The next week wasn't pleasant for Kaden who realised quickly that a padawan walking around without their lightsaber attracted quite a bit of attention. He clenched his fists menacingly. "The next person who shakes their head, 'tisks,' 'tutts' or waggles a finger at me is going down," he growled loudly enough for the Bothan knight treating him to a disapproving look to hear as he exited the crowded dining hall with Drex on Sunday evening.
He had managed to keep his head down and nose clean all week, but the restrictions on his lightsaber work were beginning to wear on his patience.
The Bothan Jedi stopped in his tracks.
"You have got quite some nerve, young man," he growled.
"I agree," Drex said mildly. "This young man will spend his evening meditating on patience and serenity, instead of going to the padawans' lounge."
The Bothan gave him a curt nod and walked on into the hall.
Silently seething at having lost yet more privileges, the padawan shot a mutinous glare at Drex, then turned on his heel and wordlessly stormed off towards their quarters. Yes, deep down the boy knew he had no right to mouth off but right now his temper was winning out and he was doing nothing to stop it.
Drex followed Kade at his usual measured pace. He had not expected his pronouncement to go over well, but Kaden would have a lot more meditation - and worse punishments - in his future if he did not learn to rein in his temper. That said, Drex knew he needed some kind of outlet for his frustration. He was still learning; after all, he was quite new to being a padawan. As long as Kade obeyed his orders, Drex would not impose any further consequences for the way in which the boy had stormed off.
The long walk back to their quarters allowed some time for Kade to cool off a little. That didn't mean he was any happier at having lost his evening at the padawans' lounge, he wasn't! He paused at their door just long enough to see Drex round the corner, then slammed it open with his palm. He made directly for his bedroom, making sure to give his own door similar treatment. However, there was something distinctly dissatisfying about the unhurried function of an automatic door.
Drex entered their quarters just in time to notice Kaden's latest display of temper.
He took his time taking off his cloak and boots, then knocked on Kade's door.
"What!" the boy snapped, a little more firmly than he had meant to; he was angry at being kept in tonight, but at the same time wasn't sure he had the right to be.
Drex palmed the door open and said: "You can be more polite than that, Kade. Do you need help getting rid of your temper?"
Kade just huffed at that and turned his glare towards the wall by his bed. He did not want to talk about it, he did not want to miss out on the padawans' lounge and he was not planning on moving from his bed until his 'sentence' was over with.
"Padawan, I asked you a question," Drex said without heat, but very firmly. "I have no way of telling whether you are glaring, pouting or otherwise sulking, but none of this is an acceptable reaction to my question."
Since Kaden still did not deign to answer, Drex decided to put his foot down. He made his way to where he knew Kade's desk was located, groped for the chair, pulled it out and sat down.
"This tantrum is stopping now," he informed Kade. "As you seem unwilling to stop it by yourself, I will stop it for you. Bare your bottom and get over my lap. And don't even think of raising objections unless you want me to get the hairbrush."
The boy's head snapped around at hearing Drex's instructions, his expression still mutinous. "What? You're gonna wallop me because I got mad over being singled out by Bigfoot and because I'm not thrilled over having to meditate all night!?" he stated with more confidence than he actually felt as he slid from his bed and moved to stand at the man's side, arms crossed.
"No," Drex replied simply. "I'm punishing you for dealing with it so badly. The next time I offer help with that, maybe you will accept instead of continuing to indulge your tantrum. Now do what I told you."
Kade wanted to argue this but couldn't, he had nothing legitimate to throw back. He reefed down his trousers and undershorts tersely. "I'm too old for this," he stated petulantly. Truth was, he wasn't feeling brave anymore, he was starting to regret what he'd done, but his pride dictated that he tough this out. So, jaw clenched, he awkwardly placed himself across the man's lap, his weight causing him to adjust and readjust a few times before he was lying properly. His toes slipped on the carpet and his palms spread out to steady himself. This was downright humiliating, there were no other words for it.
"No, you aren't," Drex replied calmly, "and you won't be for quite some time."
Just like the last time they had done this, he pushed Kade forward until his bottom was sticking up, raised his hand and brought it down onto the upturned bottom smartly.
This treatment was met with a grunt of displeasure, yet Kaden was in no position to utter complaints and had therefore remained silent as his palms skidded forwards in response. This position made him feel downright juvenile.
This spanking was not going to be nearly as hard as the last one Drex had dealt out, if only because he was not planning on using an implement of any kind, but he knew that dealing out a few token swats would not be an effective way of snapping Kaden out of his tantrum either. So he settled into a slow, steady rhythm of very solid swats.
"You're a Jedi padawan," he told Kade while he spanked. "You don't get to give in to your frustration and take it out on other people. If you need help dealing with your emotions, you ask. You don't threaten people, snap at them, storm off, become all indignant or sulk. I'm more than willing to help, but you need to accept that help. And you had better learn that lesson fast or we will have this conversation a lot more often."
All the while, hard swats kept coming down on Kade's bottom, covering the whole area evenly.
Again, that first smack caught the kid off guard; it really fucking stung! He grit his teeth in silent protest as Drex started to lecture, although his resolve began to falter as he started to nail the same spot repeatedly. "Alright, Alright! You've made your point," he gasped, fumbling for the man's thigh to push himself up. "Stop! please stop," he pleaded, feeling ashamed at resorting to begging, but Drex was setting his ass on fire here.
Like the last time, Drex was deaf to Kaden's pleas. He was not going to stop this spanking just because he was asked to. Instead, he continued focussing on particular spots, dealing out several swats in the same place in quick succession, paying special attention to the undercurve of Kaden's bottom. He knew from experience that this was quite hard to bear, and that was rather the point.
"L-let me up!" Kade bellowed when Drex started focusing his wrath on his undercurve. "Ahh!" he shouted, twisting at the waist and fisting the rug; he wasn't going to lose his shit over this, not again.
"Stop ordering me around," said Drex, not letting up on Kaden in the least. There was no trace of annoyance in his voice, but no hint of lenience either. He now went for the lowest part of Kaden's bottom just where it met his thighs, targeting it over and over again.
"I-I'm. Not. Ord-ering, you! I- I'm ask-king!" Actually, it was more like begging by this stage, but he didn't like how that sounded. Unfortunately, he was still a twelve-year-old boy and having his backside pounded into next week was hard to bear. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened, and his eyes filled with unshed tears.
Much to his credit, or stupidity! he toughed it out through another volly of painful swats before finally giving in and dropping his weight onto the man's lap. It was humiliating, but, well, it really hurt. Another solid wallop to the back of his thighs and the boy lost it. He hung his head and, despite his stubbornness, buried his face in a tunic sleeve and started crying.
This time, Drex ended the spanking right away. He had wanted to break through Kade's stubbornness, rather than discipline him for a serious offense like he had done a week ago.
He helped Kaden up from his lap and rose from the chair, hugging the boy briefly.
"I'll give you five minutes to get yourself together," he told him. "Make up your mind whether you still need help dealing with your frustration or not. I'll be right back."
He clapped Kaden's shoulder and left the room.
He kept his head down, his face practically radiating with shame as he held his breath to keep from hiccoughing. He managed, just, and the second he was alone the kid fell onto his bed and cried into his pillow. He was not crying from the pain or humiliation alone, but also from a week's worth of frustration at the restrictions his master had placed on him.
It only took him a minute or so to pull himself together, and he was soon in the refresher splashing water on his face. He pulled off his tunic that was now wet in places and tossed it across his towel rack, then twisted to inspect the damage, "Ahh," he hissed quietly. Yep, his ass was red and it hurt plenty bad enough, but nothing like he had experienced the week before when Drex had nailed him with that bat he called a hairbrush. The boy vowed that the wretched thing was on borrowed time though he had yet to come up with a plan that did not involve the outright destruction of something that may be sentimental to his master.
He was still deep in thought when a tap on his door drew his attention. He gave his backside one last rub, pulled up his pants and walked back into his room where Drex was standing. Kade was no longer lost in his temper, and much to his surprise, he was feeling a little lighter, as if the man had literally pounded the frustration clean out of him. There was also an odd sense of safety mingled in with the shame over being spanked; Drex was not going to let him lose control.
There was a long silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. "I shouldn't have mouthed off to the Bothan, and," he swallowed, his pride smarting. "I deserved punishment for losing my temper and taking it out on you. I'm sorry for that, will you forgive me?" Kade asked. It was hard for him to admit that he'd gotten what he deserved, but he respected Drex and knew when to call a spade a spade.
Drex put a hand on Kade's shoulder.
"Thank you, padawan," he said gently. "Of course I will forgive you. I've never held a grudge against you in the first place. I'm glad you apologised and even more glad that you've been able to admit your mistake. And now I ask you again: Do you need help with the meditation I assigned you?"
The boy felt his face flush slightly at Drex's praise. What the Force was wrong with him? He didn't usually react to praise or censure like this. Swallowing, he carded a hand through his short hair, making it stick straight up into a spiky mess. "I don't need help, but, I would like it," he admitted honestly. "Ninety minutes is a long time even without a sore ass," he elaborated. Then a horrifying thought occurred to him: was Drex planning to make him complete their usual nightly routine as well? Force, he didn't think he could sit for two hours, at least not with complete focus.
"It is," Drex confirmed. "That's why I hope it's an incentive for you to think before you let your mouth run away with you the next time. I'll be happy to meditate with you, though."
If Kade pulled himself together and made a real effort, Drex was even willing to forgo asking for their usual nightly meditation on their training bond on top of Kade's sentence - but only then.
He really didn't want to spend the next two hours meditating on patience and serenity but guessed he had it coming. And who knew – maybe with Drex's help it might just turn out to be enjoyable; the boy was nothing if not optimistic.
Kade blew out a long sigh, then asked: "How and where?," his shoulders slumping in defeat.
"Wherever you would feel most comfortable," Drex replied. "In as far as you are capable of feeling comfortable right now."
"Can we go to the arboretum? You know, the one you showed me the day you helped out with Eeth's saber class?" he suggested hopefully, then winced slightly at the memory of that particular class. Eeth had walloped him for disobeying, but at the same time had taken the time to help guide him to a master. Kaden was grateful for his help and had planned to thank him for caring enough to go to the trouble, but had not yet done so. When his lightsaber was returned he would, but definitely not before. It was bad enough enduring disapproval from the Temple at large, let alone from Eeth.
"Sure," Drex agreed. He liked that place a lot and was glad to see that Kade seemed to share that feeling.
Once they had arrived, Drex showed Kade to a secluded spot under a very old tree with an enormous trunk and low-hanging branches. Sitting between its roots and leaning back against its trunk felt a bit like being in the tree's womb, he had always thought. "Tonight, we will try to approach that place inside yourself where you rid yourself of all emotion," he told Kade softly. "Ambition, frustration, passion, desires, fears - all that won't matter. It will be just you and the Force. And you are where the Force means for you to be. Nothing else is important. Enter a meditative trance and link with me."
The place was special to Kaden because it was the first place Drex took him that meant something to the man, and he happened to agree: it was beautiful here.
Despite struggling in places to keep his focus, Kade managed to meditate for the hour and half without complaint. In fact, the boy found that his link with Drex provided him with the means to attain a state of mind that he was not yet able to achieve by himself.
When Drex indicated that it was time to finish, Kade was actually a little reluctant, and he resisted for a moment before allowing himself to be led from the trance. Stretching his arms long, the boy got to his feet, rubbed his backside and yawned. He was now feeling far better able to deal with his frustrations. Since he knew that taking it out on his master was not the right way to handle them, he was also glad that Drex had put a lid on his behaviour.
"You did well, padawan," Drex told him as they rose and made their way toward the exit. "I hope you will make more of an effort to deal with your situation with some degree of dignity from now on. After all, you brought it upon yourself."
"I know," he agreed, but there was something in the man's words that caused Kade to pause. "Dignity?" He raised a brow. "You punish me like a youngling but you want me to act with the dignity of a Jedi padawan?" he questioned honestly. There was no anger or accusation in his tone, however he still believed he was too old and far too big to spank.
"Dignity does not lie in what others do to you, but in how you deal with it," Drex replied calmly. "And I don't mean your immediate reaction to a spanking. I mean your acceptance of it as something that is meant to help you learn and grow. The same goes for the fact that you currently are without a saber. Accepting this and trying to learn from it would be a lot more dignified reaction than snapping at people who are shaking their heads at you."
"Yes, Master," he replied, because he knew that Drex was right on both counts. However…. "And perhaps they could act in a more dignified manner also." It was as far as he was willing to take that. After all, he knew why he was in disgrace; it was largely the point of having your weapon taken away.
"Yes, perhaps," Drex agreed. "But they are not my concern. You are." He gave Kade a smile as they walked towards the turbo lifts.
"Yeah, although it would be nice if you found other ways of expressing your concerns," Kade said, palming the turbo lift and selecting the correct floor.
"Oh, I do," Drex said serenely. "Plenty of other ways. Didn't we just meditate for ninety minutes?"
"Yes, but I could have done without the prelude," Kade countered. "And speaking of meditating, do I really have to do another half hour?" Kaden would not complain. He liked meditating on their bond, it was soothing, but another half hour sitting on his ass was not going to be pleasant.
"Oh, the prelude was entirely unnecessary," Drex said unsympathetically. "Meaning that you could have easily avoided it. And I think you have done enough meditation for tonight. We can have a cup of tea together if you like, and then it's bedtime for you."
Kade snorted, but did not comment further.
It did not take them long to return home, and the cup of tea was exactly what the boy felt like. "Thanks for taking me to the arboretum," he said as he climbed into bed. He was feeling mentally worn out and was practically asleep before his head hit the pillow. Life as a padawan was a challenge, yet it was a challenge that Kaden was going to meet head on.