A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed our story so far. We love hearing what you all think, it makes our day. We have a little family fluff and fun coming up but stay tuned as things rarely stay so sedate in our stories for long. In subsequent chapters, there will be excitement and … some teenage troubles, too. ;) You know us too well not to expect that!
The next morning, Eeth woke Raven at five.
"Padawan," he said quietly, shaking her shoulder. "Get up. You need to get dressed if you want to accompany your father to the hospital."
"I juss wanna see what the Bothans do with the spice," she mumbled unintelligibly, still lost in a dream. However, when her sleep-addled mind registered Eeth's voice, she sat up. "This is possibly worse than that time you made me stay up for forty-eight hours to build my lightsaber," she complained, dropping from the bunk and falling onto the mat melodramatically. Of course, Raven knew that some padawans took far longer to construct their weapons, but didn't think that was worth mentioning at the moment.
"Quit complaining and count yourself lucky if your chosen career holds no worse fate than having to get up at five," Eeth said. He said it quietly, though, so as not to disturb anyone else.
Raven blew a raspberry at him.
"Stop it, padawan," Eeth said sternly. "Now."
Of course, she had totally seen that reaction from Eeth coming and given that it was always unadvisable to start the day on his shit list, she did not retort further. She crawled to their door, and after edging her back up the wall for a little added dramatics that she knew would be garnering a frown from her totally anti-theatrics master, she headed for the shower.
"Good morning, honey," Jobe said as he met Raven in the hallway. "The shower is free. Take your time. We will get breakfast on the way."
"Yes, Sir," Raven replied through a yawn, ignoring the fact that his tone was unusually chipper for such an inhumane hour. She was still on autopilot, and there wasn't much else going on at the moment. As usual, this all changed with a shower, and twenty minutes later, Raven was waiting by the door.
Had this been any of his other children, Jobe would have been elated at finding them ready right on time, especially without a single prompt from him or Selwin. Yet seeing his daughter standing there, her posture so rigid and unnaturally still in the half-light, somehow made his heart constrict in a way he hadn't been expecting. The Jedi were just so disciplined. Had his little girl had a childhood? Had she ever caught snowflakes on her tongue and spun around in circles just because it was fun to be dizzy? Jobe didn't know. What he did know, though, was that the smile she greeted him with was genuine, and if nothing else, Raven seemed happy with her life. He pulled her into a one-armed hug and opened the door with the other. "How do grain cakes with melon jam and cinnamon tea sound?" he asked.
"Deliciously disaster-free!" Raven replied knowingly.
"You're familiar with the challenge, then?" said Jobe, referring to the many times he'd spilled something uncleanable on his clothing while eating on the run.
"All too familiar," Raven said through a grin, speaking not only from years' of experience of being sent back to change before morning classes due to a breakfast "fail" but also from the countless times she and Eeth had been forced to eat on the run whilst doing their duty.
True to Jobe's word, breakfast was easy to eat and mess-free. The melon jam was clear, and the half cup of cinnamon tea came with a lid.
"Morning, Trebeck. You're a sight for sore eyes. Quite literally." It was another abnormally chipper person who said this, only this time Raven could see why since the woman handed her father a clipboard with the words "Night Audit" printed on the front in bold black lettering; she was going home for some much-needed sleep.
"Good morning, Sebby." Jobe briefly scanned the file to gauge what sort of a day they were in for, then placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "This is my daughter Raven. Raven, this is Doctor Gayle Sebbaway. She has been here since 1800 and, as you can imagine, she is keen to get home to her bed."
"I'm not surprised," Raven replied quietly.
The two doctors exchanged notes, and after a brief orientation with the nursing staff, Jobe and Raven were ready to go. "Typically, I specialise in rheumatology but we are several ER doctors down and so I volunteered," Jobe explained to Raven as they walked.
The hospital staff were all very polite. Being a Jedi gave Raven the edge on judging their true feelings. For the most part, the nursing staff were delighted to have her on board for the day, but the doctors' attitudes varied from mild apprehension to outright annoyance at having a kid underfoot. As the day went on, however, their attitudes began to shift in her favour. Raven's disciplined yet confident comportment and ability to follow instructions efficiently and without question won over even the grumpiest of them. During the brief lunch break, where three staff sat for exactly 4.2 minutes to stuff down a quarter of a sandwich, Raven asked questions about their morning, and no one seemed to mind answering them.
It was getting close to four in the afternoon when Raven remarked how quiet it was, a statement that was met with incredulous looks from everyone in earshot. Sure enough, barely a minute later, all hell broke loose.
"Never say the "Q" word, kid. NEVER!" admonished one of the nurses as she strode towards the door, smashing buttons on her pager as she went. She wasn't running, but she was moving with extreme purpose!
What followed next could only be described as a frantic state of controlled chaos and clipped efficiency. Raven stood back and kept out of the way, although it was hard as she could feel the patients' pain through the Force and wanted to help. Apparently, a speeder had taken on a shuttle, the result being catastrophic.
For the first time since meeting her, Jobe saw a slight crack in his daughter's usually calm demeanour. However, he could not stop to ask if what he was about to do would make things better or worse for everyone. He took her to a young man who had become hostile due to an adverse reaction to a sedative. They were reluctant to try another variant before taking a blood sample, and despite the efforts of two large orderlies, the nursing staff struggled to get the needle in any vein. Jobe looked at his daughter, but he didn't need to say anything.
Raven placed one hand on the man's forehead, and another gripped his wrist. Thankfully, a semi-coherent, partially sedated humanoid was as easy to compel as a bantha. "Shh!" she scolded lightly. His ranting and bellowing were throwing her concentration. Soon the man became peaceful, his blood was taken, and a minute later, an IV was running. Raven stepped back to get out of the staff's way, only to be grabbed by a nurse.
"Trebeck, can I have your kid for ten minutes? We could use an extra set of hands over here."
Jobe nodded, a proud smile on his face, Raven had done well, and he was going to tell her as much the first opportunity he got. Right now, however, he merely said, "Don't leave the room, please," but did not stop in his ministrations, his focus on his current patient absolute.
Raven complied immediately and left with the nurse who was looking at her as if she had just turned into a giant spider. Most teenagers would not be so quick to respond, especially so in such a volatile situation. "So you're from the Jedi?" she asked. "I've always wanted to go to Coruscant. Oh well, one day. How are you at sutures?"
Two hours later, a tired, rather bedraggled-looking Jobe left the ICU with his daughter. Of the seven people involved in the crash, they had only lost one. The woman had had a severe cerebral haemorrhage, and despite releasing the pressure in a procedure that had even made Raven turn away, they were too late. Most of the damage had already been done before she had been pulled from the wreckage. "Come on, honey, let's wrap this up and head home," Jobe said, smiling at her as they entered the staff room after handover.
"I am so very proud of you. You did a wonderful job there today, both helping people who needed you and interacting with the staff," he told her as they drove home.
"Thanks, Dad. You're an amazing doctor, and I'm proud of you, too." They both laughed at that statement because it sounded weird coming from a fifteen-year-old.
The rest of the trip home, Raven threw question after question at her father, pleased that not only was he happy to answer them, regardless of how ridiculous some of them must sound to him, but he was enjoying this time as much as she was.
After Raven had left, Eeth got ready for the day and meditated for half an hour or so. Then he helped Selwin, Baka and Al make breakfast and organise the children. When Selwin, Jai and Bram had left, he sat in the garden and started working through a stack of memos he had received during the past few weeks.
Shortly before Bram and Jai were expected to return from school, Baka and Al started preparing sandwiches, and Eeth contributed by making Corellian spread. When Selwin arrived, she topped this off with home-made lemonade.
"So, do the two of you have much homework?" Selwin asked Bram and Jai when they had all sat down for lunch.
"I'm supposed to write a story about life on a different planet," Jai announced. "Eeth, can you help me? You know thousands of planets, don't you? What's your home world? Could I write about that?"
Eeth paused for a moment. "Yes, I can help you," he finally said, "but I would not recommend picking my home world. I was born on Nar Shaddaa. It is a moon of Nal Hutta and it is not a pretty world at all. I think it would be a good idea if you picked a world that you already know something about and I can give you more information."
"Okay," Jai agreed cheerfully.
"How about you, Bram?" Selwin asked.
"Miraculously, I have no homework," Bram replied proudly. "I think Tanjo was impressed with the maths assignments that Eeth helped me with, and I completed several assignments at school. However, I probably should study for my exams."
Selwin raised her eyebrows. This was a highly uncharacteristic statement for her oldest son. "What an unusually responsible thing for you to say," she said with a smile. "You should, yes. I'll be happy to help if you need me to."
"Thanks," Bram said, pleasantly surprised. His parents had to share what little time they had between all their children, and it was rare that one of them had the time and patience to sit with him and help him through his school work.
Two hours later, Jai had proudly completed a very long story about an orphan girl on Corellia and Bram, thanks to Selwin, had a much better grasp of chemistry than he had had before. He yawned, stretched and went out into the garden to pick some berries. There he found Eeth sitting under the apple tree, eyes closed. Bram stopped and gave him a curious look. Eeth opened his eyes and smiled at him.
"The Jedi meditate frequently," he told the boy. "It helps us build a connection to the Force."
"I bet you also work out a lot," Bram replied, sitting down on the grass. "You are the fastest swimmer I have ever seen, and the dives Raven did were spectacular."
"Being in excellent physical condition can be life-saving," Eeth said. "Some of our work is physically demanding to the extreme; and wielding a lightsaber with any degree of skill requires a lot of physical prowess. So, yes, we work out a lot. Every day, often for several hours."
"The stuff that Raven did," Bram said curiously, "like somersaults. Do you have to be a Jedi to do that or could anyone do it?"
"Being a Jedi has nothing to do with it," said Eeth. "Anyone could do it if they are daring enough and have adequate muscle power and control of their body."
"Could you teach me?" Bram asked eagerly.
Eeth raised his eyebrows. "I could," he replied, "but I am not sure you would succeed in one or two afternoons. After all, your sister has been undergoing this kind of training for nearly all of her life. Besides, at the Temple, we use trampolines to start practising acrobatics. It makes the whole thing considerably safer."
"We have trampolines on the playground, only two blocks down from here," Bram said a little hesitantly. "I mean… I don't want to impose on you. I know you have other stuff to do."
"Oh, I do not have any pressing work that requires my immediate attention," Eeth replied with a small smile and stood. "I will try to teach you. But do not be disappointed if this takes longer than what little time I have to work with you."
Eeth soon found out that Bram was quite fearless, which helped. His muscles were unfortunately completely unused to this type of activity. However, he did not want to give up, partly because he thought it would be so cool if he could learn to do some of the impressive stuff he had seen Raven perform, and partly because he had a good idea of what Eeth thought of people who gave up too easily. And the expression of approval he thought he saw on Eeth's face when he doggedly tried a move again, and again, and again helped a great deal.
They ended up spending so much time on the playground that they were only just home in time for dinner. "Mum, guess what?" Bram called excitedly, rushing into the kitchen. "I can do a somersault on the trampolines! Eeth taught me!"
"That's great, Bram," Selwin said, turning around from her saucepan and smiling at him. Bram had accomplished precious little that he was proud of during the past few years, and she was genuinely happy for him.
"Thanks, Eeth," Bram said, beaming at the Jedi master.
"You are most welcome," Eeth told him, giving him a brief smile.
Jobe and Raven entered as Bram was telling that story. They were both mentally and physically strung out from the day, not that Raven was going to admit as much. "Master," she greeted Eeth with a slight bow and went to sit with her brothers.
"It took me ages to work up the courage," Raven told Bram, proud that he'd managed to somersault in just one afternoon with Eeth.
Bram said, "Well, unlike you, I can only do it on a trampoline. And I'd better not show you all the bruises I caught from falling the wrong way."
"Ordinarily," Eeth told Bram, "if you were training as a Jedi, nobody in their right mind would even start teaching you such things before you have learned to fall properly."
"Yes, and I see now why that would be a good idea," Bram admitted, rubbing his shoulder. "Raven, can you teach me? Maybe there will be some time for us to do that before you have to leave."
Raven glanced at Eeth briefly and smiled at receiving a slight nod. "I'd love to. If there's one thing I've become an expert at since I started my apprenticeship, it's falling!" she said honestly and covered a yawn. "Does it hurt much? Master can help with that, he's quite good with bruises. You'll still have the mark but the pain will be gone at least." Raven glanced from Bram to Eeth, silently hoping that she hadn't just thrown a spanner in some sort of object lesson.
"If they prevent you from sleeping, I will help," Eeth said. "If not, I recommend you consider it a learning experience."
"Well, I could always get Dad's bruise balm," Bram said cheekily. "But honestly, it's not that bad. Except for maybe the one on my shoulder."
"I will tend to it after dinner," Eeth promised.
"You can use the Force to take away the pain of bruising?" asked Jobe. "I'd like to see that." He didn't know a lot about the Force and how it was used in medicine, but he had a keen interest, especially after some of the things he'd witnessed Raven do during their time at the hospital.
After dinner, Eeth asked Bram to take off his shirt. There was indeed a huge bruise on his shoulder. Eeth rested his hand on it, closed his eyes and focused. After a few moments, Bram sighed in relief.
"It's starting to feel loads better," he said.
"But how does it work?" asked Katlin, frowning.
"I can use the Force to speed up the healing process and numb the pain," said Eeth without opening his eyes, continuing to let healing energy flow into the bruised tissue. "It will not help much with serious injuries, especially since I am not a trained healer. But for minor bruises and aches, it is very effective."
"Can you all do this?" Jobe asked.
Raven chuckled. "No. Lakhri is dreadful. Master and I have a talent for it, though. Some of us don't, some of us do, and some of us are so good at it that we become healers."
"Will you become a healer, then?" Katlin asked.
"No, I'm not nearly good enough to do that. And if I were, I would be back at the Temple with the healers, not out in the field," answered Raven.
"Raven is training to become a field knight, just like me," said Eeth, opening his eyes and removing his hand from Bram's shoulder.
Raven snorted. "You are more than just a field knight," said Raven, tutting at Eeth's understatement. "He is a member of the Jedi High Council," she told her family proudly.
"And if I ever stop being a member of the Jedi High Council," said Eeth calmly, "I will go back to being a field knight. No matter. I think we should turn in."
"We all should," Selwin said. "It's been a long day - especially for Jobe and Raven. But Bram looks tired, too."
"I am," Bram admitted, yawning. "Eeth wore me out. Besides, we wanna go to the waterfalls tomorrow."
Raven did not hesitate and, although trying to be discreet about it, was more than happy to comply when it was time to sleep. She lay on the mat in their room waiting for Eeth to return from the bathroom… and nodded off.
"Padawan?" asked Eeth as he closed the door behind himself, but he received no response. Frowning, he bent down to shake Raven awake but reconsidered. They had not had a chance to talk about her day but he assumed it must have been exhausting. He considered leaving her where she was but he knew she would be cold and stiff if she spent the night sleeping on a mat on the floor. Therefore, he carefully and gently lifted her up, deposited her on her bunk and covered her with a blanket.
The next thing Raven knew, it was morning. She sat up and glanced around the room briefly, noting that Eeth must have let her sleep last night and put her in bed. She was grateful for his leniency. Light was just peeking in from beneath the curtain. She dropped from her bunk and flung it open, hoping to all hopes that it would not be raining. It was not! In fact, the sky was clear and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. A glance at her watch told her that it was just after six. She crept towards the door and flicked on the light mercilessly, hoping to exact a little revenge and blind Eeth into alertness, only to discover that he was already awake. "Ugh! Do you ever sleep!?" she exclaimed
"I do," Eeth said, unperturbed, "but I woke up when you did. I think your family will sleep in. As you are awake, we could put in a workout session before breakfast. Bram showed me the playground yesterday; it is just two minutes from here."
"Yes! I really wanted to try out the trampoline Bram was talking about," Raven said, pulling off her sleep shorts and changing into some comfortable training pants and a long-sleeved shirt; it wasn't cold, but the breeze had picked up a little since yesterday. "Thanks for letting me sleep, and–" she blushed just a little. "For putting me to bed. The floor would have been less comfortable."
"I know," said Eeth. "I did not want you to wake up sore. I assumed your day would have been exhausting enough. Tell me about the hospital where your father works."
"It started like any stint in the healer's wing," Raven explained. "Lots of observations, talking to people, checking stuff. But then there was a huge speeder crash, and it all went crazy." She gave him a blow for blow account of what had happened at the hospital as they walked to the park.
"I am pleased that you could be of help," Eeth told Raven, and he was; he strove to raise his apprentices in such a way that they could and would make themselves useful, whatever the circumstances. Raven's aptitude for healing had not gone unnoticed, of course, and she had already helped out in the healer's wing on several occasions. Still, the experience of a hospital managed by non-Jedi would be quite different from that.
Eeth was also pleased that Raven had found such a strong connection to her father. All in all, Raven's experience with her family was far beyond what most Jedi padawans found when they went looking for their origins. Sometimes they encountered hostility, sometimes disinterest; and even when there was goodwill, they often parted from their parents and siblings as polite strangers.
He took Raven through a rigorous warm-up on the trampolines and a round of demanding freestyle sparring, thinking that she was less likely to become antsy during the speeder ride to the waterfalls if she had had some exercise. When they finally returned to the house, the family was only just waking up.
Raven greeted those who were up as she headed for the shower. Eeth went after her. By the time he emerged, she was already sitting on their mat in a light meditative trance waiting for him. "Since we missed out last night, I started early," she told him across their bond, wanting to impress.
Eeth smiled at her. "That is very attentive of you," he said and knelt down next to her.
Twenty minutes later, they helped Al, Jai and Bram set the table. Selwin was in her room getting dressed, Baka was busy watering the plants before they left and Jobe had only just got up, looking rather sleep-bedraggled.
"We will pick up a picnic from the bakery on our way out of town," Selwin told Eeth and Raven. "We know the owner, and we arranged it yesterday. It will be less of a hassle for everyone. That way, we can get going right after breakfast. Jobe and one of the other adults will go on Uncle Dennis' speederbike; there is not enough space for all of us in the speeder."
"Speederbike!?" Raven looked to her mother and then to Eeth, a hopeful expression on her face. "Can I be that other adult?" she asked. Raven had taken lessons at the Temple and would choose the fast-paced, zippy feel of a speederbike over a clunky speeder car any day.
"No fair, I want to go. I'm even older than you!" Bram protested, in a not-quite-serious-but-actually-serious way.
Raven snorted good-naturedly at Bram's effort, but had to give it to him for creativity. Technically, he was older.
"Neither of you are adults, and you will both go in the speeder," Eeth decreed with an air of absolute finality, cutting short Jai who had just opened his mouth, presumably to ask for a ride on the speederbike, too.
"Thanks," Al mouthed, carrying a bowl of porridge with fresh berries past them into the living room.
Raven huffed but said no more. It wasn't worth attempting to argue with Eeth over it.
Jobe was in the kitchen preparing a pot of kaff for himself and Al, some herbal tea for Eeth, Baka and more recently Selwin, who had taken a liking to the brand Raven had bought from Zanzetti's and some juice for the others. He had just finished pouring the tea when Belle came running into the room.
"Daddy, I squasheded my finger. Look!" she said tearfully, holding it up for him to see.
"Aww, honey, let me look at it," said Jobe, swinging her onto his hip and kissing the finger as she raised it to about 2 cm in front of his eyes. He and Selwin had never pandered to such things; if one of their kids fell, they just picked them up and didn't make a big deal out of it. The result of this was that when one of their children said that something hurt, they usually took it seriously. True enough, Belle's finger was red and a little swollen. It was not severe but more than enough pain for any four-year-old. "Ow, that looks like it hurts," said Jobe. "How did you manage that?" He started putting more kisses on her finger, which was making her chuckle.
"I'll tell you, but you gotta promise no sharp ones, okay?" the little girl said adamantly, although she was still managing to smile bravely at her father.
"No sharp ones today," Jobe agreed. No skin was broken, so he saw no need for anything that invasive. "Come on, let's go see what we can find to make it better." Abandoning beverage duty, Jobe took his daughter to their bedroom where he kept his medical bag.
"Hon, could you take over in the kitchen? Belle's 'squasheded' her finger," he explained to his wife, who was exiting their bedroom as he and Belle entered.
"Sure," Selwin said, blowing a kiss on Belle's finger. "How did it happen, sweetheart?"
Belle squirmed. "I couldn't reach the top of the cupboard and I wanted my big yellow towel to take to the waterfalls. So I pushed the toy box over to stand on but then my finger got stuck and it hurt," she half confessed, half complained although her expression was decidedly sheepish.
"I thought we told you not to do that," said Jobe. "It's too heavy for you to move safely. Look what happened, hmmm," he scolded, although his tone was not as harsh as it probably would have been if this were one of his boys. Shaking his head, he pulled a hypospray from his bag and started prepping it.
"Belle, if you don't stop doing that, we will have to take your toy box away," Selwin supplemented. Like everyone else, she found it hard to be strict with her youngest daughter, but it tended to come more easily when it was an actual health or safety issue that was at stake. She frowned at Belle, then left to do as her husband asked her and save the kaff - only to find that Eeth and Al had already taken care of it.
"Your mother is right," Jobe said, placing the hypo back into his bag and picking her up so as to be at eye level. "The next time you want something from your cupboard, you come and ask one of us. No one will tell you no, and you know that."
"Aww, Daddy, I will. Don't get all cranky, I don't like it when you're all cranky." She looked at her finger that, thanks to the hypospray, had already decreased in size, but still hurt. "How many minutes before it stops hurting?" she wanted to know.
"By the time we are in the speeder, it will be gone," Jobe reassured her, his smile returning as he carried her into their common room.
"Do you think Master Eeth could fix it like he did with Bram's bruises?" she questioned, her exuberance earning a chuckle from her father as she wriggled from his hold and took off for the table. He didn't get a chance to warn the Jedi before Belle rushed up to Eeth's side and climbed onto his lap, holding out her finger.
"Can you rub some Force on it?" Belle asked.
Eeth looked more than a little surprised to suddenly have a four-year-old on his lap, but he regained his countenance fast.
"The Force is not exactly something you rub on," he said. "But I can perform some Force-aided healing. It will not make the injury go away completely, but it will help with the pain and the swelling."
He gently took her little hand in his large one and let a trickle of healing energy flow into the swollen area.
"There," he said after a minute or so. "Does that feel better?"
"Ahuh, it feels floaty. Thank you, Eeth" Belle said, grinning up at him. "Look Brambram, just like your arm," she told her brother, dashing around to sit on the empty cushion by his side and holding up her finger.
Breakfast was the usual lively chatter of different conversations, but since they wanted to arrive early, everyone ate fairly quickly and pitched in to clean up. Raven watched longingly as her father and Al went to pick up the speederbike, but kept the disappointment to herself.
"Padawan, there will be opportunities for you to ride speederbikes," Eeth told her quietly. "There is absolutely no point in starting a contest with your siblings about it."
He ushered her into the speeder, which Selwin was driving. Eeth was in the back left corner, with Raven squashed in between him and Bram. Baka, Belle and Jai were sitting in front of them, while Katlin and Mans – who had shown up during breakfast – were sitting in the front next to Selwin.
The ride took about ninety minutes, which was good, in a way, as Baka told them, because if the waterfalls were any closer to the city, the area would be overcrowded. The trip took them through woods into hilly terrain until the hills became mountains, covered by green trees, with myriads of small rivers and deep canyons. Finally, Selwin pulled up to a half-filled parking lot from which a broad path led to the waterfalls. Jobe and Al were already sitting on a bench, waving at them.
"Honey, will you run ahead and find us a table with some shade?" Katlin asked her fiancé as she angled her belly out of the speeder. Mans was quick to help steady her; he was quite possibly more protective of his fiancée and their babies than Katlin was. If she wanted a table with a little shade, he was going to find one for her.
Belle made to run for Jobe and Al, only to be pulled up short by Jai. "Okay, okay, I'll wait, let go," she grumped at him, but was fast to regain her smile once he complied.
It was about one kilometre to the base of the first fall. Raven stopped, assuming that this was where they were headed for, only to be pulled along by Baka. "The best place is over the swing bridge, about another kilometre to go yet," Baka told Raven.
When they arrived at the spot Baka had indicated, Mans was already sitting at a shaded table waiting for them.
The grass smelled sweet and the breeze was cool, so once they got to the table, Raven sat on the ground and started tugging off her boots. She had decided against the sensible one-piece temple issue bathing suit and gone for a blue bikini with a white daisy pattern, not that she had anything to fill it out with yet, but she had liked the colour, so Eeth had allowed her to buy it. She pulled off her tunic and folded it neatly. It was not quite warm enough yet to swim, so she kept her singlet and pants on for now. She unclipped her lightsaber and handed it to Eeth for safekeeping. After the debacle with Conrad, Raven wasn't taking any chances!
Raven smiled at the antics going on around her. Bram had taken to wrestling over something with Jai, and Belle was sitting on Katlin's lap with her head on her belly giggling at the tiny kicks. Jobe, Selwin and Mans were laying out blankets while Al and Baka were cuddling. Her family was always doing something, and everyone was so content, she thought.
It took an hour or so before people started to brave the water. Belle was first. She was wading in one of the shallow pools with two girls Raven had never met before, while she, Jai and Bram were scaling up some planks that had been nailed into a tree trunk to retrieve a rope swing. "Master, you have got to try that out, too," Raven shouted down as Bram dislodged the swing with a long stick and Jai grabbed hold.
Eeth looked at it and shook his head. "No, padawan, I do not think it will hold my weight," he said, "and if it did, I would have a hard time staying off the ground. You go ahead. But try not to goad your brothers into things that they cannot do, even if you can."
"Aww, spoilsport," Bram said good-naturedly, having overheard this comment. "Come on, Raven. We can use the rope swing to get up that tree opposite, and from there, you have a splendid view of the whole waterfall."
Raven followed Bram's lead, catching the rope swing and joining her brothers on the tree opposite. "This is so beautiful. Everyone takes care of the place, too," she noted, honestly taken aback by the unspoiled surroundings, considering how many people visited the spot. From here she could see a few more rope swings, some that swung out across the water and into the main pool, and a couple that were a lot lower down and currently being monopolised by Belle and her new friends.
There were four sections to the falls. The first started at the spot where water from the river above began to cascade what looked like at least 50m into a pool that was small; but Raven suspected that, due to erosion, it was very deep. From there, the water fell down and pooled to make a second swimming spot, slightly bigger than the one above it, although the drop was only about 30m to the ground. The next drop was slightly less again at 20m up. That pool seemed to be the most popular. It was large and seemed to be where most people chose to swim. The run-off from this made for a large pool with very shallow edges where she had seen some people wading. Raven squinted up at the sky, taking in the surroundings, and smiled at her brothers. She was happy to follow their lead. After all, this was their spot and they'd know the best things to do.
"There's a rock diving competition here every year," Bram said, pointing to the waterfall. "We've been there to watch last year. They only let adults participate, though. I can't wait to be old enough. You get a harness and everything, of course. It's really cool."
"You think so?" Jai asked. "I'd be so afraid I'd piss myself, I think. I mean, imagine jumping from up there!"
"Most of them don't, though," Bram said. "Jumping from the very top is forbidden anyway. It's too high and the pool is too small. Most jump from ten or twenty metres. Only a few jump from the third ledge."
"Could you do this?" Jai asked Raven curiously. "And does your master let you do such stuff?"
Raven squinted up at the levels. "If we were at the Temple, he'd let me jump from the 30m ledge, but not unsupervised," she admitted. "He might not mind so much with the next one down. Eeth could jump from the very top one and land in that small pool, you know," she told them, a hint of pride coming across in her voice as she said that.
"No way," Jai said immediately. "No one can do it."
"Yeah, but Eeth is, well, a Jedi," Bram argued. "He can use the Force to… heck, what exactly does he use the Force for in order not to fall to his death?" he asked, turning towards Raven. "You can't fly, can you?"
Raven had to laugh at that. "No, we can't fly, although if you asked Flynt he'd argue with you, not that he's planning to fly that glider he made around the Temple again anytime soon. We use the Force to manipulate the elements, some better than others, so we can kind of slow a fall. If Eeth needed to jump from something that high, he could slow himself down enough and cushion his landing," she explained.
"Wow, that's so cool," Jai said enviously. "Could you show us?"
"Umm, sure. Ready?" Raven crouched low and leapt from the tree, using the Force to slow her fall to land softly. It wasn't much of a demonstration, but it was a demonstration all the same. A couple of seconds later, she had leapt back up using the same technique but in reverse to join them.
"Wow," Bram said, impressed. "Could you do the waterfall? Like, jump from the top?"
"Now you're crazy," Jai said. "She just told us only Eeth could do it."
Bram rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but she just showed us she can slow her fall, too!" he argued. "Raven, honestly, could you jump from up there?"
"Probably, but definitely not unsupervised. I'd have to ask." Raven said, feeling like a stick in the mud for letting them down. "Personally I think it would be a lot of fun, but well, Eeth and I don't always agree on things like that."
"Well, I don't believe you can do it, anyway," Jai declared. "Only adults are allowed to do that kind of stuff, anyway, and they always have a harness."
"If she says she could, I believe her," said Bram. "You haven't seen her at the pool. Anyway, it's something I'd love to see. Can we ask Eeth or would he have your head for it?"
"Sure, I can ask him. One condition, though, you have to promise me that you won't try it yourself, okay?" After receiving assurances that they wouldn't, Raven dropped from the tree and went back to their table to ditch her pants and singlet, Bram and Jai in tow. Eeth was seated at the table with Mans and Katlin while Al and Baka sat on a blanket, still in each other's arms. "Master?" she asked when their conversation stopped long enough for her to politely interrupt.
"What is it, padawan?" asked Eeth. "Do you want to go swimming?"
"Kinda… Bram and Jai were telling me about the free diving competition they have here each year. They jump from the ledges into the small pools. Will you let me do it from the top?" she asked, a hopeful look on her face.
Eeth glanced up at the topmost ledge and saw that it was a fifty-metre drop into a very small pool. "No," he said brusquely. "Do you really mean to tell me that this is even permitted? Because I have a hard time believing that they would allow civilians to do it, competition or not."
"Well, they don't jump from the top ledge, no," Bram admitted, a little annoyed at the amused grin on Katlin's and Mans's faces. "But I thought since you were Jedi, you'd be able to do it. Raven said you could."
"Yes, I could," Eeth said, "but it would be risky, and I do not currently see any reason to undertake such a risk. Raven could not."
Raven frowned; if Eeth could do it, she thought there was a chance she could pull it off, too. "How about from the next one down, can I go from there?" Raven asked.
"Before I even consider that question, can you tell me whether that would be allowed?" Eeth asked Katlin and Mans.
"Nope," said Katlin. "Only during the competition, when they have cleared the pools of people, and then only for adults who are wearing a harness."
"There you have your answer, padawan," said Eeth. "I would appreciate it if this time around, you could limit your exploits to activities that are legal."
"But it's barely 30 metres," Raven argued reasonably. "We have that at the Temple and you let me do it there. I won't land on anyone."
"Padawan, if it is forbidden, it is forbidden," said Eeth sternly. "It will not suddenly be allowed just because you are a Jedi. Especially since there is no higher purpose to this whatsoever, other than a desire to show off."
Raven bristled at this, her back stiffened and posture straightened. "I do not want to show off. I want to have fun and that looks like fun. Not that I expect you to understand this," she huffed, but had the good grace to avert her eyes. It was unlike Raven to argue with Eeth, especially so in front of others, but her pride was smarting now and she didn't want to lose face in front of her family.
"I do," said Eeth mildly, but with a hint of warning in his voice. "You had plenty of opportunities to use springboards and slides yesterday. Here and now, it is forbidden to jump off the cliffs, for which reason you will refrain from it. And I am not saying this to spoil your fun. The pools are not clear of people, which makes it dangerous. And even if that was not the case, you might give others a fright jumping from down there, or worse, you might give them the impression that it will be alright to imitate you. Which would be extremely dangerous – not for you, but for them. Now will you drop this idea?"
Raven thought all of that was semantics but she wasn't stupid enough to continue arguing with him. Especially not in front of her family. Firstly, she didn't want to make Eeth look bad, and secondly, well, he'd make her look a lot worse. Resigned, Raven nodded and turned back to Bram and Jai with a shrug. "I would, but we've been vetoed. Maybe we can do something that isn't going to scare my master." She grinned at Eeth just a tiny bit as she said the latter.
"Let's have lunch," said Katlin. "Mom, Dad and Belle are just coming back from the pool. Let's see what the bakery people packed up for us."
They found that the large box they had picked up at the bakery that morning contained assorted pies, cakes, cut-up fruit and bread rolls with cheese. There was also a cool box full of bottles of lemonade.
"This looks great," said Bram. "Let's set the table."
After a wonderful day at the waterfalls, which left all of them tired, they had dinner at a garden restaurant on the outskirts of the city. It was there that Selwin came up with the proposal that Raven spent the Sunday doing something with Bram.
"Jobe will have to work, and I need some time to take care of the household and prepare for school on Monday," she said. "I really think Bram and Raven should get the chance to get to know each other better."
Eeth thought about this for a moment. He knew that it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Raven, and he did not want to deny it to her.
"Alright," he finally said. "But I will want to know where you're going, and you will be back by the time we tell you."
Raven's face had lit up at her mother's suggestion; the idea of spending an entire day with her twin was too good to be true. "Of course," she replied quickly, thinking that Eeth's stipulations were not asking too much at all. "I'll keep my comlink on me and we'll tell you where we are going and will be home on time!" she promised.
Raven was about to ask Bram where it would be fun to go when she was suddenly mentally bombarded by an overwhelming sense of fear and panic coming from a large group of animals. All hell was breaking loose somewhere!