Rubbing at his cheek, he'd quickly made his way towards the towering fair-skinned Zabrak outside by the Temple where the pillars were. He'd have his arms crossed as his current expression seemed stern but indiscernible as he said, "Are you done with your final goodbyes, Jao?"
Jao looked up at him with slightly uneasiness as he shifted his shoulders and succinctly explained back with, "Yes, Master. I uh… sorry for the display earlier. I-I promise it won't inhibit my role as a Jedi and I know you took me on when the co-" before Kor raised a hand to signal him to stop and interrupted with,
"Jao. If I had a problem with you and Barriss' relationship, I wouldn't have gotten you two those necklaces, no?" a tiny smirk growing on his face.
Shaking his head, he'd reply, "No, Master." his posture slightly dropping.
He'd place a hand on his shoulder before giving it a squeeze as he said, "Good. Your first lesson on this matter is that you will be taught differently than most. While any other padawan I would personally not do this with," sighing, "You Jao were given an exceedingly rare opportunity to grow with a close bond. Younglings to Trainees usually do not allow such bonds to form but per Master Yaddle's last request, you were allowed to maintain it."
Looking at him inquisitively, "Is that why I stopped seeing Anakin and Kyungi a lot after turning 11?"
Kor Rezla seemingly nodded in response to this before following up with, "Exactly. The last 2-3 years or more of trainees' time before they become potential padawans is spent in isolated learning and reflection. It lets them get accustomed to the idea that there will not always be someone to rely on readily and let knights and sometimes, but rarely, masters scout out for potential trainees to grant padawanship."
Rubbing his chin, he quipped back, "And I am guessing the reason why I never had these visits was because I was already chosen by you?"
He nodded in response.
"Same thing with Barriss too?"
"Yep. Exact same with Barriss." as he'd now start walking back into the temple as Jao tagged along.
"Will she be taught the same thing as me, Master?" Jao asked innocently.
His head wandered to the side upwards as he pondered the question before saying, looking back at him, "I do not know. That is up to Master Luminara."
Jao looked at his Master with slight fear as he felt his Padawans fear of Barriss being repressed and taught in a way that'd only lead to her downfall. He'd realized that was a probable caution. Kor Rezla wasn't taught conventionally as his Master was also in disagreement with some of the Jedi code but Luminara was a "by the books" woman. Compassionate and disciplined woman sure, but someone who could help Barriss guide her feelings and not entirely repress them? That is what slightly worried Kor Rezla now that he thought about it. Although he'd shield his emotions to his new Padawan as to not cause more fear to exude from the young boy.
He held a steadfast resolve in his face as he responded, "I am sure the Master Luminara is more than aware of your two's situation and would not dare break the agreement set in place by the late Master Yaddle."
Jao seemingly calmed down in the force as he pushed away the thoughts of such things happening. He looked back at Kor Rezla with a stern resolve now, "I believe in her, Master."
Kor Rezla gave Jao a smile before nodding back, "That's all you can do now. Trust in the force that she'll succeed." Pulling out a datapad, "Now, let me debrief you on our first mission as Master and apprentice."
His eyebrows perked up slightly, "This soon? D-Don't I need to learn some things from you firstly?"
He nodded, "Usually we'd take 6 months to a year to develop a bond firstly but I figured you were better at hands-on experience rather than sitting and meditating all day." gesturing nonchalantly to the side with a hand, "Also, We've developed that bond whilst you were still a trainee. So I was able to argue with the council that the 6 months to a year phase was not necessary for us."
Finishing with, "We'll use this first mission to help strengthen our bond further than what mediating can do."
A dumb smile spreaded wild across Jao's face as he replied, "So… about that first mission?"
Few Hours later…
Sat in Luminara's chambers, two mirialans were currently in mediation or at least trying to. Barriss found it quite hard to calm herself as the bond with Jao was buzzing aptly with excitement. Luminara felt this disturbance in her padawan as she calmly remarked, "Ignore it, Barriss. You must find your center."
Barriss shifted in her seat as she apologized, "Sorry, Master." trying her best to block out the noise from her bond with Jao.
Master Luminara would silently open her eyes as she said, "I understand your bond with Jao was allowed by the council per Master Yaddle's last request but you must not let it distract you, Padawan."
Barriss would open her eyes too as she sighed, "I know… It's just… we're so deeply bonded that it's hard to block it out. I never had a reason to block it out."
"I know. Though you must not rely on your bond with Jao to keep you centered solely. If you do, then when Jao gets hurt or you feel his pain through your bond, you will act irrationally." breathing in, "Now," closing her eyes again, "Find your center, Barriss."
Barriss would attempt to calm herself and tune out the distraction but the anxiety of not knowing of her future with her best friend would falter any attempt. Master Luminara sighed at this before slowly opening her eyes as Barriss kept hers closed.
"What terrifies you, Padawan." Luminara inquired.
Barriss would relent deeply with a deep sigh before replying back, "Just-... Just not being there for him. We've been together since birth practically."
Although their bond wasn't deep, Master Luminara was always insightful even without the force. She could tell Barriss was hiding something by her body language and her vocal tone: She sounded unsure.
"Barriss that is not all, is it?"
Barriss slowly opened her eyes to gaze into her master's. They were filled with uncertainty and hesitation as they wandered around slowly before curtly replying, "It's nothing else. Let's just continue, Master."
Luminara internally sighed at this but knew pushing any further would isolate her Padawan.
"Without her attachment to Jao, I would've inquired deeper but here we are. Master Yaddle, I sometimes wonder why you urged the Council this but I will trust in your judgment."
"Well, when you feel comfortable enough sharing your worries, I'll be an open ear, Padawan. Repressing such thoughts and feelings will hinder your progress. Learn to come to terms with such thoughts and move forward."
Barriss had a small, sadden smile plastered now as she replied back, "I promise I will, Master. Apologies."
Shaking her head softly, "No need… Barriss. I understand and will be forthright with you: what I am attempting to teach you will be new to even me. All I ask for is that we take it one day at a time. I may even learn something new myself."
Some of the uncertainty in Barriss' posture and eyes seemed to alleviate but still resided.
"So some of that was a fear of me. I will not hold it against her. After all, Master Yaddle's request was very… peculiar."
The illustrious council chambers were on display as a rather peculiar request was just announced to the Jedi Council. The 6 Masters on board that day: Oppo Rancisis , Yoda, Jocasta Nu, Tera Sinube, Yarael Poof and Poli Dapatian. Currently Jedi High Council Member Yaddle was currently standing in the midst of the 6 of them.
They were all currently stewing on the utterly ridiculous request the Master amidst them had just asked.
"So let me understand this clearly, Master Yaddle." Oppo Rancisis spoke first after a few minutes, "You wish for the foundlings of Jao Ren Paul and Barriss Offee bestowed special permissions of constant emotional contact with each other on the account of a feeling?"
Yaddle bowed deeply at this as she pleaded, "Yes, Masters." glaring slightly at Oppo, "And it's not just a feeling." before facing neutrally towards all, "On board the transport, during the two weeks they were traveling, they first reached out to each other with their hands on first contact. Note, they didn't even know each other and they already showed signs of a bond. Next, the two wouldn't go or allow anywhere without the other and would cry for hours until promptly placed with each other."
Master Yaddle went silent as the current Masters started discussing through the force. While she knew she could connect, she knew it would be disrespectful to do so. So she kept out of the web.
Once feeling they were done, they urged her through the force to continue.
"So I believe this is a sign of the force. The force brought these two together and to deny its will would be denying the will of the force."
The Council chambers went silent once more as the Masters consulted once again.
This time, it felt like an eternity of a somewhat heated and conflicting discussion through the force before they finally seemed to agree on something. Yoda was the first to speak.
"Consult with the rest of the Council, we must. More opinions on such a grave important matter, we need." making an audible grunt before finishing, "Dismissed you are for now, Master Yaddle. Call you in when a decision has been made."
Flash forward to now and the council had barely agreed to this. The vote was 7-5, a close vote indeed but the decision to allow Jao Ren Paul and Barriss Offee to remain together was agreed upon. Now it was up to this critical point in their paths to become Jedi is where the Council would see if this was truly a mistake. Only time would tell…
A/N: I know it's been forever since I have updated this story and I feel SO BAD. I genuinely did not mean to forget but to be honest, I just lost all and any creativity in my bones. I am so happy I finally got around to getting back to this because so many of you seem to enjoy it. I hope I was able to do this chapter justice.
Next chapter, it'll be a look into Jao's First Mission with his Master! Hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless, cheers!