The Second Pillar: Knowledge [Draiya]

[Serena Laran]

She smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Then tell me about it. I haven't read it, you have: can you explain the concepts to me?" Serena nodded toward the book in Draiya's hands. "Too much information at once can be hard to process. You may need to read it over again, take notes, and really ingest the contents." She tapped her temple. "Up here, not down here," she pointed at her stomach with a grin.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

She hadn't expected to be called on the spot, and Draiya licked her dry lips as she shifted her feet. Not exactly prepared for a book report.

"Okay..."

A hand pushed away a few flyaway strands of hair behind an ear, and she made furtive eye contact with her master.

"...so, the way I was taught, and I guess the way most Jedi arre taught about the forrce is that it's a sense in and of itself. Like, with the blind trraining and the rremotes, rright? Don't trrust yourr eyes, trrust in the forrce."

Her hoarse voice cracked a little, and Draiya coughed in a hand to clear it.

"Okay, so that's trrue, but it's not entirrely trrue. What we see, feel, hearr, all of that, it affects us and doesn't exist on an island."

[Serena Laran]

Serena nodded encouragingly and lifted a hand, pulling a bottle of water from the bag at her feet with the Force. She handed it to her padawan. "And what does that mean? To you."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya quenched her thirst, using the momentary break to gather her thoughts. Returning the cap to the bottle, she wiped at her mouth with the back of a hand.

"It means that when someone experriences something, that it changes them in theirr rrelationship to the forrce. It's a small change, but one who can look forr it should see it."

Draiya considered the best example to start with, and the padawan turned to a nearby shelf, rummaging through some of the items she knew were there. Finding what she was after, Draiya held up the old Jedi testing screen that was commonly used to gauge the force potential of younglings and other candidates.

"Masterr Solomon tested me with this when I firrst got herre, and I failed it everry time."

The Syragori's studious eyes fixed to the screen as she turned the device on, watching images of objects cycle by that were meant to test a Jedi's extrasensory skills.

"What if I failed because my attention was on the device, and not on the teacherr?"

[Serena Laran]

"That is likely," agreed Serena. "Only a child who showed unusual aptitude for electronics might be able to 'read' the screen without paying attention to the one holding the screen."

She paused, adding, "Have you been tested with this device since that initial failure?"

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya shook her head.

[Serena Laran]

"And what did Master Solomon say to you, when you failed?"

[Draiya Naaianeya]

She still remembered the feeling of disappointment on that day. She'd been brought to Ossus for a chance at a new life, only to have her first impression given being that of falling flat on her face.

"He said that it was okay, and sometimes we'rre just gifted in differrent ways."

Which, at the time, seemed like he was just trying to be nice. Draiya didn't realize he was imparting an honest lesson. She shook her head at the thought. No, no, this was changing the subject.

"But I'm saying that I can pass this test now, and that's just the starrt of it."

[Serena Laran]

Serena raised an eyebrow, smiled, and flicked on the testing screen, facing it away from her padawan. "Then show me what you've learned."

The screen began to cycle slowly through a variety of images as Serena looked at them, giving Draiya time to think and identify them if she could. A speeder. An avian in a nest. An astromech droid. A simple triangle. An insect.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya took a few moments to ready herself, inhaling deeply, then letting her breath ease out through her nose. Her eyelids became heavy, then closed as she embraced her other sight. Immediately, the radiant living force of Master Laran filled her senses, dimming the presence of everything by it's proximity. She'd learned how to handle this, however, and Draiya didn't allow Serena's intensity to overwhelm her. Instead, she stared into the sun, looking into Serena directly. Mindful not to stray and find herself too deeply within her master's mind, Draiya took to the lessons she'd recently learned. There was a connection, hard to sense against the storm of color, but it remained. It was this simple thread that kept Serena grounded to the world around her that she could see.

The Syragori Padawan pressed her tongue against dry lips as she tested the tether. She wasn't entirely sure what she would find. Her study on second sight had been more conceptual than practical, but Draiya believed in the concept. What her senses delivered wasn't literally sight through another set of eyes, but rather a thought. A simple recollection as the mind sorted what the eyes delivered.

"A landspeederr."

A mild look of surprise formed on Draiya's face as she fished the first passing recollection from the ether.

"A birrd. Sitting. A nest."

[Serena Laran]

Serena kept the smile from her face until Draiya had successfully named ten separate images, and then she turned the screen to show her the last one before putting it down. "All correct." She smiled. "An excellent start, Draiya. What would you like to try next?" She could think of a few suggestions, but she wanted to see what her student would come up with on her own to test and stretch this new facet of her abilities.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

"If I can see thrrough anotherr's eyes, and I can prroject my thoughts, then I could keep connected wherre no otherr means might worrk."

The Syragori splayed her fingers over her knees.

"Guide a parrtnerr thrrough a task that I can't see myself orr interract with. Test the limits of what I see, and how much depends on the perrception of the otherr mind at worrk."

It was a strange epiphany for Master Laran to ask her to construct her own lesson. It was as if it made Draiya consider the constraints of what she intended and what she might be able to achieve.

[Serena Laran]

"I think I know ..." Serena's voice trailed off. "Just a moment. Yes, I know how we can do this, but it will take a little time to set up. Meet me back here tomorrow morning, and I will have everything ready. You can have the afternoon off from hospital duties." She smiled warmly. "You are doing well, Draiya. I am proud of you."

The next day, Draiya walked in to find sheets had been suspended from the ceiling, creating two walled off cubicles. Drax stood sheepishly outside one of them, his sucker-fingers trembling a little as Serena explained what was going to happen. "There is a puzzle in here, five hundred pieces. Drax will have all the pieces, while you have the datapad with the finished picture on it. You will guide him through it."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

The moment of praise was taken with a demure "thank you", and a feeling that warmed up her middle. This discovery meant a great deal to Draiya, who was still trying to find herself and her path. It was no small thing to hear her Master's approval at her choice of direction.

The next morning, however, Serena showed exactly what she had in mind. Surprise etched plainly on the Syragori's face, her eyes widening nearly as big as her counterpart's. Drax hooted a few questions in Rodian, and Draiya began to look at the picture. A family at a picnic. Okay, lots of colors, a blanket, a basket, a mom, a dad, and two kids. Easy, right?

Draiya tossed an unsure glance at Drax before she was ready to move beyond the veil. A quick glimpse into second sight confirmed the wreath of living force around him, similar and different from everyone. The Syragori's eyes half-lidded as she took a few measured breaths.

Drax. Can you feel me?

[Serena Laran]

Drax was nervous, but doing his best to be calm. When he felt Draiya speaking in his head, the Rodian visibly jumped. He turned his eyes on her, and nodded. He hooted lowly, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Try to keep your mind clear," Serena suggested to Drax, guiding him into his cubicle. "Don't resist. And Draiya," she said, turning to her padawan. "Do not push. If he resists you, then take a step back and give him some space."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya nodded to her master's words, but didn't reply. She was absorbed in the task of keeping the mental link established. Her eyes fluttered under closed lids, seeing a world of perceived color. Taking a brief moment to crack open her eyes, the Syragori glimpsed at the final product, then promptly closed again.

The bottom edge. There is a pond. Greenish blue water. One edge smooth.

She watched through Drax's eyes as he bumbled through a pile of pieces, grabbing wrong ones before tossing them away.

Not, there. There.

He still wasn't grabbing the piece she could clearly see. Draiya bobbed her head, brow furrowing slightly.

That one. No, higher. Lower. Higher.

[Serena Laran]

Serena sat quietly opposite the cubicles, watching both padawans as they tried to work together. Drax was learning to trust in his teammate, while Draiya stretched her newfound ability to its limits. A five hundred piece puzzle was complicated enough that Drax couldn't figure it out without her help, and after a few minutes of serene silence he clutched at his head.

"Just tell me which one! Your thoughts - they are coming too fast. One on top of the other!"

And with that, the dam was broken. The two padawans bantered and called back and forth, and the puzzle began to take shape. After an hour, Serena called the session to a halt, and Drax and Draiya switched places to see what the other had in front of them.

"Excellent work, both of you." Serena smiled encouragingly.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

She was exhausted. When Draiya opened her eyes at last, her lids felt heavy. Her muscles were taut from remaining in a deliberately-fixed pose for an hour. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She shuffled over to take a look at hers and Drax's combined handiwork. When she saw a confirmation with her eyes what her senses had already seen, the Syragori girl's face drifted into a tired smile.

"We...we did it."

Draiya sighed, pushing her face into the palms of her hands, which pushed up her forehead to rub the accumulated sweat up into her hair. She dropped her hands to her sides, but the smile didn't go away.

"I knew we could do it."

[Serena Laran]

Drax rubbed his head with his long fingers, bulbous eyes closing for a moment.

"We did not finish," he hooted softly.

"You got quite a bit done," said Serena. She looked at the exhausted padawans. "Go ahead and take the rest of the day off."

The Rodian padawan didn't need telling twice. Drax hurried out of the tent, leaving them behind.

Serena turned to Draiya. "You do not need to come for your shift at the hospital, if you need more rest. You've done very well - and I am going to write this exercise up for the rest of the Council to look over. It is a remarkable skill."