Two women walked side by side, the tall razor grass of the plains of Vortex parting before them as they enjoyed the sunlight of the late afternoon. Jedi Knight Serena Laran watched as they startled a group of avian creatures to flight from their hiding place in the grasses, and took care to walk the long way around what was surely the beasts' nests.
Her padawan, Rhianna, walked quietly beside her for the moment, though she was usually full of spirited conversation. Her Basic was almost fluent now, thanks to endless conversations with Laran's other padawan, Morgan Evanar. His grasp of the language of Rhianna's home planet was very good as well, though perhaps not as great as it could be. Serena could tell that he spent a great deal of time concentrating on Rhianna, and perhaps not the words she was trying to teach him.
It was a constant struggle for the Jedi, to witness the blossoming affection between her two padawans. The Jedi code clearly forbade such relationships, yet the love... yes she was nearly sure that Rhianna felt such deep feelings for Morgan, though he had learned to guard his from easy reading subconsciously many years ago... the love between them seemed pure. And she had had visions of them in the future that seemed to indicate all would be well.
She was not Rhianna's mother, though at times she felt the weight of responsibility for the young woman lay even heavier on her shoulders than had she actually given birth to her. She was her master - and Rhianna was her padawan. The younger woman was beginning to grasp the depth and the true meaning of that relationship, but everything took time.
Rhianna was no youngling, no babe raised among the Jedi since birth. If Anakin Skywalker had been considered too old to begin the training of a Jedi at age ten, Serena's current padawans who were in their early twenties would have probably gotten her exiled from the Jedi all toegether. Despite the differences in the current situation, the Jedi Knight still felt that the Jedi code was solid and good, and should be followed. She strove to make it the foundation of this new Enclave, though she faced some opposition from the other members of this fledgling Jedi Order.
A gust of wind blew around the women, and they stopped walking momentarily as the razor grass around them rippled. Wind on Vortex was a constant, and in the midst of the great plains one could see the grasses moving like waves in the distance as they were touched by unseen forces.
"The Force is like the wind, Rhianna," Serena said, "You cannot see it, but you can see and feel its affects."
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