trans_9 | Mediation, Meditation, Inspiration for Itineration [Open]

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Mediation, Meditation, Inspiration for Itineration [Open]

Obi-Wan had done as he ought, he'd done what he could and then retired from the field. Too many hands for that pot, and not a one of them with as little sense. Still he was weary from his injury and his healing, and after a strange dream-addled sleep, what was needed most was perspective. The church was crowded, the city was an uncertain mess, and there was little enough peace to be had in the barracks— the Jedi had retired to the oft-praised sensoriums to look for a place of quiet. And he'd found in his choice of setting nothing less than what was unmistakably a Jedi Temple.

Oh, it wasn't the Temple, but the architectural style, the general layout were similar, all rounded, organics shapes an living stone. It resonated with him and so he found a cushion and a comfortable, bright lace where little but warm moist breezes and quiet birdsong reached him and began the quiet, measured breaths that were a prelude to the less combat-oriented meditation styles. Comforting quite, peacegiving pulse of the living Force in his very veins...if introspection were not so disquieting, they would have given greater balance. Obi-Wan sighed and began again. Anakin and Luke would know where to find him, when they were ready— and at least one of them deserved the lecture he'd be getting, and knew it.

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He considered it, he really did, but Obi-Wan Kenobi had not lived as long as he had by letting people he'd barely known for a week muck about in his head, no matter how well-meaning or interesting they seemed. He shook his head, a small gesture, a thoughtful rather than an abrupt one, and replied only, "Another time."

And yet, he had another question, as he turned her answer over behind his eyes as a river tumbles a round stone. "What has Master Luke told you, what do you know of the Force?"

"It is in all things," she replied quickly, accepting the another time with a soft twist of a smile. "In myself, in you, in this ship, in its people, no? In all living things and places. It moves to its own will and yet, as I have seen and experienced myself, it expresses that will to others. Its art is not of grand gesture, but set in the small of things as well as the large. It is also double edged, for I see two sides to it, even now." Arha's chin tilted. "But, all things have two sides. As to your histories, I know precious little, but always you Jed-Eye seem to be at war. At struggle."

Her smile was soft and eased the sharpness of her face.

"Such is the way of the Universe."

"Ah, that's not true," Obi-Wan protested, smiling, "But peace leaves very little for historians to record, and wars always seem longer than they really are, like all painful things."

Mirroring Arha, Obi-Wan set himself straight, as she head, almost teasingly, "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. Fear, aggression and hatred, those negative, selfish emotions that bind us to ourselves, and blind us to others, those are the paths to the Dark Side. The Sith, who are in many ways of and like the Jedi, follow those paths and think only of themselves and their own goals to the point of obsession."

He paused, and let that sink in, then continued, "Although, we don't have the authority to train anyone from birth. Usually three would be the age anyone comes under our hand. If they aren't chosen as a Pawadan learner by fourteen, in all likelihood the chance to become a Jedi has passed that one by. Anakin was very unusual, he was about seven when he first began his training. The council was not best pleased when I took him on, but he kept up. The Force is strong with him."

"I know war," Arha said simply, lending weight to the word that told of battle and blood and death and, too, pain. She was silent for awhile, taking the information which he gave her in with a serious and intent expression as he spoke.

"It makes sense, then," she finally said. "The duality of light against the dark, conflict against peace. Balance against chaos." She flicked her fingers. "This Force is...a manifestation of the need for balance, perhaps? The living Universe's need for growth in two ways, your Light and Dark sides. No one side can exist without the other, ,as is the nature of all things with duality." She pursed her lips thoughtfully, her head bowed. "Those who are sensitive in your Force, if they are not found and trained, what do you do with them when they are discovered? No organization may be everywhere at once...not even mine, though we try. Among the Fremen, my people, there have always been Wild Reverend Mothers. They are called Sayyadina. They lack the precise training of our order, but they have Other Memory and a certain desert strength."

Her head came up a curious expression warming her face.

"Have you the habit of taking on the strange and unusual, Obi-Wan?"

"Honestly, it never comes up," Obi-Wan replied, slowly thinking. Shaky ground this, and although technically true, you did occasionally have someone half-trained and not a Jedi show up, like Ventress, "Medically, it's actually rather easy to test and see who'll have the potential. Most children are tested when they're very young, along with all the other standard screenings, and it's considered both and honor and convenience for a child to be accepted into the Temple for schooling. It's very rare for anyone to become proficient without someone to train them. Like any other skill, if it's not used it atrophies."

Her eyebrows arched a little.

"Interesting," she murmured, tucking her knees to her chest and setting her chin against them. "And what of me?" she asked in a small, careful voice. "What am I? What is to be done with me? There is no council, just you and Luke. What shall be done?"

"You?" A soft smile. Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something dimissive and flippant, but closed it again. This wasn't a joke, her face said, and some tugging in the force brought his attention sharply around. If you're quiet, Qui-Gon had taught him, you could hear the singing of the midi-chlorians.

"You could be a Jedi, but it would be...very difficult. Already, you've had a lifetime of training and indoctrination...a philosophy that, while it has merits and truths, are not the truths the Jedi uphold," He replied, slowly, ever a man of caution, "I could teach you everything I know, and if you disagreed in the main, it would come to nothing. Of course, it all means nothing more than a very long lesson in philosophy, if you cannot truly wield the force."

"My life has been lived," she murmured, "by the trials of the desert winds where each day of survival is a triumph over death. I will persevere in all that is put before me, no matter what I will have to do or what may be asked of me." She said it with the utmost truth in her voice and there was no doubt on her face as she peered at him.

"I am here for a reason," Arha said. "Or else I would not have been placed in this position. I am sitting here in this spot with you on a moment of possibility. I shall not give you less than all of what I am and all that I shall become. If one is not committed upon a path, then they are lost. I will fight for this path that I have been placed upon, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This you already know."

Her voice warmed with humor.

"In any case, I have always been fond of philosophy."

"Well, that's a very good thing, because as anyone can tell you, I do love to talk," Obi-Wan laughed, "Very well, I had been meaning to take on another student. If nothing else, perhaps you'll be the best practice I've ever had."

"I noticed," Arha said deadpan, then allowed herself to laugh. "I shall endeavor to be as diligent a student as you may well ever have. You best enjoy answering all manner of questions, for I shall not show mercy on that front."

Her lips thinned slightly as she seized upon a notion.

"Shall we make this an even exchange?" she asked. "Will you wish to know prana-bindu and the Weirding Way? I offer such, or whatever you require. Ask, and should it be within my skill, you may have of it. "

"Even master Yoda has said that the teacher who stops learning has ceased to be a teacher," Obi-Wan agreed, "I would be delighted to learn from you."

"How is it that your people seal a bargain?" she asked solemnly. "For we have just made one. Were you Fremen, I would have given you the gift of my body's moisture. I understand spitting is considered an offense in some cultures and thus shall refrain. So, the method of binding is left to you."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows did an amusing, bemused little dance, but he replied with diplomatic mildness, "Let's just shake hands, for now."

"Then we shall shake hands." She offered her hand, amused at his tone of voice. "I accept the role as it shall be laid out for me, and with it I give you my own knowledge."

"May the Force be with you, always," Obi-Wan returned, "I'll strive to do that same."

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Mediation, Meditation, Inspiration for Itineration [Open]

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