Please forgive me for the wait! I promise I'll update soon (and by soon, I mean within this month!!)!
Dooku and Lorian Nod ran through the Temple, laughing the whole way. They had just finished their work for the day and had the entire afternoon to relax… and play. A bark was heard behind them.
"Uh-oh!" Lorian said to his four-year-old companion. "It's Kita!"
"Quick! Let's hide!" Dooku panted.
The two younglings ran into a meditation chamber and hid behind some of the circular chairs. The door opened and Kita walked in slowly, sniffing the air. Lorian and Dooku held their breath and remained still. Despite their attempts not to be noticed, Dooku's face started to turn red and then the air burst out of his lungs. Kita leapt over the chair and grabbed the back of his tunic with her teeth.
You're not getting away this time, Dooku! Was the playful shout that was heard in his head.
"No!!" Dooku shouted.
"Haha! I win!" Lorian jumped up and whooped. "The evil Sith Lady Kita didn't get me!"
Now, you will be my apprentice, Dooku! Join the dark side or perish! Kita said in a nasty tone.
Dooku stood defiantly. "Never! I'll never join the dark side! Never in my whole life!"
You had your chance! Die, Jedi! Kita started licking his face and he burst into a fit of giggles.
"No! Stop! Lorian, help!!"
Just as Lorian started to rush over to aid his fallen comrade, the door hissed open to show three Jedi Knights. Lorian and Dooku froze.
"Um, did we miss something?" One of the Knights asked uncertainly. "Isn't this supposed to be a room for meditation?"
"Yes, Masters," Lorian said hastily.
"We'll be going now," Dooku added.
The two of them rushed out and the Knights looked at Kita. She gave an innocent look back.
What? I didn't do anything; I was just trying to turn Dooku to the dark side.
The three Knights laughed and stepped aside for Kita to leave. Kita tramped out and the door closed behind her. As she looked around, she noticed that her charges had vanished. Now where had they disappeared to?
Kita trotted towards the turbolift and paused when she saw Lorian's face peek around the corner.
"Oh, no!" he said quietly and his head vanished behind the wall. Kita shook her head. They were still playing the game.
I'll get you, my pretties! She shouted in their heads, followed by a wicked laugh, and the chase began all over again.
The Temple was bustling around with good cheer today. It was the first day of the Festival of Life, a fete (festival) week three months and one holiday into the year, and everyone was excited. The Festival Life was the best fete week in Kita's opinion, since it celebrated life and people, although the Festival of the Stars took a close second.
The Festival of Life was five days of parties, get-togethers, and gift-giving to celebrate all life. Although the Jedi didn't have parties too often, nor were there get-togethers with families, they still enjoyed giving simple gifts to each other and throwing small parties with friends. Kita would go from room to room to see younglings giggling and hugging each other after receiving presents, Padawans and their masters having fun just doing an extra exercise or game for the day, and Knights hanging around with their friends all day and completely neglecting most of their training.
Kita peeked into one of the rooms and saw Dooku and his master, Thame Cerulian, talking to each other and laughing. Kita smiled; it was good that Dooku and his master were getting along; the poor kid just lost his best friend. Lorian Nod had looked into restricted files and had blamed Dooku for it, but the truth was found out and Lorian was expelled from the Jedi Order.
Some Jedi Knights walked by making a raucous the whole way. Behind them, a small group of Padawans were standing in a circle whispering to each other. Kita rolled her eyes. Oh, yes, this was definitely a typical sight on the Festival of Life, especially the first day. Once the first day of the fete week passes by, the Jedi settle down… at least a little bit.
Behind her, Dooku walked out of the room and headed the opposite direction of his Master. The thirteen-year-old greeted Kita as he walked by and then joined the circle of Padawans. Kita narrowed her eyes suspiciously; what were those Padawans up to?
They all giggled and then broke off, running in different directions. Kita had heard that kind of laughter before; that was mischievous laughter. Dooku ran off with another Padawan, both looking very excited and apprehensive at the same time. Kita called it the "rule-breaking jitters"; the excitement of breaking the rules coated with apprehension of getting caught. Something was definitely up with these apprentices.
By nighttime, Kita had forgotten about the whole incident until she saw the same Padawans start to head down the hallway towards the mess hall… even though dinner had already finished. Kita followed Dooku down the stairs towards the large mess hall and saw other Padawans there, all laughing and eating pastries. Somebody had gotten hold of a stereo, because there was music playing and a dance floor had been made in the middle of the room. All of the apprentices were enjoying themselves, it seemed. Dooku ran off and started talking to some friends while stuffing his mouth with a fruit tart. Kita merely gaped at the scene; she hadn't seen any party this massive since Belria's Padawan snuck off with some friends on the Festival of Life over two hundred years ago. These Padawans obviously knew how to party.
While still debating over whether she should call it off or just enjoy the show, Dooku sensed her standing in the doorway.
"Uh-oh," he muttered.
Dooku spread the news silently around the room until everybody was pointing and whispering at Kita. Kita noticed and gave a bark, and they all distinctively heard her voice in their head.
Nice party you have here.
The whole room, along with Dooku, breathed a collective sigh of relief; Kita wasn't going to turn them in.
The music started up again and Dooku asked a friend if she wanted to dance with him. She smiled and said yes, and they were off. Kita watched from the doorway and almost laughed; Dooku still had much to learn when it came to grace; he almost tripped over his own feet on the dance floor.
About four hours later it was midnight, far past everyone's bedtime. Kita knew that she had to stop the party there, otherwise the Padawans would still be going strong by the time breakfast came around… and wouldn't that be an interesting sight to see?
All right everybody! She shouted in their heads. The music was still going strong. Hey! Guys! She was still ignored. Kita sighed and waited a moment, and then,
GUYS!!
Padawans all over were holding their heads or their ears, although their ears didn't hear the scream.
"Kita!" they all yelled irritably.
Look, it's midnightI think you all had better be heading to bed.
"Bed!" Dooku repeated indignantly. "We're Padawans not younglings; we don't have to go to bed!"
"Yeah!" was heard echoing around the room.
Kita rolled her eyes. All right, if that's what you want.
At that, Kita left the room and booming music behind her and the party resumed.
Four and a half hours later, Kita yawned and woke up with the rest of the Jedi Order. When she headed down to grab a snack before starting the day off, the mess hall looked like a wreck. Food was left out on the tables and the walls (there must have been a food fight after she left), dishes were left out, napkins and all sorts of streamers were strewn out all over the room, tables were moved aside and the stereo had somehow gotten knocked over. Kita did her very best to hold back a burst of laughter, but it started bubbling and was almost out of control until she ran off to find somewhere where she would be alone.
As she laughed, Kita saw Master Thame Cerulian and a very groggy-looking Dooku walking towards the mess hall.
Watch yourself, Dooku, you're in big trouble. Kita warned, motioning towards the mess hall. Belatedly, Dooku realized what she meant. All exhaustion evaporated from his face and panic quickly replaced it.
"Uh, M-Master?" he stammered stupidly. "Uh… uh… uhhhh…"
Dooku grabbed his master's sleeve and tugged on it helplessly. Master Cerulian looked at his Padawan curiously.
"Padawan, is there something wrong?"
I think he's worried about his morning snack. Kita responded before Dooku could respond.
"What do you mean, Kita?" Master Cerulian's tone had turned suspicious now.
Dooku cut in before Kita could respond, "Uh, M-Master, why don't we, uh, skip the snack? I-I'm really not h-hungry right now…"
His master raised an eyebrow and then a shout was heard:
"What in the name of the Force happened?!"
The shout echoed down the hall, coming from the mess hall. Master Cerulian rushed off in that direction and Dooku ran off in the opposite direction. Kita laughed.
You're in trouble, Padawan Dooku… she said in the same tone she used when he was a youngling pretending she was a Sith Lady. Big trouble…
As Dooku and the other Padawans hid from their masters or received the lecture of their lives, Kita wandered off towards the Fabool Clan, a clan that consisted of younglings ages two through four, to see her favorite youngling. He was always so tuned in with the Living Force that Kita just loved him to death. She viewed all the younglings as her puppies, but especially this one.
Thinking about the younglings always made Kita happy, but it also made her think about the rule of non-attachment. The Jedi Order had always made that a very strict rule; that one was not to make any attachments, and one had to let friends pass through one's life. Kita at first had thought it would be impossible for her to learn, but after Belria had died, she had learned that lesson hard. When she thought about it, though, she realized that in a sense, nobody followed that rule entirely.
When you grow up as a Jedi in the Order, you get close to those you grow up with. Other younglings in your clan become siblings to you. When you move to an older clan, you make new friends, but you still frequently see your old ones. When you get taken in as a Padawan learner, your Master becomes a parental figure. After you become a Knight, if you take a Padawan, the Padawan becomes your youngling; one thing that Kita had noticed was this: A Jedi Knight or Master would practically do anything to keep their Padawan safe.
When it really came down to it, if a loved one died, it would be painful, but a Jedi could let it go. Still, during that person's lifetime, the Jedi does everything to keep that person safe. Belria would have sacrificed her own life to save her Padawan, and when Kita thought of Master Yoda, she knew that he looked at everyone in the Order as his younglings.
So, for all that talk of non-attachment, the Jedi Order had one main attachment; each other. The entire Order was one big family, and because of their Force-sensitivity, their loving bond went deeper than an average family.
As all of this went through her mind, Kita didn't even realize that she had walked by the Fabool Clan until she heard her favorite youngling call out.
"Hi, Kita!"
Kita turned around and saw him. She barked and wagged her tail affectionately and he ran over to hug her.
Hey, there, Qui-Gon.