When Eeth, Drex, Raven and Kaden left the Temple for the second time that day, with the two padawans walking rather stiffly thanks to their earlier altercation, Raven did not ask to fly. She doubted Eeth would allow it anyway after she had misbehaved. Besides, it would be a reprieve of sorts not having to sit and concentrate.

This time, when Eeth and Drex disappeared into Hawwa's, Raven led Kaden towards the right. "I think this is something we will both like," she said, striding towards a well-lit section of stalls that merged into a massive multileveled complex. "The first few levels are made up of stalls that change from week to week, that can sell pretty much anything and everything from death sticks to kivi flower jell pots," she explained as they entered through an arch of coloured lights.

Kade nodded. He was a lot slower than he had been earlier, not to mention far more uncomfortable! When Raven started showing interest in a second level stall that specialised in making exact replicas of just about every weapon he could identify, he followed her lead. The two spun some bullshit story about buying a toy for a class mate's birthday, yet were not able to get much out of the vendor.

"Replica stores often serve as fronts for illegal weapons trades. Drex or Eeth will have more luck; merchants are reluctant to mention anything illegal if they don't think we're of age," Raven explained as they made their way back onto the street where she knew her master and Drex were waiting.

"He told us to be back in an hour," Drex told the two when they met up in front of Hawwa's. "He'll bring a contact person. Did you find anything interesting?"

When Raven told them about the replica store, both masters nodded.

"Alright, Drex and Kade, you go and check it out," Eeth said. "Meet us on the basement floor afterwards. We'll organise some lunch."

Drex decided that it would be best if he approached the stall alone since the owner would recognise Kade from earlier and might become suspicious. Drex found a place for Kaden where he could pretend to look at displays while listening to the conversation Drex had with the shop owner. He used the Force to draw attention away from his padawan; the boy wasn't invisible but he wasn't going to be easily noticed unless he started singing at the top of his voice or knocking over display stands.

Drex made sure to start with a long conversation on legal weapons replica, slowly moving to atomic annihilators, how they were outlawed and the uses they could have for personal protection. "I've got wealthy clients," he said casually. "They would pay much if only the laws weren't as strict."

The merchant laughed. "No wonder they are trying to lobby the Senate to change them," he said. "The Trade Federation is too cowardly to trade them to Coruscant while the laws are what they are." The ensuing discussion on Republican politics was interesting enough, if only to see how widespread knowledge of the internal corruption in the Senate had become.

Thankfully Kade was not the clumsy type and he manage to stay where Drex had put him without incident. He listened to the conversation carefully, noting with interest how his master led the stall owner into revealing what he knew. Raven had been right. This was not a conversation that they could have had with the vendor themselves.

"Well, that was something," Drex told Kade as they finally made their way down to the basement. "He seemed genuine enough when he ruled out the Trade Federation. I could tell he was not lying, anyway, which doesn't have to mean it's the truth; he might simply be misinformed. I was interested to hear he knew so much about the lobbying efforts of planets like Malastare. I thought that was classified information."

"I guess it's like Knight Teel from my diplomacy class says: 'You can't trust politicians.' I bet someone bought the information out of them," Kade replied.

Meanwhile, Eeth had tasked Raven with finding something edible while he found them a suitable table; no easy task in the crowded food court they had found on the basement level. She placed four containers of different grain, meat and vegetable combinations on the table, then pulled some disposable cutlery from her pant pocket. "The one with the leaf on the top is vegetarian," the padawan pointed out as she eyed what would have been an uncomfortable chair even without a sore bottom, "the others should be self-explanatory." Each container had a picture of the animal used. Raven pulled out a handful of packaged sauces from her other pant pocket, tossing them on the table with the rest. Drex and Kade were still nowhere to be seen which might be a good thing. If they got talking perhaps they found something out.

When she ran out of reasons to remain standing, Raven slid into the chair and, despite the discomfort, grinned slightly as she glanced over at Eeth. "Hey, I don't suppose you'll let me sit on your knee?" she quipped, trying not to blow the request by laughing. Truth be told, Eeth's thigh was not much softer than the chair, but she did enjoy teasing him.

Eeth smiled at Raven. "I don't think that would help," he said. "So it turned out Master Zaryth is not as elderly as all that?"

"It wasn't his strength I doubted so much as his ability to function in the field without sight, especially so when he has to look out for a new padawan in the process," Raven replied and was about to say more when she noticed Drex's silver hair amongst the crowd. "They made it."

When Drex and Kaden had entered the crowded food court, Kade had discretely taken his master's elbow. With Drex navigating and Kade guiding, the pair made it through the mass of beings to the table where Eeth and Raven were waiting.

"Drex, Kaden," Eeth said as they approached the table. "Sit down. We have already bought lunch."

Drex plopped down on a chair.

Kaden did not immediately follow suit. Instead, he eyed the chair dubiously for a moment, then, not wanting to appear weak, he sat. It hurt, and it took some effort not to wince, but he managed.

"The trader seems to think the Trade Federation is too cowardly to be into the trade, at least where Coruscant is concerned," Drex told Eeth. "Malastare, though... if we weren't already watching them, I would tell you we'd have to start to. Are you still attending the Senate committee on weapons legislation?"

"I am," Eeth replied, "together with my padawan, much to her disgust. The two of you might want to come, too. It could be interesting."

Drex nodded. "We will, thank you," he said.

The poor boy, hasn't he been punished enough? Raven thought, and shot Kade a sympathetic expression as Drex confirmed that they would be attending the committee on weapons legislation also.

The rest of the afternoon was hit and miss, but they did manage to gather enough information to gain a little more insight regarding the weapons trade and compile a decent report.

It was rather late by the time Drex and Kaden finally arrived back at their quarters. They had had sandwiches at Eeth's quarters while writing their report, so there was no need to prepare dinner.

"Get ready for bed immediately," Drex told Kaden while they both pulled off their boots. "We will perform our evening meditation afterwards. How is your bottom faring, by the way? Will you be able to sleep?"

"It hurts but I'll live," the boy replied bravely and plodded into his bedroom.

When Kaden re-emerged, clad in his pyjamas, Drex said with a hint of humour in his voice: "I don't doubt that you'll live, but I was asking whether you'd be able to sleep. After all, I have no idea what exactly Master Koth did to you, but I have no doubt that it left an impression."

Kade scratched at his bare chest. He had taken a good look at his backside while showering and, although it was no longer bright red, it still ached. "He paddled the ass clean off me. It's kind of reduced to a steady burn now, and yeah, it's gonna make it uncomfortable to sleep because I hate sleeping on my stomach," the padawan admitted. "What did you do to Raven?" he asked, hoping to open the subject so he might ask for some advice.

"I'll give you a bit of bacta then, before you go to sleep," Drex said, ignoring the question about Raven because he felt that this was really none of Kaden's business. "Are you alright with Master Koth having punished you?

"No," Kade answered, deadpan, and then he smiled slightly, allowing a hint of humour to creep into his tone so Drex would know he wasn't entirely serious. "It really hurt!"

"It was mostly because of Raven, you know," Drex explained. "She had the feeling she needed to babysit both of us, and I thought that if I took her in hand, it might rid her of that ridiculous notion. I think it worked, too. I just hope you did not feel as if I was intentionally shunning you."

"No, of course not," he replied honestly. Kaden had felt like he had pushed Drex too far, not the other way around! He paused, silently debating whether or not to let the man in on his earlier insecurities. That he had thought Drex might have given up on him showed a lack of faith in his master, and left the boy feeling vulnerable. Kaden did not like feeling that way, nor would his pride allow him to easily admit to such insecurities. He spotted the hairbrush that still lay on the floor and picked it up. Again he paused, wondering if he should tell Drex what he had thought to do. Ultimately, he decided against it. He would return the brush before Drex used it again and hopefully it would all blow over. For now, though, he tucked the horrid thing into the back of his sleep pants and changed the subject.

"Do you think Eeth will let Raven have any bacta? She looked pretty upset. Did you go postal on her ass? I mean, she's a girl and all," the boy added. He knew from personal experience just how hard his master could wallop if he had a mind to do so.

"I only used my hand," Drex said mildly. "She should be fine. And I punished her just the same as I would have punished her if she was a boy. We are Jedi. A person's sex shouldn't make a difference for us." He paused for a moment, then asked bluntly: "Does it make a difference for you?"

"'Only used your hand.' You make that sound like that isn't a big deal," Kade guffawed. He pushed himself into a seated position on the couch as if the change in posture would somehow telegraph to his blind master that he was about to talk about something serious. "Well, yeah, kinda. Girls are softer, I guess," he managed to get out.

"Girls aren't softer," Drex said decisively. "At least not generally. I have had two female padawans, after all, and both were far from fragile."

Kade wanted to argue that they were, that physically, his body felt harder in comparison but the subject was awkward enough as it was without complicating it. "Can I ask you something personal?" His face scrunched in obvious discomfort.

"Yes," said Drex, and his tone of voice signalled encouragement.

Kade took a breath and blew out a long sigh. "It's just that…. Yeah, Eeth scares the crap out of me but that's not the only reason I'm uncomfortable around them. I-I kinda like Raven," he blurted, and immediately felt as if a weight had been lifted. Emboldened by the liberation, the boy got to his feet and started pacing. "I can't stop thinking about her. Every time we are together I have to fight to keep my eyes on hers. She is making me crazy!" he exclaimed, waving his hands for emphasis. "I've never cared about girls before, at least not like this anyway. It's like she's activated some sort of switch in my brain, and I don't know how to turn it off! It's really embarrassing, I'm sure you can imagine why…." he said, not wanting to elaborate on that. "Is there some sort of holospray that will delay puberty, just until we've finished these investigations!?" he asked exasperatedly. Technically, Kade had an idea of what was happening to him as he had been taught about the changes a body experiences throughout life many years ago. However, the timing couldn't have been worse.

Drex sighed. Having trained three padawans before Kaden, he was well aware that this would have cropped up sooner or later. He had to agree with Kaden that this was inconvenient timing. On the other hand, maybe it was for the best. Kaden would have to learn to deal with his hormones at some point, and doing so now, when tasked with a mission that was neither critical nor life-threatening, was comparatively safe.

"Most adolescent humanoids have such feelings," he told Kaden. "And no, there is no holospray, nor is there a magical cure against it. You will simply have to learn to cope. There are meditation techniques that help - yes, I know that sounds very feeble and condescending, but they do help. Really. But it's hard work all the same. On the bright side: At least you won't have to do that hard work while chased by a spiteful Hutt or trying to pass off as a space miner, so that's something. Unfortunately, being Jedi, most of us, at some point in our lives, face the dilemma of developing feelings for other persons that we are not allowed to indulge. The only good news I have is that the embarrassment will wear off the more you get used to working with Raven."

He gave Kaden a sympathetic smile. He knew how hard this was, he really did.

"I appreciate your honesty, by the way," he added. "It must not have been easy, asking me for advice about this, but I'm glad you did."

"It wasn't," Kade replied, and the two were silent for a while. He wasn't sure how to express the gratitude, or sheer relief, he felt at hearing Drex say that he was not the only one struggling with this issue.

"Will you teach me, please?" he finally asked. "Because to be honest, I'd rather deal with Eeth than Raven, and that is saying something."

Drex laughed.

"Sounds like it," he replied. "Yes, I will teach you. It is basically the same technique you use when releasing negative emotions into the Force. And it is equally difficult because, just like your psyche likes to cling to certain negative emotions, it clings to feelings of sexual attraction. What makes things worse is that it is not just your psyche, but your body that creates such feelings. But with enough of an effort, it is possible to get rid of them all the same. I'll show you. We can incorporate this technique into our morning and evening meditations for as long as this mission takes, or for as long as it's necessary."

Kade found that the meditation technique was indeed similar to releasing negative emotions into the Force, and he was able to follow and pick up the basics relatively easily. Dealing with his body's physical reactions was going to prove a bit harder, though.

"Thank you, Master. This is hard for me. I appreciate that you took me seriously," the padawan said honestly after they had emerged from their meditative trance.

He got to his feet and looked up at Drex. "Have you ever been through anything like this? Did this ever happen to you?" he wanted to know, and the expression on his face contradicted the calm tone in which he had asked.

Drex smiled softly.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "Although it happened rather late in my career. Being blind, it was easier for me not to fall to the physical attraction of females. As long as I did not entertain overly close relationships with girls my age, I was fine. Right after being knighted, though, I was assigned to a mission together with a female knight, and it turned out hard for both of us. I wonder, in hindsight, whether the Council did this on purpose. Anyway, I got through it without compromising the Order's ideals, but I can fully relate to the awkwardness and embarrassment you are currently feeling."

Kaden was relieved. He felt as if the weight of the universe had been lifted from his shoulders. He moved to where Drex sat, knelt, and wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you, master," he said, the uncharacteristic show of affection truly heartfelt. Then, without saying anything more, the padawan rose and left for his bedroom, closing the door behind himself.

That night, Kade slept soundly for the first time in over a week.