Eeth dragged Alva by her ear towards her bed and bent her over the footboard, careful to ensure that her injured arm came to rest on the mattress. Then he pulled down her pants which, thankfully, had an elastic waist. Since Alva was no padawan of his and not used to Temple-style discipline, he dispensed with baring her bottom completely, and he did not procure an implement either. His hand was hard enough to make his point, which Alva discovered for herself as it came crashing down on her bottom barely a second later.
"OWw! Sttt- OWW! ooopp!" Alva wailed. The next few garnered a similar response, and like her wriggling and struggling to get up, they grew in verbosity with each swat.
Eeth held Alva down with his left hand, taking care not to put too much pressure on her back lest it transferred to her arm. However, said arm was conveniently placed in the triangle formed by the footboard, the mattress and her torso, so there was little risk.
"You deserve this spanking several times over," he snapped, "and you would do well to accept it as a consequence of your own actions, rather than fighting me over it. Either way, it will end when I decide to end it, not before."
He delivered another set of hard smacks that got the girl's attention. Alva really wailed. "Stopppp! I'm Sorrryyyy OWww!" she screeched in a pitch so high that it would have rivalled Raven's. Her eyestalks drooped forward and tears started streaming, although this time she didn't struggle, she lay still and started sobbing. This sometimes worked with her father, not that she would have dared to kick up such a fuss with him. Argue, absolutely, but the theatrics would have been frowned upon.
Eeth frowned upon the theatrics as well, but once again, he saw no point in starting a debate over it. Rather, he focussed on bringing his message across, which consisted of two parts: first, Alva's behaviour had been entirely unacceptable and, second, he was in authority over her and was going to punish her as he saw fit, for as long as he deemed it necessary. And he was not going to be deceived by false shows of contrition either. Alva might be starting to cry, but that was only to be expected. After all, Eeth did not usually deal out formal punishments that did not leave the recipient in tears. Thus, he continued spanking at unchanging force, the sounds of the heavy-handed swats reverberating off the walls.
When her sobbing failed to bring an end to this, Alva started to panic; her father usually stopped when she cried! It was true that she did not typically do so quite as quickly as she had this time, but how Eeth knew this was a mystery! Not that this thought had much time to maturate as the next few swats had the already considerable sting build to an unbearable level. "Yeowww!" Alva was wailing in earnest now, and given that she saw no way out of this and there appeared to be no end in sight, she started bawling. "Ithurtttsssstop," she sobbed. In the next breath, she added, "Iwon'tdoitagain!"
"Good," said Eeth, and Alva made to get up, thinking it was finally over, only to be pushed back down and dealt a dozen more swats for good measure. Eeth would probably have continued, but given that the girl had already broken her arm because of her carelessness and disobedience, he thought that she had had enough.
Thus, just when Alva was certain that Eeth was never going to end the punishment and that he planned to spank her until she had no bottom left, he stopped. Well, at least that was what her ears told her, because her backside was struggling to catch up. Still crying hard, she threw her free hand back to cover herself and buried her face in the bedspread.
Eeth let her cry for a while. Then he gently helped her up and offered her a handkerchief. He was also willing to offer a hug, but he was not sure whether Alva would want it, and he did not want to impose. Therefore, he merely rested a hand on her shoulder, signalling his willingness to provide comfort.
Alva did not soften easily, though, nor had she been spanked before by someone who wasn't well-known to her. She accepted the handkerchief and swiped it across her snout and mouth. It took a few minutes before Alva had herself under control. Sort of. She sniffled once, swiped her face again and pulled up her trousers with a wince. Her bottom hurt. "Ow," she complained, more to herself than Eeth. She was upset with him, very embarrassed and not sure what to do or say about either feeling.
"Well, it was punishment," Eeth pointed out, quite gently. "It was supposed to hurt. And I sincerely hope you learn from this. You might have not been exposed to weapons often, but when you are, you do not handle them without permission."
His hand brushed across her ear in a brief gesture of affection, showing her that there were no hard feelings. Eeth considered Alva a spirited, enterprising and intelligent girl who became bored easily. In his experience, children who became bored often did silly things, especially when they were bold and had a lively imagination, as Alva did. Thus, he was not angry with Alva at all. He just thought that it was imperative – and potentially life-saving – for her to learn to curb her recklessness.
Surprisingly, Eeth's affection gave her comfort. Yes, Alva accepted comfort from her parents, but so far disciplinarians other than them had been met with grudging acceptance and a cold shoulder. She frowned at Eeth, wondering why this was different now. Maybe it was because he was a Jedi? Or maybe because this time Alva had gotten her first glimpse at mortality; she'd done stupid things before, yet none seemed to have come so close to ending her life. "Are you, you know… done?" she asked. It wasn't snippy in either tone or inflection, but more of an effort at regaining some of her dignity. Not that she felt there was much of it left.
"Yes," Eeth said with a small smile. "I will leave you now. Please come to see Raven or me at once if your arm gives you any trouble, alright?"
Alva nodded once. It wasn't until the door had shut completely, and Eeth's footsteps were clearly getting further away, that she allowed herself the childish act of falling onto her bed, both hands attempting to soothe away the burn. It was truly horrible.
No thanks to Flynt's efforts… all four of the Gran children were delivered safely to their school the following day. Alva had recovered her equilibrium by now and hugged each Jedi. Anisa wouldn't let go of Lakhri's leg and Arlee, despite having been told off by Eeth for not going to an adult when she had found her sister in danger, held no grudge either. In fact, it had been a relief for her when Eeth had approached her with Raven to talk to her and call her to task.
Ask gave Raven a hug and shook hands with the men. He admired the Jedi and the job that they did. He also appreciated their help with keeping his family safe while they travelled and sparing them yet another terrible nanny!
The ambassador's ship was left at the boarding school and a shuttle arranged to transport the Jedi on to the main spaceport where they were able to book a small – very small – room with four single bunks and not much else on an outgoing passenger shuttle to Coruscant.
The closer they got to home, the more Flynt began to contemplate what it would mean for him to present his report to the Council without his lightsaber. He wasn't the sort to dwell, which had served him well – until they were literally in a speeder heading back to the Temple. Oh well, at least he wasn't alone. Raven, too, was without her lightsaber. But then, this was not her first time. Flynt wondered if this would make it better or worse for her. He assumed the latter
Lakhri could sympathise. He had been in the same situation on several occasions and it had not been fun at all. The worst had probably been the time when he had been a rather senior padawan already and had become so impatient about their lack of progress that he had disobeyed Eeth's orders and entered the Hutt Lord's house they were meant to observe, resulting in his capture and the failure of their mission. He had been seriously injured, and to make matters worse, Eeth had been injured as well while rescuing him. The Council had not been impressed at all, and they had managed to bring across the full weight of their displeasure to Lakhri. Who had, of course, appeared in front of them without his saber. In hindsight, he was thankful to Eeth for that experience, though. He had been arrogant and he had needed a lesson in humility to be cured of his overconfidence. By comparison, he was sure that Flynt was going to fare a lot better. He was not so sure about Raven, though.
A protocol droid was waiting for them with orders to proceed directly to the Council chamber. A hovercart would take their bags to their quarters.
When they reached the Council chamber, Flynt swallowed the lump in his throat that had been steadily growing over the last few hours and stood just a little behind his master. He was looking cool, but feeling anything but.
Outwardly, Raven did the same. This wasn't her first time appearing before the Council sans lightsaber, though, and that did worry her a bit. Thus, she did the only thing she could, namely, she stood straight, hands clasped at her back, and waited for whatever was about to befall them.
When it turned out that Mace Windu was the Councilor to address Raven, she froze. His expression would have said it all, but his words cut much deeper. The scolding that Mace Windu dealt out was quite spectacular, and it took all her resolve not to step behind Eeth. She did shift a little closer to his side. However, this had been reflexive. Eeth had raised her to take responsibility for her decisions and accept the consequences with dignity. Thus she did her best to stand tall and unmoving.
That was until Mace Windu concluded his statement by saying, "This is not the first time we have to issue a reprimand to you for disobeying a direct order, Padawan Trebeck. According to our records, it is the third, and two of those incidents occurred during missions. You will have to do better than that. And in order to teach you that lesson, you will receive eighteen strokes of the cane, to be dealt out right after the conclusion of this session."
Raven flinched, she simply couldn't help it. Eighteen strokes of Eeth's cane would be more than enough to bring her completely unstuck and she had no idea what implement the Council used. Who was going to be doing this?! Raven broke out in a slight sweat and swallowed loudly, thinking that surely this was too much. She stepped forward, in front of Eeth and Lakhri to address the Council.
"Masters, with all due respect," Raven said, bowing to them collectively, "my own master has already punished me severely for this. I have already been caned, among other things. Might you all please reconsider?" Eeth would sense her trepidation from another planet. The entire Council would, for that matter.
"We are entirely aware that your master would have punished you severely for this," said Mace Windu icily. "As he should have. The Council have twice forgone corporal punishment for instances of grave disobedience on your part because of this. We will not do so a third time. You need to learn that obedience is not negotiable, Padawan Trebeck. Not even when you think you know better than your master."
Raven just lowered her head and stepped back.
Eeth, who had expected something like this and happened to think Raven deserved it, did not comment. He did, however, rest his hand on Raven's shoulder and sent her a brief burst of calming energy. She was not going to enjoy this, but he was positive that she would survive.
Flynt too, was shocked by Raven's sentence but he soon had his own predicament to focus on. He managed to remain stoic as Yoda made him feel like a naughty youngling for being so careless. That said, the boy was not typically in this level of trouble, and as a result, he felt like a scolding in front of the Jedi Council was among the worst things that could have happened to him. The thing was, Flynt agreed and his demeanour said as much. He was relieved not to have to deal with further consequences, though, and even more relieved when the topic turned to the situation on Ashpah.
As might have been expected, the situation had deteriorated into a full-blown war since the Jedi had left. Ashpah III had requested Republican troops, but the Senate was still debating this. Eeth and Lakhri were both asked for their input on whether the Jedi should support the request and thus lend it more weight. Both advised against it; they felt that nothing was to be gained from a military intervention. Instead, they recommended separate negotiations with the Ashpan planets. If the Republic could offer the invaders space for parts of the population of their overcrowded planets, this would do more good than sending in an army.
"I think that is all," said Mace Windu finally. "Master Tumuel, Padawan Flynt, you may leave. Padawan Trebeck, you will remain."
Flynt gave Raven a furtive look, given that Raven was about to receive a formal caning, before he was ushered out by Lakhri. There was nothing anyone could do for Raven at this point, but she looked up at Eeth with an expression that begged him to try something. Anything!
Eeth, however, was certainly not going to interfere with the Council which, at this point, did not include him because it was his padawan who was the focus of the proceedings. He would be required to be present, however, as was always the case when the Council meted out formal punishment.
The Council members rose from their seats and stood in two lines, opening the way towards Mace Windu's chair. Mace stood beside it and said, "Come here, Padawan Trebeck. Bare your bottom, bend over and place your forearms on the armrests."
As he spoke, Adi Gallia walked to a concealed wall panel and retrieved a cane. It was of roughly the same calibre as Eeth's – no harsher, but no lighter either.
At the age of eighteen, Raven was well used to corporal punishment, but receiving it from a Council member in front of the entire Jedi Council was a first, and it was taking all her resolve not to run from the scene. To do so would, of course, be horribly disrespectful and cowardly, not to mention reflect poorly on Eeth and dishonour herself, him and his training. Thus, Raven stepped up to the chair and hesitantly did as told. It was not easy, as she felt the weight of each Council member's judgement. Raven assumed that this was meant to be bad, that she was supposed to not want this ever again at all costs, and it was working.
Adi Gallia handed the cane to Mace Windu and stepped back into rank.
"Master Koth," said Mace formally, "would you stand with your padawan and hold her down if necessary?"
"I will," said Eeth, moving to stand at Raven's side. "Padawan, I want you to let me know when you need help maintaining your position."
Raven looked at Eeth, and then back at Mace and the others, a horrified expression on her face. It was their collective impassive gaze that finally prompted her to choke out a very forced, "Yes, master." This was by far the most humiliating experience of her life, and she assumed it was meant to be. Rumours of other padawans having gone through this circulated the Temple quite often, and it was those stories that caused most younger Jedi to have a healthy respect for the Council's wrath. This was brought into blinding reality as Raven felt, no, heard, the first swish and resulting snap of cane meeting bare flesh. At first there was nothing, just a dull ache, but from her experience with Eeth, Raven knew better. Just as the second landed, the first bloomed to life, causing her to gasp and grip the chair arms.
In his personal dealings with his padawans, Mace was not as quick to resort to corporal punishment, let alone with such a severe implement, as Eeth was. As for formal canings, in those rare cases in which the Council felt one was warranted, Eeth was the Council member of choice if he was available. If he was not, Mace took his place. And he was more than up to the task, as Raven was currently discovering. He held back just enough to avoid lasting damage, but no more than that.
It did not take many to have Raven sniffling and by the twelfth she was struggling to stay in position. Twelve with the cane was typically what she could expect from Eeth for disobedience, recklessness and similar offences on a mission, but eighteen was going to be an ordeal. She was crying loudly as Mace landed the thirteenth. On the next stroke, she threw her hand back. It just hurt too much for her to maintain control. "Master, can you help?" she brought out. This was quite possibly the hardest request she had made to date, but it was the only way this was ever going to end. Thus, she sucked it up, swiped snot and tears from her face which was red from crying and did not resist as Eeth rested his left hand on her back between her shoulder blades and took her hands in his right, only for Mace to continue the caning as if nothing had happened.
The noise that came out of Raven during those last four swipes was of such a high pitch that it could have cracked the windows, and when Mace finally stopped, she collapsed into the chair, sobbing hard and no longer caring a scratch about her dignity. That had been the worst punishment to date, worse than anything Eeth had given her, and it was showing.
Eeth let go of her hands but left his left hand on her back, patting it almost imperceptibly in comfort. He knew how hard this had been on her and he was not without compassion. However, he also felt that this punishment had not only been deserved but might also have been necessary to encourage her to curb her arrogance when temptation next arose.
After a minute or so, he gently helped her up and produced a handkerchief from his robe, which he handed to her.
Raven stood shakily, pulled up her pants and cried into the handkerchief Eeth had given her. She was in a world of hurt right now but she was also Eeth's padawan, which meant that she did her best to control herself, regain some dignity and make sure that at the very least she was making a final apology and walking out of here without blubbering. "Forgive me," she managed to get out as she turned to face the two lines of Council members, but her gaze lingered on Eeth in the end.
"We do," said Mace Windu, inclining his head in acknowledgment of her apology. The other Council members followed suit. Eeth did not, but he gave her an almost imperceptible smile and rested a hand on her shoulder briefly.
"With your permission, we will take our leave now," he said.
"Permission granted," said Mace Windu gravely.
"Come, padawan," said Eeth quietly, nodding towards the door.
Raven limped out, still sniffling but doing her utmost to make it out of the Council chambers with what little was left of her dignity. When the door closed shut behind them and they had entered the lift, Raven folded her arms around her face and let the rest out. It had been incredibly hard to act brave in front of all those people, to try and compose herself, and to ask for help doing so when she failed. It had been an ordeal. Not the end of her, but Sith, certainly something Raven would never risk enduring again!
Eeth put the lift on hold and silently wrapped his arms around Raven, which was appreciated. As far as Eeth was concerned, Raven had paid for her mistake and now she needed his support – a sentiment that Raven agreed with, and as much as she knew Eeth had difficulties offering comfort, she would take what he offered without guilt this time. Raven felt like she needed him more than was typical after a punishment and was grateful for his attention.
That night, when Raven had gone to bed after having received a generous dose of both healing and bacta, Eeth sat on the balcony for a long while, thinking. Raven had received a memorable punishment for her disobedience, but he was not sure that it would help to change the attitude underlying her behaviour. No punishment he or the Council might deal out could conceivably do this. Raven might have to be confronted with her limits in much the same way that he had been at about the same age. However, this would take more than finding her an outstanding teacher. After all, Eeth could still defeat her in a sparring match any day, although possibly not with his right hand tied on his back as had been the case a couple of years ago.
Eeth concluded that this would require some thought and planning. Therefore, he filed a request for Raven and himself to be taken off the mission roster for the next two weeks; time he would use to think about strategies to cure her of her overconfidence. Next, he registered Raven for a few intensive courses for senior padawans: advanced anti-droid fighting, which she would enjoy, financial diplomacy, which she would hate, and introductory Umbaran, which she would probably find acceptable. Apart from that, he marked her in the Temple's system as being available for teaching duties and was promptly given a list of initiates' sparring classes that she could teach – more than enough to fill up her days. Eeth did not want her to be idle, after all.
The next morning, when they sat for breakfast, he told her, "Padawan, I have decided to take a short break from mission duties that will allow me to discuss the Ashpan crisis with the Council. You will make use of the time by furthering your training and gaining some more teaching experience. Here is your schedule for the next two weeks."
He handed her a data pad that showed her complete roster of duties, including weekend classes.
Raven scrolled down the page, and then to the next anndddd the next. She looked from the datapad to Eeth, her expression curious. Sure, she was no longer in blinding agony as she had been the night before, and nothing would prevent her from fulfilling the duties Eeth assigned, but heck, there was a lot here. "Why have you assigned me so many duties?" she asked the obvious.
"I thought that at age eighteen, you might be old and mature enough to handle them," Eeth replied evenly, drawing a frown from Raven. After all, that argument never worked in her favour when it was in the reverse! "Besides," Eeth continued, ignoring her look, "the normal routine for a padawan your age would be to be assigned the next mission quite soon, possibly even today. Since that is not going to happen due to my Council duties, I thought it would be advisable to keep you busy and allow you to gain experience in other ways."
Raven had never begrudged Eeth his duty to the Council, but sometimes it was hard to play second fiddle to the Order, even though she knew it was of greater importance. "I'd rather the mission," she told him without reservation, her gaze dropping to the list of duties once again and her frown deepening. "Yes, I know. My preferences are unimportant," she added a little tetchily, but only very slightly so.
Eeth raised his eyebrows. "Padawan, this is for two weeks," he said reasonably. "It will not be much longer than that until our next mission. I daresay you will manage. And some basic skills at Umbaran will not go amiss, nor will it hurt you to do any of the other things on your schedule. End of discussion."
Raven raised her own eyebrows in the same fashion as Eeth, something she rarely did, but his 'end of discussion' comment was cause for a little indignation. "I'm eighteen years old," she reminded him, levelling her most intense glare at him. "If you insist on giving me an adult's workload, you might very well cut down on the condescending attitude," she added in a tone much like the one he used to scold her. Raven was rarely so brave, but he'd just dumped two weeks of non-stop work on her plate and then tried to shut down any comments she might want to make about this. Well! She was an adult now and deserved more from him. That was Raven's thought process.
Eeth's eyes narrowed.
"Padawan, I have been more patient than your attitude deserves," he snapped. "Obviously, that is not the right approach to take with you. Whether you are eight, eighteen or twenty-eight, for as long as I am your master, I get to set your schedule and I expect you to accept that. As far as I know, I have never asked things from you that you were unable to handle. This is not going to change; you may trust me on that. It is not your place to argue my decisions. If you still feel the need to do so, a condescending attitude is soon going to be the least of your worries."
This was probably the point at which Lakhri would have called him a bully. Eeth did not particularly care. He cared about results, and if this was the way to achieve them, fine.
Raven opened her mouth to inform him that she wasn't arguing, and that he was still being condescending! This was not how Eeth spoke to other adults, after all. But his closing comment had her reconsider. Raven did, however, huff and click her tongue. The word "bully" was uttered quietly, because unlike Lakhri, Raven wasn't so sure she could get away with that yet.
Eeth was not quite as fast to deal out a few swats as he had been when Raven had been younger, but the look he gave her clearly told her that she was walking on very thin ice. He was ready to treat Raven as his equal when she was knighted, not before, and the fact that she had just turned eighteen really had no bearing on that.
Raven kept up their glare standoff for a few seconds longer than she probably ought to have before ending the challenge and looking away. Continuing to push Eeth beyond this point always ended badly.
The next few days were indeed full to the brim. Raven was busy with classes for most of the mornings and taught initiates sparring sessions in the afternoons.
It was late on Thursday afternoon when she entered their quarters to find a message on the table stating that Eeth was in a Council session, that she was to eat at the dining hall or Lakhri's if he wasn't back in time for dinner, and to focus on her homework. Raven huffed. She really had been doing that a lot lately.
When her duties were completed to a standard that Eeth would deem acceptable, she commed Lakhri and Flynt, asking if she could come eat dinner with them and if Flynt wanted to come to the padawans' lounge with her later. She might have used that time to go over class preparations for the following day, but to heck with it, Eeth had given her a tough schedule and some time out was long overdue. Which was exactly what she told Lakhri and Flynt that evening over dinner.
"Why did he give you so much work?" Flynt asked, his personal complaints about how masters treated their padawans withheld for the time being.
Raven shrugged. "This is Eeth; the thought of me being idle for any time terrifies him," she griped, stuffing a forkful of rice into her mouth.
"Yes, he's like that," said Lakhri. "I also get the feeling there is something on his mind, but he won't tell me, so there's no point asking him about it.
"But he's more likely to tell you than me in any case," said Raven.
"Probably, but I don't think he's ready to talk about it, so I won't nag him," said Lakhri. "And besides, if he doesn't want to tell you, he wouldn't want me to tell you either. Anyway, him filling all your days with work, work, work is not exactly unusual. If you feel it's really over the top, it might be his way of expressing that you're not entirely back in his good books."
Raven looked down at this point, feeling guilty. It was possible that he was still punishing her, after all.
"Maybe," she said thoughtfully, "but I'm not generally on his shit list for this long. I know what I did was serious. Still, he has already punished me, and harshly so. And Mace tore me up one side and down the other to boot. I don't know, it just doesn't sound like it's that."
"True," said Lakhri. "He usually doesn't hold a grudge. But he might, in a way, be reacting to this idea of yours that being eighteen would somehow change your status with him. I had similar notions at the time. He disabused me of them."
Raven looked up at Lakhri, her expression a little strained. "But I am eighteen, a real adult now. I guess maybe I really did hope that he would treat me a little more like he does you now," she said. She held up both hands in placation before he could replyt. "I know, I know, I haven't earned that status. It just felt like I turned into an adult and nothing changed but the date and his expectations on work and maturity."
"Believe me, I know how you feel," Lakhri said kindly. "But this is simply how the Order works. That said, Eeth is definitely going to give you more leeway as far as curfews and places you might want to visit are concerned. As long as your work is done."
"Pff, you mean I might get to go into Coruscant for something unrelated to duty? I'll believe it when I see it. Not that I'll see it anytime in the next two weeks as he's got my every second crammed full," Raven reminded him. "Sorry, Lakhri. I know this isn't your fault and I don't mean to sound like I'm blaming you for it or anything. I'm just frustrated."
Lakhri shrugged.
"All I can tell you is that I was given a lot more leeway when I was eighteen," he said. "I definitely was allowed to go into the city without any restrictions in my free time, so I don't see why you wouldn't. If you just asked Eeth politely, instead of sulking over your schedule, you'd find out. And even with that schedule, you must have a few free evenings. Such as tonight."
"It's sulk-worthy, though," Raven added in her defence, but it was token at best. "I will ask him. He's not around tonight," she added. "But maybe he'll let me go Saturday evening instead of the padawan's lounge."
"I could be a chaperone?" Flynt suggested jumping on the opportunity, aiming as charming a smile at his master as he could muster. He was two years younger than Raven, yet at sixteen years old, he looked like an adult and Raven did not. He was even shaving now. Sometimes.
"Depending on where you go and when you will return," said Lakhri, shrugging.
"We'll go somewhere safe for us both," said Raven. "That is if Eeth lets me. He's been grumpy lately."
"Aww, come on," said Lakhri. "He's never unfair. If you don't give him reason to be 'grumpy', he'll let you go and you know it."
When their meals were finished, Raven helped clean up. "I'm going to the lounge. Want to come, Flynt?" she asked while putting the last dish onto the shelf.
Flynt opened his mouth to say yes, only to hesitate, his hand straying to his missing lightsaber. He'd started to notice the disapproval and consequent shame of walking the halls without his weapon. It was even worse when Lakhri was beside him, as it was more obvious that the man wore two sabers and he, none. He coughed once to cover his hesitation, and Raven understood why that was.
"Just ignore it, it won't last forever," she told him, gesturing to her own missing weapon.
Flynt never really let anything get to him, but for some reason the wrath of the entire Temple was starting to wear him out. "You okay with it?" he asked Lakhri, really not caring if the man said no.
"Sure," said Lakhri. "But be back at eleven. You have a first-aid class tomorrow, after all."
Like Eeth, he had scheduled all kinds of activities for Flynt while they were waiting for their next mission, and an intensive medical training unit was one of them.
Flynt forced a smile, gave a nod, and a moment later, the pair were gone.
Raven noted the disapproval Flynt was attracting as they walked. Why? Because she was getting the same! Sure, it wasn't over the top, just enough to mildly scold and reinforce the lesson that being without a saber provided. "I know," she told him when he started to frown back. "You'll live, really. Just another day, right?"
Flynt tried to put on a brave face with mixed success. "Right," he affirmed.
As much as he wanted to, Flynt said nothing about his frustrations that night, nor did he the next day, but the constant disapproval was wearing on him – something that he made abundantly clear for the first time when, leaving a sparring session with Lakhri, he told an older master to buzz off and mind his own damned business. He was annoyed, and despite the meditations Lakhri had given him to help with this, he had let his temper win out this time.
"That," Lakhri said firmly, "was inappropriate, Flynt. You do not take out your frustration on other people." The look he gave Flynt clearly said that apologising would be an excellent idea.
"It was," replied the master, aiming a similar expression at Flynt.
Flynt looked from Lakhri to the wrinkly, buttfaced … being. "I apologise," he said curtly. All Flynt wanted right now was to go home and remain there until he got his saber back the following day.
"That apology was not particularly appropriate either," Lakhri said calmly. "I think we had better discuss this at our quarters. Come."
He nodded politely at the other master and turned, beckoning for Flynt to follow.
They walked most of the way without speaking, although when they got closer to their quarters, Flynt started to really think about what this might mean for him. "Lakhri, you know I've been putting up with this for almost a week now, and this is the first time someone has gotten to me," he said, hoping for leniency.
"Yes, and if you had kept it together for a day more, you would have been doing yourself a favour," said Lakhri. He palmed open the door to their quarters and beckoned Flynt inside. As soon as the door had slid shut behind him, he said, "We both know your behaviour was unacceptable. You do not give in to your temper. Should you realise that you can't control it, you ask for help. And you certainly know better than to offer an apology in such a disrespectful tone of voice. I think I need to remind you of my expectations. Bare your bottom and bend over a chair. I'll be with you in a moment."
Flynt huffed, shucked his trousers to his ankles in a curt, annoyed motion and bent over one of the chairs in their quarters that was meant for his size. He wasn't being outright recalcitrant, but he was unhappy with this treatment, deserved though it might be.
Lakhri went to his room and fetched from his wardrobe an old leather sandal that he had brought from a mission. Its sole was smooth, not too thick, and it delivered an impressive sting without leaving much of a lasting effect, which made it a perfect implement for when he wanted to make a point, but did not want to go as far as to deal out an excruciating punishment.
"Master, please. Come on, this is a bit much," Flynt said when the man walked out carrying what he had termed the "slipper from hell". "You know I don't lose my shit all the time. People have been riding me all week, is all, and I let it get to me when I shouldn't have," he tried to reason.
"Yes, you did," Lakhri replied, unperturbed. "You might have considered continuing that streak for one more day. I know you won't be able to appreciate it right now, but I'm helping you make more of an effort at self-restraint if there ever is a next time."
Without further ado, he brought the sandal down onto Flynt's bottom at full force, causing him to let out a grunt of pain. Flynt knew that at this point there was nothing to be gained from begging or pleading other than more punishment at his lack of maturity. Thus, he gritted his teeth and tried to endure this with the dignity Lakhri expected from him. Yeah, that was always the plan. Unfortunately, Flynt really didn't take this sort of thing well at all, and it didn't take many to have him yelping loudly and wriggling around.
Lakhri thought two dozen swats would bring his point across nicely. And he was not holding back because he was rather fed up with Flynt. He had been patient and helped the boy deal with his frustrations throughout the week, after all, but apparently, Flynt had lost his will to make an effort. There was no excuse for that.
Despite doing his best to be brave about this, Flynt was struggling. Each smack flattened an ass cheek causing the sting to reach an unbearable level fast! When Lakhri didn't stop at twelve, nor at sixteen, the boy started sniffling, his hips twisting to redirect the next swat onto an area that didn't feel entirely scorched. Yeah, there were no such areas! His entire ass was on fire! He begged his way through eighteen and nineteen. When this had the predictable outcome, namely, that Lakhri administered a particularly hard swat to the lowest part of his bottom, just where it met his thighs, he threw a hand back, only to pull it away again quickly. He didn't want to make this any worse on himself, but it hurt so much that it was hard to keep from acts of self-preservation. When Lakhri dealt out swat number twenty and still didn't stop, Flynt fell limp, buried his face in the cushion and cried.
At this point, Lakhri decided to stop at twenty-two. Unlike his master, he had no particular affinity to specific numbers, and he thought his point had been made abundantly clear.
Without hurry, he went to his room to return the sandal to his wardrobe, giving Flynt a moment to compose himself.
Flynt felt like he had no ass left, let alone composure! He reached back and tried soothing away some of the sting and burn, but kept his head buried in the seat cushion for a minute.
Upon his return, Lakhri told him, "Alright, get up and pull your pants up. We're going to a meditation garden."
Flynt swiped at his nose and stood to do as instructed. He despised that sandal, and the watery pout he treated his master to while trying to get his trousers up said that he wasn't overly happy with him either. He pulled a handkerchief from his pants pocket and did his best to clean up his face. "How about we don't and say we did?" he complained. The last thing he wanted to do was walk around the temple halls again, this time not only sans his lightsaber but also stiff-legged and bleary-eyed.
Lakhri knew how Flynt felt. This was precisely why he was doing this. After all, it was supposed to be a learning experience.
"This is not open for debate," he said, "and you had better stop complaining because, much as you despise the idea of going to a meditation garden right now, I assure you that it could be worse."
"Fine," Flynt said a touch sullenly, swiping his belt from the floor and buckling it swiftly. "But don't you think I've been punished enough? It was careless of me, I get that. I can't be any sorrier than I am for what I did, yet each time I leave our quarters I'm being tutted and tisked at to boot. I'm tired of it." Flynt was feeling hard done by, and despite it being against his better judgement, he wanted Lakhri to know that this was how he felt.
"Yes, and I'm tired of your attitude," Lakhri snapped. "I'm not going to punish you any further, I'm going to meditate with you. I happen to think we both need it. And we're going where I say we're going, preferably without any further complaints. Come."
There was a lot Flynt wanted to say to that, but mostly it was to point out the fact that it wasn't the meditation he considered a punishment, but the walk there! "Come," Flynt repeated in a mock-Eeth tone. "You sound just like Eeth."
Lakhri raised his eyebrows. "I know," he said. "You really wanna find out how Eeth-like I can become?"
Flynt didn't. He shook his head and shoved both hands in his pockets, only to pull them out again smartly. His ass still hurt, after all.
Sure enough, on the way to the meditation garden, Flynt was met with a few disapproving looks from superiors. He said nothing, though, as Lakhri was already pissed off with him. Raven had advised him to look contrite and generally this tactic would be met with less attention, but it wasn't in Flynt's nature to simper, nor was it typical for things to get to him as they had. Instead, he kept his head down, doing his best to avoid eye contact. At least that way, if he passed anyone he knew, he wouldn't know about it and therefore couldn't be ashamed of being seen in this state.
Lakhri led Flynt to a place he had not taken him to in quite a while. It was a meditation garden designed specifically for small beings. The ceiling was too low for Flynt which was why Lakhri had tended to avoid the place lately, despite the fact that he had loved it since the day Eeth had first introduced him to it. Right now, he felt that it would do him good, and that, in turn, would do Flynt good when they meditated together, much as the boy might not feel like it right now.
"I know you don't fit," Lakhri said, opening the door. "Bear with me. We'll go to the stream in the back and you can lie down on the moss if you like."
Flynt crouched and crawled to get through the door, following Lakhri towards the back where there was indeed a stream with a mossy area. There was no way he was sitting down, spongy or not, so he lay on his stomach, propped his chin on a palm and said, "We haven't been here in a while." He stretched out. "I do like it, even if I don't fit. So why now? Have I disappointed you so badly that you need comfort?" Flynt asked, feeling a bit ashamed of his behaviour of late.
"No, it has nothing to do with disappointment," said Lakhri. "It's because this punishment has been difficult for me as well. I don't regret taking your saber, as such, but, well, it's been a hard week."
It wasn't like Lakhri to feel like this. But then, he wasn't the type to deal out punishments that extended over such a long period of time, and Flynt wasn't the type to deserve them often.
"How so?!" Flynt asked, outright surprised. "Until today, I have kept out of trouble. I'm sorry about losing my temper. I won't again. How is this hard on you? Do you have any idea how hard it is on me?" Flynt wasn't thinking about Lakhri right now, and perhaps he should be, but he was feeling too sorry for himself.
"Having been Eeth's padawan, believe me, I do," said Lakhri patiently. "And I know that today was the first time you lost your temper. Still, I sensed you getting increasingly frustrated and miserable about the whole affair throughout the week, and I couldn't help you, obviously, or at least not enough. I might need to come to terms with this as much as you do, although I'm decidedly not as sore as you are."
"Agreed," said Flynt, happy to be lying on his stomach.
"I understand that you're the captain of this ship and all, but sometimes your decisions are hard to accept," he said after a few minutes. "This is the first time you have taken my saber and it's making it hard to sympathise with your pain when my own feels so much worse. I'm sorry about that." Flynt ran a hand through his hair, hating to admit to a weakness but it was true.
"Oh, I'm not asking you to sympathise with me," said Lakhri gently. "I was just giving you an honest answer to your question, nothing more. Losing one's saber sucks. I had mine dangling from Eeth's belt more often than I care to remember. I definitely lost it a lot more often than you'll ever manage to, if that makes you feel any better."
"It doesn't, but I appreciate the effort," Flynt said, grinning. "And if Eeth was harder on you, which he probably was, I sympathise with padawan you because this sucks."
"It's punishment," said Lakhri in his best imitation of Eeth's voice. "You are not supposed to like it." In his own voice, he added, "But I'm making an effort to help you deal with it right now. Come on, let's meditate."
The corner of Flynt's mouth twitched at the near perfect imitation Lakhri had given of Eeth. His grandmaster had a reputation for being one of the strictest masters in the Temple, yet Lakhri had survived long enough to be knighted. He assumed he, too, would survive, especially since Lakhri was not nearly as harsh as Eeth had been, even if Flynt didn't want to admit that much right now. He closed his eyes and focused on their bond. It was easy to find the bright Force presence of his master. It was familiar and always worked to help calm him. Today both of them needed this.
When they returned to their quarters an hour later, both of them in a far better mood than before, they found the comm light blinking. Lakhri flung his cloak onto a chair, pulled off his boots and went to check.
"Well," he said, browsing through the message. "Seems as if we're required to report to hangar eleven at six in the morning because one of our teams on Engan IV has requested backup."
He considered this for a moment. Then he detached Flynt's saber from his belt and held it out to him. "Here," he said with a smile. "I guess you're gonna need it."
The End
A/N: Sorry for having taken so long, and thanks for sticking with us! The story of Eeth and Raven will continue in our next thread, 'Arcturus.' We have a lot of real-life issues to struggle with right now but we still hope to have it up in the not too far future. Take care and stay safe!
