It's Snowing on Pathar
Prologue: An Introduction
The swing is aimed perfectly but somehow she dodges it. Summer's lightsaber buzzes through empty air leaving her body defenseless. Ahsoka takes the chance, counterattacking with a powerful kick. Her boot slams right under Summer's chest, digging into her stomach. Summer stumbles backwards and falls hard onto her bottom. She grabs her stomach and moans before throwing up her half-digested lunch. Lumpy brown liquid gushes out onto her robes and spills down onto the training mats. A collective cry of disgust rises up all around her. The other Jedi younglings cover their mouths and point at the spreading puddle of vomit. Laughs and snickers are all Summer hears. Master Yii clears his throat, silencing the children. He waves his hand and server droids rush in from the sides of the room, cleaning supplies in tow. Master Yii walks over to nine-year-old Summer and looks down sympathetically. She looks up into his comforting brown eyes. He nods and offers her a helping hand. Face burning with embarrassment, Summer accepts his hand and pulls herself up. As she stands throw-up runs down her robe. More snickers and groans go around the class.
"Enough!" Master Yii barks. The class once again falls silent. The only sound is the swish, swish, swishing of the cleaner droids' brushes. "Miss Summer fought well…better than most of you ever have. As peers you should be encouraging one another, picking one another up. Not laughing when another falls and leaving them behind. The way of the Jedi is not to tear down your neighbor but to support your neighbor. Do NOT forget that." Master Yii scans the class room making sure his steely glare passes over each one of his students. The young Jedi lower their heads.
"Yes, Master Yii." They say collectively.
Master Yii now turns to ten year-old Ahsoka. She stands watching the throw-up drip off Summer's uniform. Yii lowers his voice so that only Ahsoka and Summer can hear. "Ahsoka, the kick was uncalled for." Ahsoka opens her mouth to protest but Yii cuts her off. "That you kicked your opponent in a sparring session exclusive to lightsaber combat is excusable. Your motive is not. You knew Summer would throw up didn't you?" Ahsoka nods her head meekly. Master Yii sighs. "Ever since sparring sessions started this year the two of you have been at each other. What is it with you? If you had some type of disagreement between each other then please, tell me about it. I can't be having you fighting like this. And it's not just my class. Other masters say that they're having problems keeping you guys in order. Please, if there is something you need to tell me, then do tell." Though both girls remain quiet their hostile stares fire off round after round of silent insults. Neither one says a word. Master Yii sighs again. "Very well then. I don't want any more trouble out of you two. Understand?" Nods all around. "Good. Ahsoka, back with the rest of the class. Summer, go up to your room to wash up and change. "
"Yes, Master Yii." They both say. Master Yii follows Ahsoka off the mat. As Summer leaves, she looks back to catch Ahsoka's knowing smirk. Summer shakes her head and turns away.
Though Summer shares her room with five other trainee girls the room is empty when she walks in. All the other girls are scattered throughout the temple, training and learning about the 'Way of the Jedi'. "Forget the way of the Jedi." Summer mutters as she steps into the bathroom. As she sheds her sticky robes she imagines rubbing them in Ahsoka's face. Quiet, introvert Summer vs. impulsive extrovert Ahsoka. They first met when Summer was only six. Ahsoka had started calling her Red Eyes in front of the whole class and ever since then they'd been rivals. Both girls excelled at everything, but Ahsoka always excelled better. When sparring sessions had started ,Summer had thought she'd finally found a way to take revenge. She was wrong. Ahsoka was an agile fighter that outmaneuvered her opponents. She would dodge attacks and mess up peoples' defenses before delivering the winning strike. Summer relied on quick powerful attacks that overwhelmed people before they could recover. Ahsoka wins every time. As usual, Summer is second in her class…second to Ahsoka of course.
Summer looks into the mirror. A ten year old Chiss youngling with long black hair and blue skin looks back. She runs her hand across a thin grey streak that stretches across her face. It's a scar, or a birthmark. She doesn't really know which. The mark travels near one of her glowing eyes before jutting down towards the bottom of her jaw. When she was younger she would cry after being called 'Red Eyes' at in class, but now, of course, she knows that all Chiss have red eyes. It's natural…just like Ahsoka has those weird head tails. Summer laughs to herself. Back when Ahsoka was younger the head tails looked too big on her head and Summer would joke about them. But that was three years ago and Ahsoka's head has done a little catching up.
After showering, Summer changes to another one of her plain brown robes and heads down to one of the temples many courtyards. She has a class in intergalactic history but that's not until later in the day. There's a two hour break that most trainees use to study or brush up on their combat. Summer uses the time to talk to her favorite person in the Jedi Temple.
Summer finds twenty-five year old Elicity sitting cross-legged and alone under a young tree. The tree is bursting with colors. Dark brown wood, light green leaves, and little yellow flower with an orange center. Elicity is bent over a data tablet tapping away at its screen. She looks up and smiles as Summer approaches. "Hey, Autumn!" Her cheerful greeting floats across the courtyard. As usual, it makes Summer smile. Summer rushes over towards the tree and settles down next to Elicity. She leans her head against her shoulder. A cool breeze causes tiny yellow petals to drift down from the tree. "What's up?" Elicity asks casually. Summer shrugs but doesn't say anything. Elicity sighs and puts down her data tablet. "Look at me Summer." She says softly. Summer turns and looks into Elicity's golden eyes. "Is Ahsoka on the loose again?"
Summer nods. "She kicked me in the stomach during a sparring match. I threw up in front of the whole class."
Elicity is silent for a while. She looks like she's thinking. "Let me guess," she says. "You wanted to plant her face in the throw-up." Summer nods and they both break into smiles as they imagine Ahsoka flailing around in gooey vomit. It would have made a great show for the rest of the class. Elicity laughs and looks back at Summer. "Well I'm glad you didn't. That would've been the WRONG thing to do. Yea, I admit it would be pretty awesome, but that still doesn't make it right."
"How do you know?"
"Well first of all, revenge is never an answer to anything. Secondly, it's just bad to rub someone's face in your throw up."
Ahsoka's flailing image flashes into Summer's mind again and she giggles. Elicity places an arm around Summer and looks up into the blue sky. "Have I ever told you about my master?" she asks.
Summer shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
Elicity raises an eyebrow. "Why? Well because I want to make sure I don't tell you the same thing twice, Silly!"
Summer crosses her arms comically. "I'm not silly!"
"Yes you are! You're the silliest of them all. Now listen up Summer. I have to tell you about my master. Well, actually I want to tell you about something he said."
Summer hugs her legs close to her and settles in for preparation of a story.
"Thirteen years ago, when I was a twelve, I asked my master how we know when we're making choices that follow the right path of the force. I expected some long complicated answer but instead he told me that the force will simply let us know if we've made a good choice or a bad choice. He said that the force usually tells us through visions or gut feelings, but if we've made a really important choice it contacts us through the weather. Harsh rain and storms are signs of bad choices, but sunshine and soft breezes are for good choices. It's that simple."
"Every time it rains, I've made a bad choice?" Summer asks. Elicity shakes her head.
"No, the weather isn't always telling you something. Sometimes it rains just because it rains. When it rains, take the time to listen to the drops. If you don't hear them speaking to you, then it's just normal rain."
Summer nods her head as she takes in the new information. 'The force can communicate to us through the weather? Never heard it put that way before.' She thinks. Then a thought hits her.
"What about the snow?" Summer asks. "If rain is bad, and a breeze is good, then what is snow?"
Elicity replies. "Snow is special. It holds two meanings. It's neutral. Snow shows us that whatever choices we have made were a mix of both good and bad."
"Cool. Have you ever gotten snow?"
Elicity shakes her head. "My master told that snow is rare. Usually someone's choices have more bad than good, or more good than bad. In the end they get rain or shine. When the force is speaking to someone, it almost never snows…