The next few days were much the same. Indigo had trouble sleeping, but then, Rulla had begun inviting him when she went out, which made him feel less like she resented his presence.
On the fourth day, Thoar took Indigo to his office where he was to receive a call from Eden on what passed as their comm units.
"Padawan!" exclaimed Eden, a broad smile on his face. "How are you faring? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything is alright. How are you?" Indigo asked. He was honestly concerned for his master and hoped that he was keeping safe.
"I'm fine for now," said Eden gently. "Don't worry about me. I've always been good at sensing danger before it happens. Your replacement team can't have arrived yet, or has it?"
"No, master, they are still a few days away. Thoar and his family have been fun to stay with. I'd be lying if I said I was hating it here. I do worry about you, though."
"That's probably unavoidable, but try not to focus on your anxieties," said Eden. "Have you maintained your meditation schedule?"
Indigo tilted his head to the side, his very new padawan braid barely brushing the back of his ear. "Mostly. I tried to reach you at night when we would typically perform meditation, but I couldn't find our bond."
"I don't think you're at the point where you could manage to do so without help," said Eden. "Eeth might be able to offer such help. Until he arrives, please resume meditating in the morning and at night. These meditations are important, padawan. As is your schoolwork. I hope you have been doing it?"
"I've started, but then I get invited to so many places and that is part of our mandate, so, I have been doing that and not a lot of classwork. It's a week back to Coruscant, though." Indigo squinted a little, his almond-shaped eyes crinkling at the sides because he wasn't sure how that would go over.
"Padawan, how much is 'not a lot'?" asked Eden. He suspected that Indigo might not be overly enthusiastic about his schoolwork with no one to push him, and he had better use what little leverage he had, being in a different star system, to increase his motivation.
"Almost none," Indigo admitted, ashamed.
Eden sighed. "Do you really mean to tell me that you have been so impossibly busy that you were unable to do any of your assignments?" he asked. Since Thoar was sitting at his desk, right behind Indigo, he assumed that the boy would have to give him an honest answer.
Indigo met Eden's gaze head on and admitted honestly. "No."
"Indigo, this is not what I had been hoping to hear," said Eden quietly but firmly. "I asked you to continue with your schoolwork during my absence. I really expect better from you."
"I know you do," said Indigo, his gaze momentarily lowering at the tone of Eden's voice. He could tell that his master was not happy with him, not that he had expected a different outcome.
"Then stop slacking off, please," said Eden. "And I'd appreciate it if you did it of your own accord, before Eeth arrives and kicks your ass."
Indigo blinked. Would Eeth kick his ass? Probably, judging by the stories Eden had told him of his encounter with him. "I will do my work, but would…" Eden paused, considering this question. "I mean, say, if any of that happened to be warranted, would you give Eeth permission to do any ass-kicking?" Indigo was a very new padawan, but as a general rule, creche masters, teachers and knights all had authority to discipline any youngling as they saw fit. Had that changed now that he had a master? Indigo wasn't sure. His teachers at the Temple were still authorised as far as he knew, but were random masters and knights?
"Eeth has permission to deal with you in any way he sees fit," Eden said mildly. "I'm rather hoping it will not have to come to that, though."
That was not what Indigo had hoped to hear, although if he were honest with himself, he had expected it to be the case. He cleared his throat and straightened up a bit. "I'll get on to my work," he said, not wanting to incur Eeth's wrath. Heck, his own master's wrath was enough for him, let alone having to deal with Eeth.
"Good," said Eden, smiling at him. "I have to go now. I'm not sure yet when I'll next have an opportunity to call. I'll do my best but it might be a while. In any case, I'll try to get this mess sorted out as quickly as possible so I can rejoin you. May the Force be with you, padawan."
"And with you," replied Indigo, inclining his head in a slight bow as the image of his master flickered out. He turned to Thoar, feeling a little guilty and embarrassed about the man having overheard that conversation.
"Look," said Thoar, "you know I'm very busy and not often home during the day. And I really don't want to burden Panthea with policing you, she's got more than enough to do. So can I rely on you to do your work from now on?"
"You're right, you are and she does. Yes. I'll get on top of my work," said Indigo, feeling ashamed at copping what he considered mild condescension from Thoar. He had been slack, but then, this was such an exciting place with so many new things to do all the time. It was hard to put his work over all of that. He didn't say as much, though. Thoar seemed to be pretty easy-going and he didn't want to get into a battle of excuses with him.
"I hope so," said Thoar. He was not particularly interested in having to discipline the Jedi youngling, but his master had specifically told him that he was entitled to do so if there was any trouble. Missed school work did not exactly count as "trouble", though; Thoar thought the matter could wait until the new Jedi team arrived. Still, if he could encourage the boy to start on his work, that would not go amiss.
Rulla was waiting for Indigo in front of the building. The seat of government was at the city's largest square, most of which consisted of a circular lake onto which three canals opened. It was popular with Calinia's youth. Rulla had met some friends and was drawing circles around the lake with them. She was skating backwards and having an animated conversation with them as she did so. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Indigo approach and groaned. Having to look after him generally wasn't as bad as she'd feared, but right now it was embarrassing. She settled for ignoring him for the time being, pretending she hadn't seen him.
Indigo noticed Rulla notice him. He also saw her pretend not to. So immature, he thought dismissively as he leant his back against a wall and folded his arms across his chest. The truth was, his mind wasn't so much on Rulla and her distaste for his company, but on the mountain of work he had to complete; it was gonna take forever! Well, there was probably no point moping about it now. They were in the city and he was going to use his free time to do something useful. Decision made, he pushed off the wall, somewhat unsteadily but much less so than a few days ago, and skated towards Rulla. There was no way he could keep up with her, so he settled on waiting for her to go past. When she did, he yelled out, "I'm going to look around," pointing towards the main city markets and shops. Indigo didn't have a lot of money as his Republican credits weren't worth squat out here. However, Eden had given him a little of the local currency and he planned to buy something for the family who were taking care of him. A large fish perhaps? Something. He'd figure out what when he had some things to choose from. For now, he would settle on making it to the shops without breaking his neck.
Rulla sighed. Her father had told her to look after the boy. She knew how easy it was to get lost on the canals. It happened all the time to visitors from the countryside. Besides, it was soon going to be nightfall, and this close to the equator, it would get dark suddenly and abruptly. The canals were well-lit, but at night they looked even more alike than they did during daytime. Plus, Indigo was not yet entirely secure on his skates; so far, he had caught nothing more than bumps and bruises because he was not all that unskilled for a beginner, but who knew whether his luck would last? And if she wasn't there when something happened to him, she'd be in hot water.
"No, wait, I'll come!" she called after Indigo.
Surprised, Indigo stopped to wait for her.
Turning towards her friends, Rulla said, "Listen, I'm sorry, but he's from off-world and my father asked me to look after him."
"We need to go home anyway," said her friend Manya, a tall girl with straight black hair and sparkling brown eyes. "But tomorrow morning, we'll skate to the fair in Northtown. Wanna come? You can bring him." Manya, unlike Rulla, had never met someone from off-world and found the Jedi padawan quite interesting.
"Oh, I had forgotten about the fair!" exclaimed Rulla, her eyes gleaming. "Sure, we'll come. Let's meet here at nine thirty, okay?"
When she had rejoined Indigo, she asked, "Do you feel up to skating to Northtown? They have a fair tomorrow that will be fun to visit. It's about two miles from here, straight along the canal. If you don't feel confident about that distance, we could take a sled or something."
"Really?" Indigo scrutinised Rulla because until this moment, he had felt nothing more than a burden to her. "Yes, I'd like that. I can make it without a sled but as you know, I can't keep up." With a guilty conscience, he thought of all the classwork that had piled up and needed doing. Well, there was nothing for it; he'd just have to get stuck into that tonight because there was no way he was missing out on the trip to the fair tomorrow. Besides, he reasoned, exploring the planet was an important part of his mission mandate, and Rulla was offering to include him, for which he was grateful.
Rulla, remembering her duties as a hostess, showed Indigo around the shops for a while, taking him to the places she usually visited. Indigo bought several packets of a local favourite: slices of apples and pear, flavoured with a sugary mix of spices that smelled delicious and tasted even better when heated and served with frozen confectionery. This was what they would have tonight, Indigo hoped.
They arrived home just before dark. Thoar was still at work but Indigo had come to realise that this was somewhat of a regular thing; the man was rarely home early and yesterday had indeed been the exception not the rule. The first thing he did was collect his classwork and spread it out on the small table in their living room. However, there were also chores to be done, and soon Panthea had him helping with dinner. This was not something the boy minded but neither did he tell her that he needed to focus on his classwork; he wanted to help the family who was looking after him.
Unfortunately for Indigo, Rulla was unaware of his plight concerning school work. For all she knew, it was the same for him as for her: you did it if you felt like it, and only then. After dinner, they had barely cleared the table when she asked, "Have you ever played Kiney? It's the most popular card game on Arcturus. You need three to play it, so I only ever get around to playing when I meet with friends or father has time, which isn't often the case. But I could teach you."
"No, it's just that I have…" Indigo paused, looked from his datapad to Rulla and skidded it aside; this was in line with their mandate to learn about Arcturus, he decided. Not to mention it would be a lot more fun than doing classwork! "Nothing, it doesn't matter," he said, changing track. "Yes, I'd like that. Show me how?"
Rulla spent half an hour teaching Indigo the basics. It wasn't an overly complicated game and he picked it up fast. Then, when he was ready, Panthea joined in.
Indigo had no idea how long they'd been playing when the sound of the basement door opening drew their attention. It was closely followed by skates being hung and clanging against the wall. He glanced at Rulla, what passed for a smile on his face. "Your dad is home," he stated the obvious, thinking that Rulla would be happy about that and want to greet him.
Rulla grinned but finished counting her cards. "You won," she said to Panthea. Then she jumped up and ran into the hallway.
"Father!" she called, opening the basement door. "Are you staying or just getting changed for some reception or other?" Which seemed to happen more often than not these days, actually.
"No reception today," replied Thoar, coming up the stairs and hugging his daughter. "I'm afraid I'll be home late tomorrow, though. I mean – even later than today." He heaved an internal sigh as he said it. He did sometimes wonder whether his daughter needed him more than she let on. Somehow, the time never seemed right to talk about this with her, though.
As soon as they entered the living room, Panthea said, "Thank the heavens. I need to talk to you."
"Can it wait until I have fetched a glass of cider and sat down?" Thoar asked a little wearily. Panthea just rolled her eyes and waved at him to get on with it.
"Sit down, I'll get the cider," said Rulla promptly. She brought a tray with four jugs. "Try it," she told Indigo. "It's sour at first, but you get used to it quickly and then it's good."
Rulla was right: at first the cider was horribly sour. Indigo set it aside, deciding to let that first mouthful maturate before he tried it again.
"So, what did you want to ask?" Thoar said once he had taken a sip of his drink.
"My daughter called me," said Panthea. "She has fallen ill; her husband is away mining and can't be back before Monday. Someone needs to look after their children for a few days. Could I have the rest of the week off?"
Thoar was not thrilled with this request. It was a particularly busy time of the year for him; many construction works could only be carried out in the summer months because later that year, snowfall would be too heavy. They had the Jedi boy visiting and were expecting two more Jedi the day after tomorrow. But Thoar was not an unreasonable man; he knew that Panthea, who had been widowed early in life, dearly loved her daughter. He also knew that Panthea would not make her request if it wasn't urgent.
"Alright," he said. "Rulla, Indigo, you will have to take over some more household chores, I'm afraid. Panthea, could you make a list?"
"Sure," said Panthea. "And thank you."
Rulla made a face, but she did not dare protest; she knew it would be futile. Her mind was already working at finding a way for them not to have to cancel their trip to Northtown tomorrow. If her father was planning on being home late, they might just do their chores in the afternoon after their return, she reasoned.
The notion of extra chores didn't really bother Indigo, although nor was he getting far with his class work, something that he hoped to have made a lot more progress with before Eeth and his padawan arrived. He'd also assured his master and Thoar that he did not need to be bullied into this like a child, and he planned to keep that promise. Well, he was trying, but things just kept coming up!
The list of chores Panthea drew up for them was extensive. "I had no idea you did this much in a day," Indigo said, reading down the list. There was nothing particularly draining or large, just a lot of little things that he had not thought of. Ironing, for one; there were no droids here to do that for them. Then there were dishes to clean, and there was clothing to wash and hang; they had a special clothes line inside so that their clothing would actually dry and not freeze. Indigo placed the list down and glanced at Rulla, wondering if he should mention their trip to Northtown, but something in her expression had him remain tight-lipped, and he took another sip of his cider instead.
Rulla was glad that Indigo was smart enough not to say anything about their plans because she was quite sure that if her father knew about them, he'd say there was no time for it. He took things like duty and responsibility very seriously. And if he ended up banning them from going to Northtown, Rulla would not have the nerve to disobey. If he didn't know about the whole affair, on the other hand, and they got all their chores done by the time he returned home that night, there would be no harm done, she thought.
That evening Indigo meditated as instructed and he felt some relief. It was nothing like when he meditated with Eden but it helped him sleep better. The following morning, his thoughts were on his master and his mission. He was due to call him again the day Eeth and Raven arrived and Indigo was looking forward to this.
"Okay, you know how long the list of chores is," Rulla told Indigo over breakfast the next morning. "They will have to get done, so we won't be able to stay long in Northtown. But if we put in an effort, the afternoon should suffice to get the work done. Besides, my father said he was gonna be home late today, as in really late. Just out of curiosity, can that Force thing you've got help us speed things up?"
She didn't think it could, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Truth be told, she was starting to like having Indigo around. She still considered it a little embarrassing to be seen with a younger boy, but all her friends knew about him by now anyway, and he really wasn't as childish as she had first thought. When they had played cards last night, it had occurred to her that it was actually nice not to be alone with only Panthea for company all the time.
"No," answered Indigo. "It's useful for heavy lifting. Actually it's useful for a lot of things. Especially moving faster, not that moving faster on ice would be advisable. I'd probably break my neck. Then again, another thing I can do with the Force is soften my landing. And I can perform mild healing, which is why I'm not covered in bruises. Yet," Indigo told Rula in a perfunctory sort of way. "Anyway, there's nothing on that list the Force can help us with."
After breakfast, the two got dressed and were at the basement door pulling on their skates fast. They didn't have time to waste. As they took off to meet Rulla's friends, Indigo had to admit he was a little impressed with her level of independence; had he tried to leave on such a trek without his master's knowledge, he was quite certain it would end badly for him. But then, Rulla was alone often, something that he'd come to realise during his stay with the Junayds. If he was honest, he felt a little sorry for her as he could sense that she missed her father a lot, and he suspected she wanted him home more often than he was. He also suspected that this was something that Rulla, being as independent a personality as she was, wouldn't be comfortable speaking about, so he had not brought it up so far. Perhaps he might work up the courage later on. After all, they were getting along a little better now so maybe she wouldn't bite his head off for asking.
"Rulla, Indigo, right on time. Come on, let's get going while the wind's behind us. It's meant to change direction soon," said Artz, a stockily-built girl of unimpressive height. She had fair hair, but the same dark skin and eyes as Rulla and her father.
"I'm not sure that's going to help me much. Go ahead, as long as I can keep you in sight I won't get lost," Indigo suggested, really not wanting to slow them down, but utterly unwilling to be carted in a sled like a youngling; he might be a Jedi but he was still a young teenager and he had a little pride there.
"Aww, c'mon, we'll just drag you along," said Manya with an impish grin. She took one of Indigo's gloved hands in hers, Rulla took the other, and off they went at a speed that Indigo would not have managed on his own. They took the North-to-South-canal which went straight through the city and beyond without bends and curves for miles; if the winds were favourable, there was no place one could skate faster. At least once a day, ploughs cleared away the snow and smoothed down the ice. The two girls, with Indigo in tow, went so fast that Artz and Nooka could barely follow.
Not for the first time since donning ice skates, Indigo was relieved that he could draw on the Force, and boy, did he need to now! They were going fast enough that if he stacked it here, even cushioning his fall would hurt; heck, he might break something if he hit the deck at this speed. His thoughts prompted a conversation about the medical facilities available on Arcturus and more specifically, Calinia. As it turned out, they weren't nearly as advanced as Coruscant, but they did have the means to heal a body. This conversation soon turned into one about different alien species. Eden had told Indigo that Eeth was a Zabrak, and he had passed that on to Rulla, so Rulla had brought up his horned, tattooed, dark appearance first.
By the time they reached Northtown, Indigo knew Manya a little better. He hadn't had a chance to speak to Artz and Nooka, much as they'd struggled to keep up with them. He was a little out of breath, but due to being pulled along, the exertion had not been enough to wind him, or stop their conversation for that matter.
The fair was quite a sight. Indigo paused for a moment as he took in the scene. The ice here was thick, so much so that some of the stalls had been carved from that very ice. Heavy mats lined the benches on these stalls, making them usable. It seemed that Ice sculptures were popular in Calinia; the craft itself had become somewhat of an additional skill used by builders to modify the land in areas where the ice never melted. The streets were lined with stalls, and the area was mobbed with people looking, selling and sitting to enjoy hot drinks and different foods.
"This way, you'll want to try Northtown's hot chia. It's kinda like the spiced pears but nicer, trust me," said Artz, taking Indigo's hand and dragging him towards a stall that was not carved from the very ice itself. This one had steam coming out the top of a wooden chimney, and a plump, darkly-skinned teen was currently skating from table to table carrying trays full of steaming drinks.
Rulla was having a blast. She was not as fascinated by the snow sculptures as Indigo because she was used to them; some of them had been there for years. There were always a few new ones, however, and those were always original and sometimes truly spectacular. She did not have much money, unfortunately. Her father kept her short on pocket money – or at least, that was how it felt to her – since he thought it would reflect badly on him if his daughter went about throwing money around. However, she did have access to their household money because she frequently did the shopping for Panthea. She was not stupid enough to actually steal it since Panthea always asked for receipts, but her next payment of pocket money was due Saturday, by which time Panthea would not be back yet, so Rulla had taken that amount out of the household allowance, intending to put it back once she had received her pocket money. Therefore, she had enough for a few snacks and drinks, and most of the games were free anyway. There was a game where one had to propel wooden spheres across the ice with a stick in order to hit a target; there was an enclosed arena where you could bump into each other with sleds and try to push the other team into designated areas; and there was an ice rink where music was played and people were dancing on skates, which Rulla loved. Once she had ended up on the rink, all thoughts of leaving early went out the window – especially when Artz whispered to her that she had seen Leoto around. Leoto was sixteen and all the girls in the city, especially Rulla, had a crush on him. He was also known to be a good dancer, so Rulla hoped he might show up on the ice rink at some point; and then – well, she was known to be a brilliant skater, after all!
Indigo, for his part, had a ball of a time looking around. Like Rulla, he had a little money, but not a lot, just enough to buy a snack or something small, which was what he did. He bought some more spiced pears and shared them around. Then he tried out the stick game. He wasn't much of a skater, so he gave the dancing a miss, but he was happy to watch Rulla and the other girls. They were so graceful compared to him! Soon Artz had dragged him up, though, and the poor boy was forced to fumble his way around, hoping not to fall over or, worse, pull Artz down with him!
When they'd been at the fair for a couple of hours, it occurred to him that they ought to make their way home soon. With the help of Artz, he caught up to Rulla and tapped his watch. "We better head back now, we're cutting this fine as it is," he told her, stumbling once before steadying himself again. Truth be told, he didn't want to leave any more than he suspected she did, but they really should get going if they wanted to finish that list of chores in time.
Unfortunately, just at this moment, Rulla caught sight of Leoto entering the rink and looking around. She pulled back from Indigo a little, lest Leoto thought she was already taken, and said dismissively, "No, we can stay some more." She didn't even look at Indigo as she said that, but instead tried hard to position herself so Leoto could see her.
"Yeah, do stay," said Artz enthusiastically. "We were going to spend the day here, you can't think of leaving already!"
Indigo did not want to offend Artz so he gave her a grateful look because it was nice that she wanted their company. He turned to Rulla. "Your father gave us extra duties because Panthea needed time off, remember?" A slight frown marred his face now, not that anyone could tell; with his impassive features he pretty much always looked the same. He glided to stand in front of her, forcing Rulla to either move or look at him. "I don't know what your father is like, but if my master sets me a list of duties, I make sure I do them. Also, if he found out I was here without permission to boot, there would be hell to pay for me. We should leave." He looked from Rulla to Artz, giving her what passed as an apologetic expression. He wanted to stay, too, but they had their orders.
Just at this point, Leoto's gaze met Rulla's. She gave him an encouraging smile. He looked towards the group, apparently unsure what to make of Indigo's presence.
"Well, then go home if you're such a baby," she said dismissively, glaring at Indigo briefly, then turning her back on him and making her way over to Leoto. Indigo reached out a hand to stop her, but his left foot came out from under him and he hit the ice, hard. He allowed Artz to help him to his feet and rubbed his back and hip as he watched Rulla meet up with some boy he didn't know.
"Sorry," said Artz, clearly uncomfortable. "She's got a crush on him. And, well, she's kind of used to doing what she wants. I don't think you'll get her away from here any time soon. Will you get in trouble over it?"
"If my master caught me here without permission, yes, I would get in trouble over it, but he's currently on the planet of Saavigar so I think I'm pretty safe. I'm not sure about Rulla's father. It's not just that we don't have permission to be here, but he also gave us a list of extra duties because Panthea is away."
He brushed some ice from his coat as he elaborated on his thoughts. "Where I'm from, if you fail to meet your duties, you are punished. I don't know if Thoar is likely to punish either of us if we are caught here, but I do know it is unlikely he will be thrilled at finding out we haven't done as asked." Indigo frowned, his brow creasing as he saw Rulla and Leoto start to dance. "Alright, if Rulla thinks I'm a baby because I'm being logical, she can think that. I'm sick of her treating me like a little kid. I can find my own way back," he told Artz, just as Manya and Nooka skidded up beside them.
"You two coming or what? They're about to start another game. We still have time to join if we hurry," said Nooka, tugging at Artz's sleeve while Manya took Indigo's free arm, ready to help him. They'd taken to grabbing the boy whenever they wanted to get somewhere in a hurry as he was just too slow on his own.
Indigo blinked. He wondered if Artz had heard a word of what he had just said! Sighing, he gave them all a disappointed look because he really didn't want to go either, he enjoyed hanging out with them, but duty was duty.
"I can't. I have to get back to Calinia. Tell Rulla that I've gone, okay?" Indigo told them. He gave them a smile and turned towards the main exit.
The way to Calinia was straightforward. In fact, it was a straight line, and the wind had changed as predicted, which helped push him along. Still, this took him some time on his own. When he reached Calinia, where a multitude of side canals branched out from the main north-to-south-thoroughfare, he stopped for a rest and to get his bearings. It was left, then right, he remembered. Then past the shops with the red signs out the front, and then…. He scratched his head, looking first left, then right. Was it left here? Force! All the canalfronts looked the damned same.
Rulla, in the meanwhile, was more than thrilled to have Leoto actually notice her, let alone dance with her. That was until Leoto suddenly saw a pretty sixteen-year-old from Northtown and excused himself to have the next dance with her. Her face falling, Rulla waited for a while, but when it became obvious that Leoto was just taking turns between girls, she finally decided that she had really danced enough for today. And with that came the realisation that she should have been kinder to Indigo… especially given that the boy had actually been right: it was so late by now that there was no way they were going to get all their chores done. She went to look for him, but only found her friends who informed her that Indigo had gone back to Calinia by himself.
Rulla swore and took off. There was a lot of traffic by now, so she could not go as fast as they had done in the morning. Still, she managed to make it home by three – only to find the house empty. Where, for heaven's sake, was Indigo? she wondered. It suddenly occurred to her that he didn't even have a local comlink because those were in short supply, so she had no way to reach him. What if something had happened to him? Her father would never forgive her if that was the case! Her heart sinking, Rulla went back outside, starting to hunt for her guest.