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[hadthehighground]

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[diffidentive]

A-Ah! Right...sorry. I didn't mean to distract you from that...

[The shade turns his head back in the direction of the light switch, which flicks itself back on. In that instant where darkness becomes light, Shuichi's body dissipates. Like a puff of smoke, he's suddenly nothing but shadows hovering in a seated position over the couch again.]

[hadthehighground]

[Obi-Wan just has to laugh at Shuichi's apology. A clearly amused expression on his face as the lights came back on.]

Shuichi there is no need to apologize, but I didn't want your tea to go to waste either.

[Picking it up, he takes a sip and finds that its still plenty warm.]

It's good too. The teas here are a bit different where I'm from, and I haven't tried many of them yet.

[diffidentive]

Oh, um... [The shade gives a nervous little laugh, raising an overly large, shadowy claw to rub at the back of his neck.] Well you didn't need to worry about that. I can't drink or eat any more, after all.

[Which explains why he only brought one mug out with him.]

But it's the same for me...there are plenty of teas here that are similar to ones in my world, but there are just as many that seem to be completely absent here. But it was nice to try all the different varieties here, when I still could!

[hadthehighground]

Ah, yes, I suppose that's true.

[He hadn't quite thought about that yet, but it did make sense. It also made Obi-Wan wonder if his way of eating and such would be altered. He hadn't been a nymph long enough to really be sure.]

Well, if an occasion ever comes that you can have tea again, I will have you try the blend I made from wild herbs.

[diffidentive]

Mm! [He nods.] I will, if that time comes. Which...I guess isn't totally impossible, given that it happened once already, thanks to the poachers...

[As much as he hopes they've been put out of business for good...maybe someone else will find a way of changing a person's monster type further along down the line. Shuichi can only hope.]

[hadthehighground]

[Hm, the poachers. They had created quite a bit of harm with all of their activities. This likely wasn't going to be the last they would see of them, though he hoped they would be down for quite some time. Though he doesn't particularly want to go into details about what happened to him recently, so he instead focuses on his young friend while he sips at his tea.]

So tell me, Shuichi. Aside from the incident with the poachers, how has life been for you since we last spoke?

[He had learned a great deal about Shuichi's past thanks to the dreamscape, but didn't know much about what he did with his time here.]

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi is more than happy not to talk about the poachers. He was lucky enough to not be taken, but the latest mess has still impacted him. Taking care of Kokichi has been hard...not in the sense that it's particularly difficult for him to do, but rather it's just been hard for him to see the damage they did to his closest friend.]

It's been pretty uneventful apart from that, not that I'm complaining. I'm more than happy with uneventful. Mostly I've just been working and spending time at the library or with Oma-kun.

[The answer is not much. He does not do much with his time here, Obi-Wan. Shuichi is kind of a boring kid.]

[hadthehighground]

Is that all?

[Obi-Wan is a bit surprised at the uneventful life that Shuichi seemed to be leading. The Jedi’s time here has been full of things going on that he could barely keep up with it. Though the boy deserved a more quiet life after what he had endured in his past.]

I would have thought you would have more friends. There is no lack of young monsters here, after all.

[diffidentive]

[The shade's shoulders seem to sag a little bit, but he recovers quickly and gives a feeble little chuckle.]

I've...never been a particularly outgoing person, I guess. [More like the exact opposite. He's almost debilitatingly shy, on top of being the sort of person who doesn't like to bother other people. He's trying to get better about it, but his friend circle is still pretty small.] I do have some friends that I've met here, we just...don't spend as much time together.

[hadthehighground]

I see. You prefer the quiet life then. That is something I can understand.

[If that was Shuichi's way, then he wouldn't judge him for it. Obi-Wan liked to have his peace and quiet as well, though he could only have so much of it. He had to be out there and doing something occasionally too.]

So you like to read then? I haven't been to the library yet, myself. What sorts of books do you like?

[diffidentive]

[He nods.]

Yes...to both, actually. I like pretty much all kinds of books, though. I suppose mystery novels or non-fiction books would be my favorites, but I really enjoy action and suspense stories too.

[Reading about action is more than enough to satisfy him, honestly. He doesn't need to be out living it.]

But, really, so long as it looks interesting and is well-written, I'm willing to at least give it a try.

[hadthehighground]

[Taking another sip of tea, Obi-Wan smiles as that seems much like Shuichi to enjoy mystery novels. He was glad that his young friend had something he could enjoy here.]

Yes, that does suit you. I’ve always enjoyed reading about history, science and other cultures myself.

[Obi-Wan didn’t read just to entertain himself but also to expand his own knowledge.]

You would likely have enjoyed the Jedi Temple Archives. The most vast collection of knowledge in the galaxy, with stories that were stranger than any fiction.

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi's eyes widen and he gives a sort of appreciative little gasp.]

That does sound like the sort of place I could easily spend hours at a time in. [He giggles.] Maybe even days at a time if there's a whole galaxy's worth of information in there. I've always liked libraries, and I really love learning new things...

[Though he tends more towards history than science, himself.]

[hadthehighground]

You could easily spend months there.

[This is said with a chuckle as the nymph took another sip of tea.]

My master used to have me sit in the archives researching things for him. At the time I resented it as other students were running around having adventures. But I came to appreciate it as I learned a great deal.

[diffidentive]

Well, yes, but hopefully not all at once! [Shuichi is the sort of person who loses great dollops of time at once to reading and researching...but even he isn't so hopeless that he'd let months slip by without his noticing. That's what he meant.]

So is that where you learned about the Force, then? The Archives?

[You promised you would tell him about the Force, someday, Obi-Wan! Consider: today.]

[hadthehighground]

[Obi-Wan just chuckles, because well, he had spent a lot of time there and not always by choice! Though Shuichi's next question brought thoughtful pause because he had said he would tell him about the Force didn't he?]

Not exactly. I was learning about the Force since I was three years old. When I was brought to the temple and enrolled as a student. The archives were a tool to help in my learning, though.

[He didn't remember a whole lot when he was that young, but it was the truth.]

[diffidentive]

[Surprisingly, the fact that Obi-Wan was enrolled as a student when he was only three years old doesn't seem to faze Shuichi very much. After all, it's not uncommon for some Japanese parents to send their children to kindergarten at that age.]

[Though he also doesn't realize exactly what "brought to the temple" means...he's kind of assuming it's like school. That he'd go to the temple for a set number of hours a day, then return to his family, rinse and repeat.]

I see. So...what exactly is the Force? You said you could feel the world and life through it, right? So it's some kind of...unseen connection between all living things, then?

[hadthehighground]

[Yes there are some important details there that he is essentially glossing over. They tended to be controversial to those that did not understand the Jedi. They had been accused of being baby thieves before when it was further from the truth.]

Trying to explain the Force is like trying to explain the meaning of life, and quite literally at that.

[Another sip of tea was taken and he took a moment to savor the flavor before going on.]

The Force is life itself, and is a part of all things. It's an energy that binds everything together in the galaxy.

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi listens quietly, his shadows undulating in their usual slow, steady rhythm.]

I see...in my world, there were many cultures that believed in something like that. A life energy that flows through everything. But nobody's ever found actual evidence of such a thing...so it's never been more than a spiritual belief. But I'm guessing that's not the case in your galaxy?

[hadthehighground]

That’s correct. Of course there are those who don’t wish to believe it, but even they can’t deny that there is something behind those of us who have extraordinary abilities. If anything we are the proof.

[There are other ways to prove it too but the Jedi were certainly the most visible source.]

Or at least we were. Now that the order is gone, I fear the Force will fall into darkness and obscurity.

[diffidentive]

E-Eh? [Wait, what?] Wait so...there's nobody other than the Jedi who study and use it?

[hadthehighground]

Not exactly.

[Obi-Wan pauses as he knows this could lead into the very messy business that is the history of the Jedi Order and the recent drama that had unfolded back home.]

You see, the only people that can actually use the Force are those of us who have been born with a sensitivity to it. Those sorts of individuals are few and far between, and the ones that are found are brought to the temple for training, which is the only school for those like us. That's how it has been for millenia.

The only exception being an even more rare group that we had long thought extinct until my lifetime. They are known as the Sith, and study the dark side of the Force, while the Jedi are only students of the light.

[diffidentive]

[And that's when it clicks. If the temple is the only school in an entire galaxy for those who can use the Force... Yeah, he left his family behind at the age of three, didn't he? He wasn't just going to a special kindergarten or something, he was...]

[Wow.]

That's... [Jeez. Just jeez. He's not even sure what it is, exactly. Aside from a good set up to a sprawling space opera. Which is exactly what it is, at least in his world. The shade frowns slightly, staring down at the coffee table.] Even if the order is gone...people will still be born with sensitivity to it, right? Or is it...something that only passes down genetically?

[hadthehighground]

[Obi-Wan can see and hear the surprise, or was it horror, in reaction to what he was telling the shade. It didn’t really surprise him. Most wouldn’t know such a life and not understand it.]

No it’s not genetic, not really. It can be, but often it just shows up randomly.

With the Order gone, there will be no balance in the Force. Those born with sensitivity will either never know it, be unable to control it, or they will be used for evil by the Sith now ruling the galaxy. That is if they are simply not killed. Either way it is a tragic outcome.

[diffidentive]

[It's mostly surprise. Surprise and disbelief, but not really horror. After all, there are worse things that studying to be separated from your family for at such a young age. Plus, the Jedis hardly seem as though they would be cruel to the children they take in...it's simply a different way of being raised.]

[The shade is silent for a few moments, clearly thinking hard on his response.]

No doubt, that is exactly how things will play out for a while. But...the Jedi came from somewhere initially, right? Is it not possible that those born with sensitivity can learn to control their powers through their own experimentation? And is it not just as possible that those who are kind-hearted might eventually form an order similar to the Jedi? One that focuses on using their abilities for good, rather than evil?