Note: Kim and Neieeka are copyright ME! I don't own any of the original Star Wars characters, nor any of the species mentioned.
Kim quietly walked into the lunchroom with her tray. She looked around for a place to sit.
As she surveyed the room, she felt more than a hint of dislike from all corners of the room. As she passed one particular table, she felt a slight bit of jealousy flow from one of the girls. Although Kim wished that she'd think differently, she couldn't blame the girl.
Unlike the rest of the padawans, Kim still had her full length of hair, complete with a padawan braid. At the Academy, she knew it was typical for a padawan's hair to be cut short, so as not to distract the student. Her appearance definitely caused quite a wrinkle in the regular student's day-to-day expections.
She headed outside, thinking (not for the first time) how nice it would be if she too could be "normal". But then, she thought, I wouldn't get to go on all these adventures.
Kim sat down against a large, shady tree. The wind was a calm reassurance that she was not alone. The pond was directly in front of her, with a few Gungan water creatures swimming in it. It would be nice if I had someone to talk to, though. No one is completely happy when they're alone.
Her distress was forgotten as a pom-hopper warily approached her. "Wow. Hi there, little one." To her astonishment, the pom-hopper dipped its head to her. She proceeded to become entirely speechless as it hopped right into her lap. It looked up at her floating food tray and made a small little sigh.
"Are you hungry?" Kim took a small piece of bread and carefully offered it to her guest. The pom-hopper sniffed her palm, and then took the bread with the utmost delicacy.
"Is that better?" The pom-hopper squeaked happily. Kim smiled, and then started as an extraordinarily large weight descended on her shoulder. She glanced up, startled, and came face to face with the most elusive creature on the Jedi campus. The whisper-bird.
The Jedi Academy had a large number of imported creatures on the grounds. This helped the students to study the wildlife, how they normally responded to intruders, and also helped them study intelligence. A trained, native creature would be most helpful if no one wanted to be caught.
Kim stared at the new guest on her shoulder, which was already beginning to ache. Gotta build up my shoulder, she thought instinctively. The whisper-bird stared pointedly at her food.
"All right, I get it. I need to lose a little weight anyway." Kim held out a larger piece of bread on her flat palm. The whisper-bird, true to its name, let out a soft coo and lifted the bread away.
A few more rustles attracted her attention. Turning back to the pom-hopper, she saw that she had attracted a few more. "Let the word out about the free food, huh?" she asked the first one. The pom-hopper merely snorted. Hiding a smile, Kim gave a little piece of bread to each of the newcomers. Soon, the pom-hoppers were playing in the grass near her, and the whisper-bird was cooing in her ear. Although three-fourths of her meal was gone, Kim didn't really mind. It was nice to have friends, even if they were alien animals.
A loud sniff to her left made her turn around…and freeze.
A large tusk-cat stood scrutinizing her.
Tusk-cats were not to be messed with. Fiercely loyal and protective, you wanted to be one they liked. But that was the odd thing. They stayed loyal to one person. If they were stolen from that person…well, stay out of the reach of claws.
Kim had heard about this one. It had been a personal gift to Obi-Wan from the Naboo, in return for his aid and Qui-Gon's in the battle of Naboo.
Named Neieeka, this tusk-cat harmed no one, but approached no one, either. Save for Obi-Wan. He was the one who fed Neieeka. The mighty carnivore had never approached any other person willingly…until now.
Kim stayed frozen, almost afraid to breathe. Neieeka switched his tail back and forth, green eyes locked onto Kim's.
His feet made no noise as they padded over to the girl, which was what made his kind a fierce predator on Naboo, as well as an excellent shaak guardian. Neieeka moved his gaze over her shoulder briefly, and then returned to his evaluation.
"Don't move."
A boy, about her age, had come up behind her, along with many other padawans. Despite her differences, they had all come out at the carnivore's approach. That was nice.
Neieeka was very close now. Kim could feel the mingled shock and fear that was running through the padawans. But she was fairly certain…Neieeka wasn't looking for a meal.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the big cat leaned forward. Kim stayed stock-still. Even the pom-hoppers and the whisper bird had stopped their activities.
Neieeka took one more step forward…and gently rubbed his face against Kim's.
Kim wasn't sure who was more surprised: her, or the students behind her. She slowly lifted a hand up. Neieeka moved away slowly. Kim held her hand out for him to sniff. Neieeka moved up once again, sniffed her hand, and then pressed his nose into her palm.
Kim stroked his soft fur, feeling honored beyond belief. Her hand moved it's way up his head and neck, massaging it as she had once done to her dogs back on Earth.
Then, wonder of wonders, Neieeka purred.
To seal the astonished silence, he lay down next to Kim, who could only continue to stroke him in quiet wonder.
The pom-hoppers abruptly started playing again, and the whisper-bird gently shifted its weight. Kim turned and looked at the trainees, who were staring at her in awed silence.
"Um, there's some more room over here, if…if anyone wants to come sit."
No one moved, except for two very small people.
Anakin and a young girl padawan came up to her.
"Can we sit with you?" he asked.
"Absolutely."
Anakin promptly plopped down next to her, and the young girl with him did the same.
"What's that?" she suddenly asked, pointing at the creature on Kim's shoulder.
"That's a whisper-bird."
"It's so pretty."
Would you go say "hi" to her? Kim mentally asked, only half-hoping the creature would hear her.
To the surprise of all, the whisper-bird fluttered over to the ground in front of the young girl. Stretching out its neck, it gently rubbed against her.
Kim continued stroking Neieeka, her food completely forgotten. A pom-hopper had already gotten to the rest of the bread, and to be honest, Kim wasn't that hungry anymore.
"Ahem." Kim looked up. A slender young Mon-Calamari girl stood just behind Anakin. When she had Kim's attention, she coolly walked over and sat down in an empty spot near Anakin. Stretching out her webbed hand, she smiled and said, "Welcome to the Academy."
When the Jedi Masters came down from their meal, there were about two people in the cafeteria. "What in the galaxy…?" Obi-Wan walked over to the window and hid a gasp. The other Masters joined him, and watched in silent awe as the happy sight before them unfolded.
Kim talked happily with a group of older padawans, all of them laughing like old friends. Anakin and a few other younger children watched the pom-hoppers and their antics. And resting right behind Kim, actually curled up around her, was Neieeka, snoozing.
The Jedi Masters would remember this for quite a while.
So would Kim…and her new friends at the Academy.