AU Week Padawan

[5ame_heart]

The adolescent who darts into the bar is dressed in the tan and white robes of a Jedi, sporting the braid down to his right shoulder that would marks him specifically as a Padawan learner, and his hands cupped around something tiny in a way that suggests whatever it is is also precious.

27-5555 - "Fifty Five" to the Jedi Council, "Fives" to his friends - gives the bar a pleased-with-himself smirk and scurries over to a booth to better inspect his prize.

[AU Week write up! Open to all, and it's fine to assume previous relationships.]

Comments

[hat_and_dimples]

Here's another adolescent, in white robes with blue emblems stencilled on over his shoulders, coming in from the back.

He gets a pot of tea from the bar, and then sidles over to try and catch a look at whatever special thing that other boy has, trying to be unobtrusive and non-creepy about it. Just a curious student.

[5ame_heart]

He's still being a little creepy about it. That's okay, though. Fives has tuned his hands open and now holds a crystal between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.

Is it possible for a crystal to glow blackly? It probably shouldn't be. And this is why Fives has a slightly worried tinge to his expression of pride.

[hat_and_dimples]

"That is interesting!" the other student says, unable to restrain his curiosity.

He is learning so much -- and this is new!

"Is that some kind of yin light?"

[5ame_heart]

"No," says Fives. Then he grabs the crystal in his fist and glances over at the other kid, his head tilting as he tries to get the hang of why he feels different.

"What's yin?"

[hat_and_dimples]

"Qi energy that is cool, dark, passive and wintery," the other kid says, peering back at Fives as if wondering how he felt different in turn. "Black rather than white, winter rather than summer, earth rather than heaven, tortoise rather then phoenix?"

[5ame_heart]

"...the Dark Side," Fives fills in, completely misunderstanding, and losing some of his smile. "No, this isn't that."

He opens his hand again, looks down at the crystal. "If it was Dark Side it would be red."

It's not, it's completely Light Side. But it's black.

[hat_and_dimples]

"I don't know what the Dark Side is; it sounds a little like yin, which is the dark side of all existence, only it has to exist for the yang to exist as well. Both together make up our many-shaded world," the other student says. "What do you think that this crystal is?"

[5ame_heart]

Fives closes his fist on it possessively and looks up to explain,

"It's a kyber crystal," he explains. "It's going to power my lightsaber, when I've built it."

But it's going to be dark, and Fives is going to get into so much trouble when the Council find out.

[hat_and_dimples]

"A light sabre?" the other student asks, interested. "The clan I am a part of cultivates with sabres, not swords" -- actually dao rather than jian -- "but I don't have a sabre, as I'm more of a practical helper rather than a disciple. I'm only learning cultivation at the summer school in Cloud Recesses, where I have been invited to stay through sheer dumb luck, mostly," he admits.

Sheer dumb luck, or his charming personality traits as deployed upon Lan Xichen.

[5ame_heart]

Because Fives' culture uses 'sword' and 'saber' interchangeably, he blinks a couple of times at the words, assuming something went wrong with the translation magic, or whatever it is.

"Cultivation of the Force - of qi energy?" he asks, more interested in that.

[hat_and_dimples]

"Yes, exactly!" the other student says, nodding enthusiastically. "We channel our qi through the sword, or the sabre, to do magic. I'm Meng Yao, by the way, from Qinghe Nie sect. Excuse me for not introducing myself sooner."

He puts down his tea, puts his hands together in front of his chest, and bows to Fives.

[5ame_heart]

Oh, yeah. Fives offers a serene Jedi-like smile and returns the bow like he's been taught to.

"Fifty-Five Fifty-Five. Uh, my friends call me Fives." That last said with the slightest hint of pleading - Fives hates his formal name and only the senior Jedi use it.

"I'm a Jedi."

There's that pride again from before. He definitely is a Jedi.

[hat_and_dimples]

"A Jedi is somebody who cultivates the Force, an adept?" Meng Yao guesses. "It is good to meet you, erm, Fives?"

A terribly impolite form of addressing anybody, but if the other student wants it?

[shadowandsnark]

So distracted by his new shinies, Tybalt misses the presence of his old friend for a while but he does eventually clue in.

(Master Krell is always going on about how Tybalt doesn't stay in the moment, but it's more the opposite really, He just gets hyper-focused.)

Once he does see Fives though, he stands to approach and say hi, but then he gets a better idea. Selecting one of the pieces of wood, he lifts it with the Force and sends it to tap the shoulder of the clone and then lowers it behind Fives's back quickly.

[5ame_heart]

Fives shoots a look quickly over his shoulder, annoyed and embarrassed that anyone was able to sneak up on him. He glances down, sees the wood and looks up suddenly to find the culprit.

"Tybalt!"

It's half you asshole and half it's good to see you!.

[shadowandsnark]

Fives has gotten much better at catching his tricks! He needs new ones now.

"Fives!" He calls out striding over with one hand clutching his prizes. "Is that your kyber? You've made it to the Gathering then?"

[5ame_heart]

"Kriffing finally."

It's been really embarrassing, being a Jedi leading an army on a borrowed lightsaber. Even if his brothers didn't care, the Jedi could tell. And it matters, not having his own.

He doesn't open his hand though. He picks up the wood in his other and brandishes it. "What are you doing? Making a new one?"

[shadowandsnark]

"'To all things, their time comes'." Tybalt replies in a pretty passable Yoda imitation. He reaches out to snatch the wood back as he answers, with a shake of his head, "Just changing the casing. These pieces are really neat but now I have to decide which to use. They won't all fit."

"Maybe I could make a necklace?" Master Krell would love that.

[5ame_heart]

Fives smiles, knowing exactly how much Master Krell would love that.

"I'd love to see that," he says, meaning he'd love to get Krell even more reason to get red in the face. "Or a belt to match."

[shadowandsnark]

"Oh! A belt is a great idea. I'd have plenty of space then and wouldn't have to give up any pieces." He smiles a Cheshire grin and elbows Fives. "I can imagine what Master Krell would say to that."

Clearing his throat, he deepens his voice to Krell throaty grumble. "A Jedi does not adorn themselves like a senator attending a gala!"

[5ame_heart]

Fives just laughs outright - it's a perfect impression after all.

But the nudge also dislodges the crystal in his hand and reminds him it's there.

"Hey, you wanna see something weird?"

Of course he does, but Fives is still nervous about showing him.

[shadowandsnark]

Tybalt's face falls into an "are you serious expression?" before he catches the hint of nervousness in both Fives's expression and within the Force. Pulling his serious self up, he nods and takes a seat.

[5ame_heart]

Fives makes the effort to look less nervous and more like someone sharing something really cool and falls down somewhere in the middle as he brings out his fist and opens it to show thee kyber crystal in it.

They do not usually glow black.

[shadowandsnark]

Tybalt's eyes widen. Among the things he might have expected, this was not even on the comm.

"That's...curious. I don't think I've ever heard of one glowing like that. At least it's not red, right? What does it feel like?"

[5ame_heart]

"Good," Fives says, before realising it's not the right thing. "It's not Dark, it's definitely the Light Side, and it feels right, like it's mine."

Which is what it's supposed to feel like, right? He glances at Tyablt for confirmation.

"There's no rule that says it has to be blue or green, is there? Master Windu has a purple blade."

He doesn't have a black one though.