Happenstance by the Fountain

[Serah Kleor]

Serah still felt awkward around the Enclave, although the feeling was slowly dissipating. Being addressed as Padawan was still weird, especially as she had not sought out anyone to train her. At least, she had been able to find ways to keep busy and make herself useful, thus feeling like she was earning her keep and not being a parasite. Her adoptive family had always valued hard work, though not at the expense of rest. Helping with some mechanical repairs had helped her ease into her new life.

Truth was that as much as she had trusted that Jedi back on Uyter, she still was uncertain, and a bit curious, as to how things would unfold on Ossus. She was still learning her way around the Enclave, and she didn't necessarily feel any closer to reunite with her twin sister. Yet her spirits were alright, and the challenges that navigating a new environment required, were met head on for the most part. She was happy that her family had ingrained in her how to ask questions without feeling embarrassed.

She had been tempted to go to the library on several occasions; but given her first experience with the Jedi older tech that wasn't friendly to vision-impaired individuals like her, she had postponed it so far.

That meant that when she had free time on her hands, she was more likely to explore the Enclave, especially after having spent hours sitting while fixing something.

The teenager had just gone back to her quarters to clean up and put on some fresh clothes before heading out for the rest of the day. It was late afternoon by the time she made it back outside. The breeze was picking up a little bit and she smiled, remembering home for a moment.

The half-Miraluka hummed to herself as she followed the usual path taking her towards a favorite fountain of hers. She missed having actual lakes in the immediate area, though she had heard rivers and lakes existed on this planet too. So the quiet drip of the fountain's water soothed her.

As she neared her first stop of her leisure trail, she stopped on her tracks, sensing someone else's presence, no one she was familiar with. While her gifts were still raw, her magical sense so to speak, as she used to call it as a child, made her very attuned to life around her.

[Desmond Nil’vak]

There were days where Desmond missed the fields of his home planet of Dantooine. There were also times and places, however, that if he did not think too hard on the differences, he could swear that Ossus and his former home were practically the same. He had been told it would not do for him to dwell on the past, that his mind should always be present and each second experienced to the full of his senses; but there were times between lessons and assigned tasks where the man of Ashla allowed himself the guilty indulgence.

He had been on the planet since it's settlement, been silently present in every class available to him, and yet Demond still found himself reluctant to allow himself to be considered a Padawan. The term had been for those freely embracing themselves, those who learned to walk the path of the Light and become Jedi. It was a lofty goal, one his own destiny had proclaimed he was to be set towards, but years of teaching he was not worthy of such things were hard to set aside. It was the first goal he had truly set himself, and each day he inched ever closer.

Strangely, it was the times of nostalgia that allowed him the advancements rather than the times spent in study. When he was surrounded by nothing but nature; when the breeze carried not tutoring but bird calls; when he actually allowed himself to open to experiences that had been forbidden; it was then that Desmond felt he could almost grasp what it could be like to be one with Ashla, to truly be not just it's servant but an ambassador, a representative of all the Good that the universe could be.

It was almost overwhelming, but the earth beneath his booted feet served as the very reminder he needed to be grounded in such ideas. Today, Desmond's wanderings had taken him to a fountain he had discovered had been established. It had proved a good place for quiet reflection and meditation, far enough away from the compound that the voices of the others did not carry, but near enough that he could visit and return quickly should the need arise.

He had almost missed the sound of the approaching footsteps, had not truly clued into them until they abruptly stopped. The man, clothed in modest sand colored variations of the standard tunic and loose fitting trousers that the Jedi had equipped him with, opened his eyes and turned his head towards the sudden absence of foot falls. While he still had difficulty making sense of what he felt through the Force, he trusted in the Light to guide him enough to believe his senses in that Desmond felt there was no urgency coming towards him, no reason to rise to his feet from where he sat at the edge of the fountain. Likewise there was no reason to call out for whomever had approached to identify themselves, they would do so on their own time.

[Serah Kleor]

The half-Miraluka's attention stayed upon the quiet man for a moment. She eventually walked up to a couple of meters away from where he stood. While the fountain was by no means a deserted place, she had rarely run into other people there. She didn't know why but it was how she had experienced it so far.

She believed the man to be a Jedi. There was a certain quality and potency to his aura; which was different from some of the natives, or the Alliance forces stationed on Ossus. She was curious about him, even though it also made her sense of inadequacy rear its head for a moment.

She took a slow breath, and pushed such distracting thoughts aside. Instead, she decided to stop being awkward and spoke up.

"Hello, I'm Serah. I hope I didn't intrude," she offered with a smile.

Truth be told, she could use to socialize with more Jedi, as it was her new home at this point. Yet she had remained at the edge of the Order, or so she felt. She still worked on the little she had learned over the years by herself, mostly her inherited perceptions that helped counterbalance her genetic blindness. Yet she hadn't got involved in any formal training.

[Desmond Nil’vak]

"Not at all," His voice came freely, a reaction rather than a thought answer.

It took the silence that fell after he had spoken for Desmond to truly consider his reply. Had the woman actually intruded?

Certainly not. This was not a private sanctuary, nor was he deserving of such things. The space was wild, free, and open to any who happened to stumble across it; a quiet respite for those who couldn't entirely be considered adventurous. It distracted him from Serah's presence briefly, to think upon those who had built the fountain and what their purpose had been...

But it was the silence, suddenly broken by a shrill bird call that brought him back entirely to the present - where he belonged. It was then that he focused himself to actually look upon the other who had wandered upon the fountain. She was younger than he was, that much was clear immediately, but as Desmond recalled - such was true for quite a few of the members of the Jedi Order and those that worked alongside them. Serah to his perspective, as inadequate as it was, seemed... not frightened, but not entirely at ease.

Perhaps that was the silence's fault. It was comforting to him, a reminder of days being raised without even so much as whispering to another... but here? Elsewhere?

"I'm sorry if I-"

Stop apologizing, Desmond.

He wasn't certain which of the Jedi Masters' voices the memory came from, maybe multitudes. It was his habit since his arrival, to accept blame that wasn't his to bear or didn't even exist until he chose to create it. The others had been trying to break him of it, to show him that there was peace to be had, comfort and compassion to uphold, without readily accepting guilt and blame upon oneself. They were right, in certain situations... and this was certainly one of them. His merely being at the fountain did not cause pain to this woman, there was no need to atone for his actions... and yet...

"I can leave if you wish? I would be loathe to break the peace of this place for you with my presence."

Another error occurred to him, one which he felt immediately abashed for making. She had offered her name, and he?

"My name is Desmond, by the way. I am a one of the learners here on Ossus."

[Serah Kleor]

Serah smiled at the man's response that she hadn't intruded. She was still leaning how things operated around the Enclave, and for the little she had seen, the Jedi were quite a varied group of people. Frankly, she still felt more comfortable at the edge of said group. It was a big change given the quiet life she had lived on Uyter for most of her past.

She knew that Ossus was where she was supposed to be; and she was a woman of her word; but she still didn't really know how to fit in.

That was probably why she just stood awkwardly before the man, the silence eventually broken by a bird that had little to no care for the two weird beings figuring how to interact by the fountain. Nature was soothing and sometimes in a solid "cut the crap" kind of way. The thought brought a grin to the brunette's lips.

She was surprised when the man began to apologize. As far as she was concerned, he had no reason to. She shook her head when he offered to leave.

"Oh no! I don't mean to chase you away. I'm just easily confused about how people are expected to behave and where and all around the Enclave."

She smiled and bowed her head to him, her long brown tresses slipping over her shoulders as she did as such.

"I suppose I am one of the learners too. Granted the only learning I've really been doing is how to navigate the area."

She believed she was able to call herself a padawan; but she wasn't sure she had earned the title yet.