"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" Luke called out over the lively chatter. Right as Valin had his finger pressed to the repulsor lift's control panel. "Afternoon instruction will be held right in this room, due to the storm outside."
'Damn!' Valin groaned mentally, sighing as he was forced to abandon all hope of spending time alone with Li'aa. Master Skywalker had worse timing than the Solo family's golden protocol droid, Threepio!
Li'aa turned around with him, and was surprised to see Kyp standing by her side, "What are you doing over here?" She asked in a suspicious whisper.
Kyp had to think a bit before he found a suitable answer.
"I wanted to remind you to bring your poncho," He whispered. 'Brilliant, Kyp. Real genius thinking right there.'
"I want everyone to gather around to this side of the room," Luke said, his voice commanding their attention. The jedi master gestured to the tables closest to the salad bar.
"It doesn't look like we're going anywhere, so I don't think I need the advice," Li'aa responded with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "But thanks anyway, Kyp."
He nodded and smiled politely before returning to his seat near the red-headed jedi master. 'Stupid! Absolutely stupid!' He screamed, beating himself mentally for acting so brainless around her. She was Brodey's baby sister! It frustrated him that he couldn't seem to treat her the same way he treated Brodey. They didn't look much different, and yet they were.
'Brodey looks better in makeup and a skirt,' Mara's voice taunted, worming its way into his head. Kyp shuddered violently. Brodey with falsies and fake eyelashes was one horribly disturbing memory that he'd tried hard to repress.
"You can't be serious!" He hissed under his breath once he'd finally taken his seat. "She looks much better than THAT!"
"Of course I'm not being serious!" She replied, scrunching her face up in disgust. The girl seemed to be depleting what few brain cells Kyp had in the first place. "However, you really need to be careful with your brooding. People are going to start noticing the browbeating you're giving yourself."
He couldn't help but wince in retrospect at his apparently obvious behavior. "I don't know what my problem is." He just hoped that Li'aania was too wrapped up in looking at Valin to notice his clumsy social behavior.
"Maybe your problem is that you like a girl who's half your age?" Mara suggested with critical eyes and another smirk.
"In case you haven't noticed, she's twenty one years old, and an adult," Kyp growled, glaring at the older woman.
Mara threw back her head and laughed, much to his chagrin. "Durron, you're precious, you know that? She may be twenty one, but in case you haven't noticed, YOU'RE OLD!" A strange cackle vibrated in her throat as she pondered the revelation. "Observe the mass of grey hairs that you and I have. It's called OLD!"
"Are you done having fun at my expense yet?" He asked, annoyed.
"Nope, not yet," She replied, still laughing. "Give me a minute to get it all out of my system."
"Hurry it up," Kyp said through clenched teeth. "People are starting to stare at us."
"What, you mean Skywalker?" Mara chuckled. "I think he's just wondering what all the laughing is about." She caught her husband's eye and, pointing at Kyp, mouthed the word 'old'.
Luke didn't show more than a smile on the outside, but his eyes revealed that he got the joke. "All right, let's get started. I want everyone to break off into whatever group you're in for the afternoon. We'll try our best to keep everything the same, although the combat skills lesson might run into a few problems." He glanced over at Li'aa, who rolled her eyes and grinned.
Kyp followed his young students to the corner of the room where Kam Solusar was helping Li'aa clear tables and chairs out of the way to make room for what would probably mean more pain for him. With much distaste, he noticed that Valin had also stepped up to help. The young man was doing nothing short of hanging off the poor girl.
'I wonder what Brodey would do if he was around,' Kyp thought, smiling sneakily as he came up with an answer. Valin Horn was going to sorely regret his actions.
"All right!" Li'aania said cheerfully once an adequate space had been made. She rubbed her hands together eagerly as she caught Kyp's eye. "Who here can show me what we learned last time?"
The little blonde boy eagerly shoved his pudgy hand high in the air. "Oooh oooh! Pick me!"
"What does he think he is? A Kowakian Monkey-Lizard?" Cherith commented with a sneer as Aurora snickered appreciatively.
"Raine, why don't you come up here and demonstrate?" Li'aa asked, her voice tinged with reproach as she glanced over at the two giggling girls. Her smile was genuine but the hard look in her eyes definitely meant business. "Kyp, are you up for it?"
He wasn't expecting that. "Um, up for what?"
"Being a sparring partner to Raine here," She responded, gesturing to the youth as the boy jutted his lower chin out smugly. He had the looks of a little terror who was ready to use Kyp as his personal punching bag, and that alone was enough for him to make his decision.
"I think I'm going to pass on that. I planned on being a passive observer to your class today," Kyp said, tossing her his signature roguish wink.
"Okay," Li'aa said with a nod as her face flushed a bit. "Valin! Want to give me a hand with this?"
"Sure!" The young man answered, enthusiastically stepping in to help. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
'Get the snot beat out of you, of course,' Kyp thought in response as he tried his hardest not to smile.
"I just want you to be a sparring partner for Raine here," She explained. "Anytime you're ready, you can begin. And Valin?"
"Yeah?" Their eyes met in a way that engrossed him.
"Go easy on him, okay? He's just a kid."
Raine, who viewed this distraction as the perfect time to begin the fight, let out a squeaky-voiced battle cry as he raced toward Valin. The young jedi knight barely had time to react before Raine delivered a couple of swift kicks to his shins and sent him tumbling to the ground. Raine would have continued kicking if he didn't have Li'aania to slow him down.
"Okay," She said tensely as she grabbed the boy by the collar with the force. He seemed not to notice and tried his best to fight against it. "That was good, but perhaps not with the level of control I'd like."
"Control?" Valin groaned, picking himself up. "There wasn't an ounce of control in that attack!"
"Come now, Valin," Kyp scolded with a smirk. "Be nice to the boy. He's only just learning."
"And that's supposed to be an excuse to act like a maniac?" Valin protested with a deadly stare at the older man. "Oh, I forgot that you endorse the blowing up of planets and other acts of criminal mischief!"
"Oh wow, this is getting to be so sweet!" Raine commented, his beady eyes wide with captive wonder.
"Gentlemen!" Li'aa reprimanded in her best instructor voice. It came out squeaky and sounded rather forced. "Must I remind you that there are students here who observe your words and actions? If you can't behave then I suggest you take your grievances with each other elsewhere."
"You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Kyp agreed, a little too cheerfully. "I'd love to take my grievances with young Valin right outside into the rain!"
Li'aa's face quickly turned to a look of surprise, "Kyp. . ." She said in an uncharacteristically low voice. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to like where this was headed.
"Li'aa, don't worry about it." Valin cracked his neck to one side, a false grin similar to Kyp's spreading wide across his face. "This is a perfect opportunity to show these kids some real hand-to-hand! Let's go, Durron! I'm ready for whatever grievances you can throw at me!"
Valin marched out of the room through the thick wooden doors with Kyp following closely behind. It took mere seconds before a deluge of fervent nine-year-olds joined the pursuit, and Li'aania found she could do little to stop them. Yelling about the weather didn't work. She even considered threatening them with discipline as she chased after the group, but knowing that she had neither the permission nor the authority to punish left that idea by the wayside.
On the steps of the stone staircase leading to the landing platform she found the soaking-wet ambassador and his assistant. Their startled looks obviously came from the run-in with the stampede of young children, and she couldn't help but smirk, stressed as she was. She could almost hear Ambassador Lakailan moaning about how much the children on this planet misbehaved compared to N'aanwarian youth.
'Whoever thinks that obviously never met MY family,' Li'aa thought to herself with satisfaction. There was never a dull moment in her life, and the shouts and cheers of the courtyard reinforced her convictions.
'Damn!' Valin groaned mentally, sighing as he was forced to abandon all hope of spending time alone with Li'aa. Master Skywalker had worse timing than the Solo family's golden protocol droid, Threepio!
Li'aa turned around with him, and was surprised to see Kyp standing by her side, "What are you doing over here?" She asked in a suspicious whisper.
Kyp had to think a bit before he found a suitable answer.
"I wanted to remind you to bring your poncho," He whispered. 'Brilliant, Kyp. Real genius thinking right there.'
"I want everyone to gather around to this side of the room," Luke said, his voice commanding their attention. The jedi master gestured to the tables closest to the salad bar.
"It doesn't look like we're going anywhere, so I don't think I need the advice," Li'aa responded with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "But thanks anyway, Kyp."
He nodded and smiled politely before returning to his seat near the red-headed jedi master. 'Stupid! Absolutely stupid!' He screamed, beating himself mentally for acting so brainless around her. She was Brodey's baby sister! It frustrated him that he couldn't seem to treat her the same way he treated Brodey. They didn't look much different, and yet they were.
'Brodey looks better in makeup and a skirt,' Mara's voice taunted, worming its way into his head. Kyp shuddered violently. Brodey with falsies and fake eyelashes was one horribly disturbing memory that he'd tried hard to repress.
"You can't be serious!" He hissed under his breath once he'd finally taken his seat. "She looks much better than THAT!"
"Of course I'm not being serious!" She replied, scrunching her face up in disgust. The girl seemed to be depleting what few brain cells Kyp had in the first place. "However, you really need to be careful with your brooding. People are going to start noticing the browbeating you're giving yourself."
He couldn't help but wince in retrospect at his apparently obvious behavior. "I don't know what my problem is." He just hoped that Li'aania was too wrapped up in looking at Valin to notice his clumsy social behavior.
"Maybe your problem is that you like a girl who's half your age?" Mara suggested with critical eyes and another smirk.
"In case you haven't noticed, she's twenty one years old, and an adult," Kyp growled, glaring at the older woman.
Mara threw back her head and laughed, much to his chagrin. "Durron, you're precious, you know that? She may be twenty one, but in case you haven't noticed, YOU'RE OLD!" A strange cackle vibrated in her throat as she pondered the revelation. "Observe the mass of grey hairs that you and I have. It's called OLD!"
"Are you done having fun at my expense yet?" He asked, annoyed.
"Nope, not yet," She replied, still laughing. "Give me a minute to get it all out of my system."
"Hurry it up," Kyp said through clenched teeth. "People are starting to stare at us."
"What, you mean Skywalker?" Mara chuckled. "I think he's just wondering what all the laughing is about." She caught her husband's eye and, pointing at Kyp, mouthed the word 'old'.
Luke didn't show more than a smile on the outside, but his eyes revealed that he got the joke. "All right, let's get started. I want everyone to break off into whatever group you're in for the afternoon. We'll try our best to keep everything the same, although the combat skills lesson might run into a few problems." He glanced over at Li'aa, who rolled her eyes and grinned.
Kyp followed his young students to the corner of the room where Kam Solusar was helping Li'aa clear tables and chairs out of the way to make room for what would probably mean more pain for him. With much distaste, he noticed that Valin had also stepped up to help. The young man was doing nothing short of hanging off the poor girl.
'I wonder what Brodey would do if he was around,' Kyp thought, smiling sneakily as he came up with an answer. Valin Horn was going to sorely regret his actions.
"All right!" Li'aania said cheerfully once an adequate space had been made. She rubbed her hands together eagerly as she caught Kyp's eye. "Who here can show me what we learned last time?"
The little blonde boy eagerly shoved his pudgy hand high in the air. "Oooh oooh! Pick me!"
"What does he think he is? A Kowakian Monkey-Lizard?" Cherith commented with a sneer as Aurora snickered appreciatively.
"Raine, why don't you come up here and demonstrate?" Li'aa asked, her voice tinged with reproach as she glanced over at the two giggling girls. Her smile was genuine but the hard look in her eyes definitely meant business. "Kyp, are you up for it?"
He wasn't expecting that. "Um, up for what?"
"Being a sparring partner to Raine here," She responded, gesturing to the youth as the boy jutted his lower chin out smugly. He had the looks of a little terror who was ready to use Kyp as his personal punching bag, and that alone was enough for him to make his decision.
"I think I'm going to pass on that. I planned on being a passive observer to your class today," Kyp said, tossing her his signature roguish wink.
"Okay," Li'aa said with a nod as her face flushed a bit. "Valin! Want to give me a hand with this?"
"Sure!" The young man answered, enthusiastically stepping in to help. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
'Get the snot beat out of you, of course,' Kyp thought in response as he tried his hardest not to smile.
"I just want you to be a sparring partner for Raine here," She explained. "Anytime you're ready, you can begin. And Valin?"
"Yeah?" Their eyes met in a way that engrossed him.
"Go easy on him, okay? He's just a kid."
Raine, who viewed this distraction as the perfect time to begin the fight, let out a squeaky-voiced battle cry as he raced toward Valin. The young jedi knight barely had time to react before Raine delivered a couple of swift kicks to his shins and sent him tumbling to the ground. Raine would have continued kicking if he didn't have Li'aania to slow him down.
"Okay," She said tensely as she grabbed the boy by the collar with the force. He seemed not to notice and tried his best to fight against it. "That was good, but perhaps not with the level of control I'd like."
"Control?" Valin groaned, picking himself up. "There wasn't an ounce of control in that attack!"
"Come now, Valin," Kyp scolded with a smirk. "Be nice to the boy. He's only just learning."
"And that's supposed to be an excuse to act like a maniac?" Valin protested with a deadly stare at the older man. "Oh, I forgot that you endorse the blowing up of planets and other acts of criminal mischief!"
"Oh wow, this is getting to be so sweet!" Raine commented, his beady eyes wide with captive wonder.
"Gentlemen!" Li'aa reprimanded in her best instructor voice. It came out squeaky and sounded rather forced. "Must I remind you that there are students here who observe your words and actions? If you can't behave then I suggest you take your grievances with each other elsewhere."
"You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Kyp agreed, a little too cheerfully. "I'd love to take my grievances with young Valin right outside into the rain!"
Li'aa's face quickly turned to a look of surprise, "Kyp. . ." She said in an uncharacteristically low voice. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to like where this was headed.
"Li'aa, don't worry about it." Valin cracked his neck to one side, a false grin similar to Kyp's spreading wide across his face. "This is a perfect opportunity to show these kids some real hand-to-hand! Let's go, Durron! I'm ready for whatever grievances you can throw at me!"
Valin marched out of the room through the thick wooden doors with Kyp following closely behind. It took mere seconds before a deluge of fervent nine-year-olds joined the pursuit, and Li'aania found she could do little to stop them. Yelling about the weather didn't work. She even considered threatening them with discipline as she chased after the group, but knowing that she had neither the permission nor the authority to punish left that idea by the wayside.
On the steps of the stone staircase leading to the landing platform she found the soaking-wet ambassador and his assistant. Their startled looks obviously came from the run-in with the stampede of young children, and she couldn't help but smirk, stressed as she was. She could almost hear Ambassador Lakailan moaning about how much the children on this planet misbehaved compared to N'aanwarian youth.
'Whoever thinks that obviously never met MY family,' Li'aa thought to herself with satisfaction. There was never a dull moment in her life, and the shouts and cheers of the courtyard reinforced her convictions.