LordDarthYoda - I don't know, as a Canadian I find the number of ice planets to be totally appropriate :p. As for me having plans to torture my characters...nah, I've never done that...

Speechbubbleme - Aurine is protective of Sascha, but at least she's come to realize that she is overly protective. She became a bit too much of a killjoy in the last book with her constantly worrying about Sascha x Nara that never developed.

Mr. Insane - It's like poetry, it rhymes... And your summary is far too generous, I just kind of fluke into these things :p.

Bodare2- Please continue to point out the errors, because I do certainly make them :p. And don't worry about me stressing - writing is what I do to get rid of the stress, that is why I moved to a bit of a slower release schedule.

A/N - Second part of catching up for lost time. This was originally two chapters, but it made far sense to post it as one chapter, because it is on the 'fluffier' side of things. It also has the added benefit of having the next chapter outlining the mission :). So this chapter is a bit of a long one! Okay it's like 7k words...

As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 3: Reflections, Part 2

Present Day

Aurine Brynar took a look at her drink. It was almost half-empty and she was starting to feel a pleasant buzz. While she could have easily used the Force to purge that feeling, alcohol was something of a poison after all, she enjoyed the relaxing feeling, knowing that being able to unwind was as important a skill as deflecting blaster fire.

Tiplee smiled wistfully, remembering the events on Eredenn Prime. "I was sure that after our conversation that day that you would finally see that the two Padawans have no romantic thoughts towards each other."

"I'll admit that Eredenn Prime was when I started thinking that the two of them might actually be able to remain only friends."

"You are very stubborn when your mind is made up," observed Tiplee. "When did you finally come to realize that they see each other only as friends?"

"That would be on our mission to Chandrilla."

Tiplee grinned widely, "A mission that I will always remember."

Aurine let a little smile creep over her features. That mission was one that she remembered fondly as well. It was certainly a mission worth reminiscing about over a nice cold ale…

2 Months Ago, Chandrilla

The mission that had seen the four Jedi sent to the peaceful world of Chandrilla had been a tense one, requiring the Jedi to do something that they traditionally did not like doing – going undercover. Sascha and Nara both had a decent knack for it, having done it on a couple different occasions. Amusingly, they sometimes had to go undercover as a couple, which they were both obviously (and sometimes hilariously) uncomfortable with. Still, they would play their part if asked, and the simple truth was that people tended to pay attention to a pair of young 'lovers' than your average person, and Sascha and Nara had learned how to use that to their advantage.

What had seen the Jedi deployed to Chandrilla was the enthusiastically named 'Schallik Industries Youth Retreat.' The retreat, sponsored by a Chandrillan corporation, brought the heirs and heiresses of various off-world corporations to Chandrilla to promote a week of learning about the environment, corporate responsibility and all those good things that heads of corporations sometimes forgot…

Normally, such a retreat would not have drawn the attention of the Jedi at all, but somehow word had filtered through to Jedi Master Coleman Trebor that an unidentified person was making threats to 'disrupt' the retreat. Aurine wasn't sure how a corporate retreat potentially being under attack rated four Jedi being sent to Chandrilla, but they had been nearby, and she wasn't going to complain about any time she got to visit the picturesque world of Chandrilla.

While she and Tiplee had drawn the assignment of finding who was making these threats, Sascha and Nara had been inserted into the retreat with false identities, playing the role of protecting the innocent retreat attendees.

She and Tiplee had not been able to find the identity of the being that had been making these anonymous threats, but Sascha and Nara had not. Early on in the mission, Sascha and Nara had identified one of the attendees as a bit 'troubled.' After a little bit of investigation by the Padawans, they had found that Sylik Fees, heir to a fruit processing corporation on Mygeeto, had recent lost both of his parents to a mysterious plague and he had only been sent to this retreat so that his uncle could consolidate his grip on the company. Understandably a little unstable after such a dramatic event, Sylik had fallen in with a group of anti-corporate extremists, who had convinced Sylik to make a dramatic attack on the gala that would end the event.

It had been Nara and Sascha that had put the pieces together, which they had done adroitly, with both young Jedi befriending Sylik. Together, they had a long talk with Sylik, and convinced him to turn himself in. The Chandrillan authorities had initially wanted to charge Sylik as a terrorist, but Nara and Sascha had stood firm, stating that they could not punish a person that was doing the right thing. Eventually, the Padawans had made a deal that had made everyone satisfied. Sylik would turn over all the information he had on the anti-corporate extremists, he would hand the Chandrillan authorities the weapons that he was going to use to make his attack and he would submit himself to counseling on planet.

After the Padawans had brought Sylik in and turned him over to the authorities, Aurine had found Sascha sitting alone on a little bluff outside of the luxury resort that all the retreat participants were being housed in. She had dressed up so she didn't seem out of place at the resort, taking the time to style her hair and wear something a little more comfortable and revealing, which was a nice change from the sometimes unflattering Jedi robes. Sascha had dressed up as well, in a fashionable shirt and trousers combination, with a cape artfully draped around his shoulders, as was the fashion on Chandrilla. He seemed almost…sad though as he sat on his own, looking blankly into the distance.

She sat quietly beside him, watching the carefully curated wildlife of Chandrilla roam in the little plain just outside the resort. Sascha, despite being nineteen, had the patience of a much older man, and he forced her to break the silence, "You did well today, bringing Sylik in, and negotiating his deal. Tiplee and I will make note of your actions in our report. To make it stand out from the other glowing reports, I suppose I'll try to make the praise more effusive than usual."

Sascha smiled briefly, "Thank you, Master. I know I did well today," he said quietly.

The wind blew softly through Sascha's well-styled (for once) hair, "Then why are you sad, Sascha?"

Her apprentice hesitated, "I'm not sad…I'm just reflective." This time, Aurine waited out her Padawan, who continued, "I just hate the wealth that is on display here. These are people my age who have done nothing with their lives and they have wealth that is just staggering to me." He waved a hand back at the resort, "This is probably the nicest place I've ever stayed at, but all I heard from the guests over the the past few days was how the food processors were bad, and that the climate control on their rooms was unresponsive. It was just insane to me that anyone could complain about anything! Here we are on this beautiful world, in its top rated resort, but there were ten complaints for every compliment uttered. I just wanted to shout at them: 'You morons have everything, how can you complain about such minor details?' Half the people here wouldn't have lasted a week training at the Temple."

"That was quite a rant, Sascha. That must have been building inside you for days."

Sascha blushed good-naturedly, "Yes. I don't want to say that everyone here was awful, but I just found their complaints grating."

"So did you feel that the people here were unworthy of protection?" she asked, guessing at what might have upset him.

He sighed softly, "No, and I was happy to make a difference here, but I wonder about the other times this happens across the galaxy when the event organizers don't have the cache to get a Jedi to pull security duty. Why am I here protecting the richest young heirs in the galaxy? They've already gotten all the breaks in life they should need, they should be able to fend for themselves or hire their own security. I want to help the weak, the needy. That's what being a Jedi is about, not protecting some rich snobs that don't even know that they were saved by Nara and I."

Aurine felt herself nodding along with her apprentice, "Sometimes, I feel the same way, Sascha. It's a problem that I don't know how to fix though. Rich people tend to have better access to the Jedi Order. It's easier for us to hear the plea of a businessman or Coruscant than a farmer on a distant world."

"We need to change that."

"I agree. How?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

Sascha sat quietly, processing the information, and then he smiled ruefully at her, "I want to be like those Jedi in the holos, where it is always straightforward - good guys versus bad guys and the Jedi always triumph."

"And you get to kiss the girl in the end."

"That's not bad either."

Aurine would have ruffled his hair at that remark, but she didn't want to spoil the time he had spent grooming it so she merely smiled back at him.

Sascha rose, "Thanks to this silly formal ball I have to attend, I need an hour to dress and get ready, so I better head back inside. Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime, apprentice."

A little more than an hour later, the four Jedi had gathered in Nara's room at the resort, preparing for the gala that would soon take place the the resort's ballroom. While attendance at the gala was hardly necessary, because the outfits for the night had already been rented it had made no sense to let the credits go to waste. Besides, both Masters knew that the Padawans would enjoy attending the formal ball, despite Sascha's protestations to the contrary.

She and Tiplee were dressed demurely for their occasion, owing to the fact that they had temporarily secured employment as chaperones for the event. In short all they would be doing was making sure that none of the participants had too much to drink or broke any local laws. She didn't expect there to be too much trouble in that regard, but it would probably keep her occupied for the duration.

As the hour grew later, Sascha prowled around the room around restlessly, "We are going to be late. Nara knows that it's considered an insult to be late on Chandrilla right? Someone go remind her."

"It takes a little longer for females to get dressed for events like this, Sascha. Be patient," she replied. Her Padawan had dressed up for the occasion in formal attire, and even she had to admit that he looked…well…good. Which is what wearing tailored clothes that expensive would do for you, she knew. His formal clothes fit into Chandrillan tradition, a dapper black suit with a little bit of flair, in this case a teal cape that was a little thinner than usual. He had also bowed to Chandrillan tradition and put deep red streaks through his hair. The whole effect made Sascha look almost like a completely different person. A better looking person, certainly.

"Typical Nara," grumbled Sascha, "All she could talk about yesterday was this ball, and now she's going to be late for it." He shook his head in exasperation, "Whatever, I'm going to go get a drink." Her Padawan exited the room, no doubt finding one of his favourite fruit drinks from the extensive refrigeration unit located in the adjacent room.

It was not long after Sascha had left that Nara had emerged from her room. It took Aurine to a moment to process the Togruta that stood in front of her, for she looked almost like a totally different being.

"So…how do I look?" she asked. Aurine searched for the right words. While Nara had always possessed a certain level of attractiveness, she had always thought of the Togruta as relatively average looking. Now, she needed to re-evaluate that stance. Dressed in a tight fitting violet dress that fell to just above her knees that left most of her arms, shoulders, and a patch of her midriff bare, Nara had chosen to amplify all of her best physical attributes. Lacking a curvaceous figure, Nara's choice of dress had instead augmented her athletic look, drawing the eye towards her flat midriff and well-toned legs. Her makeup was subtly applied, drawing more attention to her large, bright blue eyes. To top it off, Nara seemed completely confident, adopting a pose fit for a model. While Nara was almost always confident, right now she seemed poised in a way that suggested that she knew that she was beautiful, which wasn't something that Aurine had ever attributed to the Togruta.

"You look…amazing, Nara," she responded.

"You look very beautiful tonight, my apprentice," Tiplee said, seeming to be as lost for words as she had been.

"Thanks," said Nara, blushing slightly, which made her actually look even more attractive.

"Great, so Nara finally emerged from her cocoon?" asked Sascha from the other room.

Aurine was suddenly very interested to see her Padawan's reaction to Nara's outfit. There was nothing like seeing your longtime friend all dressed up, looking like the belle of the ball to reveal what might have been a hidden attraction.

Sascha entered as he finished off his fruit drink, took a good look at Nara and nodded distractedly, "Yeah, you look good Nara," he said in a disinterested tone, "Now can we please leave? The gala starts in five minutes."

If the Togruta took any offence at Sascha's muted reaction, Aurine didn't notice. "We best do what Sascha says," said Nara, "after all, he finally spent more than five minutes on his appearance. It must truly be a special occasion."

"Hey!" said Sascha, indignant.

Before her apprentice could find a worthy retort, Nara strode past him confidently and out the door. Sascha made a small gesture of frustration before following the Togruta.

Alone in the room, Aurine felt like she and Tiplee were proud parents that had just watched their children head off to the school dance. "That did not go as I expected it would," Aurine commented.

"Which part?" replied Tiplee.

She considered for a moment, "All of it."

Inside the ornate ballroom at the resort, Aurine Brynar hovered at the periphery of the room, listening with one ear to the CEO of Schallik Industries yammer on self-importantly. Sascha and Nara were off to the side in a small group of beings, quietly and respectfully listening to the speech. Not everyone was doing the same thing, and Aurine spotted a particularly egregious offender, a young Bith who seemed more occupied by the conversation on his datapad than the speech. Reaching out with the Force, she flicked lightly on the Bith's head, forcing him to look around at whom had touched him. The Bith's confusion permeated the Force – there wasn't another being within a five foot radius of him.

Amused, Aurine turned her attention back to the speech, which was thankfully winding down. "Now, I know you are all waiting to get to the dance floor, so let me say it has been a pleasure to have you attend to us here on Chandrilla. I hope you will return home and bring with you some of the wisdom that we have hopefully imparted. Now, I officially declare the dance floor…open!"

The small band started playing a traditional Chandrillan tune, classical but with a modern enough tempo it would suit the current clientele who no doubt would consider the old standards boring. As soon as the music started, Sascha immediately turned and offered his hand to Nara, who quickly accepted it. The two made their way to the main dance floor, joining a good majority of the attendees as they paired up.

Sascha and Nara linked up, his hands around her waist, settling on her lower back. Nara draped her arms around Sascha's shoulders lightly. They were close together, but Aurine never got the sense that it was anything intimate, they just enjoyed being close with each other in a scenario that allowed for such closeness. Both stared for a moment into each other's eyes, and then laughed, before Nara said something and they began to dance.

Had the two of them not been born with Force sensitivity, Sascha Whitestar and Nara Nalto would had possessed all the physical tools necessary to be excellent dancers. Given that they were Force sensitive, had been taught how to dance at the Jedi Temple (learning footwork to dances was a great way to get young Initiates ready to learn combat footwork), and that the two of them knew each other spectacularly well, it wasn't surprising to see how fluidly they moved together.

Aurine watched proudly as they danced slowly, chatting like friends the whole time. It was the almost perfect encapsulation of their friendship, capable of intimate moments like this one, but still very clearly just friends. As the song progressed, they began throwing some flair into their movements, nothing overly spectacular, but enough to draw some attention from those observing the dance. Aurine applauded their maturity, it would have been easy for them to stand out as the best dancers at the event, but they chose not to, appearing good, but not supernaturally so.

The band finished the first song, and they both applauded, but when it came time to potentially choose another partner for the next song, they both stayed together, though Aurine thought she could detect a mischievous look on her Padawan's face. She would soon find out why that was.

The second song was a bit quicker than the first. Nara and Sascha placed their arms around each other's waists and began twirling to the rhythm of the music. Again, they danced well, but they made mistakes. Then she saw the Padawan's legs get tangled up for a brief second and they stumbled and crashed into another pair of dancers and all four of them collapsed in a heap, with Nara and Sascha both taking the worse of the falls.

Sascha immediately helped up the girl that had fallen on him, checking to see if she was all right. Her apprentice apologized profusely to the girl, who Aurine identified as Kylen Ree. Kylen easily accepted the apology and pushed Sascha's shoulder, laughing. Sascha offered his hand to her and she accepted graciously, getting back into the flow of the dance almost immediately.

On the other hand, Nara continued to lay underneath the dancer that had fallen on top of her, and Aurine knew it wasn't because either dancer was hurt. The male Togruta that was currently laying on top of Nara was Osak Boli, heir to a family held technology corporation. What was likely important to Nara was the Togruta was handsome, with nice sharp features on his orange skin, complete with dark blue lekku with white markings. Aurine didn't really have a thing for Togruta men, but she wouldn't have minded trading places with Nara currently.

Nara grinned at Osak, "If you wanted to get this close, all you needed to do was ask."

Aurine wasn't close enough to hear the response, but by the sudden brightness in Osak's lekku and the fact that he still hadn't yet gotten off of Nara there appeared to be a little spark of passion growing between the two Togruta. Eventually, Osak came to his senses and realized that he was making a scene. He picked himself up, but not before subtly brushing his hand across one of Nara's lekku. By the predatory grin that Nara had on her face, Aurine was sure that she hadn't minded the touch.

Aurine moved back to the periphery of the room, laughing a little to herself. Clearly, the Padawans had conspired together to crash into Osak and Kylen, so that Nara could dance with Osak. She wished that she had been that clever when she was younger.

After the successful completion of their plan, Sascha finished his dance with Kylen and bowed politely to her. Before the next song started, another would-be suitor approached Kylen and asked her to dance. Sascha, who was always nothing if not gracious, moved aside and off the dance floor entirely. Still dancing were Nara and Osak, holding each other tightly as they swayed to the music. The two Togruta appeared to be in their own little world, ignoring everything else going on around them.

A part of her wished that Sascha would find a partner and do the same thing that Nara was doing. There were plenty of potential targets to choose from, and Aurine had noticed some of the subtle glances that had been thrown Sascha's way. Though, knowing Sascha, he probably hadn't noticed them. Her Padawan was a bit obtuse when dealing with girls.

She saw Sascha make his way through the small crowd and find her. He used a quick bob of his head to indicate that he wanted to talk somewhere private, and they found a room located off of a corridor that offered the two of them privacy. After she closed the door behind them, she allowed herself a chuckle, "And interesting gambit you and Nara just pulled. You didn't have to do that you know."

"I know," said Sascha, smiling slightly, "I wanted to."

"It's nice to do something selfless for your friend," Aurine allowed.

Sascha smiled wider, "No, I was being quite selfish, I'm afraid. Given the choice of hearing Nara talk about how unfair it was that she never got to dance with that handsome male Togruta over there or hearing her talk about how magical her first dance with him was, I'll take the latter every time." He nudged her playfully, "Besides, I got to dance with her first."

Aurine knew that memory of watching them twirl on the dance floor would be etched in her mind for years to come, "It must have been nice to share that moment with Nara," she observed, "she is one of the prettier young women here tonight. I'm sure many were jealous that you received her first dance. That dress makes her look stunning."

Her apprentice glanced downwards briefly, "That dress looks good on her, but I still prefer the way she looks in her normal robes. That dress just isn't her."

"I think you'd be in the minority opinion when it came to that dress," she observed drolly.

Sascha shrugged fractionally, as if to say 'what do I care about what others think.' She assumed that he would quietly return to the party, probably finding a small group and having a nice conversation as was his usual modus operandi, but he hung around her somewhat awkwardly for a moment longer.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"I want to recruit someone tonight," he said quietly.

"Another addition to Team Whitestar?"

He nodded, "I have a good candidate."

Over the years, Sascha had befriended various people over his many missions, usually young people around his age. Sascha had realized that these friendships that he was making could actually be valuable sources of information. Thus, each of the members of 'Team Whitestar' had the ability to send Sascha a message, no matter where he was in the galaxy. Usually he just conversed normally with his friends, as a sort of long-distance friendship, but occasionally his friends had useful tidbits to act upon. Probably the most successful was when Ezah Reisel, the first member of 'Team Whitestar' had found evidence how organized crime was using her current musical as a way of laundering money. She and Sascha had put an end to that operation.

"The person you want to recruit wouldn't happen to be the cute girl in the black and silver dress with red hair, would it?"

Sascha exhaled softly and closed his eyes for a moment, "You know, I hate that you already knew who I was targeting."

Aurine smiled, but it wasn't the Force that had given her the insight she had needed to determine what girl Sascha had his eye on. Over the years of being around him she had figured out his 'type.' Her apprentice tended to like shorter girls with athletic builds, bonus points for having a flashy hair colour. Species didn't really seem to matter too much to him, which she quietly approved of. Personality wise, he didn't like girls that were too demure or shy, probably because his two closest female friends were well…fierce and confident.

"Her name is Annil Greax, right? The champion Volto Kari fighter and heir to Bacalit Mining, right?"

"Yes, Master."

"Hmm, how are you going to recruit her, apprentice? She doesn't know you are a Jedi. I doubt she'll believe you if you just walk up to her and say you are a Jedi."

Sascha grinned, "I'm going to take it as a challenge."

"You cannot use the Force just to prove you are a Jedi, the Force is to be used with respect," she reminded her apprentice. She doubted that Sascha needed the reminder, he rarely used the Force for anything besides when it was necessary, and he wasn't prone to showing off.

"I know."

"Then it's time for you to get back to the dance."

Not wasting another moment, he turned and headed back down the corridor. Aurine waited a few minutes and returned to the ballroom herself, spotting Sascha off to the side in a small group that included Annil and a couple of other young men and women.

"Good luck, Padawan," she whispered silently a she let her eyes rake the room. She had a job to do after all, right now she was Aurine Brynar, chaperone, and she intended to be the best chaperone there had ever been.

Around an hour or so later, she felt Sascha give her a signal in the Force and she retreated to the unused room that they had used earlier. A few moments later, Sascha and Annil opened the door and walked in. Annil was a short, slim, but athletic girl, who dressed modestly in comparison to most of the other girls here, though her black and silver dress was still mostly form fitting. By the way that Annil was positioning herself, and by the way that she kept glancing over at Sascha, it was clear that the redhead had more on her mind than just being 'recruited.'

Annil stopped just short of her and put her hands on her narrow hips, "Oh good, this is what is needed, a chaperone so I can get someone else to hear this ridiculous lie Sascha here is perpetrating."

Sascha rolled his eyes at Annil, "Master, this is Annil Greax."

Annil laughed and slapped her thigh, "And so not only am I supposed to believe that you are a Jedi Padawan, I'm supposed to believe that she is your Master? She at least looks like she might be able to fight. Unlike you, I may add."

Aurine ignored Annil, "I see you are not having much success convincing her that you are a Jedi, Padawan."

"She remains unconvinced," he said flatly.

"Obviously," said Annil her voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. "What do you take me for, an idiot that has never been off her homeworld? There is no reason for a Jedi to be here right now. They are off doing important things, not attending banquets. Now, I was hoping we were going back here so we could do something more, ahem, interesting, but since you persist with this ridiculous lie that you are a Jedi, I'm going to have to go back to the banquet hall and find another cute boy to dance with."

Annil was already halfway turned around when Sascha said, "Wait. I can prove that I'm a Jedi."

The redhead turned back around, "This should be good. How can you prove you are a Jedi." She snapped her fingers, "Wait, I know! You've got something on a repulsorlift somewhere so it will look like you are 'floating' something. Spare me. I came here to find a cute boy to dance with, not be subjected to the lamest scam artists in the galaxy."

"This is going very well, Padawan," she observed lightly.

Sascha shot her a look before returning his attention back to Annil, "You are a martial artist right? I want you to try and hit me. A Jedi should be able to move out of the way. A normal being will get hit."

Annil's cool gray eyes lit up in amusement, "Have you seen my dress? It's not exactly a combat garment."

"That dress is made out of some of the most flexible material in the galaxy. You have full range of movement. A champion fighter like you would never wear some frilly thing that you couldn't move in."

Annil subtly shifted into a combat stance, and glanced in her direction, "You okay if I rough up your quote, unquote, apprentice? You know I am a champion martial artist right? I'm not going to be paying the medical bill that he is very close to earning."

Aurine moved to lean against one of the nearby walls, "Oh, I don't think you can hit him. He's quite good at unarmed combat for a Jedi his age."

"Okay, challenge accepted," said Annil. The redhead turned to face her, "I'd get the number for emergency services already pre-dialed on your comlink. Then when it's over, you can already be prepared to deal with the consequences."

Sascha smiled confidently and settled in to a defensive stance, putting his left foot forward and balancing on the tips of his toes, ready to make a quick movement should it be necessary.

Annil darted into range quickly and launched a jab heading for his chest. Sascha was surprised by Annil's swift movement, but he easily turned and stepped out of the way. Annil rolled her shoulders subtly, trying to throw off Sascha's timing, but he stayed calm, focused on the movements that indicated an attack, not a feint.

Aurine watched the 'fight' with the eye of a combat veteran. Annil was certainly fast, no doubt about that, but her technique, her form was poor. Each little flaw in her technique gave away her intentions before she had even thrown that particular punch or kick. Aurine had never held the martial art of Volto Kari in very high regard before this, and if this girl was a champion in her class…she was going to downgrade it even further. There was nothing wrong with the girl, Annil was fast and tenacious, it was the instructor that was to blame. Aurine wondered how much money she could charge as a combat instructor if she ever left the Jedi Order. Probably quite a bit.

Annil, clearly intrigued by the challenge presented to her, started throwing more elaborate combinations, forcing Sascha to bob and weave as he moved around her punches and kicks. Because Sascha wasn't hitting back, Annil could afford to throw combinations that would get her knocked senseless by a counterattack in a real fight.

Still, her apprentice seemed almost bored by the whole thing. He started calling out what Annil's attacks were going to be before she had even thrown them. "Left cross," he called, pivoting his hips and narrowing his profile so that her fist whizzed by his face. "Right roundhouse kick," he said, ducking and swaying underneath Annil's right leg. Annil stepped forward, throwing three quick punches that all missed by wide margins.

Sascha stepped back, "I don't even know what that was. Do they have a name for 'sloppy three punch combination' in Volto Kari?"

Instead of being offended, the Volto Kari practitioner redoubled her efforts, but it was all a waste. Speed was great, but it wasn't enough to land even a glancing blow on a Jedi. Finally, Sascha avoided a wayward punch and as Annil was retracting it, he reached out and grabbed her wrist softly, pulling her towards him. Off-balance, Annil leaned softly against him for support, "You can refer to me as Jedi Padawan Sascha Whitestar anytime now." Annil, her red hair now having fallen down and into her face, didn't break the hold on her wrist for a long moment, looking deeply into Sascha's eyes and keeping the hand that she had used to steady herself on Sascha's chest. He's flirting with her, Aurine realized…and she's enjoying it. Good for you, Sascha.

With a small battle cry, Annil broke the hold on her wrist and stepped back. Annil tried a final attack, which again, Sascha avoided with a minimum of movement. Then, she paused for a long moment before grinning and throwing a leaping knee aimed at Sascha's groin. For the first time, Sascha looked surprised and he just barely managed to slap the knee aside with a hurried movement.

Sascha seemed confused at how he had been fooled, but Annil merely stepped back and out of her combat posture. The girl bowed slightly, "Master Jedi."

Her apprentice continued to look befuddled, "What did you do there? I was sure you were throwing a kick not a knee."

Annil grinned, "Oh, my body posture all said that I was throwing a knee, but I thought really hard about kicking you in the head. There is no way someone as good as you would have been fooled, unless you were reading my actions by some other manner." The redhead had the grace to look ashamed, "I guess I made a fool out of myself in front of a Jedi. That's a first for me."

Sascha smiled magnanimously, "It's okay, you couldn't have known that I was a Jedi. But that was a fun sparring session wasn't it?"

Annil grinned fiercely, "It was! I've never faced someone that could predict me like that. Of course, it's not fair that you could read my mind. Talk about your unfair advantages!"

"Sorry. I never said I was offering you a fair fight," Sascha replied. "But we should go back to the dance, we've been here for quite a while, people will be wondering where we are."

"Could we…stay here for a bit? I wouldn't mind being taught a few things," Annil said, suddenly acting shyly.

Aurine knew exactly what the redheaded girl was implying. It was the old 'teach me a wrestling technique' trick. It was a great way to get a shy boy more comfortable with doing some light touching without it being too obviously romantic. And later during some playful wrestling, when you 'accidentally' pinned him down, you could 'accidentally' start kissing him. She hoped that Sascha would play along with Annil, her Padawan could use a nice reward for a job well done.

"Actually, let's go back. I have something I want to talk to you about, and we can talk while dancing."

Annil smiled, some colour entering her features, "Okay, I'll see you back inside. I think your Master wants to have a word with you first."

The redhead bowed politely to both her and Sascha before leaving, wiggling her hips to Sascha in a provocative manner. Her Padawan stared at her, entranced, until she turned the corner.

"Padawan."

Sascha shook his head as if he was emerging from a daze, "Yes, Master?"

"You know you could stay here, teach her a few things in private. Or if you offered to bring her to your room, I doubt she'd decline."

Sascha blushed, "I think I'd rather get back to the dance. I still have to officially recruit her as well."

"Sascha, open your eyes for a second! That girl likes you, is attracted to you. And you are attracted to her! Yet, all you want to talk about is how you want to recruit her to your little project! How about acting like a normal teenager for once and acting on your attraction! I don't understand why you can't be more like Nara. She never has a problem finding boys she likes and acting upon her attraction."

Her Padawan offered a weak smile, "I think that's the first time you've ever said I should be more like Nara."

"Stop dodging the question, Sascha."

"Master, can't I just be uncomfortable with kissing girls that I've barely met?"

"Yes, that would be fine, totally and utterly fine. But that isn't why you are avoiding Annil and her advances. You are allowed to like and kiss girls Padawan. Especially ones that know exactly what they are getting into and that still want to be kissed by you. Annil is just the latest example of girls that have shown interest in you, girls that you befriend but ignore when they want to plant their lips on yours."

Sascha looked downward and said nothing, so she did her usual motherly thing and laid her hands on both of his shoulders, "Sascha, let me deliver some very un-Jedi like advice. Life is short, and you need to seize the opportunities to have fun because they don't come around that often. The life of a Jedi is one of servitude and subverting your desires. But you don't have to be a Jedi all the time, right now you can be Sascha Whitestar, nineteen year old human male. And I shouldn't have to tell you what someone your age would be doing, do I?"

Her apprentice made no move to brush her hands off his shoulders, he merely looked up at her, his deep brown eyes staring into her face, "I think that because my first kiss was so…traumatic, I've tried to avoid any sort of intimacy with anyone. It's probably not rational, but somewhere in my mind I have this idea that kissing equals bad. That not only will I be hurt by the kiss, that I'll hurt the other person too when I leave."

Aurine thought that he was probably right. Sascha's first kiss had been years ago with Tyra Harker, a fellow Padawan and his best and closest friend from an early age. Their feelings however, became more than just friendship, and the depth of emotion they felt for each other had made them vulnerable to being called to the dark side. It had caused Tyra to briefly tap into the dark side on Kuat, in order to protect Sascha and Sascha had nearly been lulled to the dark side himself over being too attached to his friend. They had eventually come to realize that their friendship had grown into something different, but before they broke it off, they had shared a first kiss.

"You've spent some time thinking about this," she observed.

Her apprentice finally pulled away and started towards the door, "Yes. And I've talked to Nara about it. She said that I should just find the next cute girl and kiss her, and see that I'm being irrational."

"You should listen to Nara's advice."

"I know. I'm just not ready yet."

How was she supposed to respond to that? She settled on something simple, "You have my trust completely Sascha. I'm only lecturing you because I care. No go back and have fun out there, Padawan."

"Thanks, Master."

When he was gone she looked at the ceiling plaintively, "Men, why are they such idiots? I should have picked a female Padawan."

For the next few hours, Annil and Sascha were inseparable. When they weren't dancing, they would find a quiet place of to the side, sit and talk. Annil tried obviously to move things in a more intimate direction, when they were dancing it was always her that wanted to press tightly against him, and even when they were just sitting and talking, she would place her hand on top of his. Sascha, while clearly turned on by Annil, refused to reciprocate the gestures. A lesser woman might have been offended by Sascha's actions. Annil, being a fighter, seemed to take it as a challenge. Aurine, approved, obviously. She just wished Annil had a fighting chance, because she suspected that she didn't.

When Sascha went to the refresher, Annil came to her and stood beside her quietly, "I'm not doing anything wrong with Sascha, am I? I know Jedi have rules around love and stuff. I don't want to be tempting him to do something that he can't do."

Aurine let a slight smile play across her features, "No. You are doing nothing wrong Annil. Jedi reject attachment, not a little bit of fun. My apprentice is…I guess he's just working through some things."

"Bad break-up?"

She considered for a moment, "I guess you could say that."

The redheaded girl glanced around and found Nara and Osak as they were off to the side, talking quietly. Nara's hand was gently rubbing up and down Osak's arm, and in Aurine's opinion it wouldn't be too long before they found a quiet room for some 'old-fashioned' fun. "You know, I thought that Sascha was only interested in the Togruta over there. They were so...inseparable over the past few days, I assumed that they were an item. She's not even a Jedi, is she?"

Aurine smiled, "No, she's a Padawan, like him. Their friendship is a close one, but they are merely friends."

Annil wiped her brow dramatically, "I am bad at trying to figure out if people are Jedi, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. We can be pretty normal when we want to be."

"I wish Sascha would be a bit more normal then. It's…like I do a couple of things, and he responds the way I'd like him to, and I'm like 'okay, I'm getting somewhere,' then I'll touch his neck softly or lay my head on his chest and he just tenses up and closes off. It's so frustrating."

"You know that you could go and find another partner to dance and be with. Sascha won't be offended."

Annil glanced up at her, "Oh, kriff no. I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here. I have a Jedi Padawan completely infatuated with me and no matter what he says or does, I'm going to kiss him by the end of the night. The only question that remains is whether I'll have to tackle him first to do so."

"How about I hold him down, and you kiss him."

Annil laughed hard, then she looked at her and realized that she had a completely serious expression on her face, "Oh, you actually meant that. No, I'm a big girl, I'll get what I want. I know that he wants to kiss me. He just doesn't realize it yet."

"Oh he realizes it. He's just worried about acting on it." She then saw Sascha make his way back through the crowd and Aurine decided it was time to make herself scarce, "Good luck, Annil."

Annil bowed her head fractionally before going to meet Sascha. Aurine watched as the red-headed girl slung her arms around Sascha's neck and pulled herself close to him. Sascha's eyes widened and he was about to lower his head to kiss her, when halfway through the motion, he stopped himself.

My Padawan is an idiot, Aurine Brynar decided.

As the night winded down , Nara and Osak had indeed found somewhere private for what was undoubtedly an amorous session. Sascha and Annil on the other hand were still in a similar holding pattern, much to her chagrin.

Annil it seemed was going to keep her word though, she was clearly just debating how far she would have to go to kiss Sascha. As the two exited the ballroom, Aurine watched as Annil guided him to a little alcove that offered the two of them a little privacy. Quietly, she sneaked into a location that would still allow her to observe them at a distance.

Inside the little alcove, Annil whispered something to him that set off a deep blush in her Padawan's cheeks. She reached up and pulled his head towards hers, puckering her lips expectantly. Sascha allowed himself to be pulled towards her...and then at the last moment he turned his head, letting Annil's lips kiss his cheek. Aurine resisted an urge to use the Force to bring Sascha's head back around to Annil's lips.

The red-headed girl sighed, and then kissed him on the cheek again, softly. Sascha said some words to her quietly, which she guessed were probably something along the lines of 'I'm sorry.'

She decided that she had seen all that she would see from the two of them and headed back to the Emerald Dream. When she arrived, Tiplee was already there and preparing the ship for launch. A few minutes later, Nara arrived in her normal robes, having already returned her dress to where she had rented it from. Her cheeks still had some colour to them and the dark red parts of her lekku were brighter than usual. Nara herself was in a buoyant, upbeat, mood and her Force aura radiated happiness.

"It looks like someone had a good night," said Tiplee, amused.

"Fan-tast-ic," said Nara, elongating each syllable of the word. The huge smile on her face told its own story. The Togruta looked around and seemed confused, "I lost track of Sascha though, is he off having fun with that red-headed girl?"

"No. I'm not." Sascha came up the boarding ramp, closing it behind him, looking a little nonplussed.

"What happened?" asked Nara.

"I happened," he said, moving away from the Togruta. Aurine reached out and stopped him with a light touch, "You don't need to say it," said Sascha with a huge sigh.

She made a small gesture of frustration, "Then I won't say anything."

Sascha walked dejectedly to his room and closed the door behind him.

"He'll come around, Master Brynar," said Nara quietly as she moved to stand beside her. "He's still figuring this part of himself out. Considering how he has just about everything else figured out, its only a matter of time before he realizes his mistake. There is room in a Jedi's life for a bit of fun."

She slung an arm around Nara, "I may need to enlist your help to get him to see his mistakes."

The Togruta turned her blue eyes towards her, "I'll help him through it. He's close to a breakthrough, I can feel it. I think he just needs a girl that isn't so insistent, he needs to be the person to make the first move."

"It'll be our little project then," she said. "How was your night?"

Nara smiled, a bit of colour entering the red parts of her lekku, "A lady doesn't kiss and tell. But I enjoyed myself."

She removed her arm from around Nara's shoulder, "Come on, Nara, lets go back to Coruscant. It's a big, dark, galaxy out there, and we have bigger problems to deal with than Sascha's girl problems."