[The First Pillar] Nature Walk

[Serena Laran]

"Again," Serena said, her voice neither commanding or sympathetic. Impassive. Calm. "Do it again."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

It took a moment for Draiya to gather her breath, and she spent that moment with her eyes on her master.

"It's mind...against yourrs. How? How can I possibly hold on to that? That's impossible."

Even now, the brilliant energy of Serena awed her. It wasn't the power she displayed, it was everything that was held back. And in sensing the eclipsed sun in her master's potential, Draiya harbored doubts to it's impossibility. Serena could, certainly. Couldn't she?

Draiya's eyes once more turned back to the meadow, a look of deep uncertainty etched on her face.

[Serena Laran]

"So, you want to give up, after your first attempt?" Serena's voice was quiet. "You can do it. Just... focus."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

She shifted her footing, rolled her shoulders, and pressed her tongue between her lips to wet them.

Focus

Find a distant song and never lose the tune

Somehow, it wasn't a hardship for Draiya to find her distant wary companion once more. Whether by familiarity or some other means, it drew her senses in. Once more, the Syragori girl explored the world through borrowed senses, her own vision slowly shrouded by falling eyelids.

"Focus" she whispered, barely more than a movement of her mouth as she drew a hand up to frame fingers at her temple. She could hear her own heart and the heart of the meadow hare. Hers, slower and heavier. His, a light and quick tempo. Seeming discord that became harmony.

[Serena Laran]

"Think of it as picking out one instrument in the music while the orchestra plays. The harmonies are all around you, but you can hear that one flute, playing its tune." Serena watched the girl concentrate, and was pleased with how well she was doing. "And you can influence the melody. Too much and the chorus falls apart, not enough and the flute will not be changed."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Taking her master's words to practical use, Draiya was no longer simply listening. She lent her own living presence into the connection, feeling the sympathetic harmony in the invisible binding tie. Testing it's limits, she drew back her presence, but could sense the object of her attention clearly even among the picture as a whole. A smile began to grow on her face as Draiya reached out to the distance, again plucking the string to hear it's unique sound set against the whole.

"It's amazing..." she breathed out in wonder. "It's so clearr."

[Serena Laran]

"You are doing well," Serena encouraged her. Now that Draiya had found a way to focus through the noise, she would be able to practice it and fine tune her ability. Distractions in the middle of nature were different than distractions in the middle of a difficult negotiation or the middle of a speeder chase.

She put her hand on her padawan's shoulder, using the Force to sense what Draiya was concentrating on.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

A third chord introduced itself into the harmony as Serena reached through Draiya's connection. The Syragori girl's eyebrows raised at the new sensation, though keeping her eyes closed. She found the common energies between the three, which seemed to reinforce her connection not only to the meadow hare, but also to her master. Through Draiya, Serena could see into her second sight, and through to her object of interest.

The tension ebbed in Draiya's posture. She pulled back her focus and perspective bit by bit, allowing more and more of the world around her into view. Even opening herself now didn't obfuscate the link she'd carefully built, and Draiya discovered she could transition between each with less and less effort.

[Serena Laran]

Serena smiled, glad that her padawan was enjoying a new understanding of her world and her abilities. "The first pillar, the Force, is the hardest to master. But once you have, the other pillars have a firm foundation upon which you can build."

She drew the weight of her attention away from what Draiya was doing and sat back on a fallen log, watching her padawan explore nature. It was good.