One Week later

It was strange being a Padawan. Ronin had already been a Padawan for a week, but it still didn't feel real. After all, he had been a youngling practically his whole life. Padawan always felt so far away. But now, here he was, Padawan Darius, ready to take on the knowledge of the Jedi order and explore the galaxy! Once, he was assigned a master later in the day. Ronin wouldn't be given a master until later that evening, and it was barely daybreak.

So, Ronin decided to go to the dining hall to eat and clear his head. Upon arriving at the Jedi Temple Dining hall, Ronin noticed it was lively today, with Jedi and temple workers. He saw his old clan of Jedi younglings, which included initiate Pek, an acquaintance of sorts for Ronin. Initiate Pek had always been kind to Ronin. Still, he needed to catch up on the uptake and was behind in his training, leaving Pek stressed out and challenging to converse with. Ronin looked around and saw a few Jedi Padawans meandering about. Still, most of them assembled on the opposite side of the hall from the Jedi younglings. Unfortunately for Ronin, he was in the awkward in-between phase. Most of the younglings his age were still initiating, and most of the initiates he had trained with were now Padawans. So, Ronin was left with two choices.

Ronin decided he would make up his mind after he got some food. The food today was from the Mon Calamari system. Unfortunately, Ronin was not a fan of seafood, especially for breakfast, but he shrugged it off as it was something other than what he could control. Ronin walked through the line and grabbed whatever looked decent, which was a little. After concluding his food search, He held a canister of bantha milk and headed to a table. "At least they still have bantha milk," Ronin thought as he walked through the tables.

As Ronin walked along, a silver glint in his peripheral vision caught his eye. When he looked closer, Ronin noticed a doubled-bladed lightsaber hilt attached to one of the Padawans' belts. That was unusual, Ronin Thought. Usually, Padawans aren't permitted to practice with a doubled-bladed lightsaber until knighthood. As Ronin was admiring the craftsmanship of the hilt, he failed to take notice of a young togruta heading straight his way. The togruta also happened to be staring at the blade as well. Before either of them caught sight of the other, they collided, sending Mon Cala Sardine and other cooked sea creatures into the air. Both Ronin and the togruta fell onto the floor while their plates clattering onto the floor. The conversations around them were hushed momentarily as a few bystanders looked over to see what had happened and decided to continue their breakfast.

"Sorry!" Ronin and the togruta said in unison. Ronin flipped the trays over, and the two of them began putting the food back on the trays.

"I think you dropped this." The Togruta said, handing the canister of bantha milk to Ronin.

"Well, I think I dropped everything," Ronin said, which caused the young girl to laugh.

"I think we both did." She said, standing up."What's your name?" Ronin asked."I'm Ahsoka. And you?"

"My name's Ronin." "It's nice to meet you, Ronin," Ahsoka said as he held out her hand. Ronin hastily took his hand out of his robe to shake it.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Ahsoka. And uh, sorry about the food."Ronin said a little sheepishly.

"Ugh, if you can call it that," Ahsoka said, causing Ronin to chuckle a little.

"I've never been a fan of seafood myself, so I'd agree with you there," Ronin said.

"Well, to be honest, I don't think anyone other than actual Mon Calamari enjoys it when it's food from Mon Cala," Ahsoka said, making a disgusted gesture.

"It certainly explains why there are always extras," Ronin said."Yeah, no kidding," Ahsoka said as she and Ronin dumped their floor food into a nearby incinerator.

"Do you want to go back and get more?" Ronin asked.

"Not really, but I might go back and grab a canister of bantha milk. It looks good."

"It is!" Ronin agreed as he looked down at the canister in his hand.

"Wanna sit together?" Ahsoka asked.

"Sure," Ronin replied.

"I'll be right back."

As Ahsoka walked off, Ronin sat at the nearest table, sipping away his milk. The food may not have been good today, but at least he'd have someone to talk to as he ate. Or rather drank.

"This stuff is good!" Ahsoka said as she returned with a canister already missing a quarter of its milk."It's the best drink here, that's for sure," Ronin said with a smile, causing Ahsoka to laugh again.

"What?" Ronin asked, confused."You've got a milk stash,"

Ahsoka smirked."Oh," Ronin said, wiping it off with the back of his hand.

"Are you a Padawan?" Ahsoka asked abruptly.

"Oh, me? Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"

"Your Padawan braid, dum-dum."

"Ah, right, should have realized that," Ronin said as he looked down at the end of his braid.

"How long have you been a Padawan?"

"About a week."

"Oh, so you must be pretty young then, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that; I'm thirteen."

"Wow, that's pretty young for a Padawan. You must be pretty good!" Ahsoka said enthusiastically

"Eh, more like lucky," Ronin said, shrugging it off.

"How old are you?" Ronin asked.

"I'm twelve, so I'm guessing I still have around two years until my trials. Speaking of trials, how were yours?"

"They were pretty hard but manageable. Well, except for my final trial."

"What was that?" Ahsoka said, leaning in.

"Instead of dueling another initiate, they had me duel Padawan Skywalker."

"Padawan Skywalker? Like, the chosen one?" Ahsoka said, bringing her voice down a bit.

"Yup, that's the one."

"What happened?"

"Well, not much. Padawan Skywalker and I dueled for like thirty seconds before he completely overpowered me. And I was pretty sure he was going easy too." Ronin said, noticeably a little embarrassed.

"I still think that's pretty impressive," Ahsoka said genuinely.

"Thanks, Ahsoka," Ronin said with a smile.

"Anytime," Ahsoka said with a smile as she gazed up toward the chronometer on the wall, causing her smile to fade.

"Oh no, I'm late for training with my initiate clan! I have to go! I'll see you around!"

Ahsoka called back as she ran down the dining hall, leaving Ronin to his thoughts and what remained of his canister of bantha milk. Upon finishing his milk, Ronin returned to his quarters. After practicing his drills for a few hours, Ronin laid down for what he thought would be a quick nap. When he woke up, he realized it was well past noon. After checking the chronometer above the door, he only had around thirty minutes until he was to report to the main training area. There, he would be assigned his new master. After getting dressed and placing his lightsaber on his belt, he walked down the corridor toward the main training facility. Once Ronin reached the main entrance, he locked eyes with a large Bothan standing near the doorway.

"Hello, you must be Padawan Darius. I am Master Yothalt. Your new teacher."