Calling on the Spirits - 10.120

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa blew out her breath slowly, a predawn mist clinging to the forest, spear balanced expertly in her paw as she gauged the distance to the prowling choku. She threw it, fast and sure, and the adolescent predator cat stumbled as the spear tore through it's chest.

She ran after it as it tried to leave, unhappy that she had missed the heart. She was still getting used to where the vital organs were on the strange creatures of the planet she found herself on. Ndonsa leapt on the large cat, using her knife to open it's throat and end it's suffering.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

The knife's passage, unlike the spear's, was clean. The artery severed, and crimson release gave the Nehantite's prey it's deserved merciful end. The choku's blood collected into a recess in the forest floor - a patch of moss in a bed of stones. The blood pooled briefly before seeping below, its sheer surface casting back red-hued reflections of the huntress amid the morning-lit canopy above.

Ndonsa could see the distorted reflection of herself just barely in the blood. And just beyond her, she thought she saw the silhouette of another, standing behind.

[Ndonsa]

She whirled around, teeth bared and knife in hand, only to find the person behind her was see through. Ndonsa hesitated, pink eyes taking in the slightly blue glow, and then she put her face in the ground, bowing as low as she could. "Forgive me, spirit."

The spirit chuckled, and she frowned at the plants in front of her nose. "Forgive you for what?"

"I killed in your forest, without sacrificing for your favor..." her voice trailed off and she looked up at the spirit who looked amused behind his beard. "I..."

"Worry not, padawan. This forest does not belong to me, and you certainly do not need to sacrifice anything." He sat on a fallen log, and she confusedly sat back on her haunches, both regarding the other. "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. And you are in need of a master to teach you the ways of the Jedi."

She blinked, and slowly nodded. "Are you to teach me your wisdom?"

Obi-Wan smiled, "No, but I know who will. He will need some convincing."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Clear across the Valley...

Another figure was hard at work in the morning hours. Rather than living by the toil of a spear, this man lived by the tools of the field. He broke old rows, turned over soil, preparing for the next cycle's planting. Already the twin suns of Ossus were on the rise. The chill of dawn was fast retreating as Anbira squinted into the morning's red horizon. The twin orbs marked time in their march across the sky. Soon the heat of day would come, bringing blue sky and clear vistas. And soon, one-by-one, the twin suns would set again, drawing the lights dim and abandoning the heavens to a canopy of stars.

It served as a reminder to Anbira of how much work remained to be done. The thought used to fill him with disquieting fear and heartache. Not a day had passed that he didn't think of the destiny that had been revealed to him...and how he'd tried to run from it. The weakness in his spirit, and the hubris that allowed him to think he was above such sunrises and sunsets. He tried so very long to hide from who he was. But in the end it was always the same. He was a Jedi. His was the solemn stewardship of life and the universe. The selfless sacrifice was his burden to carry. Though he could always try and hide this from others, he would always recognize himself.

From his vantage at the hermitage, Anbira could see a figure moving along the ridge, walking from Sanctuary. The rising suns obscured the visitor, their rising and falling shoulders cloaked in silhouette against the glare. He drew a hand over his eyes, crows feet creasing at the corners of his eyes on his well-tanned face, as his eyes narrowed to shield the sun.

"Hello there!"

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa studied the man, the one some of the others called the Mad Hermit. She had looked up the words and didn't see how they applied. Knight Hicchoru was sane enough to dress himself, feed his body, and take care of a garden, and a hermit would not visit the rest of the Jedi camp, which he did from time to time. She raised a paw in greeting and walked closer. "Master Hicchoru." She bowed hesitantly, her beaded necklaces clinking together noisily. "I am your new padawan. Ndonsa," she added after a moment, as he probably did not know her name.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

His eyes widened a bit at her bizarre bombshell of a greeting. It wasn't presumptuous. No, it was beyond that. Her admission that she was his student was given almost casually, as if she was simply recounting something already agreed-upon. Anbira drew a hand to his beard as he watched her prostrate herself slightly, and found that he was at a loss for words. Of course, finding words was a task he would have to attend to, and soon.

"I...er...well."

He gave his chin whiskers a firm tugging, goading himself from his bewilderment.

"Congratulations on your assignment, Padawan, but I...you must have me confused with someone else. I have taken no learner."

[Ndonsa]

"I am not confused," she said, studying his mannerisms. "You must pass on your knowledge, and so I am here." Ndonsa rubbed her chin a little, mimicking his gesture.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Padawan..."

Anbira paused, not wanting to reinforce their mistaken relationship by using the title.

"Ndonsa...the relationship between a learner and a master is a two-way affair. You honor me with your choice, you do, but I have abstained from taking a student of my own."

His explanation didn't seem to offer much closure to the matter, and the Jedi Hermit sighed.

"I would be glad to assist you in finding a teacher. There are many who are capable."

[Ndonsa]

"There are," she agreed. "The spirit told me you would decline but I am to stay."

Ndonsa tilted her head slightly, tail flicking a little as a bug tried to land on it. He must have very strong magic if the spirits would come and speak on his behalf. She was looking forward to learning from him.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"The spirit?"

Anbira stared back blankly. He'd heard of the Nehantite's eccentricities second-hand, and wondered exactly how her gifts of the force manifested themselves. This wasn't some half-intuition, however. He sensed her serious intent. Still, he was adamant, and shook his head.

"I am sorry, Ndonsa. Your spirit is correct. I cannot be your master."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa frowned, walking around him to study his 'garden.' It was a new word she had learned since coming to live among the Jedi, though she was not unfamiliar with the concept of planting or tending to a patch of ground, perhaps with sweet potatoes or other root vegetables. The variety and quantity here, however, was much greater than she was used to. "And I will stay," she insisted.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

She had indefatigable will, that was certain. Any less resolve and she would've taken a hint. Anbira watched her carefully to see any break in her armor. Her eyes reflected back his own - expressive, inquisitive, and steadfast.

"I have work to do."

It wasn't a dismissal. She wouldn't be denied by simply stating such. But it was the truth. He worked the land. Anbira stooped to pick up the hoe from alongside one of the rutted furrows, and headed back to the field for his chores.

"Stay if you wish."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa found a place to sit that was mostly in the shade, and she watched Master Hicchoru as he worked. He didn't appear to be using the Force at all, sweating and struggling with the dirt and plants. She mediated for a while, using techniques she'd learned in class. She was empty inside except for a budding flower, and as she focused on the flower it bloomed, and the awareness of her surroundings through the Force came rushing in. The spirit, Obi-Wan, had told her to be persistent.

She had not needed a lot of convincing. She was tired of group classes, and felt she was reaching the limit of the benefit she was getting from them. A spirit of a Jedi, summoned from the afterlife to talk...to her? She'd practically run to Anbira's tree to tell him. He wasn't interested, but she was not going to go anywhere. As the sun rose high above the garden she practiced lifting small stones with the Force, stacking them carefully.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira worked on tirelessly, the heat of the day coming forth as he wiped sweat from his brow. His furrows had been tended, and the plowed loam was carefully turned over to pillowy-soft rows of dark earth. Only when the rows were fully arranged did he stop, returning to his tree to fetch a skin of water that hung by a strap from a branch. Using some water to rinse the black soil from his hands, he took a few swallows from the container, plugging it as he slung the skin over his shoulder, walking to where the Nehantite waited.

Anbira watched the care she showed, her connection to the force bringing her intentions to the stones under her sway. He could feel the clarity of focus in her actions, and their serene influence on her mind. The promise for potential was plain to see, and he was truly glad to see it. Not wanting to disturb her meditation, Anbira eased the water skin down to the ground where it was near for her, if she chose to drink. He righted himself, and returned to work. He had seed to sow, and it was already midday.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa helped herself to the water, then got up and walked away. A half an hour later she returned, two brown sacks in her paw. She put one in the shade of the big tree, and then sat in the sun, pulling a wrapped sandwich out of her bag.

"I brought you lunch, Master Hicchoru," she called, then took a huge mouthful of her sandwich, chewing enthusiastically.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira paused in his toils again, an appreciative smile on his face as he returned to the tree. Again the ritual was the same. Water to wash, water to drink. He retrieved his parcel, and came to sit alongside Ndonsa, cross-legged on a patch of grass just shy of the field.

"Thank you."

He carefully unwrapped the sandwich, a glance through stray strands of sweat-damp hair at Ndonsa as she attended to matters of nourishment without ceremony. He too did not delay, taking one triangle of the nuna salad sandwich in a hand as he ate. They watched a flock of tura in a stand of trees beyond the farm plot, who had figured out the bipeds were carrying food, and were patiently waiting for scrap or crumbs to be abandoned before they swooped in.

"Tell me of your travels, Ndonsa. How did you come to Ossus? I have met only one of your kind before and he is quite different."

[Ndonsa]

She frowned lightly over her sandwich, using a finger to push some stray food back into her mouth as she chewed and then swallowed. "There are none of my kind here. Oh," she waved a hand dismissively, "the yellowfurs, yes. But I am Kufu." She thumped her chest proudly, her beads rattling.

"I was a shaman of my tribe," she started, explaining how she had been torn from her shaman training to be wed to the chieftain as his newest wife. Rebelling against such a fate, Ndonsa had run away, and then stowed away on a ship, hoping to go to a different part of her world. She found herself instead in the stars, and had traveled with an odd man and his droids, only to be abandoned on Ossus after the Ysanna had attacked his ship. "What we called magic, the Jedi call the Force. Abarai Loki was very upset when I demonstrated a war dance to him, the... emotion?" She paused, took another bite, and continued with her mouth full, "it was too full. Too...angry. I wish to learn the ways of the Jedi, to harness my ability in a respectable manner worthy of emulation."

The big words were obviously rehearsed and were delivered in a cadence very similar to a certain young Jedi Knight.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"You saw a path set before you, and chose to create your own. It takes great strength within to do so."

Though the trappings of the details could scarcely be more alien, Anbira understood the universal truth that lay within. He took another bite, humoring the tura in the trees by pinching a bit of crust from his sandwich and tossing it a few meters ahead, where they suddenly dashed upon it creating a feathery scrum.

"Magic..."

The Jedi Hermit smiled. Not out of condescension or at Ndonsa's expense. It too held a truth he felt too many of his peers held at arm's length.

"...there's a grain of wisdom in that. The Force exists in everything, from the great to the very small. It is the end, and the beginning, and we are links in that great chain. Your point of view is pleasant, shaman."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa smiled around a mouthful of food, pleased that he had used her title. Then she said, "I have no tribe to guide. I am shaman no more. Ndonsa is a padawan learner, and you are my master. Unless," she teased, "You wish to learn from me, Master Hicchoru. Divining the bones, reading clouds, and various incantations. These are, I am told, not the right way to do things, but I find using the Force very difficult unless I can chant through it."

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira remained reticent on the matter, reluctant to engage in the conversation deeply enough to give the Nehantite a false impression of his willingness to teach. Then again, lessons were taught and learned informally all the time. Finishing one half of his sandwich, Anbira bundled the other half for later.

"I am less certain of right and wrong ways, Ndonsa. So much of what a Jedi does is through a certain point of view. That which you see, and that which you say. You find meaning in these things, yes?"

He wondered exactly what truth she'd uncovered by means of seeing a spirit, if that were indeed the case. Intuition was a bedrock on which a Jedi's senses were built.