The young woman broke away from her placid expression instantaneously. A
grin spread across her face as her eyes sparked mischievously. It was a
smile that Kyp had grown accustomed to, although he couldn't quite identify
where he had last seen it.
"You'll find I really am quite helpful, Durron," She purred as her grin melted into a sly smirk. He watched in astonishment as she stealthily approached him, his eyes widening as she came nose-to-nose with him. She paused for a second before giving him a quizzical look. "You don't remember me, do you?"
Kyp thought for a second, about the smile that seemed so familiar and those cool green eyes. He vaguely remembered a previous encounter with both after he'd been knocked off his feet. . .
"Li'aania Narundi," Kyp said, the words escaping his mouth in a rush of surprise. His past memories of the girl didn't quite match up with the striking young woman that was currently touching noses with him. The image of an obnoxious teenager that was filed under the heading "Brodey's younger sister" was instantly shattered and all that Kyp could do was stare in awe at what had taken its place.
"Call me Li'aa, unless you want to die an unfortunate and painful death," She said with a wicked glint in her eyes as she extended her hand to him.
i'Ok, so maybe she's still a bit obnoxious,'/i he thought as he firmly shook her slender hand.
i'I heard that,'/i echoed a disembodied voice in his head. She gave him a playful wink as he shot her a look of shock.
i'How the heck is she inside my head?'/i Kyp mused. Then it occurred to him. She was a Narundi, the sister of one of the strongest jedi masters with whom Kyp had ever come in contact. It was ludicrous to believe that she didn't also share some degree of her brother's talent with the force. Obviously she was nearly his equal.
"Master Skywalker," Li'aa said as she broke her gaze with Kyp. She turned slightly to bow respectfully to the older jedi master. "I look forward to working with you at your praxeum." The jedi master smiled warmly at the young woman and returned her bow. After noticing fifty sets of inquisitive eyes staring back at him he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"This is Li'aania Narundi, the younger sister of Brodaeus Narundi. Some of you who have been here for a while may remember him instructing you in the arts of lightsaber dueling and hand-to-hand combat. We've been in need of help in that area for quite some time. I sent a request to Noaa'lan, Li'aa's father, at Narundi Academy and he told me that his daughter was more than willing to help us out. So lets give our new combat skills instructor a warm welcome," Luke said, beaming proudly.
The clearing erupted in applause that lasted for a good length of time before tapering off. Everyone crowded around the young woman, eager to meet her. She seemed quite calm and maintained her composure despite the extra attention. Kyp had to remind himself that she was a princess and that interacting with crowds came second nature to her.
"We really are incredibly lucky to have her with us," Luke said as he moved up next to Kyp. "Her father said he was being modest by saying she was twice as good as Brodey with a lightsaber."
Kyp thought back to the multitude of times that Brodey had utterly annihilated him in a duel. He may have been Kyp's apprentice but in that area he was the master. The thought of there possibly being anyone better, let alone twice as talented as Brodey made Kyp's head hurt.
'Is that so?' Kyp ruminated with a grin. 'I'll have to see about that at some point.'
A firm smack on his shoulder jostled Kyp from his thoughts. He whipped around to see Li'aa beaming at him once again, and he couldn't help but notice her hand slide down to his biceps and give it a gentle squeeze. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was just pulling him closer to her ship.
"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to help me bring my stuff to my room," Li'aa said brightly. An immense pack flew out of the ship's cargo hold into Kyp's waiting arms before he could even answer. Three equally sized packages floated out after it and hovered behind the young woman.
"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice, does it?" Kyp murmured, casting her an indignant half-smile. "Why do you need my help anyway if you're carrying all the other baggage using TK?" He asked quietly as they reached her corridor.
"Well, maybe I wanted to give you this," She muttered as she reached into her hip pocket. With a little fumbling she pulled out a tiny holochit and handed it to Kyp. He felt a small spark of electricity pass between them as their hands touched, the same one he'd felt when she grabbed his arm.
'Get a grip, Durron!' He said, scolding himself, and he prayed that she couldn't read his thoughts at that very moment. After studying her expression he determined that either she hadn't noticed his reaction to her touch or she noticed and tactfully chose to ignore it. She just simply keyed open the door to her room and sauntered in to admire its dustiness.
"Looks like this place could use a little work," Li'aa murmured, her voice echoing off the room's high ceiling.
"So, what exactly is this?" Kyp asked curiously, raising one eyebrow at her as he pointed to the chit in his hand.
"Not quite sure," Li'aa said matter-of-factly. "All I know is that Brodey wanted me to give it to you. It's probably just a message from him and the family."
"Ah. Well, it'll be nice to hear from him again," Kyp said cheerfully. "I know he's probably busier than I can possibly imagine, with three kids to take care of and a kingdom over which to rule."
"The kids are the hard part," Li'aania chuckled, her laughter sounding surprisingly melodic despite the fact that it was both soft and low. Kyp once again found his thoughts clouded from her. He stared at her for a split second with a bewildered expression on his face before snapping out of it.
"Well," Kyp said, clearing his surprisingly hoarse throat, "I should get back to my kids. You know, the entire jedi master thing."
i'Oh Gods! Brilliant choice of words, Kyp!'/i He thought, cringing inside immediately after he uttered them. i'She's reduced your communication skills to those of an adolescent!'/i
"Great!" She said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "I should get started with this unpacking if I ever want to finish before sundown."
"Yeah, definitely," Kyp agreed as he backed out of her room, hitting his head on the doorframe as he went. He tried to hide his clumsiness and regain his composure, but the hand that she had covering her wide grin told him it was too late.
"Are you ok?" She laughed, this one higher in pitch and even more musical than the first.
"Fine," Kyp stated, massaging the bump on the back of his head and trying to laugh at himself despite his wounded ego.
"See you at lunch," She said, still beaming at him.
"Bye," Kyp replied, getting out of there before the spread of crimson on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment. It had been a few years since he'd even remotely felt this way about a woman and the fact that he couldn't control his impulses was equally amazing. There was something about Li'aania Narundi, something that he couldn't explain, and that both alarmed and excited him at the same time. He pushed those thoughts of his best friend's beautiful blond sister out of his mind as he reached the clearing where Master Skywalker and the rest of the students were practicing levitating rocks. Some things were just far more important, he concluded.
"You'll find I really am quite helpful, Durron," She purred as her grin melted into a sly smirk. He watched in astonishment as she stealthily approached him, his eyes widening as she came nose-to-nose with him. She paused for a second before giving him a quizzical look. "You don't remember me, do you?"
Kyp thought for a second, about the smile that seemed so familiar and those cool green eyes. He vaguely remembered a previous encounter with both after he'd been knocked off his feet. . .
"Li'aania Narundi," Kyp said, the words escaping his mouth in a rush of surprise. His past memories of the girl didn't quite match up with the striking young woman that was currently touching noses with him. The image of an obnoxious teenager that was filed under the heading "Brodey's younger sister" was instantly shattered and all that Kyp could do was stare in awe at what had taken its place.
"Call me Li'aa, unless you want to die an unfortunate and painful death," She said with a wicked glint in her eyes as she extended her hand to him.
i'Ok, so maybe she's still a bit obnoxious,'/i he thought as he firmly shook her slender hand.
i'I heard that,'/i echoed a disembodied voice in his head. She gave him a playful wink as he shot her a look of shock.
i'How the heck is she inside my head?'/i Kyp mused. Then it occurred to him. She was a Narundi, the sister of one of the strongest jedi masters with whom Kyp had ever come in contact. It was ludicrous to believe that she didn't also share some degree of her brother's talent with the force. Obviously she was nearly his equal.
"Master Skywalker," Li'aa said as she broke her gaze with Kyp. She turned slightly to bow respectfully to the older jedi master. "I look forward to working with you at your praxeum." The jedi master smiled warmly at the young woman and returned her bow. After noticing fifty sets of inquisitive eyes staring back at him he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"This is Li'aania Narundi, the younger sister of Brodaeus Narundi. Some of you who have been here for a while may remember him instructing you in the arts of lightsaber dueling and hand-to-hand combat. We've been in need of help in that area for quite some time. I sent a request to Noaa'lan, Li'aa's father, at Narundi Academy and he told me that his daughter was more than willing to help us out. So lets give our new combat skills instructor a warm welcome," Luke said, beaming proudly.
The clearing erupted in applause that lasted for a good length of time before tapering off. Everyone crowded around the young woman, eager to meet her. She seemed quite calm and maintained her composure despite the extra attention. Kyp had to remind himself that she was a princess and that interacting with crowds came second nature to her.
"We really are incredibly lucky to have her with us," Luke said as he moved up next to Kyp. "Her father said he was being modest by saying she was twice as good as Brodey with a lightsaber."
Kyp thought back to the multitude of times that Brodey had utterly annihilated him in a duel. He may have been Kyp's apprentice but in that area he was the master. The thought of there possibly being anyone better, let alone twice as talented as Brodey made Kyp's head hurt.
'Is that so?' Kyp ruminated with a grin. 'I'll have to see about that at some point.'
A firm smack on his shoulder jostled Kyp from his thoughts. He whipped around to see Li'aa beaming at him once again, and he couldn't help but notice her hand slide down to his biceps and give it a gentle squeeze. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was just pulling him closer to her ship.
"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to help me bring my stuff to my room," Li'aa said brightly. An immense pack flew out of the ship's cargo hold into Kyp's waiting arms before he could even answer. Three equally sized packages floated out after it and hovered behind the young woman.
"It doesn't look like I have much of a choice, does it?" Kyp murmured, casting her an indignant half-smile. "Why do you need my help anyway if you're carrying all the other baggage using TK?" He asked quietly as they reached her corridor.
"Well, maybe I wanted to give you this," She muttered as she reached into her hip pocket. With a little fumbling she pulled out a tiny holochit and handed it to Kyp. He felt a small spark of electricity pass between them as their hands touched, the same one he'd felt when she grabbed his arm.
'Get a grip, Durron!' He said, scolding himself, and he prayed that she couldn't read his thoughts at that very moment. After studying her expression he determined that either she hadn't noticed his reaction to her touch or she noticed and tactfully chose to ignore it. She just simply keyed open the door to her room and sauntered in to admire its dustiness.
"Looks like this place could use a little work," Li'aa murmured, her voice echoing off the room's high ceiling.
"So, what exactly is this?" Kyp asked curiously, raising one eyebrow at her as he pointed to the chit in his hand.
"Not quite sure," Li'aa said matter-of-factly. "All I know is that Brodey wanted me to give it to you. It's probably just a message from him and the family."
"Ah. Well, it'll be nice to hear from him again," Kyp said cheerfully. "I know he's probably busier than I can possibly imagine, with three kids to take care of and a kingdom over which to rule."
"The kids are the hard part," Li'aania chuckled, her laughter sounding surprisingly melodic despite the fact that it was both soft and low. Kyp once again found his thoughts clouded from her. He stared at her for a split second with a bewildered expression on his face before snapping out of it.
"Well," Kyp said, clearing his surprisingly hoarse throat, "I should get back to my kids. You know, the entire jedi master thing."
i'Oh Gods! Brilliant choice of words, Kyp!'/i He thought, cringing inside immediately after he uttered them. i'She's reduced your communication skills to those of an adolescent!'/i
"Great!" She said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "I should get started with this unpacking if I ever want to finish before sundown."
"Yeah, definitely," Kyp agreed as he backed out of her room, hitting his head on the doorframe as he went. He tried to hide his clumsiness and regain his composure, but the hand that she had covering her wide grin told him it was too late.
"Are you ok?" She laughed, this one higher in pitch and even more musical than the first.
"Fine," Kyp stated, massaging the bump on the back of his head and trying to laugh at himself despite his wounded ego.
"See you at lunch," She said, still beaming at him.
"Bye," Kyp replied, getting out of there before the spread of crimson on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment. It had been a few years since he'd even remotely felt this way about a woman and the fact that he couldn't control his impulses was equally amazing. There was something about Li'aania Narundi, something that he couldn't explain, and that both alarmed and excited him at the same time. He pushed those thoughts of his best friend's beautiful blond sister out of his mind as he reached the clearing where Master Skywalker and the rest of the students were practicing levitating rocks. Some things were just far more important, he concluded.