The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *New post by HaiGan*

Jem - For someone who is supposedly well tuned to the Living Force, Qui-Gon can be quite a thickie. He'd better learn to listen to Rela if he wants to help Jem.

Calam - LOL! Way to go, Zac - Captain Clueless does it again!

 

?Hey, c?mon! I was only joking. Please guys, give me a break...?


ROFL!!!! How many times have I heard THAT whined by a young man who has just stuffed his foot into his mouth!!!!

 

LOL. That was great. Poor Jemmy and Obi-Wan. I hope they sort themselves our soon.

 

How can I say anything that hasn't been said already? There are some great plotlines going here! Excellent /everybody/!

******

Late afternoon, third day before departure:

"What a day!" said Vernice, collapsing into a chair.

"You had one of those too, did you?" Gilda straightened out the cusions on the couch before sitting down. "If there wasn't so much to organise for this vacation I wouldn't need the vacation. Every time I thought I'd managed to finish putting everything in the bags ready, Jay decided he needed something I'd just packed- from the bottom, of course."

"I spent most of the day trying to borrow just one printed-flimsy book from the city central library," sighed Vernice. "Someone had taken it into their head to re-organise the borrowing system for rare volumes. I haven't seen such a mess of red tape since we gift-wrapped Dex for his knighting party. Liza, stop eyeing the toffee bag on the table and just take one," she added.

Liza chuckled and helped herself. "Anyone else?" she mumbled around the lump of toffee. The other two masters shook their heads, and Liza flopped down next to Gilda. "Did you pack a comb for Mace?" she asked.

"And a razor for Qui-Gon," added Vernice.

"Do you think we should pack some seaweed?" Liza suggested, with a wicked grin.

"Still wishing you'd been there to see Dex clad in nothing but seaweed swimming-trunks?" asked Vernice.

Liza's expression became wistful. "None of the padawans even had a holocamera."

"Use your imagination," Gilda told her. "I'm sure it's up to the task."

"After seeing the pictures posted around the Temple after the cantina crawl, I think any padawan that brings a holocamera on this trip ought to have it confiscated," said Vernice.

"Hmm," Liza agreed. "Then we can use it."

"I've already had to confiscate a small swarm of toy Fork-Tailed Stingers from Jay's hand luggage," said Gilda. "I don't know what he intended to do with them..."

"... but you could make a pretty good guess," finished Liza. "You should have let him keep them. I'm sure everyone but Mace would have had a good laugh."

Gilda's eyebrows raised in disapproval. "Leave poor Mace to my padawan's tender mercies, and make him an object of ridicule? I couldn't do that." A faint smile crept onto ther lips. "I'll let him do it to himself. His reaction when I told him about it was amusing to watch."

"So, Gilda," Liza asked slowly, "What did you do with those toy Stingers after you confiscated them?"

"Liza!" Vernice laughed. "Zac's rubbing off on you!"

Liza pretended to be offended. "/He's/ rubbing off on /me/? Just where do you think Zac got his sense of humour from?"

"It's going to be good to get away for a break," Vernice said suddenly. "Some time to spend with friends, talking and relaxing. I don't think we've been on a proper vacation with the three of us together since we were padawans. Not one where we didn't end up back on duty again."

"Mace is organising the trip more carefully than a military expedition," Gilda assured her.

"Yoda isn't going, so we won't even have him trying to lead the camp-fire singing this time," Liza added, pinching another toffee from the bag on the table.

"Mmmm." Vernice relaxed and smiled again. "Nothing worse to deal with than insect-bites and sunburn, and nothing to do except sample the local brew and make sure the padawans don't eat any funny berries. I'm enjoying myself already!"

******

Del-Isa looked across the crowded Coruscant shopping street, pushing an escaped strand of hair back behind her ear as she caught her breath. It wasn't physical tiredness she was feeling, but the mental weariness of a day of shopping. There was something about shopping, she considered, that brought out the primitive, savage, selfish instincts in almost every sentient species. She wasn't used to battling her way through hoards of bargain-hunters. Usually she could obtain everything she needed from inside the Temple. Now, however, she had a padawan, and that put a whole new complexion on everything.

 

Yay! Hai-Gan made her opening post!

Loved how Gilda made Jay squirm - he deserved it. (So, what DID she do with the fork-tailed stingers?)

Poor Del-Isa, afflicted with "New Master Syndrome."

Great job!

 

Fantastic posts all round. Poor Kryz is being plagued by...well, what is he being plagued by? I certainly feel sorry for him.

Calam, yeah- Zac certainly put his foot in it there! LOL.

HaiGan! I loved how the ladies were having their little social gathering, and Del-Isa's nerves at being a good master. Great post!

 

I loved it HaiGan!

It's nice to hear more about some of the masters, and I think Qui, Dex and Mace must have been kept on their toes by those three when they were all young!

I loved the shopping trip! Yes, sounds familiar!

 

WOW!

Wonderful posts everyone!!!

Qui-Gon is going to hate himself in the end! Calam, I love the folocally challenged one! What's up with Kryztan? It doesn't sound good! HaiGan too funny! Dex wearing only a clump of seaweed! Thank you for that mental picture to start off my day!

 

Sorry I lied over at Hell's Chance. Here's a quick post.

********

Three days before departure - late afternoon

With her hair plastered to her face and neck with sweat, Rela quickly stepped of the lift and stormed toward her apartment.

?Oh yeah, let?s blame the alcoholic when things go bad. Stupid old nerf! Wouldn?t know if something was wrong until she slapped him in the face. She?s good at that. Then it would still be my fault!? Rela muttered angrily to herself.

Furious with everything Rela punched her in door code. It took her three tries without it working. Finally, after beating it a few more times, Rela paused and forced herself to calm down.

?Rela dear, is everything all right?? Mrs. Krabople asked suddenly appearing.
?Squeak??
?I?m fine!? Rela answered through clenched teeth. //No I?m not, but if you don?t leave me alone I may snap,//
?Rela dear. Are you sure? You just haven?t been yourself lately.?
?Yes ma?am, I?m sure.?
?Is it your friend? Did you spend the night at her place again? Is that why you?re just getting in??
?No, Mrs. K. I?ve had a very bad month. I was at The Pit last night and until this morning. I have no idea what time it is. I don?t care. I just want a hot shower and to crawl into bed.?
//And a drink!//
[Shut-up you! I?m not ready to die just yet!]

The older woman eyed her young neighbor. She knew when something was wrong. She could almost smell it. And looking at Rela now standing stiff and staring at her door with a clenched jaw, Edna Krabople was almost knocked out with the aroma of trouble. She thought it best to keep the young redhead talking.

?Rela dear, is that a bacta patch on your arm?? she quietly asked.
?It?s nothing!?
?Something may??
?It?s nothing!?
?Are you??
?IT?S NOTHING!?

Rela jabbed her door code in again and was blessed by her door opening. She quickly made her way inside, but was brought up short by Tuffy.

?Squeak??
?You want to know something Tube-Rat? Never trust a human. They do nothing but piss you off and bring you heartache.?

That being said, Rela dashed inside and slammed her door closed. Once safely locked inside her defenses crumbled. Never making it to her bed much less the shower, Rela curled up into a ball on her floor and began to cry.

?I got freakin? nicked on the course at The Pit. What kind of merc am I? I should have known she was right all along.?

 

Oh, no! Rela, don't you even THINK of listening to HER, if I've got the right person. She's talking out of her air vents!!!

Poor Rela. Qui-Gon chews her out and then to be faced by an over-caring Mrs.K! At least she's resisting the temptations of the demon drink, which is more than can be said for some

Great post!

 

If that's a thrown together post Mouse, just keep doing it!!!!

Poor Rela! Gal, you need a BIG hug!

Let's hope sneaking away on the trip will help resolve those problems...

 

mouse - you came up with that on the fly?! Excellent! I'm also intrigued by this mystery "she."

 

"Good afternoon. How are you feeling now?"

Qui-Gon sat at the edge of Jemmiah's fold down bed, pondering the wisdom of Rela's earlier words not to shout or argue with the Corellian girl when she was in a fit state to listen to such a lecture. There was no problem on that score at the present moment because Jemmiah was quite obviously NOT in a fit state to do anything other than lie sprawled on her side with the covers drawn half over her. Qui-Gon wasn't all that sure he wanted to shout at her either. Rela was right; anyone who deliberately drunk themselves into a stupor was hurting inside?and it didn't take a lot of figuring out what the cause was behind it.

But what should he do?

He didn't want to see what had happened with Rela happen to Jemmiah, nor did Rela want it to happen either. When his initial abhorrence had been stamped upon he had realized just how badly he had behaved towards her, even if he had felt justified in his feelings at the time.

//Something tells me that an extra big helping of humble pie is going to be required.// he mused silently as Jemmiah squirmed uncomfortably in the bed. //And even if Rela accepts my apology something also tells me I'm going to be hearing 'unreachable' gags for the rest of my life?probably in connection with Leona!//

"Urrrrrrghhhh." Jemmiah groaned. "Dying."
"I told Evla you'd be staying over last night. It's now afternoon and you've slept half a day away. I made up an excuse but I know for a fact she knew I was lying through my teeth."
"You should practise more." Jemmiah mumbled with her eyes closed. "I did and look where it's got me."
"Yes, and where has it got you? Most of the evening spent with your head over a bucket."

Jemmiah winced.

"Get it off." She whispered.
"What?" The confusion on Qui-Gon's face caused two small ridges to form on his forehead.
"The Bantha that's sitting on my head. Get it off." Jemmy flapped her hands about in a vain attempt to remove the non-existent animal.
"Tangles, that's what you get for drinking to excess." Qui-Gon stated. "However, as I have been guilty myself of similar misdemeanours in the past I am not going to inflict any disciplinary action."

Jemmiah opened a curious eye.

"You mean the cantina crawl?" she croaked.
"Amongst other memorable occasions, yes." Qui-Gon nodded, thinking back to the time when Dex had challenged him to a Corellian deathmatch after his knighting ceremony. And not so pleasant times, such as when Lydia had died and he had felt unable to cope with the guilt?

"When you were young?" Jemmy screwed up her face, trying to force her brain to work. "I can't imagine that."
"Neither could Yoda." Qui-Gon grumbled. "It's a good thing for you that I'm not going to inflict on you the same punishment for being drunk and disorderly that he did on me."
"W-what was that?" Jemmy asked hesitantly.
"I had three helpings of gruel a day, until I promised never to touch alcohol again without his permission. I'm telling you, if anything's going to help you stay on the straight and narrow it's an endless supply of that Dagoban muck?"

Jemmiah sat up suddenly at his words and reached for the bucket beside her bed.

"Sorry." Qui-Gon said after she was finished. "I assume from that you're not fully recovered."

Jemmy narrowed her eyes.

"Pass me that mirror." She said in a weak voice, stretching out for the hand mirror that was in the top left pocket of her jacket.

Qui-Gon rummaged through the fabric, letting his hands clasp the silver frame before passing it over to her. He was sure her uncle had given her this. Trying to buy his way into her affections, no doubt.

"Here." He said as she took it from him.

Jemmy cast glazed eyes over her reflection and wondered if that was really her staring back. The creature in the mirror seemed altogether too pale, with smudged eye make up and wild hair that looked as if she'd been sleeping rough in a bush in Quillan's gardens. Surely she didn't look like this? In the unlikely hope that she'd made a drink induced mistake, Jemmy placed the mirror mom

 

THAT'S the Jemmy we know and love!

HA-HA! Give hell Jem!!!

 

You tell them Jemmy!!!!!!!!!

Awww, it's nice to see Obi making some sort of a breakthrough. And I hope Qui-Gon has a BIG apology in mind for Rela.

Great post sis!

 

YAY! She told them off!

I still think it would have been horredously funny if they went and they were eaten by some huge snake or something.....spider.....anything in that category.

 

Nice to see a bit of the "old" Jemmy beginning to shine through again! As for the gruesome twosome, I personally would love to see them become lunch for a very large - and hungry - Venus Fly Trap.

Hopefully Qui-Gon will figure out how to extract that shoe store he managed to stuff in his mouth.

 

Three days, 7,000 miles, and a grand total of 6 hours of sleep later...I'm finally back in Oz - hopefully for the forseeable future.

Great posts everyone!! There's too many for me to go into detail on each one. Suffice to say that this story is continuing on wonderfully!!

 

Oh, I'm sure I can find something suitably nasty to happen to the pair of them whilst they sit and brood in the temple

 

Six days before departure, morning

"We?ll do some light saber drills to-day when you?ve got back from Grief Counseling,?said Master Tenax at breakfast two days later. Her voice was as rich as ever, but held that "masterful? undertone that meant ?no discussion.?

"Yes, Master Tenax,?Quilibet replied dutifully, staring down at the helping of breakfast casserole on her plate.

"You?ll feel better after you?ve had some exercise. Trust me, Quilibet.?

"Yes, Master Tenax.?

"I know you don?t feel comfortable calling me just plain master yet, but you could call me Master Romy, if you liked.?

Unsure of whether the woman were giving her an order or not, Quilibet did not answer immediately.

"It?s just a suggestion, Quil. Take your time and think about it.?

"Yes, Master Tenax.?Taking up her knife and fork, Quilibet began to dissect her casserole before taking a cautious bite. It tasted good.

"I got the recipe from a friend of mine. She says it?s just the thing for growing Padawans,?Master Tenax remarked cheerfully.

"Yes, Master Tenax,?Quilibet replied again.

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. When she?d finished all that she wanted to eat, which wasn?t very much, Quilibet stood up and bowed without a word, then went out of the apartment. She was going to be early for her appointment with Soul Healer Del-Isa Sidatu, but it didn?t matter. She would rather sit in the waiting room and stare at the wall than remain with that woman. At least she?d be alone, and being alone was certainly preferable to being with someone who was covertly trying to take Master Rad?s place. It had only been two days, and she was already talking about light saber drills, which were traditionally done only between master and padawan. She?d started calling her Quil, too, not just Quilibet, instead of Padawan Lyr. And no doubt it was only a matter of time before she no longer suggested, but insisted that Quilibet call her Master Romy.

Grief Counseling always ended with a special meditation session in which the Soul Healer stood behind Quilibet, laid her hands on her shoulders and channeled the Force into her, helping her to feel comforted by it. It was the part that Quilibet always looked forward to the most, because it seemed that the Force expanded to fill her body and her mind, so much so that there was no room for any other emotion except tranquility and well-being. She remembered from her counseling sessions two years before that she had sometimes tried to search the Force, reaching out to see if she could feel Master Nektanebos? distinct signature within it. She never had, but now she tried it again, concentrating on Master Rad, needing so much to be close to him again, desperately craving the comfort he?d always managed to give her before.

The session ended before she?d found any trace of him, of course, but the Camaasi master remained in Quilibet?s thoughts as she walked down the corridors, back to her apartment. She keyed in the code with automatic fingers and started to walk in, but bumped against the door instead. Frowning, completely aware of her surroundings again, Quilibet tried the code again, but the door remained firmly shut. She began to carefully and methodically enter each number, making doubly sure her fingers did not slip, when the door finally slid open.

But Quilibet?s path into the apartment was blocked by a Kel Dor, and she stared up at him stupidly as he asked through his breath mask,?Can I help you, Padawan??

"I--I live here--this is my--?she managed to stammer, and then realised she?d gone to her old apartment instead of to Master Tenax?s! Of all the stupid mistakes! She simply hadn?t been thinking! Until a few days ago, she hadn?t needed to think about such a thing. But it didn?t answer the question of what this unknown Jedi was doing here anyway.

The expression on his face did not change--not that she could see behind his dark goggles--as he regarded her for a long moment, and then he said,?I was assigned yesterday to these quarters. They were empty wh

 

Jane, that was so heartbreaking! For Quil to find out about her master's things in that manner. Then the way she blurted everything out...

I feel bad for Master Romy too!