There Are No Coincidences

[Draze Crane]

The day had started fairly normal for the boy, he rose from his slumber before dawn, eyes wide open and mind already contemplating the best way to deal with someone with a lightsaber. Disarm, and interrogate, or sever ability to use lightsaber? Draze swiftly turned sideways, walking through two people, barely brushing shoulders. He had almost ran right into them, and turned to mutter an apology, but the duo had already turned the corner. Out of range for the voice level he wanted to use. Slowly sighing, he turned back to walking in a normal, relaxed pace. The best way to deal with a lightsaber-wielding opponent would probably get the lightsaber out of their hand as soon as possible. The boy, treaded down many hallways, his eyes scanning the stone ruin around him. Extending his mind, feeling it brush upon other Jekore, and feeling his mentor and friend, the Force. Where would he end up this morning? He had no idea, but began to function as a vessel for the Force, allowing pure feeling to guide him. And perhaps it was no wonder that he ended up where he was.

Draze allowed his eyes to scan his surroundings, feeling his brown Trainee robes comfortably sitting on his shoulders and wrapped around his skin. He felt the weight of the vibroblade on his hip, it had the proper alloy to hold it's own against a lightsaber, and that made it possible for the boy to feel confident in any combat scenario. He was far from one, however, with a distant sun casting it's rays on his body, causing a shadow to be cast behind him. His surroundings were life, green, lush and bustling with the Force. He looked around, feeling everything around him, from the tiniest ant to the largest tree. The male didn't even remember walking into the jungle, perhaps the Force really did guide him here. The wind picked up, sweeping past him, pushing foliage, tree branches and leafs to the direction of the wind. Draze let his eyes stare into the sky, before his pupils darted down to look around him, hearing a crunch of twigs and rustle of leafs.

He could not feel anything through the Force, and slowly edged his hand towards his weapon. The next thing he saw, almost sent him into shock. The black boot of an intruder emerged, and a second step revealed the rest of his figure. A large man with his bare, pale, chest stood in front of the boy. His skin was blank as snow, as if his body was new and fresh. A survey of his face showed very much the same, blank white eye staring emptily at him as his hand drew a weapon from his hip. The man gripped the hilt of his weapon tightly, and activated the blade as he drifted it pointing at Draze. He cracked open his mouth to speak, his tone as hollow as his heart. The maroon lightsaber casting a glow over his arm as he spoke. "I've come for you, Je-"

"Wake up, Draze!"

His eyes slammed open, grabbing the arm of his fellow Trainee as he did so. Draze almost broke his forearm, but stopped when he saw a familiar face. He stared, shocked for a few moments, as it took him several seconds to register that he had dreamt up the encounter. "Come on, they're serving breakfast." The boy added, as Draze nodded and loosened his grip on his arm, and slowly sat up on his bed. His awakening associate left his side when a group of Trainees past him. Draze looked around for a few moments, his mind abuzz with so many thoughts it was like white noise in his head. He rubbed his eyes for a few moments, before turning to his footlocker and grabbing his Trainee robes. He needed to clean himself up before heading out. Swiftly dressing and leaving the barracks of sorts, where all the Trainees slept, he lacked hunger, so walked past the mess hall and continued to the exit of the Temple. Perhaps for just peace of mind.

Once his feet felt the stone steps, once his nose absorbed the sweet smell of grass, his face felt wind brush up against it, Draze was at peace once more. He was half expecting to see the man once more, simply appear out of the forestry, lightsaber in hand and attack him. He had no idea where the man from his dream came from, but he couldn't even feel his presence. Perhaps it was just the dream. It only made him that much more eager to become a Knight and create his own lightsaber. Draze hardly felt like he was able for any combat situation without one. He's managed just fine without one, but oh, how he did envy any lucky owner of one. The male sat down on the steps of the Jekore Temple, allowing his thoughts to consume and distract him, as well as his mind to extend outward, so he could practice sensing fellow Jekore. Everyone had a different feeling. Draze could almost tell who was who just with the Force. He slowly rested his arms on his knees, his eyes staring emptily into the blank sky.

[Jipwirata]

Stupid. Bloody. Dresses.

They were just so long. Even three months of wearing them wasn’t enough for him to get used to his legs being so covered, so restrained. It was horrible. The damn things were awkward, too, moving his hair in all sorts of different directions it ought not to be moved in unless he was in a scuffle. Perhaps he was in a scuffle, one with these dresses. It was never-ending. How was he to keep his coat nice and smooth if the dress messed it all up? He looked like a tree trunk. A short, walking tree trunk.

Damn his sister. This was somehow her fault. He never should have agreed to join the Jekore. Whoever thought this was good for him was mad.

At least the food was good. He never had to hunt for it or cook it. It always came prepaired. That was a nice change he could live with. He was also thankful to at least be on a planet with forests. The trees were pitiful things compared to the wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk, and just as pitiful a climb, but they were trees whether or not you needed gigantic lifts to navigate the different levels of them. It certainly beat being on Jekore’s Light.

Jipwirata growled as he headed towards the Jekore Temple rather than where they served the food. Afterwards he could go get some. After. The food sometimes canceled out by the dresses, and as he decided this he hitched up the hems and held them up so that his legs could walk freely. I need a belt to hold this up, he thought, not for the first time. Then he could go about wearing skirts rather than dresses. Oh what a fashion statement was he! But if it meant that his legs were freer than it was better.

The Wookiee was moving fast down the stone steps, gaining speed now that his legs were free just for the sake of showing the world that he could. Maybe he ought to run there. Jichiir was zooming along besides him. The droid was usually quiet unless Jip spoke to her first, but this time she spoke up on her own.

“Master Jip, perhaps you should watch out,” she warned.

“Watch out for wha—“ Jip started but was cut off when his legs ran into something, forcing him for fall forward. He didn’t fall on the thing, though, so much as tilt over it like a seesaw on a pivit. He was simply tilting from one way of standing to another way of standing: on his head. He managed to save himself by rolling, but rather than stand up he let himself roll out onto his back and lay there, staring at the sky. He was vaguely away that the thing he had hit had been a person.

“Why are they all so small?” he moaned in Shyiiwook, as though it was the man’s fault for making himself even smaller by sitting rather than his own obliviousness of the obstacles in his way. This place was making him lazy.

Horrible! Horrible!

Jip sat up and looked at the man. Such a strange man. Most people had hair at least on their heads, but this one was bald. He hoped he was alright, but taking another look at him he perhaps was not so small as he could be—for his species.

“Are you okay? I really didn’t mean to do that.” This time as he spoke the translator droid repeated his words out loud in Galactic Basic for the man to understand. Really, who would mean to send themselves toppling over by running over a person? At least he hadn’t fallen on his face like he could have if he had been slower to react.

[Draze Crane]

Draze had to admit to himself, that despite purposely trying to sense people and things around him, that he was quite distracted with the various things on his mind. Hunger, his dream, or vision, he was not sure which it was, and what tedious task he would give himself today to ease the pass of time. So, when the Wookiee tumbled over him, he was quite surprised. Once he felt the force of his foot, Draze swiftly scooted over out of his way. It didn't stop the Wookiee from falling, but it did stop him from falling on Draze. He had a small concern for the Wookiee, but he knew that Wookiees were tough, and it wasn't that bad of a tumble. Draze got to his feet, walking over at a slow pace towards him, as the droid translated the Wookiees speech to Draze. He took some time to respond, as he extended his hand as a gesture that he would help him back to his feet. Perhaps he did not look it, or perhaps he did, standing at a much greater height then those of his species' age, but he had the strength.

"No harm done.." Draze remarked, examining the Wookiee closely. He was wearing the robes of a Trainee, or a Newblood, but Draze had not seen a lot of him. Not that it was hard to remember a Wookiee Jekore, but he had never really thought about it until then. He remembered seeing the him with another Ward, possibly his mentor, but Draze was unsure. And still, his mind wandered, from one subject to the next. He had never really took an interest in learning another language other then galactic basic. And at the current moment, he wished that he knew the Wookiee's language so he wouldn't have to speak through a droid. Draze did have a lot of free time, most days, so perhaps that could be something he could study. Even though there might be some other, more common languages he could invest his time into and probably get more out of, he suspected knowing how to communicate with ten feet tall, raging Wookiees would be a less lethal choice then talking with a Rodian. Then again, it might be a better idea to focus on his combat so someday he might be able to deal with a raging Wookiee. This might be the one and only time he ever even conversed with him.

[Jipwirata]

Jip stared at the bald man’s hand for a moment before taking it and letting himself be pulled up. When Mr. Hairless spoke Jichiir remained quiet. She didn’t usually like to butt into Jip’s conversations with people unless she had real reason. She merely translated what he said because his Wookiee vocal cords made it impossible for him to speak anything outside of the Wookiee’s language. It was never necessary for her to translate what other people said to Jip. When they came across languages he did not know that meant he hadn’t programmed it into her, either, and thus neither of them was capable of communicating. That wasn’t the case here, though. Jip would have been fluent in Galactic Basic if he could say the words, but as it was he could understand them perfectly.

No harm done! Well that was good! Baldy didn’t even seem miffed that he’d tripped over him. Actually rather than be mad in any way he seemed to be thinking something else completely, staring at him as though he was some sort of experiment. Jip knew he looked bigger than he already was when wearing these stupid dresses, all his hair puffed the damn things up. The idea of looking bigger than he already was would be nice if it didn’t require him to dress like a girl, which gave him an idea.

“Female Wookies have six breasts, so I assure you I’m male. I’d rather you stop staring at me like that,” he announced, Jichiir repeating his words as he spoke them. He made a show of crossing his arms, but after a moment though Jip couldn’t help it and started laughing. What was he doing? He’d almost just run him over and now he was behaving like this. Well it served the hairless man right for staring, though Jip really rather suspected he wasn’t being checked out at all so much as examined. Yes. A Wookiee in a brown dress. Alert everyone.

“Sorry, sorry. Can I ask you a question since we’re all examining each other?” he asked bluntly. Well they were, because Jip was still shocked why even such a hairless species as his was that he would go around purposely shaving his hair off. He wasn’t going to figure it out on his own so he’d just ask.

“Why do you shave all your hair off?”

[Draze Crane]

Perhaps it was because his mind had so many things floating around in it, that he had not realized how long he had been staring at Jip. Draze hadn't expected to receive that type of response, so his brow did furrow for a few moments. He wasn't that desperate, and he had much better things to let his mind dwell on. But, Draze soon realized that the Wookiee was just poking fun at the situation more then anything, and this was proven when he heard what he thought was laughter from the tall, hairy creature. Draze had never really thought about female Wookiees, but couldn't remember ever seeing one. Then again, save for Jip, he's never even seen a male Wookiee, so it wasn't as if they were some rare jem. If they were, Draze was oblivious to it. He slowly turned and walked over to the steps of the Academy, sitting down once more like he was before the interruption, and looked to the trees as the droid translated the Wookiee's curious question. Why did he shave his hair off? He assumed it would be quite a phenomenon to a species that had hair on every part of their body.

Draze turned to his Wookiee associate, speaking lightly. "I shaved my head when I came to the Academy," Draze paused, looking out to the surrounding nature once more. "As a way to feel as if it was all a fresh start. And, I keep shaving my head, to show my dedication to my new life." It was more of a philosophical ritual then anything, but Draze thought that it was an excellent explanation. "And I didn't shave it all off. Still have eyebrows." He added onto his last statement, reassuring himself that someone didn't shave them off in the middle of the night as a joke. Then he would look quite ridiculous. However, there was something in the back of Draze's mind that he simply couldn't ignore anymore, and despite usually keeping to himself, he longed for conversation. What was the point of thinking all the time if you didn't share your thoughts with someone?

Draze looked back at Zip, announcing to him. "My name is Draze Crane." He paused for awhile, giving Zip time to introduce himself if he wished, and enough time for a new subject to be risen. "Do you wear the Jekore robes out of choice, or requirement?" He questioned the Wookiee, moving his hands to grip his knee caps.

[Jipwirata]

He watched as Bald Man returned to the position Jip assumed he had been in before the Wookiee had tripped over him, just staring out at the trees. Jip liked trees, too, but there were more interesting things to do than stare at them, and if not more interesting higher up on the list of things he really should be doing but wasn’t. He should be going into the temple, for example, but here he was trying to figure out why he had shaved off his hair.

Jip’s question had paid off, though! Baldy answered the question without any hint of being insulted. He had always thought humans were quick to anger, but this one looked like he didn’t even know how to be angry. The closest he seemed to have gotten thus far was a quizzical sort of look when he furrowed his brows. If someone had inferred that Jip was checking out another guy he would have hit them. Nope, all Mr. Hairless did was stare at plants vaguely and talk as though he was thinking of something else.

Jip would have outright thought this odd shiny man was an airhead if not for the reply he got. It was actually an impressive response. He had been suspecting he’d get something like, “I just prefer it this way” or “It looks better like this” but what he actually got was something insightful. Jip would have been the last one to shave himself naked if he wanted to express having a new beginning, but perhaps it wasn’t so much of a problem when most of the hair you had was all in one place at the top. Either way, it was a reason the Wookiee could respect.

“Do you?” he asked in response to Shiny Head having eyebrows. Jip walked over and squatted down in front of him a few feet away. Easier to talk this way when the person he was talking to was looking off at everything, and he could stare at these eyebrows he spoke off.

“Those little slivers of hair? Well I suppose you do,” Jip laughed. Then when Draze finally introduced himself he nodded and replied, “Name’s Jipwirata.” Well perhaps Jip was finally making a friend after all his time here. Most people seemed to shy away from him, this one barely seemed aware of him. Before his opinion of the man could raise too much Draze spoke something utterly mad.

“Do you think I’d dress like a woman out of choice? he growled, jumping to his feet. “What warrior chooses that.” It was just weird and unnatural to cover and hinder yourself so much. Even the woman where he came from didn’t do that. “It’s a requirement for all trainees, or did they tell you otherwise? If you’re some bloody exception I demand the same choice! I’ll go find some ward right now and—!” Jip didn’t know what he’d do, give them a piece of his mind at least.

[Draze Crane]

Draze didn't get his feathers ruffled easily, he saw life as it was, and anger was a poor life manager. He did not strike out with his emotions, to prove his toughness. He was at peace with the fact that he was in a place of sanctuary, and guidance. Draze was here because he had no where else, he was here because he belonged. And everyone else, no matter how much interaction he had with them, little or great, was his family. They're the same as him, they all haven't had the same challenges, but he would put his life on the line for any of them. His dedication to the Jekore, though not publically announced, was strong. And he guessed, according to his time in sparring matches, that he wasn't weighing down the Jekore by any means. Draze didn't know Jip's intentions or mentality, but that didn't make him weary of the Wookiee. Even if he didn't notice it, Draze already had a good amount of trust for his fellow Jekore.

Draze reacted little to the Wookiee's curiosity of his eyebrows, shifting only his hands from their resting place on his knee caps to resting in the area between his legs, his forearms on his thighs. Drazes blue eyes scanned Jips, wondering if he was slightly put off by direct eye contact. In case he was, Draze slowly let his eyes flicker from the water, then to his own hands for a few moments. The Wookiee certainly had a long name, complicated to say, but Draze pronounced it completely and with little difficulty, looking at Jipwirata as he spoke. "Nice to meet you, Jipwirata." Pausing for a moment, he then fell silent as the Wookiee slowly angered over the possibility that he had special privileges to not wear the Jekore robes. Quite the contrary.

"I've been given no special treatment, nor would I even ask for it. I actually prefer my own clothing. I simply asked out of curiosity. Wookiees are not notorious for wearing clothes, so I assumed they would let the exception pass. However, you might've worn them out of respect out of Jekore. That is why I asked." That might've been the longest time he's talked in years. Draze couldn't even recall a time he had spoken so much. He could've sworn his jaw hurt from the amount of speech, but the most disturbing fact was that it was only a few sentences. Had he really been that recluse? Draze was never one for large social interaction, but he was borderline anti-social at this point. Slowly, but surely, he stood, walking past Jipwirata, and heading towards the surrounding water, sand and rocks of the vast, surrounding lake. He would have said something to Jip, if he knew what to say. It was like his, dream, or vision. Draze just felt drawn to it. Slowly, he sat on the sand. He knew this was quite weird, and perhaps awkward to Jipwirata, but he somehow couldn't stop himself. Whether it be curiosity or will. He looked out to the water, letting it relax his mind.

(Sorry if there's any confusion with this topic, but this temple is actually surrounded by a small lake and connected to the rest of the planet by underground tunnels. So, roleplay accordingly.)

[Jipwirata]

Oh. So Mr. Hairle---Draze also had to wear the dresses. Well that made everything better! Sort of. He still had to wear the dresses, which was bothersome, but at least that meant every other newblood and trainees had to wear them, too, and that was just the way it had to be if he had to. Jip had tried, to an extent, what Draze was suggesting could have happened. He had thrown a fit when he discovered what he must wear, but all that ended in was failure.

“Wookiees wear clothes,” Jip scuffed. Their clothes just covered less than human’s clothes usually seemed to do. It wasn’t necessary to wear more because of what they were. Not that it was a big deal if they didn’t because all their hair was a permanent sort of coat, but his people were civilized. Besides, there were other ways he could have shown his respect outside of dressing up like them. In fact Jip might act more respectful if he wasn’t so irritated all the time because he had to look respectful.

Shortly after he had refuted Draze’s claim, the man got up and walked right past him, barely seemed to notice him at all really, right to the edge of the lake where he then proceeded to stare at the water, or himself. Judging at how he had stared at everything else around them he was probably staring at the water. He didn’t look the narcissistic type to Jip.

Jip walked over just in case there was something interesting in the water. But when stood towering behind the sitting human, Jip only saw water and reflections. Well that was nice. Perhaps their little chat was over. He really ought to get to the Temple so he could then get to his food. Food was always a good course of action.

“Well I guess I should go…” he said, slowly backing away along the lake’s edge. He took turns glancing between Draze and the reflected Draze in the water. “See you around!” he declared and then spun around to leave. The idea was to dash off, but he’d only made it some feet before his legs hit something else. Jip only managed a brief moment of confusion, thinking But Draze is over there this time, before toppling over whatever it was he’d hit this time—straight into the water.

[Kazmer Seraphin]

Ward Kazmer Seraphin had been sitting on an issue for the past week or so now, contemplating what his next course of action should be and wondering if he was ready for it. He had been instructed of a number of young trainees awaiting instruction within the compound, and as a highly skilled Ward it was up to Kazmer to pick some up. Just recently a batch of his former students had ascended to the rank of Knight, so Kazmer had plenty of free time to dedicate to his new collection.

The question that had been hanging heavy on Kazmer's mind was which ones?

He had a very particular method of picking his trainees you see. Kazmer often went for the ones who seemed most aligned to the ways of Gok'Re, or had the same quiet demeanour that he himself had. Students with a keen interest in his jungles and how one could interact with such plant life through the force often piqued his interest quite well. Despite this, every once in a while Kazmer found himself longing for the ability to pick up every student! He disliked the fact that some were kept waiting within the Jekore for their teachings.

Still, he was but one man, a very little one at that! This was how it came to be with a heavy heart that Kazmer had selected his options. Where he would usually pick those like him, Kazmer had decided upon a completely different course for this particular batch of trainees. He had felt shifts in the force, its presence pulling him in a direction unfamiliar to him. So it was that Kazmer found himself picking up trainees very, very far from himself.

One, a Wookiee, was so different in size and culture from the little Kazmer that he was looking forward to guiding him in the ways of the force very much indeed. He also had a secret wish that the Wookiee would one day wish to return to Kashyyyk. Kazmer had a great interest in the huge trees found on the planet, and knew there was an extreme variety in both animal and plant-life on the planet.

His other selection, a human who Kazmer knew had come from a very troubling spot within the galaxy. A planet known as Abregado-Rae on which a myriad of criminals and generally ill-minded people congregated. It was something that Kazmer also wished to delve into more, to see what this boy had become, given such a birthplace. The Ward was of the belief that one's background should not affect their eventual destiny, and as such he was hoping to make this trainee his champion of that way of thinking. It was to be his greatest defence against some of the harsher opinions of the Ekrel wards, opinions against which Kazmer had been strongly disagreeing with for many a year.

Lost as he was in these thoughts, Kazmer neglected to follow the route his feet were taking him, and suddenly he was aware that he'd made his way along to one of the temples surrounded by a small lake. It was an odd place for him to be, as he never usually strayed too far from his little jungle. Nevertheless, he felt a sense of calm and tranquillity with his destination that suggested he was supposed to come here all along, that it was the force that had guided his footfalls, tha-

"Arugh!" Kazmer squeaked, something colliding with him hard followed by a splash.

Turning around Kazmer found himself faced with a very wet, very hairy beast thrashing about in the water. A closer inspection brought a small smile to the Wards old face. It was his first trainee! The little Wookiee!

"It seems both of us should have been more mindful of our surroundings..." Kazmer mused. "And you must be Draze Crane." he added, turning to the man standing nearby.

[Draze Crane]

And, as soon as his eyes glanced upon the tranquil waters, Draze's mind once again consumed him in thought. Wondering if the free time he was given, with no true direction, was pushing him farther and farther away from society. Even if he felt as though every Jekore was his friend, he couldn't help but think he was slowly building a wall around himself. And a second. And a third. And a fourth, until he finally finished a roof and floor, and with no source of light, would he fall into the metaphorical darkness? Draze did not know, but what he did know was that he saw no visible solution to his predicament. When Jip said that he was going to head back to the temple, Draze did not stop him, or respond, or even turn to watch him go. Just, felt, with every step he took away from him, that his fears would be realized. But at the moment, that's all they were, fears, something to barely pay attention to.

He had to admit that his mind did indeed sometimes pull him back to his little apartment that he shared with his mother and father. Fond memories of teachings, the rare occasion of leaving and getting groceries or playing a game with his father. Those memories he held dear to his heart, but he recognized that he might not ever have that again. He might be a lonely Jekore for the rest of his life, might not even make it past Ward. Draze knew that he would try his best, but even that could only go so far. Though, once more, Draze was pulled out of the sanctuary of his mind as he saw and heard Jip fall into the lake, from which he jumped up almost instantly. He watched as the Wookiee thrashed about, from which held most of his attention. Until, of course, he heard his name.

Turning his eyes to the Ward, he blinked slightly out of surprise. Once more, he was so distracted that he had not noticed the Ward approach him. Draze was now contemplating on working on his force skills, because they obviously needed work. Draze didn't have much to say to the Ward, slightly dumbfounded by the situation. He spoke anyway though, if out of nothing but confusion. "Hello." He said to Kazmer, looking back to Jip to see if he was okay.