Where I Belong
By: Swissalo
Chapter 6
AN. lots of family and work related things have come up, so my time on the computer are a lot less than ever.
~xXx~
"Why are you here?" Hadrian asked as he studied his datapadd, the screen glowing dimly as he took notes on a sheet of flimsy. Bane stopped suddenly as he looked over at the dark-haired boy. Younger than him by about a few years, but more advanced in some places, socially mostly aloof and yet very protective of his friends.
"Just came to study." Bane muttered as he pulled out a chair, he could feel the other boy's agitation for only a moment before the younger boy all but stomped it out. Of all his quirks, studying being interrupted agitated him like no other. Hadrian was always studying, always trying to learn more, and he took his self-imposed study time very seriously. Bane could feel poisonous green eyes boring into his skull and could only smile as the younger boy huffed in defeat. Bane took it as a win. He glanced at the other boy at the table, Garen if he remembered correctly, one of the more boisterous of the Bear clan members. The brown haired boy just rolled his eyes as he continued hunting through various datachips for any information.
"Don't talk or mumble then." Hadrian smirked as the other boy froze before shooting him a withered look. The pair were certainly closer than they appeared but neither were in each other's close circle of friends. Not even in the same clans, but Bane hadn't been placed in the Dragon Clan for nothing, he was nothing if not tenacious when it came to getting the younger boy to interact with others outside of his group.
"What are you working on?" Bane asked as he finished setting his things up to begin his studies on Outer Core Corruption and Politics. Hadrian studied him calmly for a few seconds before jotting down a quick note.
"How interplanetary politics and the Galactic Senate work together. Which rules and laws are enforced from the trickle down and which planets in the Senate don't follow the laws of the Galaxy and why." Hadrian ticked off slowly as he dropped his stylist, he looked as thrilled about the topic as he sounded. Bane could only shake his head, apparently even the Masters knew of Hadrian's desire to learn but even that seemed far fetched. Watching the other boy, he couldn't find any tells that he was lying, but then again he could have omitted some things, because that assignment sounded never ending when one took in the numerous planets without the galaxy. Garen's huff was enough of a tell that the other boy wasn't lying and somehow he'd been roped into the assignment as well.
"What do you do to your instructors to receive such difficult assignments?" Bane asked as the younger boy rolled his eyes before picking up his stylist and continuing with his note taking.
"Nothing, and it's only six planets that I have to include. It's the locating them that's taking so long, seeing as it's mostly the outer belt that don't follow the laws of the galaxy and even then you have to dig." Hadrian muttered calmly as he inserted another datachip, his enjoyment of learning about other worlds was almost unparalleled outside of those in the research division. But his love came from a desire to learn how to best fit in to any given culture, and according to him the best way was to know the laws and cultural history of the planet. At least that's what Bane though he'd remembered the younger boy talking about once, but honestly he'd probably zoned out. Turning to Garen he watched as the brown hair boy frowned darkly at whatever information he'd found on his latest datachip before collecting the used chips and making his way over to the Archivist Desk to return them. Silently the trio worked through most of their work quickly, the scratch of a stylist on flimsy or the click of a new datachip being inserted the only noise the three of them made. It wasn't until Hadrian began to collect his things that the spell broke.
"Where are you going?" Garen asked as he watched Hadrian slowly pack his things away in his satchel, the pair had been working on the assignment for several hours but Garen knew Hadrian hadn't done anything else than make notes and maybe copy snippets of text to use as references. The dark-haired boy paused in his movements for a moment, letting green-eyes settle on his Galactic History partner, before continuing to stack the datachips he'd used.
"I have to go meet up with Siri. I promised to help her with something." Hadrian spoke calmly as he continued to pack his things away. Garen's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the other boy, he turned to Bane who just shook his head he wasn't going to get involved with this, Siri who was even younger was terrifying in her ferocity. "I'm done with the note collecting anyways. I just have to write the paper up. We can go over it tomorrow."
"Fine." Garen nodded, pulling a datachip over so he could continue his fact finding mission. He needed to get an acceptable score on this assignment to keep his standing. He refused to fall to the bottom of the class, especially so close to his twelfth cycle.
~xXx~
"So, what am I doing wrong?" Siri panted as she studied Hadrian, the dark haired boy just cocked his head to the side as he stared at her, leaning slightly on the training staff they were using in place of light sabers. While Hadrian wasn't the best at the more acrobatic saber styles, relying more on his swiftness to counteract, Obi-Wan was far more athletic in his use of the blade, but Hadrian was the better at giving explanations. That and Siri was far closer to Hadrian than she was Obi-Wan, and at least Hadrian could tell her what she was doing wrong, Obi-Wan tended to stumble over his words around her.
"You're leaning to far in on your attacks. Your balance gets out of whack." Hadrian spoke calmly as he began circling Siri, the blonde following his every move as she spun her bo staff beside her gearing up for his attack. The pair quickly began the dance again, Siri was determined to get this move down, and if she got to knock Hadrian down a few more times she was all for it. The dark-haired boy was far to serious, but never vain, and never prideful of his skills.
~xXx~
"You're going to wear yourself out again." Obi-Wan muttered as he rolled over, causing Hadrian to glance over at Obi-Wan, letting the lights go dim as he dropped his datapad on his lap. Both had been studying for their next test in Political Studies, Obi-Wan had given up while Hadrian continued to pour over his notes, the class was one that he wasn't very good at. The quiet boy would never become a Jedi Consular. Obi-Wan was certain that if anyone ever suggested it Hadrian probably would have pranked them until they cried.
"As tomorrow is our sabbatical day. I think I shall be fine." Hadrian whispered as he tossed his Datapad on the dresser beside his cot. Shuffling down into the bed, the dark-haired boy pulled his blankets up, nearly covering all of him as waved his hand in the direction of the light switch, extinguishing the low glow that had been bathing the room.
"You said that last time too." Obi-Wan hissed as he watched his friend from across the room, the older boy just shook his head as he burrowed himself into his pillow.
"There's noting to worry about." Hadrian huffed as he began pulling at his pillow, his green eyes flashing in the dim city lights. "Tomorrow, we can spend the day on lake level or in one of the gardens. We'll stay as far from the archives and the training salles as possible."
"Acceptable." Obi-Wan agreed before rolling over, ending their conversation just as quickly as he had started it.
~xXx~
"What difference does it make?" Bant asked as she watched Obi-Wan and Hadrian spar against one another. The two boys were evenly matched as they went against one another. They were a dance, entertainment, something other Initiates strove for, effortless in their movements. The pair now only ever sparred against one another, no one else in their age group was anywhere near their level at the blade. No one else at their age level could challenge them, they either went against each other or older padawans who assigned to assist in the training salles when their Masters were between assignment to offer more difficult training partners for the older Initiates. Though they themselves were the challenge for the other Initiates who were trying to become better in saber class.
"That we must strive to be like perfect one and two." Garen murmured as he stood beside the pink skinned girl. Bant just sighed as she shuffled over so Garen wasn't breathing down her neck.
"They aren't perfect." Reeft bit back, knowing how much his friends hated being referred to as The Perfect Ones. There was only so much nettling the two could handle and it couldn't be from their friends as well as from the other clans. "You know how much they both hate that nickname."
"Yeah, yeah." Garen waved off as he glanced over at his friends, all of them were in the middle of training for the initiate showcase. Hoping that they would catch the eye of a master and knight looking for a Padawan, and with all of them coming up to the ends of their tenth cycle in the Temple, they only had two more cycles at most to catch the eye of a Master or be sent to the Service Corps. Looking around the room Garen noticed a few masters seated in some of the upper level seats far from the training mats. Some were staring intently at the two still locked in battle, others were pointing out different Initiates that they thought should be matched against one another. Master Hazen was going to have to call the Match between Obi-Wan and Hadrian soon, there would be no clear winner in this match for once they were going to stamina versus brute strength.
"Both said they weren't going to battle for a win." Reeft whispered as he turned to his friends, his amber colored eyes serious as he studied the other two. "They could go on for much longer."
"Master Hazen won't let them go for much longer." Bant answered as she gazed over at the pair, both having separated to opposite sides of the mat for the time being to catch their breath. Master Hazen looked ready to step in when Obi-Wan charged Hadrian causing the other boy to dive to the side. The green blades clashed together as they met at the center of the training ring. Each blow was a blur of green as the pair attacked each other with renewed vigor, both were using any and all obstacles in their way to their advantage. The large column to the side gave Obi-Wan higher ground but also caged him to a small area to attack or retreat. Hadrian passed below like a predatory cat, stalking its prey. His training blade a gleaming extension of his arm as stalked the column Obi-Wan was perched on. The golden boy staring down at his shadowy friend, the pair had come to yet another stalemate, anyway Obi-Wan went Hadrian could be on him within seconds.
