A Meditation on Pink [Scout]

[Serena Laran]

The First Pillar - the Force

Serena Laran joined her newest padawan, Scout Ravenwood, in the meditation tent. They had it all to themselves, and it was a partly sunny day so the interior was comfortably warm with no climate controlled interventions. After they had settled comfortably, it was time to learn more about the girl.

"Good morning," she started, smiling at Scout. Part of her wanted to ask where on earth the padawan had gotten all the pink clothes, but she managed to suppress the urge. "I would like to start by asking you some questions. So we can get to know each other." Serena smoothed her skirts, adjusting her position on the pillows that were scattered across the floor, and began. "Scout, why do you wish to become a Jedi?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout sat opposite her new master nervously, adjusting her position on the floor slightly. She still wasn't that used to sitting on the floor, at least not in a mediative, 'I'm a Jedi' way, and she was a little uncomfortable. She almost mirrored her master as she smoothed out her own silk pink tunic, and gave a shy, nervous smile on her otherwise glossy and bright pink lips. Everything about the girl was screaming 'pink', and even the parts of her that weren't somehow generated an aura of pink that was undeniable, be it her girlish make-up, blonde hair or that perfume scent that somehow smelled pink. Most might not think it possible, but Scout managed it somehow.

"Because I know that I can." Scout had answered this question before. "And I believe that if I can, I owe it to the galaxy to try. Jedi are heroes. They help people in need. I have that power inside of me and I believe I have a responsibility to use it." She explained. "My Mom... uh, I mean, mother..." She was the typical teenager trying to sound formal. "...she didn't want me to, but... I know I want this. I don't want this power inside of me to go to waste. I want to do what is right with it." She told her newfound master, hoping that it would be a satisfactory answer.

[Serena Laran]

A good, if slightly cliche answer. Serena folded her hands in her lap. "The life of a Jedi is not for everyone. You show selflessness in choosing to train with us on Ossus, but this is not an easy life. We are still in danger from the Empire and it's Knights, despite our relative safety here on Ossus. If we are caught in the open, alone... You could be attacked and killed for deciding to train as a Jedi. And yet the Force is not for attack - it is for defense. The defense of yourself, or others.

"This is something you will need to learn, how to use the Force to defend others. Are you ready for that?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

"I... do not know, Master." Scout answered honestly, her shoulders slumping a little. If there was one sticking point in her being a Jedi (apart from the high heels, of course, which were something of a literal sticking point whenever she had to train on soft ground) it was that she simply didn't like combat. She had no aptitude for it, and it didn't come naturally to her. She wanted to be a diplomat or a healer, to help others and comfort them, but the thought of fighting was as alien to her as... well, as the thought of wearing a different colour other than pink.

"I have trained with Master Wei a little, but... I find it difficult." She admitted. "I.... It does not come naturally to me. I don't... like to fight." She explained sheepishly. "But I think I would, if I had to, to protect others."

[Serena Laran]

"And where did you get your lightsaber?" Serena frowned lightly. "If you have no training with it and do not wish to use it, when why carry one at all? It would be safer, for the limbs of those around you, not to."

[Scout Ravenwood]

"The rules said all padawans should have a lightsaber, Master." Scout answered, looking slightly panicked, as if she was terrified of getting in trouble. Scout was, if nothing else, a stickler for the rules (well, unless they involved clothing conventions). She was the typical goody goody who panicked if she thought she was going to get in trouble or told off. So when she'd joined the Jedi Order she'd dedicated months to reading every text and studying up to make sure she knew everything.

"When I was preparing for my studies, I made sure that I constructed one." She explained, with a sheepish smile in case she would get in trouble. "It... it took a while, to uh, perfect the blade." In other words, 'to make it pink'.

[Serena Laran]

"May I?" Serena held out her hand, and Scout handed her the lightsaber. She turned it over in her hand without activating it. "It is well constructed," she said after a moment, handing it back to the padawan. "You should be proud of your technical ability.

"Now," she continued, "Tell me about the Force." She was testing the girl's knowledge from her general classes with the other unmatched padawans, to see where she had holes that Serena would need to patch up with teaching.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout blinked a few times, surprised by the question. She supposed it was natural to ask what a padawan's understanding of the Force was, but it was such a big question, she didn't think it was something that could really be answered. Not in words. There was nothing else like it. It put Scout in mind of trying to describe an emotion to a droid who couldn't feel any, that impossibility to convey something so natural and so simple and yet so big and yet so utterly impossible to grasp. A thousand things at once.

"The Force..." Scout began, obviously struggling with the enormity of the question. "...It's part of every living thing. Generated by the life of the universe. It surrounds and penetrates everything. It binds the galaxy together, a natural energy field. The Force is life. It can be used for any number of things. It can manipulate objects, influence minds and enhance your natural abilities. But it can also twist a person. The Force carries both the best and worse of all living people, the Dark Side and the Light... Who you are and how you use it is as important as what it can do..." She explained awkwardly, feeling like she'd barely scratched the surface.

Of course, some people felt their was a more technical explanation, that the Force was generated by a microscopic lifeform, but Scout ignored those theories. She knew the Force was so much more than that...

[Serena Laran]

Serena nodded. It was a good answer, but she wanted to go a little deeper. "And have you heard of the terms 'Unifying Force' or 'Living Force'?"