Since she'd come to the Jedi Temple, she'd began having some strange visions. It'd taken a little while to figure out, but she realized they were prophetic. She'd had several in the past week, and most of them came as dreams. One particular dream was a vivid account of her dear friend, Qui-Gon Jinn, and his future death. She'd told no one of these dreams, but kept them locked away inside her mind. She was forced to go about her life, but the fear that came from her visions was quickly swept away by the bustle of her new lifestyle, and they were pushed to the back of her mind.
As her time spent here progressed, things had fallen into a pattern. She hadn't recieved a master yet, but was instead being trained under Yoda with the other younglings. She didn't mind, however, because she was in a group of other children close to her same age. Whenever she wasn't training with the other younglings, she was in the Archive hall until he came to fetch her. Sometimes she and Master Yoda had private training sessions, which she valued above anything else. She had learned so much regarding the ways of the Force and how to use her mind to activate the Force-power within her body. She dwelled on these thoughts as Yoda led her down the hall.
"A different training for today, we have." Yoda was telling her, pulling her out of her thoughts. Saryu looked at him. They were headed someplace else, not his chambers for meditating. She had not had the chance to explore this part of the Temple, so she said nothing and followed. He led her through two glass doors that slid apart and vanished into the walls. They were in a dome-shaped room, with strange metal bubbles embedded in the wall. She stood just inside the doorway and Yoda handed her something. She looked at it closely. It was a metal cylinder, about 30 centimeters long with a red button on the side. She looked at Yoda.
"This looks like a lightsaber." She breathed. He nodded.
"It is." He agreed, then turned to a console sticking at an adjacent angle from the wall. He pushed some buttons, then motioned her to the center of the room. One of the 'bubbles' came to life and disengaged from the wall. It levitated a moment before its two halves split apart to reveal that it was a laser droid. Yoda looked at her and nodded. Saryu took a breath and pushed the button on the lightsaber. A long, blue, narrow beam of energy emerged with a distinct sound. It was different from her training lightsaber. This one was lighter, a feather instead of a stick. She stared at it a moment in awe and gave a few practice swings before looking up at the droid. Yoda pushed another button and the droid began to move, hovering in front of her before firing. Instinctively, she raised the sword to reflect the attack. It bounced off the blade and back at the droid, whose shield protected it. It kept firing, and she was able to successfully block its attacks. After what seemed like an eternity, Yoda pushed more buttons and the droid stopped firing. Instead, another droid emerged from the wall and opened. Saryu blew a stray lock of hair from her face and took a defensive stance.
"Wait. This you must use." Yoda's voice came from behind her. She turned and he handed her a long strip of black cloth. A blindfold? Saryu wasn't sure if she could handle two droids blindfolded. She looked aprehensively at Yoda, who nodded. With a sigh, she tied the cloth around her eyes and activated her lightsaber.
The two droids hovered around her and fired, and she realized she couldn't act on instinct alone. Using the power of the Force, she blocked the attacks of both and concentrated on the droid on front of her. The second one, however, rotated around her and a shot grazed her shoulder. She winced and grabbed the smoking injury.
"Use the Force." Yoda reprimanded calmly. 'I'll try,' where the first words about to be uttered from her mouth, but she remembered Yoda's rather famous speech and kept her mouth closed.
Taking a deep breath, she began to concentrate. Using the power of the Force, she was able to feel which direction the next attack was coming from. However, she found it a bit difficult with the droids constantly moving. An hour and four more burns later and the exercise was over. She used the blindfold to wipe her sweaty brow and looked at Yoda, who was smiling warmly. She sighed, exhausted. She couldn't hide the air of satisfaction surrounding her, however, and walked over to him. He nodded and led her from the room. Out in the hall, he turned to face her.
"Very well, you have done. A more difficult training regime, I think. Mind, you do not?" He asked. Saryu gaped at him and shook her head numbly.
"Good. Good. Done for today, you are"
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Yoda certianly had not been kidding when he said her training would be more difficult. She was constantly being monitored by Yoda during her training, and it would intensefy when he saw fit. Three years had passed since she come to the Temple. Today was her eleventh birthday. She had had a strange dream the night before. She was surrounded by complete darkness, and a voice was telling her about some sort of gift. She didn't exactly remember, but it was forgotten as she was sitting in her Temple class, fidgeting.
There was something different about today. She could feel it, but apparently she was the only one because no one else seemed as excited or agitated as she. Her instructor found it particularly difficult to hold her attention and to keep her from fidgeting. When the wall chrono finally read three o' clock, Saryu sprang through the door with a whoop. This prompted alook from her instructor, but the girl wasn't paying attention. Out in the corridor, she stooped to send her datapad sliding down the hallway. This immediately started a round of padracing, a game she herself had invented. The other younglings called for her to join them, but she pretended not to hear. Instead, she scooped up her pad and ran to the quarters she shared with two other youngling girls. She was the first one there, and had a few minutes alone. She sighed, wondering what to do. She could still hear the screeches and laughter of the other younglings out in the hallway. Perhaps she should go and join them after all. Her growling stomach gave her another idea. She opened the fridge and scoped out a possible snack. Her eyes fell on a large jar stitting on the shelf in front of her. She glanced at the label.
"Pickle, eh?" She fished one out and popped it in her mouth without really questioning the dark red color. It was only until she went to put the jar back and the room began to grow a little warmer that she noticed the label again.
"Pickled Peppers?" By now, her mouth was on fire. Her skin prickled, and she was alarmed to find out that the rest of her body was burning up as well. Not thinking to go into the refresher, she ran out into the now-empty corridor to seek help. The padraces had finished a few minutes earlier, and the younglings had returned to their quarters. Just down the hallway was the Room of the Thousand Fountains...
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"Nearly complete her youngling training is, I think."
"Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? I mean, she is still young after all."
"Yes yes, but little left to learn as a youngling she has. Much more as a Padawan to learn there is."
"I see. Yes, I have been watching her for several weeks. I haven't had a chance to speak with her personally, but I've seen her duels. What of her Temple studies?"
"A fast learner she is. Maybe two or three ahead of her in class, there is."
"I see. I will speak with her then."
Voices floated down the empty hallway and echoed in the large Room. One of them was the easily-recognizable voice of Master Yoda. The other one she didn't recognize, but they were heading this way. She could sense their approach, but she didn't budge. She didn't think about how ridiculous she must look, but hoped they would turn and leave her in peace. They didn't, but Saryu still didn't move. She heard their footsteps stop short in the doorway and turned to look. Both Yoda and a tall woman were staring at the young girl sitting in the fountain. She wasn't bathing nor moving around, but simply sitting. Saryu stared back. Her blue eyes offered no excuse, nor showed that she was making an attempt at one. An eternity passed, and it was as though all three of them had been turned to stone.
Suddenly, they sprang into furious action. Saryu leapt out of the fountain just as Yoda and the woman came after her. In a flash, Saryu was off slipping down the hallway like some strange, lopsided fish, with the two Masters hot on her heels. Despite the fact that Saryu was slipping and sliding and falling down nearly every step she took, it wasn't until they were near the Archive room before they finally caught up with her. It was then a struggle to keep her from running down the hall naked as the woman, whom Saryu now knew as Adi Gallia, tried to dry her off in her quarters. Finally dry and wrapped in a warm towel, Saryu stood patiently. Her clothes were in the dryer, so there wasn't much else to do but to wait. She thought she heard Yoda grumble something about "Too old for this, I am" under his breath. Stifling laughter, she turned to Adi and flashed her a big grin.
"Much better!" She declared. Adi looked suprised, but then decided it was better not to ask. She watched as the little girl explored the chambers thoroughly, poking about in this or that. "Nice place." She chimed as she went to explore another room. Adi nodded.
"How would you like to stay here?" She asked. Saryu poked her head around the corner and shrugged before disappearing down the hall again.
"It'd be okay, I guess." Her voice sounded muffled, but Adi heard it just the same.
"Well then, go and get your things, my Padawan." She heard Saryu stop in her tracks. The youngling blinked. Had she heard Adi right?
Saryu understood the basic concept of a Padawan was, an apprentice to a master, but she didn't understand the bond of trust that was needed between the two in order for her to be properly trained. As Adi led her down the corridor, she explained these things. Saryu listened in silence. While she certianly respected and admired her new Master, she was far from trusting her just yet.
Saryu got her things settled in the quarters, neatly arranging the things in her room just the way she wanted them. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and it cascaded messily down her back. She quickly ran a brush through it before walking out into the living area, where Adi was sitting on the couch. Saryu joined her, and Adi continued to explain the partnership of a master and padawan.
"One of the things that establishes this bond is the braid." She said. Saryu nodded. Her thoughts turned to the braids that she'd seen on the other Padawans that resided and trained in the Jedi temple. "As a Master, I establish this connection with you by the braid." She reached out to take hold of a lock of Saryu's hair, and the girl drew back in suprise. She looked down, embarassed at herself, and moved to another chair, where she proceeded to braid her own hair.
"Sorry." She murmured, clearly upset with herself. Adi looked rather upset and suprised at Saryu's reaction, but said nothing. She wondered what Saryu's reaction would mean to their future together as master and apprentice.
