Smoke Us A Kipper, We'll Be Back For Lunch

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

There were always so many things that were not allowed. They were forbidden, and they were placed into that ever-nebulous category of stuff that inevitably got you in trouble. And yet, they were also the things that children inevitably had to do. It was a part of the rights of passage that most if not all young ones had to pass through on their way to becoming adults. Like so many things in life, rebellion against authority in even the smallest of ways was something that was a universal constant. It was a given, and it was also often something that was so underlying that one could not really attribute it to the willful act of disobedience. It was also called growing up. Being a kid. Exploring the many things that being alive offered. Experiencing what the galaxy had to offer.

And it was certainly a big galaxy.



Two beings stood outside, enjoying the bright day and its' sunny offerings. The sky was clear, and not a cloud in sight. It was like how she remembered many days on Cathar, and Teagan breathing in deeply through her nose, eyes closing as she let her olfactory senses pick apart each and every scent. There was sweat mingled with the scent of fresh lumber and even a note of food mingled within. It was all so raw and new, like a fresh start to life, and the young Lupine exhaled through her mouth, letting herself very nearly lean into the massive figure standing beside her.

Kazahan.

It was a name that would've felt strange on her tongue, but in the years that she'd traveled with Dama and Dad and Sanis and Cirr and Daani and Zem, names and how they sounded when you rolled them off your tongue had become a little bit more... normal. There was diversity, but she'd grown a fair amount since her younger years, and Teagan found it easier to pronounce the many different words that'd come her way.

Finally, she looked up at her companion for the afternoon. Her partner in what she was sure to be a crime of sorts, but this crime... she had to know. She had to see. She had to experience this sensation, and so did Wyl. The two had discussed it, and had decided on their plan... in that there was no real plan, just the act and efforts needed to get what they wanted and needed.

"You really don't mind doing this?" she asked the towering Trianii.

[Kazahan]

“Of course Kazahan minds," the girl's companion responded, glancing down at her intently. “This is foolish. But this one thinks that I can say that five hundred times and you would still do it."

His intent eyes softened to a knowingly resigned tone, and he looked up, enjoying the breeze.

“Such things are not uncommon here. But they are possessed by soldiers, and miners in the far hills. Entering the base or traveling to the miners' camp are not things to be done alone for a young one like you. Therefore, as this one is unwilling to attempt to dissuade you by force, watching over you is the least Kazahan can do."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Teagan sent a lopsided smile upwards.

"Well thank you anyways."

Taking in one last breath, the Lupine leaned forward slightly, casting a gaze down the length of the dirt thoroughfare in one direction, then the other. People were out and about, but not a large amount, and she was willing to bet that as the day went on, more would be taking advantage of the good weather to spend their time outdoors. It was certainly a day that needn't be wasted, that was for sure.

Finally she stepped forward, and the Trianii followed suit, the two falling into step beside one another as they made their way along the road at a rather leisurely pace. As they walked, Teagan let her thoughts drift to what he'd said; she had no particular desire to visit the base, and the notion of visiting the miners was a much more interesting option. Dama had once said that a miner was one who dug into the earth for precious metals and jewels, and the girl had to wonder if those that Kazahan spoke of burrowed into the ground for valuable stones and baubles.

"What are the miners like?"

[Kazahan]

His last admonishment given, the Trianii set a slow, leisurely pace to the closest miners' camp, which was several kilometers away, though how many Kazahan wasn't sure.

"They are hard people with a hard life," Kazahan answered. "But with their callousness comes a strength. They can stand many things most of us Jedi would be hard pressed to deal with. At least at the moment."

Kazahan laughed, a though having suddenly occurred to him.

"It is like that saying, 'look too long into the abyss, and the abyss shall be reflected'. These people work with stone and deep earth, and they reflect that, you see. They are not without kindness, but they have little for themselves, and so little to spare for others."

Kazahan was struck with a sense of absurdity, that he was barely older than this girl (by a number of years, but the gap wasn't so much in truth), and yet he was speaking as if he were a wise elder. He wondered if that were what he had to look forward to in life, and thought that there were worse things. He carried his blaster, and had a large knife sheathed on his belt, along with some replacement power packs, but he kept alert, as they were getting farther away from their burgeoning town.

A fluttering insect entered his vision and he tried to catch it. It proved equal to the task however, keeping barely out of his grasp with slight changes in its position. He was enjoying himself a great deal, until it flew away and he couldn't help but feel sad at its leaving.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The description of the miners was one that Teagan was intensely interested in hearing, and the girl hung on the Trianii's words, eager for more.

"Some of the other padawans talk about them," she started as they walked, "... they say that they're uneducated and mean."

The descriptions she'd always been given had always seemed harsh to her, and the young Lupine only ever shrugged and went on about her own business. It wasn't like the padawans ever really talked to her as it was. Most of the time they gave her a wide berth and only spoke to her when they had to. It was an existence that she'd grown accustomed to. But the Trianii - Kazahan - had been anything but. He talked to her, and he always had time for her. He never looked at her with suspicion, and for that she always had a smile for him. These days, it seemed that only he and Zem treated her like a person, and not some sort of plague-bringer.

Reaching over to the side of the pathway that they now currently followed, she ran her hand over the tops of the tall grass.

"Seems to me though, that the miners are just tryin' to make a living."

[Kazahan]

"Some of them are very educated. Kazahan could not understand their words about depth and pressure, nor their comprehension of metals and their strengths. They may not have the education that you or the others have, but their understandings in some ways far outstrips ours. But the other padawans are right," Kazahan huffed a laugh. "They are mean. And you are right too: they are just trying to make a living."

He shrugged.

"Kazahan does not think too much about these things. This one only observes, and watches. Thinking too much doesn't grant intelligence. As Kazahan's mother always said: 'It is not being thoughtful that makes one smart, but how one thinks. Even foolish little cubs can become lost in thought.'"

They crested a hill, and there in the distance could be seen the miners' camp, dominated by a large metal crane from which was suspended a cable. Several buildings surrounded the main site, arrayed around it in a series of haphazard concentric circles.

"Ah," he said, enjoying the breeze that lightly danced around them. "It is still a fair distance away. But we are making good time."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She didn't have the height advantage that Kazahan did, but she could at least see the crane that rose above the mining camp. It cut starkly into the sky, out of place in the wild land. But, she supposed that the land itself was in the first stages of being tamed. Being pulled to the will of those who'd chosen it as their new home. Pursing her lips in thought, the girl wasn't sure if she liked that notion. It seemed strange to be concerned over, and as quickly as the initial thought had entered her mind, she brushed it away. It reminded her of some of the stories her Dama used to tell; of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and of Coruscant itself.

Huffing out a breath, Teagan stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her trousers.

"My Mom used to tell me stories from when she was young, and was living at the Temple on Coruscant. She said that the whole planet was one big city, and that it never slept and was always busy, and people were always coming and going."

Another look at the crane, and she bit her lower lip. Their progress was steady.

"Do you think that the Jedi and the Alliance are gonna turn Ossus into a planet like Coruscant?"

[Kazahan]

Kazahan grimaced, though for him the expression was a twitch of his ears and a firming of his mouth.

"One of those city planets?" he asked, turning his face to look at her seriously. "Kazahan hopes not. The hunting would be horrible. Good food needs land and water and air. Ruins are good spots for wildlife though, so perhaps in time Coruscant will be overgrown and sport amazingly tasty creatures."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

His answer was one that made her happy; she didn't think that she'd like a planet that was nothing but a huge city all the way around. Teagan gave an approving nod.

"I agree. Ossus is pretty like it is now," she gave a little shrug then, a quick upward jerk of her shoulders as her eyes stayed forward, going from the path ahead to the crane, then back to the path.

"I suppose a few cities are ok, though."

A few more minutes of thought, and she went on.

"My Mom told me too, that there are lots of animals on Coruscant, and some that will even eat you. She said that rich people would buy exotic animals from all over the galaxy, and then when they got tired of owning them, they'd just take their pet to the underlevels and abandon them. Though some escaped on their own. Animals like veermoks and narglatches and anoobas. There's probably lots of scurriers though, and voorpaks."

[Kazahan]

"Oh yes, Kazahan has seen such as what you speak of," the Trianii said. "But the main problem is eating. Without clean land and air and water, the eating is not so good. And Kazahan likes to eat well above most other things."

He patted his stomach and hummed.

"There is something lost in the flavor if a creature has never seen open sky, or tasted sunned wheat or grass or whatever it may eat, or felt the touch of rain. Kazahan has tasted many creatures and those are usually the best. But Kazahan can talk forever about hunting and food; this one has a question. Why do you wish to try smoking? This one is curious."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The question caught her off guard, but more than that it gave her pause. She hadn't really given the notion much thought beyond curiosity and the strange need to try it. Perhaps too, it was one of the few things that she could control, and decide for herself whether to do or not. Instead of going about her daily life being told to read some chapter-book or write some essy, or sit and 'meditate', or eat the food that was being made in the mess today, this was something that she herself could decide on. Well, it was done in mostly secret ways, but omitting the truth often helped far more than an outright lie. She just didn't have to say anything. At least Kazahan had agreed to help. He was the only one she could think of that would possibly do it.

"I dunno," again she shrugged.

"I guess I just wanna see what it's like, you know?"

She remembered one time, when Mr. Brecklin had come to their temporary home on Bothawui, and had brought her Dad a 'cigar'. It'd gotten her double rations of desert for that night for not telling her Mom, but she'd always been curious about the notion of putting a burning stick in one's mouth. It was just... strange.

And she wanted to try it.

"I mean, even if I don't like it, I can say that I tried it."

[Kazahan]

Kazahan gave her a considering look for a moment while they walked.

"Back on Trian, we smoked a moist herb paste as a communal activity. We would eat, and the elders would bring out the ngruka, and would sit and tell stories as they smoked. Kazahan was not much older than you when first this one smoked from it. It burned, but tasted like fruit from a far off island, sweet, yet like a fragrance," Kazahan huffed a laugh. "Kazahan could not breathe normally for the next day afterwards. It was considerably kinder than the dried plants smoked elsewhere."

He was silent a moment, and nodded once.

"Very well. We shall both experience this, and become wiser for doing so, yes?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She couldn't help the grin that flashed, and turning to look up at his, Teagan gave his arm a playful punch.

But, something he said caught her attention, and the girl couldn't help but ask her own question.

"How do you get something to taste like a fruit if you light it on fire?"

She'd grill him about whatever stories he'd heard on Trian later; oh, she'd ask, but she'd wait until a better time. The thought of hearing about what other tales people had to tell was an enticing one, and she wanted to make sure the time was just right.

[Kazahan]

Kazahan became quite animated.

"Oh! It is brilliant! First the fruit is taken and the juice is squeezed out. And then the juice is rendered down into a syrup, thick and with the texture of an oil. That is included in the process of curing the herb leaves, and it is packaged in a sealed oiled skin. But there are so many fruits and tastes and different varieties of herbs that the same herb with a different paste will only be similar to one who has the depth of taste to notice it. There are so many flavors! Too many for Kazahan to adequately tell of them all. But it is best when enjoyed with friends and family, because of its strength and the tales that are told when it is smoked. Those who smoke it alone, usually do so in mourning."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Teagan blinked at his answer, suddenly coming to a stop. They were almost to the miner's camp, but what he spoke of now grabbed her far more than the thought of her initial desire. She looked up once more to him as a strange sort of enthusiasm began to fall on her features.

All that he spoke of was so new and fascinating! The process and work that he'd spoken of that went into making fire taste like something completely different...

"Do you," she bit her lip, then finished in a voice that was slightly lower.

"... do you have any with you, here on Ossus? The Trianii stuff, that is."

[Kazahan]

"Alas, Kazahan does not. This one wishes it were not so, but the circumstances in which Kazahan left the Trianii worlds for Ossus meant that all such things were left behind."

Kazahan seemed to lose a bit of his cheer at the memory, but he did not seem despondent.

"Though this one does hope to be returning at some point," he said, brightening a bit at the prospect. "It is dangerous still to return, but perhaps at that point you would like to accompany me. Kazahan will be able to show you the world of his birth: wide plains and plateaus with forests and deep canyons. It is a marvellously varied world in terms of habitat and temperature. Kazahan is sure you would find it most interesting."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"Oh."

Well, it was a long shot anyway, so if he didn't have any then she wouldn't mind so much still going to the miner's camp. Though, the thought of burning leaves tasting like fruit had intrigued her enough. Starting forward again, Teagan considered Kazahan's invitation.

"I bet that'd be fun. I'd like to see your homeworld; it sounds wonderful."

Again her hands went into her front pockets, and looking up, the young Lupine guessed that they were another fifteen minutes away. The main shaft crane stretched up taller than ever, and seemed as though it was trying to touch the clouds that scudded and shifted their way across the blue sky.

[Kazahan]

"Of course it would be fun!" Kazahan exclaimed. "But it must remain merely a plan for now. It is still too dangerous to travel in Trianii space."

Kazahan followed Tak's line of sight to the top of the crane and the sky above it. The camp was getting closer, though there was still some time before they reached its outskirts. From this distance they could hear the sounds of throbbing engines, and the clang of cars upon the magnetic rails entering and exiting one of the shafts dug into a hillside.

"How goes training for you?" Kazahan asked suddenly, reminded of training in some obscure way by the sights. "You can borrow Kazahan's Master Solomon if you have any trouble, this one does not mind."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"It... goes."

Which was really the best way she could describe it. Truth was, she detested most of it, especially the meditating classes with Knight Hicchoru. Meditation always caused bad memories to creep in, and more often than she cared to admit, the girl had often done her level best to skip that aspect of her training.

"Sparring is sorta fun," she acknowledged.

"And Knight Loki's running trips. I like those."

Of course, she usually preferred her own forays into the wilds of Ossus, but she wasn't really ready to fess up to those. At Kazahan's mention of Master Sol, Teagan made a concerned face, keeping her eyes ahead.

"I dunno. I don't think I'm ready for him yet."

She was still nervous around the towering Jedi Master; she been reminded more than once by overheard whisperings among the other Padawans that it was her own mother that'd been responsible for the man's missing limbs. The thought of approaching him made her nervous.

"What about you?"

[Kazahan]

"Solomon is teaching Kazahan well, though this one is not the easiest to teach," Kazahan answered. "Kazahan cannot focus for meditation. Always this one is seeing the brightness of the light of the sun, the green of the leaves, and smelling the winds. The Force is not very loud, so Kazahan must always quiet himself. It is not easy."

Kazahan did not seem too troubled by his slow progress in that respect.

"But Kazahan is learning to control himself well. See, this one can jump very high now!" Kazahan jumped, ascending a respectable height before lightly landing next to Tak. "When it comes to Kazahan's own body, things come easily. Other than that..."

Kazahan shrugged, finding that body movement more eloquent than any words he could find.

"Kazahan will not stop until this one is strong enough to protect his people. These troubles are obstacles Kazahan will overcome soon enough."

While they were still some ways away from the camp proper, they were now coming upon the outskirts of the area the miners had cleared out for work. A large fence had been erected, posts settled in some twenty feet from each other with semi-transparent walls of energy humming between them. A guard house was situated right outside the fence with a few bored looking men sitting outside.

"Kazahan must warn Tak to stay close. Though it is unlikely they will harm you or Kazahan, some are more unscrupulous than others and may not exercise their better judgment."