Master Sellanni stormed through the hallway. It took a lot to drive her to such anger, and Zarro seemed to have a knack for it. It didn't help that the topic of their last discussion was the education of an initiate. Sellanni was not a fighter, she was an educator. Sellanni made peace with this a long time ago. But by the Force, just because Maldecka was clearly meant to be a knight didn't mean she could ignore her other studies!
Sellanni sighed. That was unfair; Maldecka did try. It just wasn't enough. Sellanni's pace increased as she continued to walk away from the landing site. None of the normal methods for motivation had gotten through to Maldecka. Girl had a one-track mind, if it didn't involve fighting or physical competition or exploration then she just didn't give it everything she had.
Sellanni let a scowl rise on her face. She had managed to corner Zarro on his way to another mission. Seemed he was always on missions now, must have annoyed a council member one to many times. The new combative instructor had been so impressed with Maldecka's skill, he had bumped her up to the higher class. Meanwhile Sellanni was considering holding Maldecka back due to reading challenges alone!
All Zarro had suggested was to make the information more engaging; hide bits of the lesson around the grounds, make Maldecka work for it. Sellanni felt her gut twist at trying to out explore Maldecka. The girl seemed to delight in exploration; be it the roof, the sewers or even the woods around the grounds. Sellanni wasn't even sure she could get to the roof herself.
Sellanni felt the creeping burn of frustration. She couldn't let Maldecka be, because the child needed to learn and the current method wasn't working. She can't take the Knight's advice because she physically wouldn't be able to challenge Maldecka's exploration and jumping skills. Nor should she give Maldecka the impression that the world would adapt to her needs. No, Sellanni needed to find the compromise between the two extremes; the tradition course and the Maldecka specific course.
Sellanni stopped dead in the hall, her thoughts were running in circles and no solution was forth coming. She needed to calm down and get a grip on her emotions. Glancing around Sellanni made sure no initiates or council members had seen her so un-composed.
Assured by the empty hallway Sellanni set off for the library. Maldecka went to the roof to calm down, Sellanni went to books. Just another marked difference between the two of them it seemed.
Simply walking into the library calmed Sellanni. She grinned as she walked among the holocrons and datacubes, picking them up and reading summaries, noting which sound interesting and forming a mental list for future reading. Moving quietly along Sellanni found she had stumbled into the fiction section.
Admittedly it was a tiny part of the library, barely ten shelves. Why read made-up stories when the lives of real Jedi are so much more interesting? Sellanni grinned to herself. She had spent a lot of time with these fiction stories during her training. There was just something satisfying about idealized heroes and neatly tied up plots that made the mess of real life more tolerable.
Letting her hand trail along the shelf Sellanni stumbled upon brilliance. Grabbing the first two books in a series she nearly skipped in joy to the checkout machine.
Maldecka walked uncertainly through the halls, clutching a small booklet to her chest. Master Sellanni had given her a story, written in Maldecka's native language! It was about the adventures of Alderaan Solo, Gentle Lady and Adventurer Extraordinary. Aldy traveled the galaxy recovering lost artifacts...and she did it all with the help of her trusty manka cat Spike!
Problem was the story stopped as Aldy was dangling over a Rancor pit and the evil Hutt Gubblee had a head start on reaching the Staff of the Ancients! Maldecka knew the story couldn't just stop like that so that's why she was going to see Master Sellanni.
Madlecka hesitated in front of Master Sellanni's office. They didn't exactly see eye to eye. Maldecka tried to pay attention and work hard in Master Sellanni's class, but it just wasn't as exciting a Combatives.
Maldecka rolled her shoulders to reassure herself and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Maldecka stepped through and waited for Sellanni to look at her.
Sellanni set down the paper she had been grading, "How can I help you Maldecka?"
Maldecka held up the Booklet, "I was wondering...well...is there anymore? It's just Aldy's in danger and Spike is stuck in a net and Gubblee's gonna win!"
Sellanni turned and opened a drawer, "Ah, I see, I did leave out half. Here you go Maldecka."
Maldecka eagerly took the second booklet, "Thank you Master Sellanni!"
Maldecka flipped to the first page. Sellanni watched carefully, hoping she had done the right thing.
"Master Sellanni?"
"Yes Maldecka?"
"This is in basic."
"Indeed, it is Maldecka. Many things in the galaxy are."
Maldecka chewed her lip, "But...I don't read basic very well. You know that Master Sellanni."
Master Sellanni picked up a Zabrak to Basic dictionary and shooed Maldecka over to a couch, "We better fix that then. We can't leave Aldy hanging above rancor now."
Maldecka eagerly followed to the couch, and slowly began reading.
If Zarro landed from his next mission only to find himself regaled with the tales of Aldy, Spike and Gubblee...then find he can't find any record of these people in the archives … well it serves him right. It was his suggestion after all.