"Oww! Owwch! OWwah! AHhh!" Raven yelped as the last four smacks of that horrible paddle landed squarely on her undercurve. You'd think that after four years under Eeth's firm guidance the sixteen year old apprentice would manage to arrive on time, especially when she was meant to be assisting her master with a kata class full of 7-8 year-old initiates.
According to Eeth's former apprentice, Lakhri, she was going through what he affectionately referred to as a spot of growing pains: "It will pass, just try not to behave like a nesting Gundark with a stinger in its bonnet. Believe it or not Eeth is going easy on you," he'd encouraged, after she had come to him to whine and vent over Eeth's complete lack of understanding. Unfortunately, despite 'going easy' on her the addition of a hormone ravaged teenager did not automatically arm Eeth with an unlimited tolerance for rebellious behaviour, something he had been consistently making painfully clear to his wilful apprentice. "Get up," he said firmly, but not unkindly, because despite outward appearances to the contrary Eeth understood that Raven was going through puberty, her hormones were going crazy and although it was late coming, she was beginning to develop not just in body, but mind.
Raven for her part could see no evidence of said understanding, especially as she pulled up her trousers and tried not to rub because although it hurt like a motherfucker, they had an audience. She turned to face him, her glassy eyes making the glower she was trying to burn him alive with look more like a cute pout.
Eeth was strongly reminded of the twelve year old child he had discovered years ago, in this very training room, but said nothing, and simply gestured towards the small group of initiates with his chin; they had a job to do.
Raven inclined her head slightly, and moved to comply while mentally calling him every vulgar name she could think of.
The initiates for their part were now looking at the girl with a mixture of sympathy and awe. "What'd you do?" a small humanoid girl asked, her eyes wide as she glanced from Eeth — who was once again moving between groups correcting technique — to Raven.
"More like who did you kill?" her neighbour corrected, garnering several nods from the group. Despite wanting nothing more than to rag him out she couldn't, she had been late and was punished for that, the rational part of Raven's mind knew this however the emotional side was still indignant. "I gave you all an opportunity to learn from my mistake. It is disrespectful to arrive late to a class, and my master was right to correct me for that," Raven said solemnly, knowing that to say anything else would be giving them the wrong message. "C'mon, let's get started before he comes back over here and decides you're not working hard enough.
With that ten pairs of eyes went wide and trained on Eeth, who for his part was pretending not to notice, and it was only Raven who detected the corner of his lip twitch up into a subtle grin that would be lost on anyone who did not know him well. He'd never really had much of a sense of humour, however he did have an uncanny ability to know exactly when it was important, at least regarding Raven, to show a little of that side. This had been one of those times and she was grateful.
The class went well, and after having witnessed Raven's "entry" no one dared misbehave which made their job that much easier. "That was well done," she praised them as they finished the last sequence of the first kata, and Eeth called the class to attention. "C'mon, go find a dot and stand on it," she coached, helping them join the other groups who were doing the same.
Once he had their attention Eeth commended the class on their effort and, as he always did, ended the lesson with a demonstration of what they were working towards achieving. Raven smiled as she stood at the side of their class, she had never grown tired of watching her master work through a kata, it was truly something to aspire towards and rarely failed to earn oo's and ar's from his students, especially the younger ones. However this time he did something he had not done before.
"Padawan, come here."
Raven obeyed immediately, the knee-jerk response a product of four years training with Eeth. She stood facing him, her expression curious.
"Raven has been assigned a mission and will not return in time to assist this class again," he told the students calmly.
This was news to the teen, and it was all she could do not to jump around the room with excitement! She didn't though, and hid her surprise well as she continued to listen impassively, as if he just announced that lunch was going to be mash and beans.
"Therefore, today we are going to demonstrate a joint kata, utilising the training bond between master and apprentice," he stated. Eeth knew that many younglings did not comprehend how a training bond worked, or that it was used for more than simple communication, he also knew this was something he could not replicate with a replacement assistant.
Raven smiled at this, kata had never been her strong suit, however Eeth was relentless when it came to details, and as a result she could usually perform the first few kata without being stopped for minute adjustments in stance, footing or the like. Linking with Eeth synchronised her movements with his to a level that could not be achieved without a functioning training bond.
"Level three," he told her as she took several steps backwards, assuming the traditional position for a Jedi padawan. She knelt as he did, closed her eyes and focused on their bond. It never ceased to amaze her how different the man felt in the Force, where his love, commitment and even fondness for her were clear, she had often taken solace in this when his gruff exterior tempted her into old thought patterns.
Their kata was flawless. Raven remained in perfect harmony with Eeth, even the single forward flip and wide side lunging blocks were executed with a collective precision that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. As the two continued to flow through the movements the space around them began to glow in the Force with the strength of their combined Force presence, something many of the younglings in this class had not felt before.
When they finished Raven opened her eyes, she had not realised they were closed until now and moved to face Eeth, offering him a formal bow.
"Well done, Padawan," he said simply, offering a curt nod in response, then turned to face what was now a perfectly still and silent group of younglings, some of whom still had their mouths open. "I will be here for half an hour if anyone has any questions. Class dismissed."
Nobody moved for a moment, then as if waking from a spell the younglings jumped to their feet and bowed, the room immediately erupting into a mass of chattering as they went about replacing the equipment.
When the last of the class exited the training room Raven approached the man and met him with a sheepish expression. "Thank you, Master," she said simply, knowing that she would not need to explain why. Although she had forgiven him for walloping her there had been some lingering resentment, however being reminded that he cared for her, and only acted in her best interest was exactly what she needed to hear.