Once he thought that his 2 Padawans had had enough, Jarret got up and walked over to them. Making sure he kept his daughter firmly in his arms, despite the fact that she had been given the rattle and was now hitting Jarret with it repeatedly. And apparently taking a good bit of delight in doing so.

"How about we take a lunch break, boys?"

Drek and Zyln stopped, grateful at the interruption. "Thank you, Jarret," they said in unison, long ago giving up their habit of calling him Master out of spite. They had learned they did not want to be on his bad side, if this was what his good side was like...

At one point, Saelest had climbed a tree to collect fruits while Namel worked with Kit a little one-on-one. She showed her how to be aware of her surroundings, without relying on the Force... how to use her own natural senses and insincts. At one point, Kit had thrown her spear at a creature who had suddenly pounced through the thick brush, intent on attacking her. The creature lay dead at her feet... the spear had gone through its throat, and it had died in moments after hitting the ground.

"A pack animal," Namel said softly from behind her. Kit was trembling. Namel laid a hand on her shoulder. "It is not the best meat, but it is meat, and it is the way of nature to destroy that which is intent on destroying you. If you are doing good, then your own life is worth protecting, just as much as that of another person. It is a lesson at odds with our teachings sometimes, unless you consider the Sith. They seek to destroy us, and negotiation is not an option. They will only destroy more if left unchecked. Therefore, it is right for us to destroy them when they attack, just as it was right to defend yourself against this animal," she said to her, trying to help Kit put things into perspective. She smiled. "Tonight when we have carved the meat clean, I shall teach you how to tan and preserve the hide, for use in making clothes. It will not make much, but it will make enough for you to start out with," she told her.

Kit looked down at the dead animal, nonplussed. "You mean... I'm gonna... wear it?" she asked, not sure how she should feel about it.

Namel nodded. "And eat it, and I believe we will be carving its bones into more eating utensils, and a knife or two. None of the bones are big enough to make a spear head," she said, and hefted the animal up, draping it over Kit's shoulder, bleeding side down. "Hold it so that it bleeds out... you do not want the blood to pool and become stagnant. Saelest has gathered some fruits, and I have an idea how to make the meat more tender," she said, and began to walk forward, strange staff in hand. She paused when she realized Kit was not following. "Is there a problem, Kit?" she asked gently.

Kit's left eye twitched. "Uh... yeah... there's a dead animal on my shoulder!" she retorted.

Namel merely laughed. "Kit, what exactly do you think you had for dinner last night?" she asked, somewhat bemused.

Kit blinked. "Yeah... but... it's one thing to eat meat... it's another to haul it's bleeding carcass over your shoulder! I'll never get the blood stains out of these boots..." she muttered.

Just then, Saelest had completed her descent down the tree, with a sack full of fruit. "Got plenty for tonight and tomorrow, Master," she said cheerfully, happy she had gotten out of one of Namel's hunting sessions. She looked over at Kit, who had an animal draped over her shoulder. She grinned. "Kit good!" she exclaimed, gesturing toward the animal. The look Kit threw her told her she didn't agree. Saelest frowned.

"Thank you, Saelest," Namel said, smiling down at the little girl. She then looked to Kit. Her smile did not fade. "I'm afraid I do not see the problem, but that, as my mate likes to point out, is not unusual," she said softly. "However, now you know why we do not wear shoes," she told her simply, and turned and began the hike toward the village, stopping in certain places to pluck a bit of a certain red vine...

**********************************************************

Later that day, when Namel was watching Aurora and cooking the meat Kit had caught, Kit was scraping the hide like Namel had instructed, and Saelest was peeling fruits, handing the peelings to Namel when she had finished them. Kit grumbled to herself. "I don't understand, Namel... why did you not have me use the Force when we were hunting? It would have been easier... besides, aren't I supposed to be learning how to use the Force?"

Namel nodded patiently as she stirred a pot over the fire. "Yes, but before you can truly know about the Force, you must truly know about yourself. You must know what you are capable of... test yourself against nature, for in the end, that is all we truly are... one more part of nature," she told her softly as she stirred. Aurora cooed at her and played with her rattle. "Besides, using the Force against a creature who cannot use it is no different than using it against a person who cannot use it. If it is not in the best interest of that person, or that creature, then you are wrong in its use. Only when there is no other alternative, and you must use it to save your own life, or that of another, is using it against creatures advocated... and in that case, you must ask yourself, how could you have prevented that situation from coming to be? In every case, you alone are responsible for your actions," she said. "You should not let your use of the Force prevent you from using and developing your other skills."

Kit frowned, though she thought she understood somewhat. "So... you're saying that, by teaching me how not to use the Force... you're teaching me how to be a better Jedi?"

Namel beamed at her. "You are beginning to understand, Kit Sum," she told her, and left the pot for a while, picking up Aurora and sitting down beside where Saelest had picked up a sharpened rock and had begun to help Kit scrape the hide.

"The two of you have begun to speak a common language," she said, smiling. "Would you teach me to speak Vorlath as well? I'd like to know what my Padawans are saying to each other," she said, then looked to Kit. "That is, if you have decided to stay?" she asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

Kit shared a glance with Saelest, who, though she could not understand Basic, had an understanding of what the topic of discussion might be. The little girl smiled at her reassuringly. Kit looked back to Namel. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I'd like that very much. Master," she added somewhat shyly, as an afterthought.

Namel smiled at her, and put out a hand to squeeze her shoulder. "We welcome you into our family, Padawan," she told her, her voice and eyes full of meaning.

Saelest, moved by the scene and the emotion she could sense, got up from her spot and hugged Kit...

Jarret decided to try a new and hopefully more refreshing training course with his 2 Padawans for awhile. He knew he was being a little too soft on them, but Jarret could only hope to harden over time with them.

"You boys want to go for a refreshing swim in the lake?"

The two boys shouted their affirmation excitedly. They loved to swim!

When they got to the lake, Jarret let his Padawans have fun for about 10 minutes. Just enough time to have gain some relief from the stresses of their training that they had done today. However, now that they were here, it was time to pick back up on their training.

Jarret shouted to his Padawans: "Okay now it's time for laps! Oh... and you might want to make it to the other side over there, before THEY catches up with you!"

It was then that the 2 Padawans saw 3 rather large Alligator like creatures rise up out of the water about 18 feet from them and inbetween them and the shore that they had come in from. They were starting to move towards them at a steady speed......

By the time Drek and Zyln were done training, they were exhausted, and were wondering why no one had warned them of how tough it would be. The two boys had developed a close sense of teamwork, though, so that by the end of it, they were easily moving as one. Even their breathing matched up.

Drek had missed being this close to someone. When Drirk had died... he had felt like he'd always be alone. But there was something about Zyln that reminded him a lot of-

"Thinking of Drirk?" Zyln asked. Drek had told him all about his brother. Drek nodded sadly. "I lost a twin, too," he said. At Drek's startled expression, he sighed. "Not recent, like with you. He died a long time ago, when we were really little. But, sometimes, it's like..."

"Like you can feel a hole that shouldn't be there?" Drek supplied. Zyln nodded. Drek smiled weakly. "He would have wanted me to make new friends. And... I think he would have liked you," he said, shrugging.

Zyln smiled. "You can tell him, the feeling's mutual," he said, lightly punching Drek on the arm.

"Ow! Jarret's beating us up enough as it is!" Drek said plaintively, but his eyes said he was just playing.

"What do you think we'll have to do next?" Zyln wondered.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure... Mother Ekka can't press me into building duty. I don't think I can lift my arms, much less lift anything with the Force," Drek replied.

That evening, Saelest had helped Kit make herself a new outfit out of the cured hide. It wasn't much... there wasn't a lot of the hide, as the animal hadn't been very big, but with the humidity of Aoi, Kit had been itching to get out of her now heavily soiled and ripped body suit anyway. There was a different definition of modesty here in the village, anyway.

Her new clothes consisted of one fur top, pulled tight around the chest area and fastened with buttons made of the creature's teeth, sewn to it carefully. The briefs were sewn to shape, covered tastefully with a bit of fur that hung down. The hide from the two front legs and paws of the creature were sewn together, and draped over her shoulders to provide warmth, since the Vorlans were susceptible to major temperature shifts, as well as to draw the eye away from certain female... attributes... she possessed. The effect was to look as though the creature had its paws wrapped around her.

The last bits of fur, she attached, with hide straps, to the tops of her feet. Her boots had been ruined... she was sure she would never get the smell out of them, but she still needed to keep her feet warm. She couldn't sleep barefoot... she had never been able to. This way, she'd work on hardening the bottoms of her feet, while still remaining comfortable.

When they had finished, Namel had come in, beaming her approval. Smiling, she held out something she had made for her. "Vorlans do not have hair, and I never learned a Padawan ceremony without it," she said, as she held out a necklace she had made. It had her own red hair... as well as some of Saelest's. The blonde girl grinned up at her. Kit fingered the necklace, which was braided intricately, holding a number of wooden beads in it. It looked very much like the braid hanging from within Saelest's hood. Kit was touched. Realizing the gravity of the ceremony, she knelt, as did the other two, and they began...

***********************************************************

That night, when the boys finally came home, Kit was teaching Saelest more words in Vorlath, the evening meal was prepared, and Namel was gently rocking Aurora to sleep. Namel leaned up and kissed her husband soundly. "How was your day?" she asked in Ewokese. From the look of the two boys, it seemed pretty rough.

Jarret took a seat next to his wife and daughter.

"I think it went pretty well. I have to admit Drek and Zyln sure can swim fast! Anyway, how was you day, Honey?"

Jarret watched as Namel gently rocked their daughter Aurora to sleep. Jarret really loved his new family more than anything else. To him, they WERE his life and he would always love them. He could tell Namel over and over how much he loved her and their family until all breath left his body and it still wouldn't be enough to fully measure up to just how much he cared for them!!

Later that night, Namel sat high in a tree, looking down at her village. She was amazed at how far they'd come. Half-way across the galaxy from Endor, they had started a new life, a new village, and it had expanded into something beautiful.

And it all began with an orphaned Wookiee who was brave enough to protect a small village from slavery.

Namel was amazed at how intricately everything was woven together in her life. So much had happened, yet, she felt like the Force was preparing her for more, though she did not know what. Whatever it was, though, she would be brave enough to face it. She would be brave, like Logargh, like her Padawans... like Jarret.

With a smile on her lips, she climbed down the tree, and slipped into the home he had made for her. Easing herself into bed beside him, she wrapped her arms around him, and gave thanks to the Force for everything around her.

((To Rimera: This was just something I recently came up with that should perhaps make you and Namel happy!))

The next morning Jarret guided Namel outside to the pavilion he had made in their house for relaxing on its porch and when it was cold or otherwise the could bring down the canopies around it and close off the room for more warmth and to keep out the wind. What Jarret wanted to show his wife was something that he had grown in this large rectangular flower bin that he had made awhile back. Jarret knew that Namel could see the living flowers bloom through the Force. Though she wouldn't be able to see their beautiful white color as Jarret had during their wedding sometime back when she walked down the aisle and straight into being the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.........

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