Gah, I do apologize about this taking more then a week to acomplish! My youth conference had sweapt my mind away but now it is back and I am ready to give you readers another chapter. You may be thinking that they are boring and dragging on... but I swear that within two chapters the intrversy will be busting at the seams! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and thank you for the reviews; they truly inspire me to carry on!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*%*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of light sabers clashing against one another sounded throughout the training room. Movements between the master and his padawan were quick and agile, but Yunda was finding it hard to keep up. Corran was pushing his padawan to the limits, and he knew it. He took notice that her skills had improved over the last very weeks, but her mind always seemed further then it usually was.
He came up fast and hard towards her arm, but she spun about and blocked. Yunda grunted and then swung hers down low. The master, being too aware of this move, dodged with ease and aimed for her ear. He would have taken it clean off, as well as the top of her head, but he stopped and swung it about to the other side of her.
As Yunda's saber came rushing to his left, Corran blocked and held it there with the Force. She went to pull it back, but it proved in vain. Without any questions she turned off her light saber and her did the same. For an instant she forgot herself and spoke. "Why have you stopped?"
"You are not focused Yunda." Attaching his saber to his belt, Master Corran gazed down at her with intense yellow eyes. "Though I have to admit that your skills are improving."
"I must admit, that I had help, Master."
He nodded, a slight smile coming to his stern Zabrakian face. "May I ask who this aid is? They must be getting through that thick skull then I ever could."
She giggled when there was a slight knocking on the top of her head and her hands quickly went up to try to stop it. "Klip Judgin."
"Ah, a very promising padawan. I have seen his skills." Slipping on his dark, brown robe, Corran knitted his bony brow. "How long has he been working with you?"
"For the lateral? A month now." With a small eye roll, she clipped her saber to her belt. "Will that be all Master?"
"No. That will not be all." His long arm extended towards to the small platform from which others would often look on. When she had taken a seat, he did the same. "Your mind seems clouded. What is weighing on your mind, child?"
A little taken back, she tilted her head for a moment. To be honest she had no clue what was wrong with her. Such feelings, thoughts were nothing that she had ever felt before, neither could they be explained through the many books at the library through the Force or sickness. It was all so strange. "To be honest, Master, I really don't know. It all seems so strange and yet it is not." She shook her head. "I think I am sick."
"There is a strange flu going about." he admitted.
"That would explain everything then." Leaning forward, she smiled. "I just need some rest is all."
"And more rest you shall be receiving! First thing tonight, you will be heading off to bed two hours earlier. I will not have a sick apprentice."
She groaned and rested her head on the bar, slipping her legs through the openings. "Oh, but Master!"
"I will not hear your whinning."
"Yes Master Corran."
He did not want to press on any further. The Master was concerned for his Jedi; she had been so distant from everyone latly and he could not put a finger on it. Her friends had no clue that she had changed, but he did. Maybe he was just over reacting. "Alright then, now if you have something to talk to me about, don't hesitate to think about coming to me. That is what I am here for my young Padawan."
"Yes, Master Corran. If only I could describe to you these feelings to you... there nothing that I have ever felt before!"
"Maybe you are getting stronger in the force."
"No. Well, maybe. That or I am sick!"
He let out a low chuckle and patted her on the back. Corran knew he was just being paranoid, besides this was a time when the young went through weird stages. Maybe he should have went with everyones advice and took on a boy as his Padawan, but he knew that there was no one better for him to be training then Yunda. This relationship between him and his Padawan would flurish and grow into a wonderful, lasting bond, but there was always a thought in the back of his mind. A thought that sometimes made him doubt.
/%/////////%/////////%/
"Klip!" Came a voice that echoed off the walls of the mess hall. "Klip over here!"
Klip turned to where the voice was calling from and placed a smile on his face. Holding his tray tight in his hands, he journeied over to where a group of his friends sat, but chose the open spot near the green pigmented Falleen, who so boustrously called after him. "Could you be any louder?" he grined.
"Could you walk any slower? I have seen wet Wookies trudge faster through muck then you!" cried a Sullust, with a slight pound on the table.
Klip shook his head and began to plow into his food. "Hey, be nice. I am a sensitive human."
"Too sensitive to enter in on a little wager?"
With a slight look of confusion, Klip gazed at the Sullust know as Dagmark. "You have my attention."
His big eyes gazed about as the voice turned into a whisper. "Two nights from tonight there is going to be a race and I am thinking that we could make a good deal of credits if we enter."
"It is against Jedi order to enter such things." Idola crinkled her green nose. "Compition is not the spirit we are to have. Besides we would never get permission."
"Blah, blah, blah... So Klip, are you in?" asked Dagmark.
There was a slight pause from the human as he gazed down at his food. He did not really think it was a good idea to go along with Dagmark's idea, yet there was a small fire of curiosity burning within him. The wonder of if he would win kept tunting him. "I guess so, but I really don't wish to get caught."
"You wont." Dagmark grinned. "I have everything planned. All we have to do is wait till lights out and sneak out. Then when the race is over we sneak back in. Its fool proof!"
"Right..." Idola rolled her eyes. "Well, I am not going to risk my neck just for a few republic credits which we will probably never get to use without questioning from our masters."
Dagmark seered into the Falleen's eyes. "Hey, you can't back out on me. If you race with those types of people then you have two people in each vichicle! You were supposed to be Klip's partner but now I guess... gah, whatever."
"So... what difference does it make?"
"One to drive and one to make sure they don't cheat by damaging your speeder. Anyway, where are we going to get another person?"
Klip thought for a moment, then dropped his fork as a declaration that he had thought of something. "I just thought of someone..."
Idola mumbled something under her breath about how Dagmark even knew people like that and why he would stick out his neck, but no one really took notice. With a toothy grin, the Sullust nodded his head. He was up for adventure and was glad that he would not be alone on this little bet. "Good. Make sure they ain't a rat, or else life here will be hell for them."
Klip smiled. "Oh, don't worry. This person is anything but a rat."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*%*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of light sabers clashing against one another sounded throughout the training room. Movements between the master and his padawan were quick and agile, but Yunda was finding it hard to keep up. Corran was pushing his padawan to the limits, and he knew it. He took notice that her skills had improved over the last very weeks, but her mind always seemed further then it usually was.
He came up fast and hard towards her arm, but she spun about and blocked. Yunda grunted and then swung hers down low. The master, being too aware of this move, dodged with ease and aimed for her ear. He would have taken it clean off, as well as the top of her head, but he stopped and swung it about to the other side of her.
As Yunda's saber came rushing to his left, Corran blocked and held it there with the Force. She went to pull it back, but it proved in vain. Without any questions she turned off her light saber and her did the same. For an instant she forgot herself and spoke. "Why have you stopped?"
"You are not focused Yunda." Attaching his saber to his belt, Master Corran gazed down at her with intense yellow eyes. "Though I have to admit that your skills are improving."
"I must admit, that I had help, Master."
He nodded, a slight smile coming to his stern Zabrakian face. "May I ask who this aid is? They must be getting through that thick skull then I ever could."
She giggled when there was a slight knocking on the top of her head and her hands quickly went up to try to stop it. "Klip Judgin."
"Ah, a very promising padawan. I have seen his skills." Slipping on his dark, brown robe, Corran knitted his bony brow. "How long has he been working with you?"
"For the lateral? A month now." With a small eye roll, she clipped her saber to her belt. "Will that be all Master?"
"No. That will not be all." His long arm extended towards to the small platform from which others would often look on. When she had taken a seat, he did the same. "Your mind seems clouded. What is weighing on your mind, child?"
A little taken back, she tilted her head for a moment. To be honest she had no clue what was wrong with her. Such feelings, thoughts were nothing that she had ever felt before, neither could they be explained through the many books at the library through the Force or sickness. It was all so strange. "To be honest, Master, I really don't know. It all seems so strange and yet it is not." She shook her head. "I think I am sick."
"There is a strange flu going about." he admitted.
"That would explain everything then." Leaning forward, she smiled. "I just need some rest is all."
"And more rest you shall be receiving! First thing tonight, you will be heading off to bed two hours earlier. I will not have a sick apprentice."
She groaned and rested her head on the bar, slipping her legs through the openings. "Oh, but Master!"
"I will not hear your whinning."
"Yes Master Corran."
He did not want to press on any further. The Master was concerned for his Jedi; she had been so distant from everyone latly and he could not put a finger on it. Her friends had no clue that she had changed, but he did. Maybe he was just over reacting. "Alright then, now if you have something to talk to me about, don't hesitate to think about coming to me. That is what I am here for my young Padawan."
"Yes, Master Corran. If only I could describe to you these feelings to you... there nothing that I have ever felt before!"
"Maybe you are getting stronger in the force."
"No. Well, maybe. That or I am sick!"
He let out a low chuckle and patted her on the back. Corran knew he was just being paranoid, besides this was a time when the young went through weird stages. Maybe he should have went with everyones advice and took on a boy as his Padawan, but he knew that there was no one better for him to be training then Yunda. This relationship between him and his Padawan would flurish and grow into a wonderful, lasting bond, but there was always a thought in the back of his mind. A thought that sometimes made him doubt.
/%/////////%/////////%/
"Klip!" Came a voice that echoed off the walls of the mess hall. "Klip over here!"
Klip turned to where the voice was calling from and placed a smile on his face. Holding his tray tight in his hands, he journeied over to where a group of his friends sat, but chose the open spot near the green pigmented Falleen, who so boustrously called after him. "Could you be any louder?" he grined.
"Could you walk any slower? I have seen wet Wookies trudge faster through muck then you!" cried a Sullust, with a slight pound on the table.
Klip shook his head and began to plow into his food. "Hey, be nice. I am a sensitive human."
"Too sensitive to enter in on a little wager?"
With a slight look of confusion, Klip gazed at the Sullust know as Dagmark. "You have my attention."
His big eyes gazed about as the voice turned into a whisper. "Two nights from tonight there is going to be a race and I am thinking that we could make a good deal of credits if we enter."
"It is against Jedi order to enter such things." Idola crinkled her green nose. "Compition is not the spirit we are to have. Besides we would never get permission."
"Blah, blah, blah... So Klip, are you in?" asked Dagmark.
There was a slight pause from the human as he gazed down at his food. He did not really think it was a good idea to go along with Dagmark's idea, yet there was a small fire of curiosity burning within him. The wonder of if he would win kept tunting him. "I guess so, but I really don't wish to get caught."
"You wont." Dagmark grinned. "I have everything planned. All we have to do is wait till lights out and sneak out. Then when the race is over we sneak back in. Its fool proof!"
"Right..." Idola rolled her eyes. "Well, I am not going to risk my neck just for a few republic credits which we will probably never get to use without questioning from our masters."
Dagmark seered into the Falleen's eyes. "Hey, you can't back out on me. If you race with those types of people then you have two people in each vichicle! You were supposed to be Klip's partner but now I guess... gah, whatever."
"So... what difference does it make?"
"One to drive and one to make sure they don't cheat by damaging your speeder. Anyway, where are we going to get another person?"
Klip thought for a moment, then dropped his fork as a declaration that he had thought of something. "I just thought of someone..."
Idola mumbled something under her breath about how Dagmark even knew people like that and why he would stick out his neck, but no one really took notice. With a toothy grin, the Sullust nodded his head. He was up for adventure and was glad that he would not be alone on this little bet. "Good. Make sure they ain't a rat, or else life here will be hell for them."
Klip smiled. "Oh, don't worry. This person is anything but a rat."