AN: My very first attempt at a fanfiction, please feel free to leave constructive criticism and advice. I have only played the games; I have not read any of the cannon material that goes along with the KOTOR timeline. If any characters seem OOC or events out of order based on that material, simply consider this a quasi-AU.
What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 153
Someone's been slacking, she mused to herself. That small black spot was certainly not part of the tile design. She could hardly really blame the mystery person for over looking it, you really had to be close to notice. If she were only a few more inches away it probably would look like it was intended to be there, and, after all, very few people besides her got this close a view of the Temple floor. But still, she argued to herself, it's the principle of the thing. In her book, if you were going to do something, you'd better damn well do it right.
Hooking her thumb into the sleeve of her robe, the fifteen year old dragged her left hand across the floor towards her face; by shifting her head slightly to the right she could almost reach the offending mark without too much visible effort. Almost…
"Revan, are you paying attention?"
Frack. So close.
Raising her head to meet her new Master's accusing gaze, Revan attempted an innocent smile from her bowed position on the floor.
"Of course, Master Zhar. And you're right, what I did was horrible, and I deserve whatever punishment you give me."
That line usually worked. She'd been a bit put out at how unimpressed he'd been by her entire subservient position. Once you reached the rank of Padawan you were no longer required to kneel, forehead touching the floor, after all. But, Zhar being Zhar, hadn't even seemed to notice how much sincerity that gesture was supposed to imply. Agreeing with them though, that usually worked.
"And what is it, Padawan Revan, which you did to deserve this?"
That made her smile freeze in place. Maybe I should have been listening. Whether or not she had done something to deserve being yelled at really wasn't the question, what she had been caught doing was the problem. Confessing to a crime other than what a Master wanted to yell at you for was never ended well.
They couldn't possibly know about the robes, could they? No, no. And Ga'el would be here too if they knew about what happened last week…unless they want us to confess separately… if she told I'm going to hit her so hard…No, I saw her today, it couldn't be that. So it would have to be…Resorting to her old stand by, Revan bowed her end in attempted shame.
"I allowed Padawan Malak to goad me into behavior unbecoming a Jedi, Master."
Behavior unbecoming a Jedi was a bit of a catch all. She couldn't be sure which scuffle between her and Malak they'd caught, so it was best to leave it vague and hope the innate tendency of all Masters to lecture would fill in the blanks for her.
Zhar sighed. Revan held her breath. C'mon, C'mon you know you want to…
"That is correct, young Revan. A verbal sparring match of such a crass nature is most unbecoming of a future Jedi, especially one of your enormous potential. Pride, my Padawan, is one of the first steps away from the path of light…"
Yes!
She could have cheered as the urge to ramble on about the force, temptation, and the path to evil overcame the kind hearted Master. Of the many Masters in the Temple on Coruscant, Zhar was pretty close to the top of her list of favorites. The fact he'd rescued her from her previous Master, Vrook, long before most Padawans were allowed to change Masters certainly didn't hurt his standing either. Even so, as a rule she avoided having to actually pay attention to a lecture on her behavior, regardless of the source. It was just so much easier when they stuck to the core points, reiterating again and again the lecture she had heard a thousand times in her near dozen years as a member of the Temple.
Still, if she had to be honest, she did love how he always included a bit about how very special she was in each and every one of his little talks. It almost made up for the fact her kneeling had so little reception.
Now, back to that spot…
If she were anyone else, the apple probably would have hit her square in the back of the head. Being in touch with the force, however, had its advantages.
Spinning effortlessly on one foot, Revan sidestepped the projectile, catching it with her right hand even as she placed the left over her heart and dipped her head in a small bow. She met the laughter and clapping that followed with her usual grin, tossing the apple back to Ga'el as she and two male Padawans caught up.
"So," Ga'el asked after her first bit into the fruit "How much trouble are you in today?" Though her tone was purposely unimpressed, Revan could see the spark of amusement in her cohort's eyes.
"Same amount as she is every day, of course." The twi'lek male, Avri, replied, grinning up at Revan. Or, down at, technically. It was true great things came in small packages, but was barely hitting five feet really necessary?
"It's true," Revan sighed "Mine is a misunderstood genius. And as all such creatures are, I am to be punished for my brilliance." By scrubbing that floor I was so enamored with for the next month. Why do they always think cleaning is the quickest way to get rid of pride? The thoughts remained unvoiced, however. The others would see her humiliation soon enough, there was no reason to hand them the ammo now.
"Maybe if you could control you mouth for five seconds around Malak, you wouldn't be so misunderstood." Ga'el replied dryly, rolling her eyes at her friend's melodramatic antics.
"Listen, I never did anything to that Sith spawn that he didn't come looking for."
"Ah, yes, I'm sure Malak went looking for his robes being stolen, I bet he positively begged to have his door bolted shut so he missed half-a-day of classes. Really, you'd think someone with any sense in them would stop asking to be so humiliated."
Reven leveled an unimpressed stare at her second-in-command. "Really, El, I'm starting to wonder whose side you're on. So I guess I'm the one who let a pair, a breeding pair mind you, of gizka runs wild in our room, right?"
In typical Ga'el fashion, however, the gaze had little effect. "I'm just saying Revan, if you didn't play, neither would he. You could be a Knight by now if you spent half as much energy on training as you did on tormenting Malak."
Revan stared at the girl in shocked silence for a moment, attempting to process the concept of refusing a competition. "Of course I'm going to play, El. If you don't play, how can you win?" Isn't winning the point?
"You're wasting your breath, you know." Avri cut in even as Ga'el opened her mouth to retort. "The Jedi have the Sith and Revan has Malak. There are just opposing forces in the Galaxy, El, lecturing them on getting along won't change anything."
Revan nearly beamed at the Twi'lek, causing the males blue skin to move closer to a shade of purple. The male was a new addition to Revan's little gang, and still suffered from the lack of socialization that most Padawans were forced to endure. Newly arrived from the temple on Datooine, he had been selected as Vrooks replacement Padawan after the incident that ended her time under him. Though a few years younger than the average member, Revan had made a special exception for him, and so far it seemed to paying off.
After all, no one should have to suffer through Vrook alone.
Revan shuddered a little at the thought, her vivid imagination providing a nightmarish image of what kind of antisocial monster would be created by that. It was enough to turn your stomach.
"You…alright there, Rev?" Being accustomed to Revan's wandering thoughts, Ga'el was only amused, though Avri was starting to look a bit concerned.
Revan shook her head, turning back to El when the second male, a human named Lae Thul, finally broke his silence with a single monotone word:
"Trouble."
Turning to follow the stoic boys gaze Revan couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her face.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Pointedly ignored Ga'els quiet sigh, Revan gave a small mocking bow to the slightly older male approaching the group, two cronies of his own flanking him.
"Malak."
