More Skills [Jocelyn]

[Lynmeira]

It was the late morning when Lynmeira headed off to the Dojo of the Jedi temple. She had spent most of the last hours doing some readings, at least, after having tended to her daily training routine with which she began her day.

Dressed in her brown and beige Jedi robes, the tall brunette had summoned her young student for them to work on new skills for the padawan. She was still learning to be a teacher but had a few things in store for the girl. For the time being, she preferred working at a slow but steady pace for them both.

She sat on a bench outside of the Dojo, eyes half closed in meditation as she waited for her pupil to show up.

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Oh boy! Training day!!!

Jocelyn Jaeger's life had been turned on its head in recent days. Still hyper from her reunion with her mother, she literally skipped to the dojo with a permanent grin stuck to her face. It had lifted a huge weight off the young girl's shoulders, knowing that her mother was still alive after so little contact with her. Mother and daughter spent a good couple of weeks together before it was time for them both to return to their respective duties, but they promised to contact each other at least once a week.

The resulting excitement meant Jocelyn was incredibly bouncy this morning as she approached her Master, who say on a bench near the dojo. Dressed in her white and brown Padawan robes, Jocelyn announced her arrival with a much more gleeful tone of voice and a hug for good measure.

"Hiya Master! How are you today?"

[Lynmeira]

"Hello, Jocelyn." Lynmeira smiled as she got to her feet upon her padawan's arrival, accepting and returning the hug. She had heard that the young girl had reunited with her mother and knew they had spent some time together. She had been glad to learn about this. She could see a difference in her pupil, even though Jocelyn always had her Jedi family, especially with Suri and Serah.

"I hope that your trip back to Yavin VIII went smoothly. It is wonderful that you could see your mother again." She gestured for the girl to follow her inside the Dojo.

"Today, we're going to work on some new skills, physical ones such as how to use the Force to enhance your speed, your strength, as well as telekinetic ones."

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn bounced with glee as Lynmeira spoke of the girl's reunion with her mother. "It was brilliant! I was so happy when Suri told me that she'd located mother. It was as great a day as when I first met you!" she said joyfully. "I didn't know if she were dead or alive so it made me so happy to know that she was okay. We promised to keep in contact at least once a week unless our duties take us offworld and hopes to visit us soon!"

Jocelyn had said 'us' on purpose and smiled as she explained. "Mother told me to say thank you for taking me under your wing and she expressed a desire to meet you someday."

Following her Master into the dojo, Jocelyn listened as her Master explained what today's lesson would be. In an instant, the girl went from bouncy and excitable, to one that was focused and ready to learn, as if all that boundless energy was put away so she could concentrate on her training. "I look forward to it!" she said, standing tall as she awaited the first lesson.

[Lynmeira]

Lynmeira didn't know what it was to have blood family proud of you, and she had cut all ties with her after they tried to kill her. She had even forsaken her last name, feeling freed from this decision. The only one she still saw was the teenage boy cousin, she had, Pavan. He worked at the temple, helping with the library and other things, since he wasn't Force sensitive.

It didn't take anything away from how happy she was for Jocelyn. "I am so happy for you and I look forward to meeting her. You'll tell your mother she is welcome for me accepting you as my padawan. It is a mutual choice though, because you also chose me as your master, Jocelyn."

She remarked the change in Jocelyn's expression and aura when she went into studious mode. "First of all, I want you to close your eyes and feel the Force, feel how it flows in and around your body." It was important to begin with this awareness exercise before moving onto the new lesson.

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn giggled as she nodded in agreement with her Master about the choice being mutual. Jocelyn had, after all, taken the first step by asking Lynmeira in the first place and Lynmeira had taken the second by accepting her request.

Clasping her hands together, the young Padawan did as she was told and closed her eyes, trading slow, deep breaths to mediate in the Force, something she'd practiced a lot since becoming Lynmeira's Padawan. It always fascinated her how strange this world in the Force could be. The Force, when she paid attention to it, felt warm, comforting. "It's like someone's giving me a hug. Feels safe and comforting." she said happily.

[Lynmeira]

Her own senses cast out, Lynmeira watched Jocelyn as her padawan focused on the task at hand. She smiled, acknowledging how the girl had been practicing meditation since they had first met. It was important because it was a solid base that would always serve her.

"Good. As we work through the lesson, I want you to keep this feeling in the back of your mind. Open your eyes again." She waited for her pupil to do as such before taking a few steps.

"You can also give direction to the Force, focus it in a given part of your body. Like in your legs. Feel how it changes. This can help you..."

Without further ado, she sped off to the other side of the dojo, the Force embuing her legs. "Faster than normal."

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn opened her eyes as Lynmeira told her to do, then her jaw dropped as her Master shot of like a bat out of hell in the Force. This was so cool! Sure, Jocelyn had done it a couple of times herself, but never on command. It was usually when she was hyper with the other kids and playing chase. She was more a jumper than a runner, but still, Jocelyn would do her best.

Scrunching her nose a moment, the little girl took a couple of breaths and imagined that warm feeling that surrounded her going to her legs before taking her first run in the Force. In an instant, the world seemed to slow down as her feet carried her into the Force, running faster than she'd ever done before. This was exciting! She could run in the Force!

It was a little too exciting, however as she lost concentration and in an instant, the momentum in the Force stopped, but her upper body kept going and the girl tumbled to the ground in a heap. Unhurt save for a scrape on her knee, Jocelyn sat up and giggled as she looked up at Lynmeira. "Hehehe! That was fun! Can we do it again?" she asked gleefully. Typical little Jaeger. Never crying over a bump or a bruise. It had always been like that, right from the moment she was born. Never cried, only laughed.

[Lynmeira]

Lynmeira knew how energetic Jocelyn could be so she wouldn't be surprised if the girl was good with such physical skills. She took a step forward when the girl tumbled and fell on her knees. She knew that it was unlikely she hurt herself bad, but she felt concern. She smiled when her pupil laughed about.

She walked up to her and ruffled her hair. "Oh yes, we can." She began to give chase after Jocelyn around the Dojo, so they could work on this new skill some more.

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn scrambled to her feet and dusted herself off and the two had a game of chase in the dojo with the Force. The girl laughed with glee as she ran faster and faster in the Force, making tight twists and turns. It was fun, turning a lesson into a kind of game. She enjoyed learning through play in this way.

Of course after a while, using the Force in this way for the first time was kind of taxing on the young girl and she eventually had to stop to catch her breath. "Phew! Hehehe!" she sighed, giggling a moment before rising to her feet again. As fun as it was, this was a tough workout for the young Padawan, and she knew that she had to conserve her energy for the next lessons to come, if her Master allowed her to do so.

[Lynmeira]

Lynmeira was the first surprised of how she was turning the lesson into a game. It might look like nothing but it showed to the Hapan how she had changed over the last years. She went to fetch bottles of water she had brought in her pack after master and student were done with this lengthy exercise.

She handed one to Jocelyn before taking a sip from her own. "Do you have any sore muscle? If so, I can teach you something to help." After all, nobody needed a sprained ankle to learn how to heal one's self, like Lynmeira had done when a padawan!

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn graciously accepted a bottle offered to her and after opening it, began drinking nearly a quarter of the bottle before looking up at Lynmeira. "Thank you.." she said before canting her head at the question of whether she had any sore muscles. Its not an answer Jocelyn readily gave as it was seen, in her eyes anyway, as complaining and Jocelyn refused to complain.

On the other hand, her knee, where she had the scrape hurt a little, not something she'd complain about normally, though did decide to say something about it... this time. "My knee's a little sore. Not badly sore but aches a little." she said in a quiet voice. "I don't like complaining about pain though..."

[Lynmeira]

Lynmeira knew what it was not to complain. She was glad that Jocelyn mentioned it. "Jocelyn, I'm the first to understand about not complaining and toughen up. I used to push myself way too hard, so I want you to know that taking time to pause when you can afford to, admitting that something is wrong isn't a weakness. It is actually healthy."

Using her own experience was important so her pupil didn't just think that she was delivering abstract conceptions. Lynmeira had been there, even if differently from Jocelyn.

"Let's sit." She took place on the mat and waited for the padawan to do the same. "There are two ways we can handle physical pain as Jedi, by using the Force. The first one I'll teach you has drawbacks though. It is about tricking yourself to believe that everything is fine. It can be practical in the middle of a dangerous situation, but the problem is that you keep using a sore or wounded spot, and it only fragilizes it."

She paused, letting her words sink in. "Close your eyes and focus on how your body feels, how your knee feels different in the Force. Now I want you to imagine that everything feels the same. Can you do this?"

[Jocelyn Jaeger]

Jocelyn canted her head slightly as she listened to her Master say that admitting something was wrong wasn't a weakness. "Heehee, when you come from a military family though its difficult to admit something is wrong in case its a weakness the enemy can exploit... at least, that's what Auntie Isa told me."

Sitting down on the ground, Jocelyn did as she was asked and closed her eyes. The feeling of the Force surrounding her while making her aware of the pain in her leg. Slowly but surely, Jocelyn directed the Force over that pain, making it hurt less until finally it didn't hurt at all. Nodding intently, Jocelyn finally opened her eyes and looked at her leg. "Yep! I believe I have... it doesn't hurt anymore!"

The little Padawan then looked up at her master, thinking on what Lynmeira had said a little more. "What does 'fragilize' mean? Make it weaker?"

[Lynmeira]

"I grew up in a Hapan family. So we weren't supposed to say anything about something being wrong. So I understand. But I learned here that talking about it was better." The Guardian explained to her padawan, glad that the girl felt comfortable enough to talk about her family as well.

She gave time to her pupil to work on the skill, glad that it worked well. "Good job, Jocelyn." She smiled and nodded to what she thought fragilize meant. "Yes, it means making it weaker. When you can, you should use the other way to use the Force for wounds."

She paused for a moment and continued. "Now let go of what you were doing. Your sore spot will be easy to feel again. This time I want you to focus the Force on it, to make it really feel like the rest of your body, to make it fine again."