeating Day - 10.138

[Ndonsa]

Morning dawned bright, Adega Prime doing it's best to shine in the windows of the Jedi dormitories. All of the modular dorms were equipped with shades, but Ndonsa left hers open. Waking with the sun helped her feel a little more... normal. The thing that beeped on the shelf by her bed had been turned off forcibly by spear point several weeks ago, and she hadn't bothered trying to figure out how to turn it back on. The sun warmed her fur and she stretched, smoothing down her fur and pulling on clothes. They were not as loathsome as she had first found them to be, but still felt unnatural. As did the sonics shower, which was just like being blasted with warm air and she avoided it at all costs after trying it once. Also, the toilets were inside the buildings, which was completely unclean and against all she knew about such things, but they were similar to the one on board Evil Dirk's ship and everything was flushed away leaving no waste in the living quarters.

It was still very strange. She tied her headband on and adjusted her necklaces, making sure the one made of teeth was underneath some of the others. A bird thumped into her window, startling her, and Ndonsa peered out at it on the ground. It lay there, dazed, on the ground as a barely visible lump of feathers. She frowned.

Exiting her room with her spear in hand, she walked down the hallway past other doors where she could hear other padawans beginning to stir. Someone's beeping chrono was making noise, and Ndonsa hurried her steps, making her way out into the early morning light. The sun was not over the mountains yet, and as she walked to the mess tent she saw the Orryxian padawan, Akasha, leaving. Ndonsa padded into the mess hall, grabbed a tray and lined up with the other early morning risers for... some sort of oatmeal and canned fruit. Canned fruit tasted like regular fruit but sweeter and mushier, and always had a syrup on it that tended to run into everything else on the plate.

She took her utensil and stirred the oatmeal and fruit all together as she walked to a table and sat down alone to eat.


[out of character thread] (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?55425-The-Repeating-Day-OOC-%28please-read-if-your-character-is-on-Ossus%29)

[Jamis Kerr]

He'd not even bothered to brush his hair when he'd rolled out of bed this morning. It was just going to get mussed up again at some point over the course of the day, and as Jamis Kerr shuffled his way through the line for breakfast, he watched with still-cloudy eyes as a bowl of delightful oatmeal and a portion of fruit that looked just a touch sad. He supposed it had to do with being canned; he remembered the fresh fruit from home, and they'd never looked anything like these sad offerings. But still, food was food, and he needed something to begin his day, at least. So, oatmeal and sad fruit were the order of the morning.

Not entirely paying attention, the boy simply made for the closest open seat that offered the least amount of walking he'd have to do to get there.

And that was what made him choose to sit across from the Nehantite.

Immediately spearing a piece of fruit with a plastic spork before holding it up, he looked at his new table-mate from behind a mop of bangs that'd been partially brushed aside.

"I think they're trying to kill us," came his final verdict at the state of the... what fruit was this, even?!

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa considered that, and said, "This will not kill you." She looked him in the eye and then slowly dropped one eyelid in a wink. "It simply makes you wish you were dead."

Then she scooped up a big spoonful and shoved it in her mouth, chomping through the soft oatmeal and slightly firmer fruit with gusto.

[Hwooroc]

Hwooroc wasn't so fussy, hefting spoonful after spoonful of fruity oatmeal to his mouth as he talked about his classes with Kala. The Nautolan seemed to be the only one aware of exactly how much of Hwooroc's oatmeal he was actually wearing on his face rather than eating, and tended to the mess while trying to stifle a laugh.

[Jamis Kerr]

With a bit of trepidation, Jamis gave a sigh before taking a nibble of the fruit. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good. A bite of the oatmeal proved better, and unfolding his napkin, the boy set about removing the offending bits of fruit from his main course and setting them on the napkin. Finished, he looked to his breakfast partner while sliding the pile towards her.

"I don't think I'ma chance it," came his wry answer, a smile none-the-less on his face.

"You can have 'em."

[Ndonsa]

She picked up the offered food with her fingers, chewing energetically as she finished it off. Ndonsa licked her fingers clean loudly, and stacked her empty bowl inside his. "Your headfur is getting long, Ja-mis." She brushed her hand over her own cropped headfur and added, "I can cut it for you. A warrior should keep their vision clear."

[Jamis Kerr]

A spork-full of oatmeal halfway to his mouth, Jamis considered the offer.

She certainly had a point, but he wasn't so sure he was ready to let go of his hair... still though, many of the padawans he'd seen in holo's of years past showed them with short hair and a single braid. It was something he'd considered, but the indecision was clear on his features.


"I dunno," he started, bringing the oatmeal to his mouth and finally taking a bit, half-chewing before swallowing.

"I've seen lots of holos of old padawans with their hair cut short, but I'm not sure It'd look right on me."

He spooned another bit of oatmeal, still in thought.

"I dunno, what do you think?"

[Ndonsa]

She stared at him, and after a moment said, "It should be short. I said this." Ndonsa wondered if the boy was slow. "Or I can braid it against your head in rows," she reached across the table and drew her finger over his scalp, next to his part, and then rubbed a bit of his hair between her fingers. "Your headfur is thick, it would work well."

Ndonsa got up before he could answer, and picked up the bowls. "Perhaps tonight after dinner." The mess hall was being invaded by the youngest padawans, younglings, with their minders. The tall female Council member, Serena, was bringing up the rear of a line of children, her calm voice directing them to food and table. Ndonsa nodded at the woman, and hurried out without saying good-bye to Ja-mis. While she didn't mind children, it was easier to get to class on time if she avoided them entirely.

[Serena Laran]

"Stay in line -!" Serena stopped a wayward youngling by grabbing her with the Force, but her overly excited companion darted out in front of Ndonsa as the Kufu made her way out the door. They collided with force, the little one bouncing backwards onto her rump.

"Ow!"

The mongoose knelt, perhaps conscious of Serena's proximity, and helped the youngling to her feet. "Watch where you are going," she said brusquely, though Serena sensed no ill feelings behind the words. She reached out and took the youngling's hand, smiling at the former shaman.

"Apologies, Ndonsa, they are full of beans this morning."

[Ndonsa]

She straightened up. They hadn't even eaten yet, and breakfast was oatmeal, not beans. For a language called Basic, there were many things about it she did not understand. "Indeed," she said finally. Agreeing with a council member was the wise course of action, even if you didn't quite understand them.

Ndonsa bowed her head slightly, and walked out into the morning sun. Meditation class would be starting soon enough.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Don't slouch, Kennua."

In the meditation tent, Anbira paced around the group of a dozen padawans, gently correcting the posture of the Zabrak boy in front of him with a hand at his shoulder. The horn-headed padawan kept his eyes closed, back straightening as he sat cross-legged.

"This is meditation, not just a time to rest. You restore not only your body, but your mind and your spirit. Careful attunement of all three will ensure you are receptive to the mysteries of the force."

Satisfied for now that his students had a proper posture, Anbira took his own place at the head of the circle, sitting in the manner he had instructed the students to do. His back straight, head looking forward, the Jedi hermit placed his hands at his crossed knees and allowed his eyes to drift closed.

"Next comes breathing. It isn't just taking in air and letting it out. You don't simply breathe with your lungs. You breathe with your all. Deep through the nose, and let your breath ebb gently from the mouth. Feel yourself let go of what holds you back."

Eyes still shut, Anbira tilted his head almost imperceptibly.

"Ndonsa, come in. We've only just begun today."

[Ndonsa]

She slunk in, ears reddening even though no one was looking at her, and took a seat in the circle. She was larger than most of the padawans, older, and yet so far behind. They were similar in skill when it came to the magic of the Force, but the children had knowledge and familiarity with the customs of the galaxy that she was still struggling to keep up with.

Clear the mind.

She closed her eyes and began the calming breathing pattern, in through the nose and out through barely parted lips. In, and out. She pictured drawing thick fabric curtains all around herself, enclosing her in a dark cocoon of peace. The only thing here was the breathing...the Force...and Master Hicchoru's voice.

[Ndonsa]

An hour later, mind sufficiently cleared and energy cleansed, she thanked Master Hicchoru and jogged toward where some older padawans were helping clear brush. Eventually this field was to be planted with grains, but for now it needed to be emptied of existing plant life. It was ridiculous work for her, but she wasn't too proud to get her paws dirty even if the concept of planting anything was completely foreign. From the explanation of others she gathered that if you put seeds in the ground then the plants would grow and they would get food for the future, but why they wouldn't just hunt for what they needed...

She straightened from tugging on a securely rooted bush, and looked around. No, this place was much bigger than her tribe. To feed this many mouths it made some sense to prepare a place where food could be reliably found. Still. She looked at the bush and concentrated, yanking it out of the ground with the Force.

[Theo]

Dr. Theo emerged from the greenhouses, having just spent the last hour having a lively discussion with Dr. Arlan Solborne. Though he and the botanist only knew each other by reputation and several correspondences, the two seemed to get along well and chatted with ease on such topics as their work, their journeys, and the sorry state of today's youth.

But now it was back to work. He had to find whoever was in charge here and see about getting some proper lodging. The tiny one-room apartment where he had found B1 unloading his gear was simply unacceptable. Making his way back to the camp, he passed a field where a group of the aforementioned youth were dutifully working the land. He waved over the closest padawan, a small, red-furred individual.

"Excuse me, Miss... hrm, not a Shistavanan, snout's too narrow....not an Amaran, skull's not the right shape....not a Nalroni...I say, I don't think I am familiar with your species." He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and quickly examined her up and down. "There, stand up straight, let me take a look. Wonderful specimen. Fascinating, we'll have to talk later on. But for now, where can I find the leader or whoever heads the zoning board?"

"Oh, where are my manners? Dr. Theo Phastus." He tipped his hat. "And you are?"

[Ndonsa]

"Ndonsa," she replied, regarding the lizard-thing-person warily. He didn't look like he would be faster than anyone, let along the fastest. Still, she was learning to keep an open mind about this sort of thing. She stepped backward out of his reach, and smoothed the fur of her arms back down. What was zoning? Jamis said once that he often zoned out during history lessons. The lizard-person seemed to want her to turn around so he could stare at her backside, but she stood firmly resolute.

"Doctor Theo, the Jedi Council will be in their meeting room after lunch. I do not know if they zone ...boards or not."

[Theo]

"Ah yes, the council meeting room; I believe a saw that on my way here. Very well, to the Council I go. Thank you, Miss. Ndonsa, we'll have to continue this on another occasion and you can tell me all about your species and your homeworld. Until then. Carry on."

Theo replaced his helmet and continued down the road, allowing the Nehantite to return to her work.

[Ndonsa]

She watched him go, feeling a bit nervous about their next meeting. Ndonsa decided it would be better if she avoided him in the future, and returned to her work. By the time for the midday meal, she was hot and sweaty from the work, and the mess tent only helped keep in the heat of the day. Ndonsa glared at the loaf of meat that disgraced her plate. She needed to go hunting for some proper meat.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

A breeze passed Ndonsa by as she queued up in line at the mess tent. It seemed to be amiss until the source was revealed. At a table inside the tent, one of the padawans, Chen Duaar, fell out of his seat, his plate of meatloaf going flying along with his fork. In place of his meal on the table, the menacing figure of Draiya Naaianeye appeared from thin air, the business end of her fist appearing like a battering ram where Chen's face used to be a moment before.

"I got you!"

Chen fell ass over teacup, holding a reddening side of his face as hot tears threatened to come out. Draiya was not moved.

"Too complacent!" she scolded, "Your senses should always be on guarrd!"

[Rev Solomon]

A stunned hush fell over the lunchroom crowd, and then a strong, booming voice pierced the silence:

"Miss Naaianeya!"

Solomon came swiftly down the aisle between the cafeteria tables, and before Draiya could extricate herself, he'd laid his large, three-fingered hand firmly on her shoulder make sure she couldn't ghost and bolt. Then he looked down at the boy clutching the side of his face on the floor.

"Padawans Shan and Drax, will you please take Mr. Duarr to the medical tent?"

As a Togruta and Rodian wordlessly got up from their lunches to help Chen to his feet, Solomon guided Draiya off the table and marched her toward the exit.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa poked the loaf with her utensil, watching the padawan be frog-marched out of the tent by Solomon, a Jedi of no small renown in the group. He was missing an arm and some fingers, but had obviously been able to stay useful to the group despite his horrific mutilations. Those who could not be useful, in Ndonsa's experience, usually took a spear into the jungle for the Long Hunt. They did not return.

She choked down the meat of unclear origin, and hurried out of the mess tent, grabbing a canteen and filling it just outside. If she hurried she would get to the sparring rings before anyone else showed up.

[Akasha Khan]

As it happened, she was not the first one there. Akasha Khan was already in the first of the sparring rings, driving through a ferocious sequence of velocities with her lightstaff, whose twin blood-red blades thrummed like a cloud of angry hornets as they pinwheeled through the hot midday air.

The Orryxian stopped when she saw the Kufu mongoose padding toward her through the grass. "Oh, hello there," she said, dousing her blades. "Looking to get some early practice in?"

She dragged a paw across her muzzle, disturbing a few green, downy feathers that had been stuck there. One still clung doggedly to her chin.

[Ndonsa]

"Yes," Ndonsa replied, the feather on Akasha's face drawing her eyes. "Why were you not at lunch?" She walked over to the rack of wooden weapons near the rings and selected a staff. The training sabers would not appear until Loki arrived to teach a lesson. She gave the staff an experimental spin to test it's heft.

[Akasha Khan]

Akasha followed Ndonsa's eyes down to her chin and rubbed it vigorously until the feather came free and fluttered to the ground. "Oh, I already ate," she said. "Wouldn't mind some staff sparring if you're up for it."

She clipped her saber to her belt and drew her Echani fighting staff, a small, white cylinder that expanded into a seamless white pole about as tall as she was. It was lighter and springier than the wood staffs, more like a lightsaber in its responsiveness.

Akasha and Ndonsa ran a few two-person velocities before branching into a free-form spar - nothing too aggressive, just enough to prickle their fur with a light crop of sweat before Loki and the other trainees filtered in.

[Abarai Loki]

In an instant, the padawans were disarmed. The staves, which had been torn from their hands, sailed through the air and into Loki's grasp. And he then discarded them with a clatter.

"There will be no foolish staff-twirling or silly incantations in this class."

Akasha and Ndonsa both shared a fondness for hitting things with sticks, while the latter liked to channel her strength through methods of song and dance. That would simply not do. In recent weeks, he'd had his fill of ill-disciplined padawans with a penchant for fighting tactics that ranged from the unorthodox to the plain dirty. There were times when it felt like Ossus had become home not to the Jedi Order, but a travelling circus. It reflected poorly upon him and the other teachers; he'd been too lenient, too soft, too willing to accomodate the eccentric whims of his students who wanted to try something new. Well, not anymore. This was a new Loki; a harder Loki; and perhaps most importantly, because he'd missed lunch, this was a hungry Loki. A couple of training sabers were tossed to the two padawans before he reached the circle.

"Today," he announced to the class, who gathered around the presently occupied circle, "You are going to revisit the basics. That means no flourishes, no acrobatics, and absolutely no rule-breaking. I want you to prove to me that there is more than sawdust and air between your ears and that you have the capacity to follow simple instructions."

Here, he gestured to Ndonsa and Akasha.

"And since you two are so eager to fight, you can show the rest of the class how its done. Form Two, Makashi. I want to see an emphasis on technique. I want to see patience and I want to see skill. I want precision, efficiency, and the path of least resistance. I want-"

His speech was interrupted by a deep hollow growling sound that came from his midsection. Loki, who was briefly stunned by his belly's rebellious outburst and the pronounced silence that followed it, suddenly scowled at the padawans and snapped:

"Well, get on with it!"

[Ndonsa]

Makashi. The dueling form. Ndonsa looked at her training saber, almost as if she'd never held one before, and then assumed a basic defensive stance that would work well with the light jabs and cuts common to Form Two. She balanced her weight from front footpaw to back footpaw and front again, gauging her opponent like one would a cobra. Once Akasha began to make her move then she could strike. Focus, focus, focus.

[Akasha Khan]

"My staff!"

Akasha rounded on Loki to give him a generously sized piece of her mind in return for his rough treatment of a priceless heirloom that was a good deal rarer than the cheap novelty sparklers he passed out in class, but one look at his face told her precisely how far she'd be getting with that line of argument today. Boiling, she accepted her hand-me-down weapon and turned to face her opponent in... Form Two? That little prat knew she was rubbish at Form Two! What was the use of having feline agility if she couldn't use any of it?

The Orryxian switched on her training saber and executed a stiff, robotic parody of the time-honored duelist's salute - time, as in ancient times, which was where this silly duelist's style belonged. Then she advanced on Ndonsa, called up one of the few Makashi velocities she remembered, and--

Cursed as Ndonsa's saber blade stung her paw, making her drop her own weapon. She glared over her shoulder at Loki to see if he was satisfied. He merely stared back, as implacable as a quasar.

Akasha called her saber back into her paw, repeated her salute, and this time froze with her saber held down and behind her. Ndonsa paused, clearly wary of some trap, and then darted in to strike the Orryxian's unprotected middle.

As the Kufu mongoose advanced, Akasha waved the claws of her off-paw and, with the Force, pressed the activation plate on Ndonsa's practice saber. Ndonsa's blade blinked out of existence and swung clean through its target, and Akasha merely sidestepped and nudged Ndonsa off-balance with her shoulder.

Then the Orryxian turned toward Loki and bowed. "The path of least resistance, Master Loki."

[Abarai Loki]

For a moment, Loki stared at the brazen Orryxian. Then, after summoning her staff back into his hand, he tossed it back to her and said:

"The Gossam are serving root stew today. Bring me some back before it gets cold."

[Akasha Khan]

She stared back at him, eyes narrow, matching his challenge with her own. And then, without a word, she clipped her staff to her belt and padded off in the direction of the Gossam settlement.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa stood uncertainly alone in the sparring circle, then saluted Knight Loki and began to step out of the circle before his voice stopped her in her tracks. "Show me the basic forms of Makashi, Padawan," he barked, and then made the green knobby one, Drax, join her while he corrected their stances and instructed the whole class.

She always felt awkward when in front of the class like that, but pride had no place here among the Jedi. At least, not how she was used to it, anyway. Pride in a job well done, maybe. Humility was learned hard as muscles used to fighting with a long spear were forced to adopt new practices, the sword forms becoming familiar but nowhere near natural. She was glad when the class was over, her head full of Makashi stances and starting to ache. Ndonsa walked along the road, spear in hand, toward the jungle. Behind here there was a sudden uproar, far enough away she didn't feel like she needed to run toward it to see what was going on, but she looked over her shoulder anyway.

Toward where the medical building was under construction a heavy looking machine, a crane she thought it had been called, was tilting madly. The whine of over worked mechanical things hurt her ears, and she quickened her step into the forest to hunt. She needed some quiet.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa jogged through the forest for half an hour or so, trying to keep up on the level of activity she was used to. Sometimes she could feel her body growing weaker while she sat in classes with Jedi droning on about Uric Qwell Dromo or whoever. Studying in this fashion did not come easily. Not to mention the fact that she could not read the text on the datapads. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet, but she would soon need to find someone to tell, as classes were added and she was about to be overwhelmed.

She found a clearing amidst the trees, the center a lumpy mass of brush and overgrowth. She prowled toward it, sensing that it was an unnatural formation, and used her spear to pull away some of the plant life. A metallic structure now covered in moss and lichen was underneath, and she worked to uncover the round shape. There was a hatch of some kind on the top, and some letters. S... E... M...T... no, N, T...K, no R, Y... Ndonsa scraped away moss with a stick. There were a series of numbers. This discovery was not going to put meat in her belly, however, so she climbed down and made a mental note to talk to someone else about this the next day.

She came back to camp as the sun set (they were calling it Sanctuary One. Perhaps another town was planned, to be called Sanctuary Two?) with a brace of rabbit-like creatures slung over her shoulder. Ndonsa dropped them off at the kitchens to be cleaned and thrown into tomorrow's meal plan, hopefully a stew. When she brought them meat, the staff made sure she got some of whatever it was they made with it. Dinner was what other's called "vegetarian" - beans and greens, rice... she stopped examining it and simply ate. Meals were better when you didn't look at your food.

Jamis was sitting toward the back of the mess tent, enraptured by the construction workers sitting at the furthest tables wolfing down their meals. They were a mixed lot, human and other spee-sees. The Cizerack workers always ate in their own compound. Ndonsa knew they had fresh meat there, she often smelled the blood on the air when she walked past the walls. Tonight the workers seemed to be regaling the padawan with stories of whatever accident they'd had earlier in the day. They were a loud bunch, laughter quick to come when the speaker paused, which made Ndonsa sure that the accident had not cost any lives. She concentrated a bit, feeling out the emotions of the workers as she choked down her vegetables. Relief was prominent, as was a sort of could have been worse sense. The loud laughter masked any anxiety they might be feeling from the day's events. In fact, she realized, the most anxious seemed to laugh the loudest and tell the most jokes.

It was curious, but something she'd observed before, amongst the males of her tribe after a difficult hunt where death had seemed near. You laugh and enjoy yourself at the feast - to scare away the demons that your brush with death might have caused to follow you. Not that there were actual demons... were there? Ndonsa was no longer sure. Her eyes tracked over the rim of her glass of juice to where the tall dark Jedi, Solomon, was standing, conversing with another. He professed belief in others, in something more than the Force. Perhaps she would speak with him about it.

After dinner Ndonsa made her way to her bed, working a little on her letter recognition before falling asleep with a datapad on her face.

[Ndonsa]

Morning dawned bright, and the sun warmed her fur as she stretched, smoothing down her fur and pulling on clothes. Ndonsa was adjusting her necklaces and considering who she was going to tell about the thing she'd found in the forest when a bird thumped into her window, startling her. Ndonsa frowned, and walked to the window, peered out at the dazed bird on the ground. It looked the same as the one had yesterday.

Exiting her room with her spear in hand, she walked down the hallway past other doors where she could hear other padawans beginning to stir. Someone's beeping chrono was making noise, and Ndonsa hurried her steps, making her way out into the early morning light. The sun was not over the mountains yet, and as she walked to the mess tent she saw the Orryxian padawan, Akasha, leaving. Ndonsa padded into the mess hall, grabbed a tray and lined up with the other early morning risers for... oatmeal and fruit. She stared at it, not used to getting exactly the same thing two days in a row. She took her utensil and stirred the oatmeal and fruit all together as she walked to a table and sat down alone to eat, staring around her a bit before taking a bite.

[Jamis Kerr]

Bad hair. Bad breakfast. It was just one of those things. A bowl of delightful oatmeal and a portion of fruit that looked just a touch sad. He supposed it had to do with being canned; he remembered the fresh fruit from home, and they'd never looked anything like these sad offerings. But still, food was food, and he needed something to begin his day, at least. So, oatmeal and sad fruit were the order of the morning.Not entirely paying attention, the boy simply made for the closest open seat that offered the least amount of walking he'd have to do to get there.

And that was what made him choose to sit across from the Nehantite.

Immediately spearing a piece of fruit with a plastic spork before holding it up, he looked at his new table-mate from behind a mop of bangs that'd been partially brushed aside.

"I think they're trying to kill us," came his final verdict at the state of the... what fruit was this, even?!

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa shoved another spoonful into her mouth, and frowned at the boy. Perhaps he really did think that his life was in danger. She swallowed hard, the porridge lump hurting her throat as it went down. "You will not die, it is fine. Just like yesterday."

[Jamis Kerr]

He gave her a funny look at that one, unsure of what he should say, but opted for the rather obvious.

"Yesterday we had cereal and nuna eggs."

Another few moments of staring, and Jamis sent his eyes downward to the food before him before giving a sigh and taking a nibble of the fruit. It wasn't bad,but it certainly wasn't good. A bite of the oatmeal proved better, and unfolding his napkin, the boy set about removing the offending bits of fruit from his main course and setting them on the napkin. Finished, he looked to his breakfast partner while sliding the pile towards her.

"I don't think I'ma chance it," came his wry answer, a smile none-the-less on his face.

"You can have 'em."

[Ndonsa]

"Yesterday we had -" Ndonsa paused, and watched him push his fruit across the table to her. She got up abruptly and walked away, leaving a confused Jamis behind. She stopped at the end of a table and slapped her paws down a little harder than she'd intended, interrupting the little Wookiee and the fish girl.

"What did we eat for breakfast. Yesterday." The girl gaped at her, and Ndonsa turned to the long haired child. "Well?"

[Hwooroc]

Startled out of his conversation, Hwooroc turned to face the weird tribal lady. Her name was Ndonsa, or at least something like that, since he'd heard other humanoids more or less choke over the unconventionally-placed consonants. She had a wild and exotic look, with her lithe frame and clinky necklaces made out of trinkets and bones and things. They said she chanted and danced when using the force, like a wild lady. Akasha told him a scary story that she had a trunk full of shrunken Sullustan heads and zombie powder. That was...probably not true...but here she was, and she looked...a little crazy.

Hwooroc gawped, his snaggletoothed and oatmeal-smeared mouth gaping a little. The spoon of breakfast he held in a paw missed his mouth entirely and fell in his lap.

[Ndonsa]

The pair of Jedi in training stared at her, and then each other, the small one dropping his food in his lap like an infant. "Uh, nuna eggs an-" started Kala, and Ndonsa gave an exasperated grunt and threw up her hands, turning away from their table and stalking out of the tent. Someone was playing a trick, or something, on her, and she did not like it. Then she realized she hadn't finished her breakfast, and decided it wasn't worth going back in for. Serena Laran was herding a group of younglings toward the mess tent as she stalked past them, and Ndonsa frowned even deeper. Master Laran was not usually in charge of Rancor Clan, though she had been known to take over for a day every few weeks to give the usual minder the day off. Two days in a row - perhaps the other woman was sick.

Ndonsa covered her nose and mouth with a paw as she passed the children, arriving for meditation class well ahead of everyone else.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Preparations for the morning meditation class were nearly complete, and Anbira at last took care to light a series of aromatic candles at the center of the circle. He carefully lowered himself to the ground to sit cross-legged, and was preparing to make his own mind right when he felt a presence like a reek plowing through an antique shop on Theed.

"Ndonsa?"

The tent flap belted open a half-second after he asked, confirming his feelings. The Nehantite's eyes darted left and right, and one of her paws clamped fast over her muzzle as if she was trying to wade through poison gas. She was early, and while that wasn't necessarily unusual, everything else about her most certainly was.

"Do the candles not agree with you?"

[Ndonsa]

She removed her paw from her face immediately and sketched a bow. "No, sorry, Master Hicchoru. I had only thought that...perhaps there was..." She knew how ridiculous she was going to sound, so she just let her words trail off as she took a deep breath to center herself.

"I do wish to say sorry for being late yesterday. I must have lost track of time. It will not happen again." She walked to her usual spot in the circle and sat, her tail curled around her hip and laying against her thigh.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Late?"

An unusual comment. Anbira brushed an errant lock of hair back and stood up.

"If this is a joke, I'm slow to the punchline. I have my fair share of tardy padawans, but I've never counted you as one of them. You're more than dependable."

There was something more to this. Anbira could feel no jest in the Kufu's demeanor or feelings.

[Ndonsa]

She blinked in confusion, but said nothing more. Another protest would lead to questions, and she could answer none of them. Ndonsa forced a laugh, as if she'd been telling a joke, and then sat quietly in thought until the other padawans entered. The zabrak, a horned boy, sat next to her in the circle, smiling at her before giving Master Hicchoru his attention.

It took a minute longer than usual, but she was able to calm her confusion and enter into the deepness of meditation.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

His students at last arrived, and in defiance to Ndonsa's worries, they were all on time today. Pleased, Anbira began his lesson, bringing each padawan to a state of peace and clarity necessary to achieve fruitful meditations.

"Don't slouch, Kennua."

Anbira paced around the group of a dozen padawans, gently correcting the posture of the Zabrak boy in front of him with a hand at his shoulder. The horn-headed padawan kept his eyes closed, back straightening as he sat cross-legged.

"This is meditation, not just a time to rest. You restore not only your body, but your mind and your spirit. Careful attunement of all three will ensure you are receptive to the mysteries of the force."

Satisfied for now that his students had a proper posture, Anbira took his own place at the head of the circle, sitting in the manner he had instructed the students to do. His back straight, head looking forward, the Jedi hermit placed his hands at his crossed knees and allowed his eyes to drift closed.

"Next comes breathing. It isn't just taking in air and letting it out. You don't simply breathe with your lungs. You breathe with your all. Deep through the nose, and let your breath ebb gently from the mouth. Feel yourself let go of what holds you back."

He felt, however, a change. Something unseen clouded the minds of one of his students, and again Anbira found his attention drawn to the Nehantite.

"Ndonsa."

He wouldn't ask what troubled her. She needed to confront her obstacle.

[Ndonsa]

She drew in a deep breath through her nostrils and slowly blew it out between her lips, Master Anbira's voice managing to sharpen her focus. Clear the mind. She pictured drawing thick fabric curtains all around herself, enclosing her in a dark cocoon of peace. The only thing here was the breathing...the Force...and Master Hicchoru's voice.

An hour later, mind sufficiently cleared and energy cleansed, she thanked Master Hicchoru and jogged toward where some older padawans were helping clear brush. After the work of yesterday there was only a little left to - Ndonsa stopped so suddenly that someone ran into her backside, and she was too confused to even apologize. The field was overcome with brush again. In fact, she could see a particularly stubborn one she distinctly remembered uprooting herself the day before. She looked around, and no one seemed upset about this revelation. Unsettled, she thumped the butt of her spear into the hard red dirt of the path, and then turned and jogged toward the greenhouses.

No one called for her, but she could hear the friendly chatter among the padawans as they bent to their task. She hesitated outside the greenhouse, spying the big four armed alien inside that had confronted her yesterday. Or whatever yesterday had been.

[Theo]

"I'll be sure that you get those files sent to you. Until next time. Doctor." Dr. Arlan Solborne turned out to be a talkative fellow, once you found some common ground. Dr. Theo tipped his hat to his counterpart as he emerged from the greenhouse, backing out of the open door.

But now it was back to work. He had to find whoever was in charge here and see about getting some proper lodging. The tiny one-room apartment where he had found B1 unloading his gear was simply unacceptable. As he started back towards the center of the camp, he noticed a red-furred individual peeking in through the windows of the greenhouse.

"If you are waiting to speak with Dr. Solborne, he should be free now."

[Ndonsa]

She started, embarrassed at being surprised, her inner ears tinged pink. "I - I do not wish to speak to him, Doctor...Fastest." That was his name, wasn't it? He took a step toward her, and she took one back.

[Theo]

"Phastus. Dr. Theo Phastus. I see my reputation has preceded me. This must be quite a thrill for you."

He eyed the creature up and down as she stepped back, unable to place her face or, indeed, her species.

"If you would like a signed copy of my latest book, feel free to find me later. At the moment, however, I need find the leader or whoever heads the zoning board and give them a firm talking to about the accommodations provided for me?"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa stared wide eyed at him, and shook her head mutely. At the last second she managed to eke out "Perhaps the Jedi Council?" She pointed down the road, and then ran off in the other direction, leaving the large four armed alien behind. It was not time for lunch, she was traveling aimlessly, and found herself on the road toward the great Library. A familiar presence ahead made her pause, finally, and Ndonsa skulked into the forest to let the other Nehantite pass. She had no interest in running into Hal right now, and put as much distance between them as she could, looping through the forest and ending, finally, back at the mess tent just as the midday meal was being served.

It was loaf of meat again. Ndonsa nearly walked right out and back to her room, but her stomach growled and she sighed, taking her tray and finding a seat.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

A breeze passed Ndonsa by as she queued up in line at the mess tent. It seemed to be amiss until the source was revealed. At a table inside the tent, one of the padawans, Chen Duaar, fell out of his seat, his plate of meatloaf going flying along with his fork. In place of his meal on the table, the menacing figure of Draiya Naaianeye appeared from thin air, the business end of her fist appearing like a battering ram where Chen's face used to be a moment before.

"I got you!"

Chen fell ass over teacup, holding a reddening side of his face as hot tears threatened to come out. Draiya was not moved.

"Too complacent!" she scolded, "Your senses should always be on guarrd!"

[Rev Solomon]

A stunned hush fell over the lunchroom crowd, and then a strong, booming voice pierced the silence:

"Miss Naaianeya!"

Solomon came swiftly down the aisle between the cafeteria tables, and before Draiya could extricate herself, he'd laid his large, three-fingered hand firmly on her shoulder make sure she couldn't ghost and bolt. Then he looked down at the boy clutching the side of his face on the floor.

"Padawans Shan and Drax, will you please take Mr. Duarr to the medical tent?"

As a Togruta and Rodian wordlessly got up from their lunches to help Chen to his feet, Solomon guided Draiya off the table and marched her toward the exit.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa nearly choked on her mouthful as the scene played out in front of her. Her ears flattened as she looked around, but no one else seemed to notice anything was wrong. Suddenly not hungry, she pushed back from the table and stood, knocking over her chair. A padawan tripped over it, tray and meal splattering on the ground. Ndonsa jumped clear, and then ran out of the tent, leaving the mess behind.

The sparring rings would be a welcome sight, her limbs trembling with energy that needed release. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, but had slowed to it's regular pace by the time she arrived. Ndonsa frowned, looking down and realizing she'd forgotten to bring a canteen, and then looked up to see Akasha walking towards her, brushing green feathers from her muzzle.

[Akasha Khan]

Akasha strolled through the hot midday air with her tail high and swaying as if she hadn't a care in the worlds. She held her lightstaff un-ignited in her paw, but seeing Ndonsna, the Orryxian hooked it back onto her belt.

"Oh, hello there," she said pleasantly enough. "I was just looking to get some early practice in. Wouldn't mind some staff sparring if you're up for it."

One of the feathers she had been brushing away still clung doggedly to her chin.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa ran her paw over her face, and then nodded. "Yes. A spar." She put out her hand and a staff flew off the rack and smacked solidly into it. Akasha raised her brows and drew her white staff as the Kufu stalked into the training circle.

She was feeling off center and aggressive, and it showed in her fighting style. Leaving herself open in order to score a hard blow, and receiving one in return for her efforts. Akasha seemed to be enjoying herself, a final green feather flying off of her as she twirled around to block Ndonsa's staff.

Before she realized it, Ndonsa was saying the give-strength-to-the-fighter chant, her words mostly subvocal but rising to a shout when the staffs connected.

[Abarai Loki]

Yanked from the Padawan's paws, the staves took flight, and clapped into Loki's hands. And, just as swiftly, they were sent rolling in the dust.

"There will be no foolish staff-twirling or silly incantations in this class."

He stalked the periphery of the sparring circle and snatched a couple of training sabers from the neat row on his footlocker. The Padawans, now separated, underwent ferocious inspection, with Ndonsa bearing the brunt of his scrutiny.

"Padawan, there are wampas that fight with more sophistication than you. Is it not enough that my eyes suffer every time you swing a stick? Now you must also assault my ears? Cease your braying."

In place of their staves, he tossed them the training sabers. Then he addressed the class at large.

"Today, you are going to revisit the basics. That means no flourishes, no acrobatics, and absolutely no rule-breaking. I want you to prove to me that there is more than sawdust and air between your ears and that you have the capacity to follow simple instructions." Here, he gestured to Ndonsa and Akasha, "And since you two are so eager to fight, you can show the rest of the class how its done."

[Ndonsa]

"Form two, Makashi," said Ndonsa, almost interrupting him. Her ears flattened when he stared at her, and she added, "To show skill in the basics, I think?" She ran a paw through her headfur, making it stick up more than usual.

[Akasha Khan]

"My staff!"

Bad enough to be disarmed like a cub who had found her mother's ceremonial assassination dagger; Akasha was fully tempted to give Loki a piece of her mind for his rough treatment of a priceless heirloom that was a fair sight rarer than the novelty sparklers he handed out. But by the time Ndonsa had spoken up, she found a new target for her ire.

"Makashi?" she erupted. "You want to practice Makashi? That's the way of the geriatric orchestra conductor."

[Abarai Loki]

The display of intuition from Ndonsa had left Loki stumped. That was until he heard Akasha's slight against Makashi, and he bristled: it was akin to telling a mother she had an ugly baby. Not that he considered a lightsaber form his baby, of course, or himself a mother. He doused his temper with a teacher's resolve and arched an eyebrow, ready to give the Orryxian a good verbal swatting.

"Then perhaps one day you will scrape together the skill to master it, Padawan Khan." He afforded the presumptuous Nehantite a last look of annoyance before proceding, "I want to see an emphasis on technique. I want to see patience and I want to see skill. I want precision, efficiency, and the path of least resistance. I want-"

A deep hollow growling sound betrayed his lack of lunch and brought his speech to a premature end. Loki scowled - hunger was the fuel that turned a simmering bad mood into an inferno.

"Well, get on with it!"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa held the lightsaber a little more familiarly than she had the previous day (?), settling into a defensive stance. She staggered her footpaws and shifted her weight from front to back, ready to counter Akasha's first strike. Like a cobra, she thought, and then the wild sense of all this has already happened overtook her, and she was nearly caught unawares by the other padawan's first attack, sending her into a very awkward defense.

[Akasha Khan]

Akasha pressed her advantage as far as she could take it and was rewarded with the satisfying sizzle of her practice saber against Ndonsa's paw. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Loki was satisfied, but he merely stared back, as implacable as a quasar.

With a low growl, she turned back to Ndonsa and repeated her duelist's salute, but this time she froze with her saber held down and behind her, as if contemptuous of any assault the Kufu mongoose could offer.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa sucked in a breath at the sting of the saber against her paw, nearly dropping her own training saber. As Akasha returned to a beginning stance Ndonsa swept in to attack quickly, falling out of the proper and unnatural Makashi stance to do so. This time she was the cobra.

[Akasha Khan]

The suddenness of the attack almost caught Akasha off-guard - almost. But instead of rising to meet it, she waved the claws of her off-paw and, with the Force, pressed the activation plate on Ndonsa's practice saber. Ndonsa's blade blinked out of existence and swung clean through its target, and Akasha merely sidestepped and nudged Ndonsa off-balance with her shoulder.

Then the Orryxian turned toward Loki and bowed. "The path of least resistance, Master Loki."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa fell to the ground in a cloud of dust, and then kicked at Akasha's feet, knocking the bowing padawan off balance.

[Abarai Loki]

When Akasha was swept unceremoniously to the dirt, Loki stepped in, placing himself between the fallen padawans. Sensing a fracas, he pinned the felinoids to the floor with the tips of their once discarded weapons, and was swift in his punishment.

"Padawan Ndonsa, since you are intent on behaving like an animal, you may join them. Clean out the eopie pen. And as for you," he turned his attention on the brazen Orryxian, pleased to the see the look of smug satisfaction wiped from her face, "The Gossam are serving root stew today. Bring me some back before it gets cold."

[Akasha Khan]

Loath as she was to let a sneak attack go unanswered, Akasha didn't want to give Loki an excuse to dole out further punishment - she knew he was just itching for the chance she could tell by the way his face was completely expressionless and void of any hint of malice or triumph--

The Orryxian clamped down on the snarl that had begun to curl her lip, and instead merely climbed to her feet. Then, without a word, she clipped her staff to her belt and padded off in the direction of the Gossam settlement.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa's ears flushed pink on the inside as he called her an animal, but she bowed stiffly and stalked off, leaving the gathering group of padawans behind her as Loki picked another pair for instruction. The eopie pen was far enough away that her blood had time to cool, though she still felt shame for her actions. Why had she done that? Akaska had used the same trick as before, and she had fallen for it, again.

She leaned on the outside of the eopie pen, looking in at the awkward animals. The smell was...smelly. She wrinkled her nose with distaste.

[Ndonsa]

Mucking out the stalls was rough work, and by the time she was laying in fresh straw her footpaws and lower legs were caked with dirt. A sudden uproar in the nearby construction area made her flinch, and she looked up to see the crane? tilting madly. The workers were shouting at each other, the mongoose in charge bellowing particularly loudly and pointing...no, waving his paws around. Ndonsa tossed the last armful of straw and vaulted over the fence of the eopie pen.

The machinery wasn't in danger of falling near her, but the nearly completed medical building was overshadowed by it. She looked around, her heart beating quickly. Why was everything happening the same as yesterday? Ndonsa looked toward the hills and the jungle, and snatched up her spear and ran toward the wild as fast as she could. She ran down the main road, passing padawans from combat class, and various Jedi, but she did not pay attention to any of them.

Her only concern was gettino away, and getting out.​

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Kosa!"

Untaaura saw the bounding Nehantite at the last minute, side-stepping at the last moment to avoid a certain collision. An acrid aroma pierced her senses as she passed, and Untaaura gave the air a few sharp sniffs as her eyes traveled to her uniform, now flecked in something unpleasant.

"Watch wherre jyou'rre gojing and forr the Goddesss' ssake clean jyourrsself jyou forrda ssavage!"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa didn't slow down, but held up her paw behind her with one finger raised in what she'd learned was a very effective insult. She kept running, the construction crew managing to right the crane as she disappeared into the jungle.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep in the jungle, in the shadow of the S-E-N-T-R-Y thing. It had been overgrown and moss covered when she had found it, as if no one had seen it in years.

She rolled over, and woke suddenly, sitting up in a shaft of sunlight that warmed her fur, shining in the window of her room. She stared, her heart beating hard, and jerked back as a bird slammed into the glass. It fell to the ground, dazed, a smudge left behind on the window.

Ndonsa yanked on her pants and top, threw her necklaces on, grabbed her spear and ran out of the Jedi dorms. She looked around wildly, and took a few deep, calming breaths of cool morning air. Akasha emerged from the mess tent, and Ndonsa stared at her.

[Akasha Khan]

Akasha stalked with shoulders hunched and tail snapping, evidently in a poor temper. She had turned to head in the direction of the hydroponics gardens when she sensed someone's eyes boring into her, and she stopped in her tracks and turned unerringly to face the Kufu mongoose.

"What do you want?" the Orryxian asked testily.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa straightened up from the defensive slouch she'd unconsciously assumed as the black furred Padawan spoke. "What is for breakfast?" Her paw tightened on her spear.

[Akasha Khan]

"Search me," Akasha said, and then on consideration of Ndonsa's difficulty with idioms, added, "I wouldn't even have gone in there if the sodden Cizerack hadn't scared all the sodden game away for miles with their sodden patrols. They're serving some kind of hot cereal glop with fruit? Looks the same going out as it does going in, I'll wager."

Her stomach made a loud, gurgling complaint, and she patted it with a broad paw and a look of chagrin. "I don't suppose you've got any eopie stashed away? All I've had is a family of tree mice."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa's eyes widened, still staring at Akasha. "No eopie. I hate eopie."

She turned on her heel and ran off down the road, headed...nowhere. Anywhere but where she was.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Having tended the garden at the break of day, Anbira was prepared to sort out his daily assignments in earnest. A dip in the river to wash and dry again, he returned to Sanctuary with his humble garments on and hair tied back, breaking his fast with a kopokek. It was still early in the day and the heat hadn't yet descended upon them. So it was a surprise that he saw his padawan moving through the streets as if her tail were on fire.

"Ndonsa?"

There was a sense of delirium and urgency. He'd felt that sensation from many students rushing to avoid being late, but Ndonsa was early. Considerably so.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa skidded to a halt at the sound of her name, her tail stiffening and the brushy hairs there standing on end. When she saw who it was she made an awkward half bow, bobbing up quickly, her grip on her spear tight. "Master Anbira I -" she stumbled on the words, afraid she would sound like she was crazy.

"I will see you later." She turned on her heel and was about to spring away.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

There was a growing sense of bewilderment coming from his pupil and it was becoming infectious. She gave him a wild look, almost as if she expected to see him but yet hoped she didn't.

"Ndonsa, I..."

And then she was gone again.

"What in blazes? Padawan!"

Something was wrong. This wasn't a quirk of her usual culture shock moments. This was different. Anbira took off after her.

[Ndonsa]

She bounded away, the jungle swallowing her whole as she ran. Master Anbira chased her, but she did not slow down. Neither did she try to lose him.

When he caught up with her, the Kufu was sitting on a moss and plant covered mound, her spear fallen on the ferns in front of her.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

She put up a spirited flight, and Anbira gave chase as he kept pace with her flight through the jungle. After what seemed to be multiple kilometers, she finally slowed to a stop near a mound grown over with vegetation. Anbira's run slowed to a trot, and at last a walk as he came close to his student. He caught his breath, speaking when it came easily.

"What is wrong, Padawan? I can sense great alarm in you."

[Ndonsa]

She had torn underbrush away from the mound before sitting, and now she stared at her paws. "I am troubled, Master. Today...comes again and again. I do not understand this. Is this a Jedi spell?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

A look of caution came over Anbira's features. He'd only recently introduced her to metaphors. Had she evolved so quickly into pondering the metaphysical? Tomorrow, would the Kufu find herself mired in an existential dilemma?

"You mean routine? That's an apt observation. Doing the same thing each day can almost make it seem as if one is living the same day over and over again. You are unnerved by the sameness, Padawan?"

Anbira took a seat next to his troubled student.

"Often it helps to take a journey of some kind to break the monotony. If you believe you know the next step every step of the way, you don't look where you travel and you don't learn."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa rubbed her paw over her eyes. "So this is not unknown to the Jedi then. For...sameness." She frowned. "It is not like the same day, Master. It is the same. Breakfast, the same. Same bird hits my window. I do not like this, Master. You say I should take a journey?

"A journey to where?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

That got his attention. Anbira sat forward slightly, affording a better glimpse of the Kufu's troubled eyes. She discerned beyond the metaphor and simile, and she was seeing something else.

"Let's start by retracing steps. You mention the same incidents happening. Explain them in detail."

It was possible she'd experienced vivid premonition. It wasn't Anbira's wheelhouse, but he knew of those Jedi who were strong in the causative strings of unifying force that shaped past, present, and future tidings.

[Ndonsa]

"I wake up. A bird hits the window of my room. Breakfast is ...oatmeal and fruit. I am late to meditation class. After class I work in clearing the east field for planting - it is as if it had not been done, but I remember doing it." Ndonsa concentrated, trying to recall every detail.

"A ...lizard doctor Theo Fastest arrives, asks for a place to stay. Akasha uses a trick to beat me in a duel after lunch, and I spend the rest of the evening hunting. I found this," she said, thumping the mound they sat on. "It is a...metal thing. S E N T R Y and numbers."

She hopped down, ignoring her spear. "See for yourself, Master." Ndonsa pointed at the thick moss that covered the letters she had discovered.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

With pitched curiosity, Anbira rose as Ndonsa offered a demonstration of her predicament. The hermit sensed no deception or anything less than surety from the Padawan, and he moved his hand to the moss as she suggested.

A moment of damp resistance was parted as the moss slipped away under peeling fingers. The Knight found purchase, and pulled away the greenery.

She was right. Anbira looked at the etchings on durasteel as his off hand stroked down his beard in contemplation. While this feat could be attributed to a Jedi's natural sense, it was a curious enough thing to consider that the Kufu's situation was not a farce.

"You mention you were late to meditation class, yet today you were early. Clearly you have agency over the present, but others do not?"

Anbira glanced back, curiosity plain on his face.

"Have we had this discussion before?"

[Ndonsa]

She shook her head, necklaces jingling. "No. I...I was afraid, today. I did not go to breakfast."

Ndonsa looked off into the distance, toward the camp. "The construction of the hos-spit all had an accident. The... crane nearly falls, after combat class." She looked back at her master, and pointed at the metal thing. "What is that?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Her recounting of specific events was eerily specific, and gave Anbira pause as to the nature of her premonition. No, not a premonition. Something else. The Jedi hermit searched her feelings for anything that could obfuscate the heart of the matter, but Ndonsa was famously forthright. She rarely spoke even a half truth from her point of view.

His attention turned to the buried artifact before he could dwell on the matter any further. Peeling away another sheet of moss, he glanced over the markings even further. Another effort uncovered still more to the machinery, leaving little doubt in mind as to it's function.

"This is a sentry weapon of some sort. An anti-starfighter gun."

What in blazes was this doing here? It didn't look recent, but it also wasn't so ancient as to be left behind by the original Jedi.

[Ndonsa]

"Anti-starfighter sentry gun." Ndonsa said the words slowly, trying to memorize them. "If I take enough of a...journey...do you think the day will end? Or maybe I am..." her tail drooped, "dead?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Well that was a depressing conclusion to arrive at. Anbira stared at her for what seemed like a minute. Then suddenly and with decisive speed, he reached up to her face and snatched out a whisker.

[Ndonsa]

"Ah!" Ndonsa clapped a paw against her muzzle, eyes watering suddenly.

"Did that hurt?" Master Anbira looked at her, and she nodded her head, rubbing away the water from her pink eyes as her nose twitched. "Then I don't think you're dead."

Iteration Five

Ndonsa paced back and forth in front of the SENTRY gun where Master Anbira was pulling handfuls of moss away, cleaning off the letters and serial numbers. He turned to look at her. "You mention you were late to mediation class, but today you were early. Clearly you have agency over the present, while others do not." He studied her face, curious. "You asked me to come here. Have we had this discussion before?"

"Yes!" Ndonsa said, her spear thumping the ground as she walked back and forth, tail swishing. "Two days ago we came here and you suggested we meditate and then I go do the rest of the day as usual. To...find clues? I did not find a clue, or if I did I do not know it.

"Then yesterday I stayed in my room and meditated all day. Nothing happened! Except you were mad at me for missing all my lessons." Ndonsa frowned

[Anbira Hicchoru]

He'd taxed all his theories and all his guided intuition. Anbira was no closer to the truth of the matter than Ndonsa. What became clear to him, however, was that something was either causing Ndonsa to believe ardently in her situation...

...or it was true.

"If what you say is true, Padawan, then it seems I can only help you so far as the sun rises and falls."

Anbira downturned his eyes in disappointment. This was a puzzle beyond his means to solve.

"There's great history in this place. For thousands of years before either of us, it was a fount of knowledge and wisdom. A great wellspring of Jedi enlightenment. Even in the days of our Masters' order, the knowledge of this place eluded them in some way."

The Hermit turned and looked in the distance. Even from here, the Great Library stood as a mountain against the landscape.

"Ndonsa, look at me."

Anbira squared her to face him, placing his hands in hers with a reassuring squeeze.

"You must believe there is a way out, but it may not be easy. You may have to discover the patience of a stone to find your way. If you are to live the same day again, do so with your utmost. See what can be seen. Know what can be known. You may yet find something hidden from all of us."

[Ndonsa]

"Easy to say," she grumbled. Ndonsa sighed, sitting down on her haunches. She pulled a small leather bag from her waist, and worked it open. "I am sorry, master. I find this very... frustrating. You are right. I will not give up."

She dumped the contents of the bag into her paw, and then threw the fingerbones to the ground in front of her. She sighed.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira watched as his Kufu student applied her magic. Though some in the order frowned on her use of prop and ritual, Anbira could see clear the bindings of the force in motion around her. She stretched her intuition far beyond self, just as he might with a stillness of movement and closed eyes. We all learn in our own ways.

A moment of his own intuition reached him, and Anbira stooped down beside Ndonsa again.

"You tell me about many days that are the same. Ndonsa, what can you tell me about yesterday. Not the last repeated cycle. But the day before."

[Ndonsa]

She poked at the bones with a claw. It had been a long time since she'd tossed them, but surely she hadn't lost her ability to read them. They didn't make any sense.

Master Anbira crouched beside her, and she began picking up the bones. They'd been handed down through many generations of shamans and were brown with age. "We..." She frowned. "We went for a walk...after lightsaber training. You had me blindfolded. I...think?"

Ndonsa scooped up the rest of the bones, picked out a few leaves, and dropped them back into the pouch. "It is hard to remember."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"That's right." the hermit nodded.

He'd taken Ndonsa in through the woods without the benefit of sight, requiring her to finely tune her sense to the living and unifying force alike to paint the world around her. The brambles set against her path, the stones beneath her feet. What she did in monotony would become second nature when under duress.

"You fell, and scuffed your elbow."

True to form, her right elbow's fur was slightly disheveled as a small scab formed beneath. Nothing large, but enough to be an annoyance.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa pressed her fingerpads into the scab on her elbow, nodded as the memory returned. "Yes."

She returned the bag of finger bones to her belt, and slowly stood up. Her tail thrashed back and forth with nervous energy. "If I am to find out all I can, then I should go places I have not been."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Then I can suggest a place that might occupy your time."

Anbira pointed beyond Ndonsa, toward the Great Library.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa looked where he pointed, and her face fell. She had avoided the Library for the entire time she had been on Ossus, once she had found out that it housed information in books. Words on a page were a great mystery, and not even Master Anbira knew her shame - though perhaps he had guessed it. "That place is of no use to me, Master."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Had he been so presumptuous? Anbira's mouth hung open a moment, and he willed it to close. He remembered who she was, and where she had come from to arrive in this place. There was more to knowing and wisdom than reading printed words. With a solemn nod, Anbira placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me, Ndonsa. It's always the same day, and you have all the time in the world."

[Ndonsa]

Her ears flushed a deep pink, and Ndonsa slowly nodded. "Perhaps I do. But...what of your meditation class?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira gave a casual glance back to Sanctuary, and to the thoughts of his daily meditation course. He turned back to Ndonsa, a nuanced expression of understanding on his face.

"It's just one day for me, Padawan. As long as you ask, I'll always have time for you."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa ducked her head, her tail limp and dragging on the ground. "Thank you, master."


Iteration Six

"...so every day is the same, not like the same. Not a metaphor, master. You told me to visit the Library, to learn what I can learn, but I cannot read." She waved off his awkward attempt at a response, and continued. "You read the ...texts to me. Something ...of the Whills? It was very informative. I wish to continue today."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

So his initial impressions of her state of mind were mistaken. Not just mistaken, but completely wrong. This wasn't a dream or a metaphor, she was speaking to him of something more specific and tangible. Even if it weren't, that she believed fully that it was true was enough to give pause. Specific events and actions, and...

"The Journal of the Whills?"

Anbira could not have been more surprised by her words. His mouth hung agape. No one knew of what she was now speaking. Well...


Some did.

Trying to shake the look of shock from his expression.

"Padawan, show me."

[Ndonsa]

She sighed, and turned to begin the hike to the great ruin of a building they called Library. Anbira hesitated a moment, and then hurried along behind her as she strode away.

By the time they reached the Library he had made a comm call, pushing his meditation class off on another Jedi teacher. Ndonsa walked through the huge doors, leaving her spear without comment at the security check. Yesterday Master Anbira had had to talk her down when the knight at the door had told her she couldn't carry it in. The Jedi...who's name she couldn't remember, opened his mouth to speak but closed it again as she walked right past.

One wrong turn later she led her master to where they had come before, a dusty alcove near where the great tree stood inside the building.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Ndonsa moved instinctively through the Library as if she'd made this trip before. Anbira stood only a few paces behind her as they came before the gnarled sprawl of Ood Bnar. The ancient tree grew here in spite of all odds, it's impossible existence merely one of incalculable wonders within the Great Library. Here, the Kufu did not tarry. She moved through the haphazard array of books and artifacts, a directness to her motion that could not be mistaken for guesswork or chance. Her careful hands reached into a neglected stack of tomes, carefully sliding away the top few to pull free a hefty and ponderous working. Clasps held the bound work together, the leafs visible within were ragged with pages of non uniform size. The crest carried on the cover was an innocuous arrangement of three rings linked together. To those who didn't know what to look for, it would appear unremarkable.

Ndonsa presented the Journal of the Whills before the Jedi hermit, and the weight of it before his sight caused his knees to bend.

"Ndonsa...how?"

[Ndonsa]

She blew on the cover, sending dust flying into the air. A mistake - her nose immediately twitched and she sneezed, and then sneezed again. Ndonsa pressed the book into his hands, and waved her paw in front of her face, another sneeze building before the urge disappeared, leaving her with watery eyes. "You found it. Yesterday. We were over there," she gestured vaguely, "and you were reading, and then you spoke to the - oh there she is." A padawan with a datapad was just visible on the other side of the tree, walking slowly though the stacks.

"You asked where the ...un..." her face screwed up as she tried to remember the word. "Un...cato.."

"Uncatalogued?" Anbira was holding the book reverently, as he had the day before.

"Yes. That. And she pointed here, and we came here, and were making a list of the books. You said it would help me with my letters." Ndonsa shrugged. "The list is gone. When you found the journal we started reading it, and you told me to bring you back tomorrow."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

His mouth felt impossibly dry. Anbira's eyes scarcely left the book, hearing Ndonsa's words as if spoken from a distance.

"I must have reacted similarly then upon seeing it. Padawan, the teachings you hold in your hand, they were imparted to me as an oral tradition. No living Jedi has set eyes upon what you now hold."

She mentioned he'd begun to read it with her. Slowly, Anbira recovered from his awe, bidding Ndonsa to sit with him.

"Treat what you learn with the utmost respect. It is sacred knowledge, passed on to only the selfless."

[Ndonsa]

"Yes, I under -" another sneeze rocked her, and Ndonsa rubbed the top of her muzzle. "Apologies. I understand. I am sorry if you think I am hurrying you. For me this is...yesterday." She gestured helplessly, and then sat where he pointed. "We only had time to go through a few pages."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Still awed under the weight of it, Anbira had to shake his head out of stupor.

"...right. Of course."

He would've imparted no less reverence to her the last time, surely. The hermit looked at his student, and at her unwavering expression. She'd truly been in this moment before. Carefully taking the book, he eased to a sitting position alongside her next to Ood Bnar. The clasps came away easily. For him, this was an impossible first. But this moment was not about him. Anbira looked to his student.

"Which page did we leave off on?"

[Ndonsa]

Her tail waved slowly, anticipation growing as he got closer to reading. "The brother and sister, uh, the Dragons?" It was difficult to retain so much information, but her tribe taught through stories. As shaman in training she had had to memorize all of their stories, to pass them down to the younger members of the tribe as she grew old. She had grown very good at quickly committing what was told to her into memory.

"Gav, and...Jori, were brought to the ice planet by the Sith." She looked at Anbira with interest, waiting for the story to continue.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"The Daragons," Anbira corrected, quickly falling into lockstep of Ndonsa's leading summary. His hands navigated the aged tome carefully, pulling back a measure of pages to find a place in the account that eyes had not seen in thousands of years. That hadn't been viewed since yesterday - or today.

"Their tale is tragic. A first glimpse into the deceptive influence of the Sith and the eternal dangers which we stand vigilant against. You see, they manipulated brother and sister, each in their different ways."

The telling commenced at that moment. Anbira began to read the account of the sad tale of the Daragons, and of the Sith's emergence from darkness to strike at the very heart of the Republic who had nearly forgotten the dark influence of old outcasts. Through the telling, Anbira carefully drew a finger across words, letting Ndonsa follow him as he recounted this most ancient of histories.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa followed his finger, trying to match the letters to words and only catching a few. Anbira read tirelessly, as absorbed in the words as he had been the day before. As the shadows drew long and they ate bread and cheese Knight Vedik had brought for dinner, she frowned, thinking about what they had read. "If Odan-Urr founded the Jedi...library on Ossus, and filled it with Sith artifacts... Do these things still exist?"

She gestured around them, a small lantern giving extra light to the area they sat in. "Is this why so much attention is given to the Library?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"I don't know, Padawan."

Looking up from the tome, Anbira unfocused tired eyes in the dimming light around them. Offset by an array of artificial torches and more homely candles, an imperfect halo of light captured their surroundings as the light from outside drew more dim.

"The Jedi are seekers of knowledge. There is knowledge that is shared openly and applied freely for the betterment of our fellow man and the protection of others."

A frown formed within the hermit's beard.

"Likewise there is knowledge that can influence and corrupt, and can be used to ill means. As guardians, we must not forget our place to stand vigilant against the proliferation of evil teachings. There is a window into a man's heart that the darkness can find it's way into if unchecked. Gav Daragon was not a singular victim and villain. His story has the potential to be the story of others. If such dangerous knowledge exists as is written, the Jedi would no doubt house it here where it could not easily be spread."

Anbira peered into the growing darkness, a sense of worry crossed the senses coming from Ndonsa.

"Why do you ask of this, Ndonsa?"

[Ndonsa]

"I only wondered. Books..." she shrugged. "I did not understand, before, why these books were so important. And I just thought, maybe, these objects of power were what the Jedi are looking for. If they were not here anymore, then where are they? Maybe we would need to find them.

"To keep the evil from others." Abruptly she remembered Evil Dirk and his mission of finding an evil root from a tree here on Ossus. Ndonsa's pink eyes tracked slowly to the tree not far from where they sat. What if Evil Dirk had been looking for a Sith artifact? It was probably a good thing he had been chased away before he had looked further.

"Master, I - I used the dark side. Before I came here, I did not know any better way. I do now." She frowned, fingering the necklace made of teeth strung together. "Is the evil...inside me now?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira gave his student a solemn look. The tragedy of lost innocence seemed fitting introspection in the wake of the Daragons' sad tale. He would not allow his padawan to dwell too far down this path. Only despair awaited.

"Evil is elusive, Ndonsa. It hides from others, but moreso, it hides from ourselves. Many a villain has maintained to the end that their cause was just and their intentions pure."

Closing the book for now, Anbira rested a hand on the Kufu's shoulder.

"I never told you of my days before the spirits spoke to me. I too skirted a path of evil."

[Ndonsa]

She watched him carefully, his hand heavy on her bare shoulder. Her head fur was growing longer, and she brushed it out of her eyes. "How did you find the correct path?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"It took an accident."

The Jedi hermit closed his eyes, remembering the events of so many years ago as if they were fresh and unspoiled by time's passage.

"On a planet called Felucia, over a decade ago, I went by a different name."

He could see Moff Dragos' compound through the mycolic forests and snaking ferns and the rainbow of colors of invitation and warning set against unceasing steam and rain. He could see the fortified ramparts, the machines of war set against the unceasing growth of the jungle in relentless pursuit of enemies. He remembered the smell of his armor when it was new. When he was so similar to his brothers in arms. A cog in a great machine.

"I was CX-5579."

The sound of blaster fire came back to him so clearly. The smell of burning Felucian villages. The sounds of wailing children and of the keening despair of parents. A hidden smell of death, secret only to those without the misfortune to never forget it's carious pall.

"I was a stormtrooper of the Galactic Empire."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa nodded. A storm trooper was a soldier for the Empire, which was a huge government that oversaw hundreds of planets. Much like the Alliance, who's soldiers she was much more familiar with, since some lived on Ossus. People didn't talk about the Empire much around her, but she'd gathered it was not a nice thing, as she'd heard the Jedi had used to be numerous and then the Emperor had had them all killed many, many years ago.

Her mind immediately jumped from that train of thought back to Anbira's accident as a storm trooper. "Did you kill Jedi?"

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Somber-faced, Anbira continued his guided recollection.

"No. By then there were so few left. But it wasn't for lack of trying. We hunted for any clues that would lead us to the Empire's enemies. And there were certainly lesser enemies too."

Vivid recall took Anbira back so easily to a dark place. The village was called Pindanwaru. A suspected weapons cache never turned up, but they burned it to the ground nonetheless. Entire livelihoods of people up in smoke. Those who resisted...

"There's blood on my hands. No amount of contrition removes that."

[Ndonsa]

"When I was younger our tribe warred with another tribe. There was much death." Ndonsa shrugged. "It is a part of life." She hesitated, and then waved her paw as if erasing the past. "The Empire was your tribe. If I belonged to the other tribe I would think my tribe was very evil."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"It isn't just a matter of relativism." Anbira replied firmly. "If matters of violence are simply the manifestation of opposing views then every one of us are surely damned for blithely following into oblivion. I refuse to believe that. I cannot speak of your tribe, Ndonsa, and I will not presume to know your struggle. I can tell you wholeheartedly that the Empire's pursuits are evil. I may not have known the scope then as I do now, but I was a part of that evil, even in minute scale."

The hermit's expression afforded an ambivalence of serious vulnerability.

"In every thing you do, you must be mindful and conscientious. If you assume your cause is just, you allow yourself to be used and for evil to take sway in the void of ignorance. That I am here to tell you this is not the result of my own heeding of these words. I was cut off from a patrol deep within the forest, presumed lost in a speeder bike wreck. Only through the intervention of the spirits did I find my way."

[Ndonsa]

She nodded slowly. "The spirits come to those who are worthy. This I know." Before he could continue she added, "I know my tribe is not like the Empire. This was a poor... metaphor?" Ndonsa scratched her head. Master Anbira had used a lot of words she didn't quite understand.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"I am sure they are not."

Anbira afforded her a small smile. She was trying to meet him in the middle for understanding.

"My words offer but a warning. It is easy to be brought by degrees to do evil in the name of a good cause. You must always remain on guard that you serve not yourself or your nation, but that which is good and true."

Reaching some understanding, Anbira opened the book once more.

"Shall we continue on?"

The hour was drawing late, and though Anbira was tired, he was determined to see his padawan through to as much understanding as she could glean while she still could.

[Ndonsa]

"Yes," she said, scooting closer to him so she could look at the words.


ITERATION SIX

Anbira stared at the book in his hands, and shook his head in wonder. "Which page did we leave off at?"

"The Library was founded and Naga Sadow was being driven back to his own empire." Ndonsa sat close, leaning forward with interest as her master began reading.


ITERATION TWELVE

"We had just started on this book of Jedi teachings." Ndonsa pulled it from a stack, handed it to Anbira, who looked at it as if it might explode, and then she carefully sorted the other books in the pile into order. "Oh, this is a journal of the Whills. We already finished it."

"We ...finished it?"

"It was good." Ndonsa sat close to him, her tail twitching with anticipation. "When I find a way out of this day, I will show it to you again."


ITERATION TWENTY-FIVE

Ndonsa woke to the sun warming her fur, and she groaned, sitting up slowly. Her headfur flopped into her eyes, and she reached for her headband to keep it out. After a moment she walked to the window, drew a fat black X on it with a marker, and then crawled back into bed and pulled the blanket over her head.

[Akasha Khan]

Morning rolled on outside Ndonsa's window, shrinking the shadows cast by the sunslight against the X on the glass and the assorted knickknacks arranged on her desk. Until another, much larger shadow covered the window completely. Akasha Khan sat perched on the windowsill outside, peered in with curiosity at Ndonsa's quarters, and then strrrreeetched herself upward, finding purchase with her claws in the dormitory's outer wall and hauling herself up to the next floor with a flick of her serpentine tail.

[Ndonsa]

A shadow at the window blocked the sunslight, and Ndonsa groggily sat up in time to see what could only be Akasha Khan's footpaw disappearing out of sight, her tail flicking briefly into view. The Kufu inhaled, and exhaled the last bits of sleep that clung to her senses, shaking her headfur out of her eyes and climbing out of her bed. The felinoid padawan was still outside the building, and Ndonsa moved to the window and pressed her face against it, catching a glimpse of Akasha climbing into another window.

She frowned. What purpose did Akasha have sneaking into someone else's room?

[Akasha Khan]

The window on the next floor up was open - just by a couple centimeters, but that was more than enough. All sorts of wildlife could creep in through such a gap. Really, Akasha was doing the room's tenants a favor by demonstrating just how dangerous it was to leave your room unsecured. Why, anything could slip its paws underneath the bottom pane and jimmy it up, like so, then slip deftly through the opening to land silently on the floor inside.

Akasha uncurled herself from the floor and rose onto her feet, locking eyes with the room's single occupant: a largish bird covered in downy green feathers and long blue and purple pinions was perched on the top bunk, rocking its head from side to side as it studied the intruder. The Orryxian surveyed the rest of the room - a tray of seeds and a dish of water on the desk, a few patchy dark stains inexpertly cleaned from the carpet and the bedspreads, a sad assembly of wood scraps and nuna wire that had probably been someone's attempt at building a birdcage.

Keeping a wild animal as a pet? Very much against the rules. Padawans Jerrol and Treyvin would be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out. The most neighborly thing Akasha could do was to remove the evidence. She smiled beatifically at the bird.

"Why, hello there."

"WHY HELLO THERE," the bird squawked back, and it flutter-jumped to the other bunk bed rail.

Akasha's ears flipped up in surprise. "Oh, you can talk? That's interesting."

"OHYOUCANTALK. HELLO THERE," said the bird. It began preening, shedding a few downy green feathers to the floor below.

Akasha slowly crept closer and slipped her claws from their sheathes. "Can you say, 'help, I'm about to be eaten?'"

"THAT'S INTERESTING. OHYOUCANTALK. HELLO THERE."

"Good to know," the Orryxian replied, and then she pounced.

[Ndonsa]

ITERATION TWENTY-SIX

Akasha tensed up, her whole body readying for a pounce to end the avian's life, and Ndonsa jumped out of the closet in front of her, a wide smile on her face. "Akasha! Will you spar with me after lunch?"

The day before she'd heard a thump above her, and seen Akasha leaving, a green feather or two falling past the window. The feather in her mouth from their many sparring sessions suddenly came into sharp focus in her memory, and it had been easy to question her neighbors and discover that they had been keeping a bird secretly in their room. Surprising Akasha and seeing the look on her face when she threw herself out of hiding was the first bit of amusement Ndonsa had had in weeks.

[Ndonsa]

ITERATION THIRTY-TWO

Get up, tape the window to save the bird, save the other bird upstairs from Akasha's hunger by hiding it in her room, eat breakfast, train, more training... She was becoming quite good at the lightsaber drills Loki was making her do, to his continual surprise. Not that he praised her, he was just slightly less disappointed than usual. Today, however, she made her way into the jungle, seeking out the hut of Halajiin Rabeak.

Ndonsa opened the door without knocking, finding him still asleep in his bed. There were books everywhere, and she tip-toed into the room, carefully closing the door behind her.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Halajiin Rabeak lay sprawled out on his bed, none of his sheets or covers tucked in, yet thankfully pulled up beyond his waist to keep himself decent - except for his right footpaw which had worked its way to freedom. Clearly shirtless, and likely trouserless, the yellow-furred Nehantite gave a light snore with each rise and fall of his bare chest, apparently dead to the world.

But that all changed as his nose twitched, smelling something quite different in his familiar surrounding. The light snore stopped, and his eyes squeezed shut before slowly opening, his right wider than his sensitive left. "Huh?" he asked. With the ease of a twenty-something, Hal shook the sleep from his head and sat up in bed, careful to keep himself decent with his covers. "Ndonsa?" His face screwed up in confusion, and he reached up to rub his eyes. "What, uh... what're you doing in here?"

She totally wants to get it on, again. Hal's base natures said with glee.

I... actually can't think of any other reasons, this time. You may actually be right, here. His higher reasoning concurred.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa didn't bother answering, pulling off the clothes the Jedi forced her to wear and letting them fall to the floor of the tent as she joined Hal on his bed. He did not complain.

Some time later, when she was satisfied, she sat cross legged on top of his rumpled blankets with her tail draped across her lap. Ndonsa studied Hal, his exotic yellow fur catching a ray of sunlight from the window, and said, "You told me you have lived for a hundred years, even though you are young. How did this happen to you?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Hundred and thirty," Hal said with a smile. His paw caressed her leg as he lay beside her, quite pleased at the best morning in recent memory, and he wasn't about to question it.

"Though I was sort of asleep for most of it. Got frozen in carbonite by some gangsters I pissed off. Then wound up floating around in space for a hundred and seven years. Alliance guys found me, thawed me out, and I wound up getting taken to the Jedi. Other stuff happened, and now I'm here. And, rather like you, I don't exactly have a home to go back to." His paw slid up her side, joined by the other as he sat up, and leaned in for a kiss.

"But, I have to say, this was unexpected," he murred. "I didn't think you really cared for me, all that much."

[Ndonsa]

She let him kiss her, and then leaned closer, suddenly craving more physical contact. A month was a long time to go without really touching anyone, and she had grown up in the close knit community of her tribe. The other padawans were young, and she did not have any close friendships among them. Master Anbira was... different.

Ndonsa nuzzled up against Hal's side, running her fingers through the fur on his chest. "In the car-bon-ite... did you dream?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

It was not the first time they had touched, or been together so, as Ndonsa had helped Hal through the difficulties of his mating season, but this was different. What they had shared was no biological need, but a desire and a fulfillment of each other's passions.

Well, maybe her passions. I could go another round or three.

Oh, hush, you. If we play our cards right, here, you just might get what you want.

"I'm... not sure," Hal replied. One paw caressed the small of Ndonsa's back, while the other arm curled up and around her side to stroke at her shoulder and the back of her neck. "I don't remember a lot of it, if I did. And the few hours before it all happened seem to be gone entirely from my memory. I'd like to think I dreamed, though."

He nuzzled at her jawline, and softly kissed her cheek, then her neck, his warm breath piercing her fur. "What is it you dream of, Ndonsa? Do you believe dreams have meaning?"

[Ndonsa]

"Of course dreams have meaning," she said, nearly distracted from her line of thought as his kisses traveled lower still. Ndonsa wrapped her paw in his yellow headfur and drew his head back up, nipping at muzzle with her teeth and then kissing him again. "I think I am in one, now, but I cannot figure out the meaning of it. If I could, maybe I will finally wake up."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal grinned and gave a playful "rrowl!" to that nip, the paw at the small of Ndonsa's back pulling her closer to him. "Well, if dreams have meaning," he said, "and yours has brought you to me, like this, is it really a dream you want to wake up from, so soon? I know I pray for dreams like this to last forever, myself."

[Ndonsa]

What if it did last forever? Would she grow old while everyone else stayed young? Her breath caught, and she felt a sudden stab of desperation. Halajiin pulled her closer and she went to him willingly, holding him fiercely as they joined once more. Somehow it seemed more tender than their earlier couplings; whether it was because of her emotions, or something he was doing, Ndonsa did not know. For a while she didn't care anymore.

Afterward, when they were still breathing heavily, she started to cry. Ashamed, she turned her head to try to hide the tears from him.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

It took a moment for Hal to come down from his high, and his own heavy breaths disguised the sound of Ndonsa's whimpering cry, but the moment he heard it, the yellow-furred Nehantite froze. She was crying? He wasn't that bad, was he?"

Oh for fuck's sake, it has nothing to do with your performance, and you know it.

Emboldened by such a realization, Hal gently turned her head back to face him, and with softness in his eyes, he used his thumb to carefully wipe the tears from her cheek. "Woah there, Ndonsa," he said softly. "It's okay. It'll be okay. Just... what's wrong? You can tell me, and I promise I won't tell anyone, okay?"

[Ndonsa]

She thought she would be able to halt the flow of tears, but as he touched her cheek and spoke softly to her she found it impossible to stop, instead burying her face in his chest in her confusion and shame. Thankfully Hal let her cry, even though she could feel his own confusion mixed with anxiety as he was faced with her strange reaction. After a minute or so Ndonsa was able to calm down, and she realized she was clinging to him, like he was a rock and she was being washed away in a river. A metaphor, she thought.

Ndonsa unwrapped herself from his arms, and pushed herself back a little. Her ears were pink with embarrassment at her display, and her tail twitched with uncertainty. "Even if I tell you, you won't remember tomorrow. It...tomorrow never comes. It is always today. It has been today for thirty two days." Her ears flushed even brighter red, knowing he would not understand and would think she was crazy. Anbira had always been hard to convince, but once they'd begun reading in the Journal of the Whills together he had quickly realized she was telling the truth, or some version of it, anyway.

In over thirty days Ndonsa had never even seen Hal - she did not know what he was going to do today, except that it was probably not in the Jedi village or the library. Her eyes flicked to the books scattered around. Perhaps he was planning on staying in, and reading.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

At the mention of it always being the same day, Hal's ears perked, and his brow knit with curiosity. "So... it's the same day, over and over?" he asked. There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice, only skeptical inquiry, but at a gentle nod from Ndonsa, he pursed his lips and hrmm'ed. Rolling onto his back, the Nehantite mulled it over for a moment. Ideas came to him, but nothing terribly useful, and who was to say that Ndonsa wasn't just using the crazy story as an excuse to get him in bed?

Like she'd need an excuse to get you in bed.

Touche.

"So... you're sort of in a Whomprat Day, then," he said at last. When that failed to generate an immediate response, he turned onto his side propping himself up on one elbow. "It's a holofilm, a pretty old one. A man gets stuck in the same day over and over and over, and has to find a way out of it. I don't remember how he actually does it, but I do know that when he tried to kill himself, the day just started over, again. But, that's just a movie. The only other thing I can think of is that you somehow came across one of the glass-horned bucks of Midlothian legend, and they used their power on you. Though, that's really supposed to either send you forward or backward in time. Never heard of a repeating loop."

If anything, Hal didn't seem to think she was lying to him. He'd thankfully watched enough holovision and read enough comic books to be able to entertain such a notion.

Score one for higher education!

...or education while high, is more like it...

[Ndonsa]

Her eyebrows raised as he continued to talk, seemingly taking her completely seriously. "A hollow film? Oh, the picture stories, yes, I understand. But the man kills himself and it still restarts?" Ndonsa rubbed her paw over her face, then scrubbing it back through her headfur. Hopefully she would not get that desperate.

"What...what is a glass horned buck? An animal?" She hesitated as Hal nodded, and added, "Thank you for believing me. I would not believe it myself except that it is happening. And the spirits are quiet. My scrying bones tell me nothing - every time I throw them they are nonsense."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Maybe they're telling you it's time for a bit of nonsense, then," Hal shrugged. "And, a glass-horned buck is a creature of Midlothian legend. It's like a deer, but bigger, and its antlers are made out of glass or crystal. They're supposed to have been from the first of animals, or something. Legend says they defend themselves by reflecting sunlight through their antlers at whatever is threatening them, and that person gets sent either forwards or backwards in time. That's just a legend, though."

He thought further about the film, but it'd been too long since he'd seen it, and he couldn't remember how the main character escaped the loop. Certainly one to look for, in the future, he reminded himself. "Is there anything that feels especially right, or wrong, about the day, so far? I mean overall. Maybe there's something you're supposed to do? Or, maybe Garfife's given you the chance to simply do whatever you want, for a while. I lost time, you've gained some. Either way, I wouldn't take it as a bad thing. Think of all the stuff you can do, and try!"

[Ndonsa]

"I do not know," she said. "I ...don't want to do anything. Nothing seems special about the day. I am not special. I spent weeks with Master Anbira in the library, it seemed right to be there, but nothing changed. I am doing more of the same, but all I have done is save two birds."

Hal gave her a strange look, and she explained about the bird that would hit her window in the morning that she now warned off with tape on the glass, and the green feathered one a floor above her that she had hidden from Akasha's lunchtime prowl.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal lay there, listening to Ndonsa's words, but managed to get lost in how the sunlight gave her beautiful red fur a glow as if she were living fire, and he could not resist reaching a paw out to stroke gently down her arm, simply to enjoy the fact that she was there at all.

"Of course you're special," he replied at last. The bulk of her explanation had been put aside, and he looked straight into her eyes. "You're you. You're the only one like you. It's not what you wear, or the color of your fur, or even your attitude. That's all beside you. But it's you who are special." A warm smile ruffled his cheek fur, while his paw smoothed down Ndonsa's own. "Maybe Garfife just wanted you to know that, so He's giving you time to truly enjoy yourself. Think of it as a gift, instead of a curse. Imagine all the things you can do, all the people you can get to know, and all the things you can learn. Even if tomorrow I don't remember this, I'm glad it happened. I hope you won't feel ashamed. I don't."

[Ndonsa]

Ashamed? What a strange thought, that she might be ashamed of her time with Hal. True, she tended to avoid him in public, and yet came to him about once a moon to sate both their sexual needs... was she ashamed of it? No, though she could see how he might think she was.

"I am not ashamed of you," she said. "I am here to learn. You could be a distraction from that. I... in the beginning I was simply helping you with your need. In our tribe we do not have your medicine for the males. When they are in season, it is just taken care of with their wives. You have no wife here." Ndonsa shrugged. "I helped you, and helped myself.

"I know you are not one to settle down, and I do not wish to either." He was being very sweet today, however, and she found herself leaning into his paw as he smoothed the fur on her cheek. She could come back tomorrow... and the next day... enjoy the pleasures of life inside this shack with no complications.

But he would not remember. And she would. The more time she would spend with him, the closer she would begin to feel to him. A distraction. Complication. Ndonsa closed her eyes and sighed. "Perhaps I will explore more. There is much of the camp I have not seen. To avoid my master and my classes is difficult, though I am finding it difficult to pay attention during the lessons as I've already learned them."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Head resting back against the pillow, Hal's smile faded with how she described their occasional flings. Was that all it was, to her? Just fulfilling a need, and nothing more? In the pit of his heart, Halajiin Rabeak could feel the twangs of dejection, and he now knew how some of his partners felt when some would wake to find him already gone. This time he was the fling, the throwaway, and it hurt. He knew she didn't mean it that way, and they had both been more than consenting, but there was no way around it that he could find.

But she was not ashamed of him, she said. There, looking back to those words he found some comfort. Chalking it up to cultural differences, and her occasional struggle to express what she really meant, Hal beat back his rising dejection, and let his effervescent spring of hope flood forth in his heart once more.

"You know, we could just... hang out, some time," he offered. "We don't just have to have sex, when we get together. We're from different cultures, yeah, but we're still from the same world. We've got to have a few other things in common than just getting our mate on." His smile rushed back in full force, paw slipping down to tickle at Ndonsa's side. "Maybe tomorrow, you can surprise me just like you did, today, but instead of just hitting the sheets - or after hitting the sheets - we go out and do something. Or talk. Or whatever. I mean, yeah, you'll have to explain the whole Whomprat Day thing to me, again, but I should be okay with that. You clearly need a break, so... just take one. If the day starts over, what's the problem in having a little vacation? Do that explore thing. If you want company, well, odds are I'd join you."

[Ndonsa]

He was disappointed. Ndonsa could see it, though she had thought that he felt the same way about her that she did him, so what disappointment did he feel? Sex with no strings attached was what he wanted, and what she had given him, because it was what she wanted as well.

When he mentioned coming back tomorrow she couldn't deny she was tempted by the idea. "Then let us go explore," Ndonsa said, a slow smile forming on her face. "Or we could hunt." Her mind turned forward and she added, "Or both. I have something you may like to see."

She looked down at her nakedness and added, "Besides this."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Over a half-million witty or dirty comments flowed through Hal's brain in that split second, but his higher reasoning won out the war, and he instead smiled. "Suppose that means I'll have to put on some pants, then. You, too, for that matter."

It was with some regret that Hal found himself in a pair of khaki cargo trousers and a well-worn and faded black tee shirt, closing the door to his perma-tent behind a re-dressed Ndonsa, but life couldn't be all sex and snuggling, there had to be room for adventure, as well. "So... what is this that I might like to see, with my clothes on?" he asked with a wink and a grin.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa tugged at her tube top, and shrugged. "It is an...anti-starfighter sentry gun. Very old." She grinned suddenly, reaching out and tweaking his tail with the Force before bounding off. "You will like it!" she called over her shoulder, her spear balanced with ease as she ran through the jungle.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Sentry gun? On Ossus? That wouldn't just be old, it'd be ancient! Interest piqued, the yellow-furred Nehantite opened his mouth to reply when he felt a sharp tweak in his tail. Instead of words, there emerged a yelp, and he whipped his tail up into his paws to hold and rub the affected area.

"Oh, that's how you want to play," he spoke to himself with a smirk. Releasing his tail, it snapped back like a bullwhip, while a twinkle of mischief shone in his pink eyes. Ndonsa was good in the wild, yes, but she was still a padawan. Time to show her what a Jedi Knight could do across terrain.

Deep breath, and Halajiin Rabeak was off. It did not matter if Hal was in a forest, on a glacier, in a dense cityscape, or peaceful suburbia, the rules of advanced, Force-assisted bodily transport were the same: get to where you want to go, faster. Basic courses taught the Force sprint, or the Force leap. More advanced training showed you how to combine the pair, while truly advanced teaching would demonstrate how to master both, while in combat. Hal, however, went far beyond all that. His senses located the most stable location for each of his footfalls, maximizing his grip while he urged the living Force around him to part the air, lowering its resistance. What should have been hops over fallen trees turned to flying leaps covering dozens of yards in a go. Ahead of him he could still see Ndonsa running, her ringed tail sweeping back and forth behind her to balance her step, but Hal was quickly gaining.

"Coming through!" Hal called out to her. His voice turned to laughter as he cranked up his display. If Ndonsa was going to see this day over and over again, he might as well give her a good show, after all. Calling upon more than the Force around him, the knight summoned up the Force inside his own body, bending it to his will as he took his sprint from the ground to the trees. Or, more specifically, to the trunks of those trees. Turning himself sideways, Hal ran along, planting a footpaw on one trunk, then the next as he skipped from tree to tree through the forest, passing Ndonsa with ease, until he was no longer content to simply run along the "walls." Inverting his posture, he took to the branches above, appearing for all the world to be defying gravity itself, leaping from limb to limb from underneath, until at last he dropped down, well ahead of Ndonsa, grinning.

Outwardly grinning, at least, as his body ached from expending nearly all the Force in him he had to offer. It was a risky maneuver, but worth it for a bit of showing off. Teaching someone how to tap the Force within themselves, and burn it like fuel was no small task, and you always ran the risk of burning it all, which often met with disastrous consequences.

"Much further?" he asked, winking.

[Ndonsa]

She skidded to a halt a few feet away, her pink eyes wide. "How do you do that?" All thoughts of the SENTRY gun were gone, replaced with the wonder of having seen Hal run upside down on branches. "Can you teach me?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Outside, Hal was all smiles and nonchalance. Inside, he felt a quivering, exhausted mess, almost ready to fall over. He'd pushed himself too hard for that little display, and would need time to recover. That time appeared within the magic of conversation.

"It's a very, very unusual method of application of the Force," he answered. The yellow-furred Nehantite shifted his weight to one leg, appearing to be casual, but more out of necessity as he felt himself go weak on one side. "I can try to teach you, but, it took me years to learn and master, and it's not exactly a practical exercise. See, it's a combination of many things: first you have to be able to find the right foothold. That's really the most important part, because if you can't grip, you won't be able to hold your weight. Gotta scout the land ahead, reach out through the Force and find the most solid, grippy surface you can, within your stride. I look for density, primarily, with a lightly textured surface."

The look he was getting caused him to backtrack. "Before we get to determining what's dense, or surfaces and the like, I need to ask something: When you see something in the Force, I mean, when you really can sense it, do you see it as an object, or as a collection of infinitely smaller pieces? I know how I see things, but I don't know if it's just me, or if it's our whole race that has this trait."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa looked at the nearest tree trunk, then to Hal, then to the tree, and then back to Hal. She frowned lightly. "I see the tree, and the parts of the tree. If I look too long...it gets very confusing. Like... too much information? I do not know how to say it."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

The exchange of glances would have been simply passed off as nerves to anyone other than Hal. Inside his brain, wheels turned and gears clicked, a vast new world of ideas and possibilities opening up to him with Ndonsa's simple revelation.

Is it possible? All of us see things as I do, through the Force?

I just think it's weird that no other race seems to. What makes us special?

We were created later than the other races. Perhaps Garfife gave us an improvement to make up for it.

His two halves pondered the possibilities, while his heart swelled with hope - only to be restrained by logic. It was one thing to hope, and quite another to be sure. A test would be needed. Glancing around, Hal sought out the most simple thing he could imagine; something visible, yet with a structure of only two distinct elements. With none to be readily found, he knew he would have to create his own.

"We're going to try something simpler. A tree contains all manner of elements, and countless trillions of cells. Organic material is probably the hardest thing to master - even I have a difficult time with it, to be honest," he explained. As he spoke, he held out his right paw, fingers spread, palm facing upward. Above his paw began to appear a mist, though the Force was active all through the air around them. The mist intensified, growing darker as he brought in his left paw, soon holding them side by side as if grasping an invisible basketball, and between them formed a droplet of water, which grew and grew to the size of a softball as the mist condensed, then hovered there between his paws.

"Look at the water, not with your eyes, but through the Force," he said. "Tell me how many different kinds of things you see in it. Not quantity of items, but different kinds."

If Ndonsa could correctly answer two, Hal's theory would be well on its way to being proven. Hydrogen and oxygen were the two molecules which he mastered first, thanks to their simple structure.

[Ndonsa]

She bit her lower lip, resisting the urge to step closer, to look closer. Use the Force, not your eyes. Ndonsa exhaled slowly, her body relaxing as she concentrated on the ball of impossible water that Hal had magically created. No, not magic.

There were many things inside the water, as she looked deeper into it, a confusing swirl of things, but there were only... a couple different pieces. Just many of them. Her body had tensed the more she'd concentrated, and Ndonsa rubbed her thumb against a spot between her eyes where an ache was forming. "Two?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Good.

Good.

"Good," Hal replied with a smile. "It is just two: hydrogen and oxygen. Looks like the two of us share a gift; everyone else just sees water."

Unable to resist showing off, Hal spun the ball of water up like a basketball on his clawtip, then grinned, caught it, and hurled it off toward a tree trunk where the ball lost its cohesion and splashed off as water should. "Well, most everyone, that is," he corrected himself. "Some really old Jedi were able to see things at that level after many years of intense study. Apparently it comes naturally to our race. It's a very powerful ability, but, it also requires an immense amount of study, and I do me study. Like, books and stuff. You're seeing things at the molecular level. And, with some focus, you can even see them at the atomic level, but I'm not going to show you that until you've got a firm grip on the basics. Degree of danger is way too high."

A stray thought crossed his mind, and Hal's smile faded into a nervous pull of his cheek. Reaching up to scratch one of his ears, he hemmed and hawed his way around it as much as he could before finally asking, "You... can read, right?"

[Ndonsa]

Her ears flushed bright red at the question, but just as quickly the blush faded. "I can. Mostly. Yesterday I was not good...but I have been working on it today. Many todays."

Ndonsa shrugged, her tail stiff despite her efforts to relax it. "I have hope that after I find tomorrow I will remember what I have learned."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Pretty sure you will," Hal smiled. "You seem to have remembered all your todays, so far. And, from the look on your face, and, well... earlier, I'm quite positive this really is our first day. I'll be glad to teach you what I can, for as many days as you like, here, so feel free to visit any time you like. And... visit, too," he added with a wink. "But for the most part, it's pretty boring, and laying the ground work will take some real time. I'm not going to lie, what I just did in the trees was incredibly dangerous to myself - not from the possibility of falling, but on the toll it took on me, physically."

Shifting his weight back to the other leg, Hal found himself near to recovery, but a bit more jaw-flapping would help out just that much more. "See, I wasn't just finding good places to grip, I was using the Force to alter the effect of gravity itself on all the cells in my body. It's really a stupid thing to do, because you burn through the energy in the Force around you almost immediately, trying to do that, and then you start burning up the living Force in yourself. A few more steps, up there, and I would have crashed, completely unconscious, possibly in a coma. Accessing the living Force in yourself can be extremely powerful, but if you tap all of it, well, from how exhausted I've felt after doing stuff like that, it may actually be lethal. I hope you'll understand if I don't really want to teach you that trick, at this point. It's too easy to go wrong, and, well, I like you. I don't want to see you get hurt."

[Ndonsa]

She considered that gravely, pondering the information Hal gave her. "You use the Force on all the ...cells... small parts? of your body. At once. Would it not be easier to take your body as one part and use the Force on the whole?" Ndonsa put her paw out and called a small treecone to her palm. "Like this?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal watched the display, and shook his head. "With what I just did through the trees, that doesn't really work, unfortunately. Also..." he hesitated, scratching his ear again, "...I can't see things as wholes, anymore. I got too deep, I can't pull back. Some things you simply can't unlearn."

[Ndonsa]

"Perhaps I do not want to learn it then," she said, frowning. "Do you see only the little bits of everything you look at?" She looked down on herself, and then back to him. "This cannot be true... is it?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"It's difficult to explain," Hal shrugged. "With my eyes, I see wholes, and for the most part, I just look at the world with my eyes. Through the Force, I can still see wholes at a cursory glance, but the more I focus on something in the Force, the more detailed and complex it becomes, whether I want it to or not. Drove me nuts, for a while, and I blew up a lot of stuff in my TK classes."

Waving a paw off to his left, a small rock lifted in the air a good thirty feet away, hovering momentarily so that Ndonsa could spot it before it exploded without warning, shooting tiny bits of debris in every direction, and a cloud of dust floating down to the ground. "That's what happens if you don't control all of it," he sighed. "Don't want to do that with my body, so, gotta exert the Force on all of it. Make more sense?"

[Ndonsa]

"Yes," she said, even though no, it didn't, really. Ndonsa looked at the treecone in her paw, pondering it for a moment. Then she let it fall to the ground, and placed her paw on the tree trunk next to her. "I am not as smart as you are," she said seriously. "The study you have done to master this ability - you have already finished, and you are only a little older than me. And, I can barely read."

She shook her head, wistfully. "I can see that this is not something I can learn. But thank you for explaining it to me." Ndonsa smiled a bit, took a deep breath, and nodded her head to the west. "The anti-starfighter sentry gun is this way."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Thank goodness for that chat. Finally got my energy back.

Good, you're gonna need it.

We're not tree-running again, are we?

Nope, just normal running.

And so Hal took up their dash through the forest to the fabled sentry gun, clearing the Force from his mind and simply relishing the moment, the way the wind passed through his fur, the way Ndonsa's tail swayed, the outline of her hips as she ran... Glad he was slightly behind her, Hal adjusted his trousers before trying to focus on more proper things.

"Yeah, I've mastered it, but, I also had a hell of a head start, and a lot of advantages," he spoke loud enough that he could be heard from behind. "You grew up in Kuf, but look at how far you've come already, here. Don't sell yourself short, Ndonsa. You're gonna do great things, I can feel it."

[Ndonsa]

He echoed what Master Anbira had told her, a destiny for great things, but at the moment she could not see it. Sadness was tempting her, trying to drag her down, so she cleared her mind and simply ran, her long spear balanced carefully in her hand and on her shoulder. After ten more minutes of traveling through the forest, they broke into a small clearing, a mossy mound near the center of it.

Ndonsa stabbed her spear down into the thick turf, and gestured toward the mound. "This is it," she said, her body well conditioned and only slightly out of breath from the journey.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

After his bit of showing off in the forest, Hal stuck to the ground, his steps not as nimble and light as Ndonsa's, but he was not terribly far off and arrived at the mount with no apparent physical discomfort. First reaction to the announcement that they had arrived was one of mild disappointment. Hal had been promised a sentry gun, something big and imposing, but instead all he could see was a lump of moss. Still, appearances could be deceiving, so he gave the Kufu the benefit of the doubt that this was in fact a cool and exciting thing.

Bare footpaws padding through the grass, he approached it, larger than he had initially expected, and he let his fingers rub over the thick moss. Whatever it was, it had certainly been there for some time, yet the moss came away with ease once he applied his blunt clawtips. Hal paced around it, eyeing its structure, shape, and even how it sat in the ground. If it truly was an anti-starfighter sentry gun, then it had been in place prior to the attack on Ossus so very long ago. Glancing up to Ndonsa, his tail swished with curiosity as he asked, "Mind if I take a better look?" No further explanation came of it, and he laid his paws upon the mossy surface, eyes closing.

Around them, the Force began to tingle, its presence full upon the air, concentrating on the partial sphere at the center of the clearing. Piece by piece, the moss lifted away in patches, taking with it dirt, debris and detritus until at last the dull gleam of durasteel shone in the afternoon sun while its organic covering fell to the earth. Eyes opening once more, Hal took a deep breath and stepped back to inspect his handiwork. Where there had been little more than a mound, the shape and detail of an automated ball-turret sentry gun shone clear, millennia more material being heaved out through the two slots which functioned as its gun ports until the barrels themselves were visible within.

"Wild," Hal said. He stepped back away from it, smiling. "Wonder if the tenebrium magazine is still intact."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa watched with her pink eyes wide, trying to memorize what she could see him doing with the Force, but it was very complicated. She stepped closer, past Hal, to take a good look at the uncovered SENTRY gun. It had been half buried in the ground, and now the true shape of it could be seen.

She climbed on top of it, turning nearly upside down to look into the two slot openings. "Will it work?" Ndonsa sat crosslegged, her tail flicking excitedly. "Master Anbira said there may be more on the planet. A... defense system?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal's eyes couldn't help but follow Ndonsa as she so deftly scampered up onto the turret, and had she been wearing a skirt, he most definitely would have been looking up it, and he grinned nonetheless, until she sat down.

"More than likely," Hal nodded. "Ossus was built up in the days before a central Republic, from what I've read. Some saw the Jedi as a threat, a sort of para-military order, and so the Jedi knew they had to defend themselves from possible attack. I wouldn't doubt there's more of these scattered about, probably ringing the library or something, but..." He paused, placing his paws upon its surface once more. "It won't work, anymore. The remains of the tenebrium in it have gone inert. It's just a pile of metal, now."

Ears perking, the Nehantite suddenly grinned up at his companion. "Want to see the inside?"

[Ndonsa]

She didn't know what a 'ten-ee-bree-um' was, but she grinned back at Hal's enthusiasm, and nodded. "Yes." Ndonsa stood up and showed off a little by flipping off of the turret, landing in a three point crouch off to the side. She stood up and joined him where he was standing. "Can I help?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Once I disengage the locks, yeah," Hal replied. Again the Force flowed through their location, concentrated upon the ancient sentry gun and its interior. The Nehantite's ears tilted back, his tail flicking with annoyance as he concentrated upon the thing's inner workings. In its day, it was meant to be opened by a powered access panel, with hydraulics and electromagnets engaging and disengaging as needed, but those systems had gone dry long ago. Air was sucked out of the cavities left in the hydraulic chambers, pulling pistons back, while rust was cracked and peeled off of magnetic surfaces until at least a screaming, groaning shudder of a cry screeched up from the metal, reverberating across the clearing until a solid click and thump sounded, and Hal stepped back, taking a deep breath.

"There we go. Now just have to pull the panel open," he said, nodding toward a manhole-sized access cover with a pair of handgrips set into it. "You take one side, I'll take the other?"

[Ndonsa]

She nodded, but instead of using her hands she was determined to use the Force. Ndonsa half closed her eyes, reaching forward a little with her paw as she murmured a chant under her breath. It helped her concentrate to 'vocalize like a savage' as Abarai Loki said. Her side of the panel began to lift.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

So she was going to use the Force, huh? Good, Hal smiled, and decided to play a bit of an experiment. His paw was firm on the handgrip, and he strained his arm against it, or at least he appeared to. In reality he was doing nothing at all, allowing Ndonsa to pull the panel free on her own, curious if she could manage control on an object long enough. Durasteel was a safe enough material, even if she started to get molecules out of line, as its structure was sturdy and it would not shatter without considerable effort.

With groans and creaks of protest, the hatch finally scraped free, and Hal's paw let go the moment it was clear, the hatch falling to the earthen floor with a heavy thud, revealing the sentry gun's interior. "Nice work," he smiled, a paw rubbing Ndonsa's bare shoulder.

[Ndonsa]

She smiled with self satisfaction as he complimented her, murring slightly as he rubbed her shoulder. The inside of the SENTRY was open now, and Ndonsa pushed toward it, looking inside by sticking her whole head in the opening. "Where is the teeny-bree-um?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Stepping onto the fallen panel, Hal poked his upper half into the sentry gun's cavity as well, the interior nearly having enough room for two people to sit inside it, though it would be rather cramped. "Tenebrium," he corrected Ndonsa's pronunciation. "It's a material whose energy can be used to power blasters and cannons. It's stored in these."

His paw reached down to knock upon a row of rectangular durasteel canisters with handles on their tops. The knock rang hollow and tinny, echoing inside the protective shell of the sentry gun. "Over time it evaporates, loses its potency and disappears. There's probably only a bit of residue caked on the bottom of these things. Now that we have it open, they ought to be removed and safely destroyed." As he spoke, his other paw slid down from Ndonsa's shoulder to rub at the small of her back, not having forgotten why she came to visit him in the first place.

A grin working up his face, he turned to his companion and said, "You know, if we were to remove the guts of this thing, and put hinges on the hatch, this could be a nice little hideaway, out here."

[Ndonsa]

"A hideaway?" She frowned, then met his eyes and figured out what he meant. Ndonsa rolled her eyes and knocked his paw away from her back, gently.

"We can remove it and take care of it, but it does not matter. It will all be back tomorrow." She reached back into the SENTRY and grabbed one of the containers he had pointed out, pulling at it with all her strength to get it free. "But we can take them out if you wish!" She grunted with effort and the tenebrium canister popped loose abruptly.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

As his advance was rebuffed, Hal's smile faded. Paw reaching out to hold down the tenebrium canister, he shook his head. "If everything resets, we shouldn't waste time disposing of this, now," he said, his voice echoing inside the durasteel sphere. "Instead we should be doing what you feel is most important."

His pink eyes locked upon hers in the darkness, he let his paw away from the canister, allowing Ndonsa the full decison, regardless. "But, I'd like to know..." he asked, honesty in his face, "With everything we've done today, will you... will you come visit me again, tomorrow?"

Poor timing or not, Hal could not help but lean forward, hoping for a kiss. It felt like the right moment for a kiss, really, if holofilms and soap operas had taught him anything.

[Ndonsa]

She kept her paw on the tenebrium canister, and turned to look at Hal. As he leaned forward she leaned away, and the container slipped from her hand.

It dropped to the floor of the SENTRY gun with a BOOM. Ndonsa had a brief impression of heat and a rush of air, and Hal's face disintegrated in front of her eyes before she also was torn apart from the force of the explosion.


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ITERATION THIRTY-THREE


Ndonsa burst into Hal's shack just after sunrise. "Hal! Are you alive?" She ripped the covers off of him, and sighed with relief to find him in once piece. Her legs suddenly weak, she sat on the edge of the bed and hid her face in her paws.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal's eyes popped open, his left one slamming shut almost immediately due to the overload of light in the room, and he could scarcely make sense of what was going on before his covers were yanked away. There he lay in bed, without a stitch of clothing, and apparently happy to see his visitor. Well, physically, that is. Emotionally, Hal was more confused than anything, and his face screwed up as he blurted, "Huh?"

Sitting up in bed, he carefully inched toward Ndonsa, layina a paw tenderly upon her shoulder. "Uh, Ndonsa? You, uh, okay?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. Only then did he realize she was in his shack, on his bed, and he was naked. Halajiin Rabeak could feel his burning with embarrassment as be blushed deeply.

[Ndonsa]

He touched her shoulder, and she breathed deeply, willing herself not to cry and be emotional, but it was too hard. She could still see his face ... Ndonsa shuddered. "I am sorry," she said haltingly. "I..." She told him the story of the last today, explaining as best she could. He believed her, again, much easier than Anbira had ever been to convince.

"The tenebrium exploded," she said finally. "I saw you die and then I died too." Ndonsa rubbed her paw over her face. "It was not fun."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal sat next to her, having covered himself with a pillow, taking it all in. It was a wild story, that much was true, but she told it with such conviction and detail that he accepted it as the truth, even if he couldn't remember any of it. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close, letting her rest his head upon his shoulder.

"Doesn't sound like it," he chuckled, attempting to keep spirits up. "But, look at it this way: we're both still here, we're both still alive and safe and everything is okay." Gently he lifted a finger to the underside of her chin, lifting her face to meet his own as he smiled softly. "And nobody says today has to turn out like that one did. Though... I certainly wouldn't mind the first half," he ended with a playful wink.

[Ndonsa]

It had only been... less than an hour? since they had been torn to pieces together. Ndonsa needed the distraction, and Hal was more than willing to supply it. She pressed her muzzle to his, kissing him, and let him push her down onto the bed.

A short while later he flopped onto the mattress beside her, breathing heavily, and she snuggled into his side. She was not someone who needed to be held after mating, but it felt right, now. And still, whenever she closed her eyes she could see his face exploding. Ndonsa shuddered, trying to purge the memory from her head.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Aside from what Ndonsa had told him, Hal had no knowledge of the full day they had already spent together. All he knew for sure was that she was there with him, and despite what had sounded like a terrible ending of the previous day, she cared about him enough to come back and be with him once more. An arm working around her bare back, he pulled her close, unable to separate her scent from his own in the confines of his small perma-tent, and he couldn't think of a reason why he would even want to. Nuzzling at her cheek, he murred deeply and whispered, "If you want, we can just spend the whole day here. Won't have to do anything to cause you worry or strife. Just be you and me, taking a day off from the world, together."

[Ndonsa]

She squirmed against him, as if she could get closer than she already was, and kissed the underside of his muzzle. "I would like that."

They spent the day together. They talked, and Ndonsa spoke a little about how hard it was to be among people who had no idea of her culture and the other padawans who would mock her when they thought she could not hear them. Hal let her read one of the books in his tent, helping her as she struggled with the words. And they spent time in each others arms, mating until they were exhausted and she could not even put a coherent thought together let alone remember what had happened the day before.

At long last she fell asleep, a single light in the tent all that was holding the night at bay, and she was content.


ITERATION THIRTY-FOUR

The sunlight warmed her fur through the window, and Ndonsa rolled over lazily, reaching for Hal... and memory flooded back. She sat up, stretched, and decided that today would be completely different. She taped off the window and brought the bird from upstairs down into her quarters for the day, and set out toward the Cizerack camp.

She had never been there. It was bound to be different.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

The one boon about planetary garrison work was the food. Aboard a galleon, typical food stock consisted on whatever was the most portable and whatever could breed the fastest. Sajoi, thimiarr, hares, koloi fish, hu'ai songbirds, and nala tree frogs were never far-depleted. The officers occasionally would slaughter one of the few kaatho aboard for a special occasion, but usually you made do with something you could eat in a few bites.

On Ossus, game was plentiful, and the corps of engineers made ready use of it. A squad was sent for food each evening, and usually they came back with enough to spare the necessity of pilfering the live cages. This morning was no different. Major Verratoa woke before the bugle sound, but by the time she'd already stepped out of her quarters, the four Askoli antellope from the night's catch had already been split belly to neck, and the much larger Sangak had already been dragged into the mess pavillion.

Nobody overslept the bugle. Breakfast was always the best meal of the day, because it was fresh, live kill. Lunch and dinner might be the remnants of the carcass, but you could just as easily have to grab a smaller bite instead. Major Verratoa was certainly not tardy to the ritual, and as she entered the pavillion, she began to shed her clothes to sit and eat. Before she could get her first course, however, one of the marines approached her.

"Rrou'a, we have a vjissjitorr at the perrjimeterr?"

Untaurra growled, full in the throes of a hangry disposition.

"Rramasstan? Tell that yellow-furred forrda he can wajit on the foundatjion pourr analjyssjiss forr an hourr, jit won't kjill anjyone."

The Janni'saari shook his head at his nude boss's grousing.

"jIt'ss not the forreman, rrou'a. jI don't thjink thejy'rre an Alljiance perrsson."

If it wasn't Alliance, then it narrowed it considerably. Untauurra's ears lowered in annoyance. The Jedi usually kept to themselves, but occasionally a few got some fool notion of being sociable in their own bizarre sort of way. The Major gave one last mournful look at the as-yet untouched Sangak, and began to put her clothes back on in a huff.

A few minutes later, and Major Verratoa was on her way to the front gate. The door was always open, to at least maintain the illusion of being neighborly. The sight that greeted the Major on the other side was a strange one. Strange even for a Jedi. She wore a coat of fur like that insufferable Ramastan, although it was a different shade with odd markings. She seemed to be some manner of tribal, which could simply be a wrinkle of the Jedi religion Verratoa had neither the time nor interest to discover.

"Can jI help jyou?" Verratoa offered, adjusting her cap on her head.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa had not been surprised when she had been stopped at the gate, but she was surprised to find an officer coming to greet her after the Cizerack soldiers had spoken to each other. At the offer of help she shook her head. "No, I do not need help." Her tail swished, impatiently. "I wanted to see your camp."

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Kosa. It was worse than she thought. A tourist.

"jYou want to ssee ourr camp." Verratoa repeated, to make sure there was nothing more to it than that.

"jI wass not awarre the Jedji werre jinterressted jin jinsspectjion."

[Ndonsa]

The female seemed to think that Ndonsa was there on Jedi business. She did not feel like correcting her. And why had the Jedi not seen the camp of a group of warriors on their threshold? Ndonsa straightened to her full height, tail stiff with authority. She was shaman, she knew how to hold herself around those less important. "The Jedi do not explain themselves to you.

"I will see your camp."

[Untaaura Verratoa]

The scar-faced Major respected the brusque show of authority. This was, after all, the Jedi's world. They would be the custodians of whatever the Cizerack and the Alliance built in this place.

"Of courrsse jyou wjill, Rrou Jedji." she affirmed with a tight smile. Her knee-high boots clicked heels as she placed her right fist upon her breast.

"Majorr Untaaura Verratoa, of the Cizeri Jaanni'sarri. jI am camp commandant."

Verratoa gave a slight pivot in her stance, sweeping her right hand inward.

"Pleasse, thjiss wajy."

Ahead of them, the unmistakable shape of an old C-9979 dropship rested at the back of the camp commons. It's contents had long-since been disgorged, helping to provide for the prefabricated structures, vehicles, and building equipment to initially set up the camp. When their mission on Ossus was concluded, it would serve to rendezvous with a Cizerack galleon, for return to the mother worlds.

"Asss jyou ssurreljy know, we arre underr mandate to asssjisst the Jedji herre jin the consstrructjion of Ssanctuarrjy Basse."

Major Verratoa paused, a slight canting of her head.

"...wjith the asssjisstance of the Alljiance engjineerrss, of courrsse. Ourr marrjiness arre capable laborrerrss, and the battaljion majintajinss a sstaff of dedjicated engjineerrss wjithjin the offjicerr corrpss."

[Ndonsa]

The accent made her words almost unintelligible, and her name went by so fast that Ndonsa couldn't really get a hold of it. "May-jor, what do your people do for fun?" Her ears were pitched forward with interest and even the smells here within the walls were different. Muskier, more animal-like, and there was a lot of blood. She watched a group of red coated males walk by, tall and strong.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

That was an unusual question for a Jedi inspection, and the blast-cropped stub of Untaaura's right ear piqued.

"Forr fun?"

She wasn't going to deny that the outlet presented itself, and that she as the commandant had to manage her marines off duty as well as on.

"Good behavjiorr jiss rrewarrded wjith weekend passsess jinto Ssanctuarrjy. Ssome ljike to drrjink, ssome ljike to gamble. Ssome go to hunt, and otherrss look forr companjy."

As if on cue, one of the engineers emerged nude from the mess tent, cleaning blood from her hands as she swatted at a nude male with her tail. The pair didn't bother to retrieve their clothing, and she led him away by a hand to a more private venue. Conjugal dessert was an ever popular leisure activity. As long as it didn't interfere with duties, it went largely permitted.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa regarded the naked Cizerack with mild curiosity. "They are not told to wear clothing?" In this way the Cizerack seemed to be closer to the Kufu of her tribe than she had thought they would be, but there was more to their nakedness than just a lack of coverings. Instead, it seemed that this was more of a mating ritual.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"We have frressh kjill jin the pavjillion. jIt would be unssoldjierrljy to eat jin unjiforrm and sstajin jit."

The Major half-turned to address the Jedi with a taut-lipped expression of required patience.

"Jusst becausse we sserrve bejyond the frrontjierr doess not mean we abandon ourr decencjy."

[Ndonsa]

Now being naked was decent? Ndonsa found this confusing, though the Cizerack were different than the Jedi, the Jedi were made of many different aliens. And being without clothes was considered indecent and usually followed with embarrassment. At least, by most of the Jedi she had asked.

"I want to see the pav-ill-ion," she said, too curious to resist the urge to explore. "I come from a very different place than this. Like you. I want to learn...about other 'cultural norms.'"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Untaaura gave the Jedi a long, hard look, squaring her jaw. Why were the Jedi here, now? If this was an inspection, it had an awfully roundabout manner to it.

The Major extended a hand with a gruff nod.

"Thjiss wajy then."

Verratoa led the Kufu Jedi through the opening in the tent, pushing back the flap to let the creature pass. Within, four large game animals were in the process of being butchered and eaten by four dozen marines. The rich sweet smell of blood was thick in the air as the Mess Watch marines worked at the carcasses with vibroknives, parceling off portions of raw meat which were thrown here and there to the edges of long, low tables. Crowded around each and lounging on the ground, the men and women of the Jaani'saarri took their breakfast seriously. The men and women lounged and ate in segregated areas, with the lion's share of the occupants of the pavillion being men. The pavillion buzzed with coversation in Cizeri as the battalion-mates shared the early meal in equal parts with conversation.

That conversation began to trickle and fade, however, as more and more eyes in the mess tent were drawn to the alien.

Major Verratoa turned to Ndonsa, speaking low.

"What'ss jyourr name, Jedji."

[Ndonsa]

"Ndonsa," she replied, matching her tone to the Mayjor's. It was very interesting, and there were a lot of naked Cizerack inside the tent. She saw and felt the stares of the males closest to them, and she added, "Do they think I am prey?"

[Ndonsa]

ITERATION THIRTY-FIVE

It was another day, and while she'd learned much about Cizerack eating and breeding habits the day before, the journey to their camp had ultimately been pointless. Hal's words still rang in her ears. Think about what you can do! She could do anything...try anything. She felt vaguely unsettled at the thought of abandoning her Jedi studies for several days in a row, but really, what could Master Anbira do about it? Or anyone else, for that matter?

Thinking about the Jedi made her think of the Council. Perhaps one of their great healers, like Master Laran, could help her? Ndonsa paused at a fork in the road, and then shook her head, walking down toward the landing pad. She had spent little enough time there in the past. She had flown in a metal ship before, but didn't know how they worked. Perhaps today she could find out.

[Hobgoblin]

Today, as with many other days, was a normal day at the landing pad.

Normal staff went about their normal routine. Normal ships landed, delivered normal cargo, then casually flew away on normal flightplans to normal destinations. Shift changes occurred normally. Even the weather offered a normal amount of heat and humidity for the season.

Perhaps the only abnormal thing in the midst of all the normality was the small, green Jedi Master, sitting atop a stack of crates staring at the sky.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa's steps faltered at the sight of the little greenish creature. She had seen it before, with the other Jedi, but had never spoken to it and was not sure if it was a pet or actually a Jedi.

She eyed the back of the creature warily as she walked carefully away from the stack of crates it was sitting on.

[Hobgoblin]

Hob huffed a breath. He had not figure it out. Not yet. Not today. But soon (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?56916-Up), perhaps.

Disappointed in himself, the goblin stood, clambered down from the stack of crates, and began ambling towards the small cafeteria. Catching sight of an orange-and-black-furred bundle that he recognized as a Padawan, Hob waved and broke into a cheerful grin. "Hello, Padawan! Join Hob for a meal, will you?"

[Ndonsa]

As it spoke to her, Ndonsa froze, her ears swiveling around before her face did, and her eyes widened as it walked past her and waved a clawed hand. "I have already eaten," she said truthfully, though the breakfast this day was always terrible, she had needed the food. The hob gestured with its claws, and she took a step toward it, hoping it would stop calling out to her. "Thank you," Ndonsa added, remembering Anbira's request that she be polite.

[Hobgoblin]

"Of course! Hob wishes you a pleasant day!" Hob beamed a smile at the younger Jedi and continued ambling on to the cafeteria. From somewhere inside his robes, he produced a walking stick and a small, bound collection of sheets of paper. Opening it to somewhere around a fifth of the way through, he began reading as he walked, the cane click-clacking along.

The goblin reached the door to the cafe and disappeared inside.

[Ndonsa]

The green one disappeared down the path toward the rest of the village, and Ndonsa took a breath, her necklaces tinkling as they brushed against themselves. She walked past the crates, and the landing pad came into full view, a big white ship sitting on it, cracked open and being unloaded by the metal beings they called droids.

She walked up to the first person she saw, and demanded, "Teach me how to fly one of those." Ndonsa pointed at the ship with her spear.

[Ndonsa]

ITERATION THIRTY-EIGHT


The Alliance pilot beside her in the cockpit leaned forward, eyes wide.

"You've never done this before?"

"This is my first day," Ndonsa said, pulling on the 'yoke' and jerking the ship into the sky.

"Not so fast!" He tried to grab the controls from her, but she elbowed him back.

Master Anbira said to take a journey.

She had taken one into her mind in the library. She had focused on the physical with Halajiin. Now she would take a journey to the stars.

Ndonsa arrowed the ship up through the atmosphere, the comm and her teacher screaming at her about clearance. The light freighter broke through and the invisible force pressing her into her seat lessened. She had been in space before, with Evil Dirk and his metal people. Droids. Her pink eyes scanned the buttons and switches in front of her until she found the one that would put them into hyperspace.

It was a big handle. She put a paw on it.

All the color drained out of the pilot's face. "No, wait, wait! You have to input -"

Ndonsa pulled the handle.


3216






















ITERATION THIRTY-NINE


"And what does this do?" Ndonsa pointed at the console.

"That's the hyperspace control. We won't be using that," laughed T'im. "Now, you have to do a preflight check every time, make sure you have fuel, that there are no -"

"How do you make it work?" she persisted. "The hyper-space."

T'im didn't seem to mind being interrupted. He pointed at a black box nestled in the side of the console. "You use the navicomputer to get jump coordinates. You can't jump safely without a destination."

Ndonsa nodded. "How does the computer know where to go?"

"Many, many years ago, pilots mapped the galaxy. The whole thing - well," T'im amended quickly, "We still haven't mapped the Unknown Regions. Or Wild Space, really. But the important bits, those are all mapped. The navicomputer draws on all that knowledge and uses, uh, math, to find the quickest or safest route through the stars to where you want to go. If you jump blindly you could send the ship right through a planet."

He laughed, "So make sure you never do that."

She did not laugh. "That must have been what happened."

"What was that?" He looked up.

Ndonsa pointed at the fuel gauge. "What is that?"

"Ah, the fuel gauge. Well, that shows you -"

She let him talk on and on, showing her all the things she had already learned. Waking up in her bed with the sun on her fur after pulling the hyperspace handle had been confusing and disorienting. Now, at least, she had an idea of what had gone wrong.

[Ndonsa]

ITERATION FORTY-ONE


"This is kidnapping!"

"You are not being harmed." Ndonsa stepped over T'im, and he strained against the power cords she had tied him with. Rolling over, he tried wiggling down the passage behind her.

She ignored him, walking into the cockpit. It hadn't taken long to figure out the longest possible hyperspace jump from Ossus, and tricking T'im into inputting it for her had not been difficult.

A bag full of food sat in the passage beside T'im, and her spear was tucked into a safe place in the cockpit. She perched on the pilot's chair, balancing on the balls of her feet as she crouched and stared out at the blue swirls beyond the viewscreen.

Hours passed.

Ndonsa let T'im get up to eat and use the refresher, then locked him into a room. Occasionally she could hear him screaming words at her, but she did not listen as she explored every inch of the light freighter she had stolen.

When she grew tired Ndonsa curled up in the pilot's seat and hummed a song.

Her eyes drifted closed.

[Ndonsa]

"Ndonsa, can you hear us?"

"Ndonsa..."



Garfiffe? Was this the god of the yellow-furs, calling to her? She struggled for consciousness.

As she opened her eyes, the sun was warm on her fur. Disappointment shot through her like a spear, but hands pressed her back down when she tried to sit up.

"Take it easy," said a female voice. "Try not to move."

Ndonsa looked around, her pink eyes focusing on the faces above her. Master Laran's red headfur was escaping the braid she always put it in, and her hands were on Ndonsa's shoulders. Master Anbira hovered just beyond her, a concerned look on his face.

The ground underneath her was hard. She was outside, not in her room or in her bed.

As she focused beyond the other Jedi, she could see a ceiling above her. To the side, through a hole in the stone wall, the late afternoon sun was shining in and resting on her.

Not outside. The library.

Ndonsa tried again to sit up, but her body did not cooperate.

[Serena Laran]

"Take it easy," soothed Serena, gently pressing the Kufu back to the ground. "You've been unconscious for a while."

She looked at Anbira, relief on both their faces. A padawan had found her on the ground in the Library several hours ago and run to get help when she wouldn't wake up. Serena had not been able to rouse Ndonsa - indeed, it appeared that her body was in perfect health. Strangely, her brain activity had been off the charts.

Past Anbira was a free standing stone doorway, Ndonsa's body positioned in such a way that it appeared she may have fallen through it. Two Jedi Knights were examining it carefully. There was power thrumming through it - not electronic power, but the Force.

She turned back to Ndonsa. "How do you feel?"

[Ndonsa]

"Like oatmush," she groaned. "How... how long has it been?"

Master Laran resisted her as she tried to sit up again, but then relented and helped her up. "It has been a few hours. Most of the day."

"Hours?" Ndonsa ran her paw over her face. "One day?"

The two Jedi looked at each other, and nodded. "We were very worried."

Ndonsa staggered to her footpaws and ran for the door, stumbling out into the jungle.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Ndonsa, wait!"

Concern etched on his face, Anbira followed after his student. The sudden collapse was concerning enough, but the return has brought with it fresher worries, if perhaps less grave than before. They were still no closer to understanding what had happened.

"Ndonsa!"

[Ndonsa]

"Master Hicchoru, I ... did the crane fall this day?" Ndonsa looked up at the sky, and then sat heavily in the dirt at the base of a tree. "No, that does not happen yet."

She put her head in her paws, an ache between her ears blooming suddenly. "Was I late to..." Her voice trailed off. It was starting to come back to her.

"I was exploring the Library. To help ... cat log it?" Her nose wrinkled as she concentrated on remembering. "I was ashamed to tell you I could not read. Or write. But I found a door to no place, and when I touched it with the Force it..."

Ndonsa scratched her claws against her scalp and into her headfur, her brain full of other memories that could not have happened. But they did.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Patiently, Anbira took a seat on the ground opposite his pupil. He sensed a great deal of confusion and emotion from Ndonsa, and there was something else at the root of it. A feeling of...not awareness, but of something teetering on it's edge.

"What is the first thing you remember happening next?"

[Ndonsa]

“Waking up in my bed.” Ndonsa gripped her head with her paws, then put one on her many beaded necklaces. “And again, and again. I lived the same day, Master. Over and over. Like ...like the Whomprat Day holofilm. We visited the library. I told you I could not read and you taught me how even though every day I had to tell you again that it had happened before.”

She sat back against the tree, staring up into its branches. Did any of it happen? Would she still know how to read?

“I do not know if it was a dream but it felt​ real.”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"One of the hardest lessons I had to learn in my days on Felucia was to accept that there is some amount of reality in what we perceive as the fantastic and even impossible. Ndonsa, you are my student. I can't provide every answer, but I can help you to learn where to look. I can feel this great crush of things on your mind. Don't become overwhelmed."

The Jedi hermit placed a hand at the Nehantite's shoulder.

"Let's start with something in particular. You said that we read, or that I taught you how. What did we read?"

[Ndonsa]

She looked up with hope, pink eyes meeting brown.

“Yes. Yes!” Ndonsa grabbed his hand in her paw and pulled him to his feet. “The book. Yes. You always believed me when I mentioned we were reading the Journal of the Whills. If it is there, then...”

She was tugging him down the path, but quickly released him and broke into a run back to the Library. She knew exactly where to go, dashing past a startled Master Laran.

If it was the same, if the dream was true, then the book would be just here in the stacks, waiting to be catalogued.

Ndonsa put out her paw, her momentum stilled in an instant, and almost reverently stroked the thick leather spine of the dusty book.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"The Journal of the..."

It was Anbira's turn to be overwhelmed. How in blazes? But there was no mistaking the directness of her surety. Ndonsa was electrified by it, and wasted little time bounding back toward the library, leaving her master to play catch-up.

"Ndonsa!" He ran back the way they'd came, struggling to keep up with her sudden enthusiasm.

[Ndonsa]

It was there, just as it was every day.

Ndonsa hesitated to pull it from the stack, until she heard her master come up behind her. Carefully she removed it, blowing the dust off, and turned to put it into Master Hicchoru’s hands.

”Just as I remember,” she said softly, her tail waving gently. “We can share it again, Master.”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

There was no dawdling in Ndonsa's actions. She walked directly to one stack of books in many, selected one, and returned as if she had done so a hundred times before. But there was no mistaking the thick patina of undisturbed dust. Ndonsa blew it away in a sharp exhalation, revealing the careful detailing on the cover.

"Ndonsa..."

He reached out, but hesitated just before touching the book. Anbira looked in his pupil's eyes. They had none of the surprise held in his own. This was deeply familiar to her.

"...how?"

[Ndonsa]

“I have been here many times,” she said simply. “You say I was ‘out’ for many hours - to me it was the same day many, many times. Over forty days of one day.”

Ndonsa watched him hold the book like a newly born cub, and smiled. “I died in the dream. I tried many times to escape it. In the end, it was leaving Ossus that woke me up.”

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Once you remove the impossible, the implausible - however unlikely - must be the truth. Anbira could feel it in the surety of Ndonsa's words that this was exactly what had happened.

"This is the will of the Force at work. There is no other conclusion to be reached. Ndonsa, this knowledge is sacred. I only know of it by oral tradition, passed down from the spirits. You were meant to know this for a reason."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa nodded, taking in her master’s words with her whole heart. She put her paw on his hand.

”Thank you, Master Hicchoru. For everything.”

For a moment they stood there, together, his foreseen future an unspoken thing between them. Then she guided him to sit, opened the ancient book, and began to read it to him.




The End