Shae-Lahn sat quietly in the arboretum, gazing out across the ornamental trees and the hazy water of the pond a few meters away. He was deeply immersed in his studies, or at least what Daich wanted him to be immersed in. He idly turned the page of the heavy red bound book sitting on the clover in front of him. He sighed thoughtfully shifting his mind to the static, overly heady atmosphere of the plants surrounding him. Thoughts strayed to Sparta... quickly then to Veyskii. He sniffed and turned over ploshing his head down in the leaves and raising the book above his head. The pages flopped abound and he dropped the book on his chest giving into a whim and letting his consciousness slip to unimportant things for once.
"Master Silverhawk!"
He opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly from the sway of the clovers, "Huh-?" Only one person at the temples called him that, one that he had not heard in a long time. He sat himself up on his elbows, letting the book slide down his body and into a disarrayed heap on the ground. He turned around slightly, "We do not like to be interrupted..." He turned back forward, focusing on the far wall, leading the poor kid down a dead end road, "It had better be important." His accent burnishing a slight urgency on his words.
A young man walked in quickly and placed himself slightly down hill from Shae-Lahn, "I was wondering if I could have a bit of a talk with you?"
His grammar outshined the master, "Uum...no. I'm a bit busy at the moment."
The kid sighed and frowned, he was used to feeling rejected with this guy, "Why? You're just reading."
Shae-Lahn grabbed the book roughly from the floor and waved the spine in his direction, "Can't you see? This is important."
The young man sighed and looked down at the ground, "Yeah, fine. I guess I'll see you in another three years..." He pushed his hands down to his pockets and sauntered slowly off the path.
Shae-Lahn looked back at him, sighing, his thoughts remaining on his only true love. Her hair, her eyes, her words. The dark side shocked him back to reality, he growled and lifted himself to a sitting position next to the dimpled imprint of his body nearby. "Wait." If there was any way of staying alive, it was this; Veyskii would just have to stay in the back of his head where she was safe.
There was a scuffle at the door, the young black froth of strands turned around quickly, placing a squeak on the ferns. "What?"
Shae-Lahn regretted saying anything at all but forced himself to say it again, "Wait." This time there was a tint of apology in the mix. The kid came back and stood quietly in front of the master.
"Ok."
Shae-Lahn shifted and scratched his arm, his eyebrow twisting to curiosity, "What is it you wanted to speak to me about?"
A glimmer of a smile traced across the younger lips, hinting to hidden beauty, "I wondered if you would take me as an apprentice." He looked down at the ground quickly, automatically expecting rejection...which he got.
Shae-Lahn laughed with a high-pitched note, almost shaking the leaves nearby, "Never mind. You can go." He chuckled arrogantly, shaking his head.
Only this time the boy didn't move. Shae-Lahn stopped laughing, looking gravely at the testament in front of him, "What are you doing? Go."
The boy looked off to the side, casting his gaze quickly on the pond before forcing his eyes back on the master, "Why not?"
There was a tinge of anger in his voice, not entirely unusual. Shae-Lahn swallowed, thinking of a reason he would actually believe, "You know I don't do things like that, I'm not going to take an apprentice. I'm not good material for being a mentor..."
The boy shifted, deciding internally if his next words would be too risky, he proceeded, "Bull shit." Shae-Lahn giggled. "You know you're one of the greatest warriors this collegiate has ever trained. You're the best."
Shae-Lahn straightened his face, "I never asked to be an idol, and I still don't want to be one."
The boy shook slightly, knowing that he was right, and that it wouldn't hurt to burn it in a little more, "You know you're the primacy...and you don't care?"
Shae-Lahn groaned, "Why!? Why are you doing this to me? I don't want to train anyone!" He stood up, grabbing his book and folding the pages quickly back together, his hands flying into a frenzy of frustration, "And I certainly don't want to train you!!"
The kid looked stung. He grumbled at words but instead he just turned and ran off, leaving Shae-Lahn angry in the clover. He bent over, grabbing his knees, sitting back down. He shut his eyes tight, flushing out all thoughts of his lovers, sexual and otherwise. He dug his fingers into the beige cover of the abused book, quietly speaking to himself, "If he comes back...train him."
After a moment he opened one eye, looking around, seeing him nowhere. He opened the other. He stretched out across the clover once again, gazing at his chrono, shaking his head. "I knew it." He gripped the book tightly and stood up, preparing to leave the arboretum when he stopped dead in his tracks.
The silent sight of Leesko Brevin, leaning against the wall looking sullen. He kicked his heel into the wall and approached the master, the same look of defeat in his eyes. He stopped defiantly in front of him, removing his hands from his pockets and crossing his arms, "I came back."
Shae-Lahn's mouth hung open at the sight, his eyes blinking with a quiet sound that was loud in the deathly quiet room. "I...uum..."
Leesko slapped him on the arm, "Have to train me now huh!?"
Shae-Lahn's open gap of a mouth shifted into a shocked and amused grin. He laughed, "I guess I do."
Leesko smirked and sniffed, "Yeah."
The dark haired boy turned with conviction and walked off with a deep stalk. Shae-Lahn took a deep breath and contemplated the exchange that just happened, his eyes locking through the windows, past the overgrown ferns to the kid stepping off with a newfound air of cynicism. He looked back at Shae-Lahn, a look of supreme hate shining through his pupils. The master chuckled, "Well what do you know? He's more of a bad ass than I thought..."
The Training Will Continue...
DISCLAIMER: Any characters directly from Star Wars are not mine and belong to God (George Lucas) The characters portrayed in this fiction are of my own creation however.