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There is nothing wrong with assumption, especially if one has basis for their conclusions. [bleak or not, it makes sense to her. It's all unknown to Tempest, after all, and perhaps this space travel is something possible in her world's distant future, it likely won't even be in her lifetime that the people even begin to consider it. They're too caught up in what the earth has to offer them, now. Their advancements and technologies and so forth.

But something Barriss says has her perking up again, and this time it's because it sounds familiar] You are connected to the universe, but it is not magic? This - Force of yours?

I guess it's sort of like magic, however you define magic. I've certainly heard Force-users who aren't quite like myself use the word for things similar to what the Force allows me to do.

[ explaining the force to people who can't sense it is consistently a frustrating thing for barriss, so this is a trial in patience. she's glad she's still focusing on her hovering water ball. ]

The Force is a little like a river, and every living thing is swept up in its current. For those that can sense the Force, like Jedi, like me, we can reach across the water to touch other beings, to sense danger, or to... well, do this.

[ see: water ball. ]

[it does sound very similar to magic, and with a thoughtful hum Tempest gives into an earlier temptation, reaching over to gently nudge one of the floating ball]

Magic is very similar in that respect - at least, some is. Everything is connected in one way or another, and each living creature has an energy to it that can be shared and used for all manner of spells. There are some who do not believe in the connection, but they do not sense magic the same way either. In fact, there are not many who can sense it all.

I cannot sense danger because of it, nor touch other beings across that connection, though.

[ the ball wobbles and floats away, but barriss is still obviously keeping it together, even if she's not directly controlling every aspect of it. ]

That sounds a lot like the Force, honestly. And everyone uses the Force in different ways, so we might even have the same source of our magic-like abilities. Or something incredibly similar.

Mm, it is entirely possible. Magic is the same - no one uses it in their every day lives for all sorts of reasons, but I have used it for more than just a weapon.

Mine has been largely a weapon as well. [ her face falls pensive a moment, and she nearly drops her suspended ball of water, which prompts her to guide it back over to drop it in the cup she'd pulled the droplets from. nearly half of it winds up splashing onto the counter instead, prompting barriss to just move with a sigh to clean it up. ]

My favourite training was as a healer, though. Before the political situation in my galaxy got overly complicated, I dedicated most of my studies to that or history or little things other people overlooked.

Ah - let me. [she isn't one for showing off by any means, but demonstrating the similarities in their powers is fair game. She reaches over and lets one of her fingers just barely dip in the water, murmuring quietly in almost a sing-songy language - it doesn't form a ball the way Barriss had, but it gathers together into a pool instead, and as Tempest lifts her finger, it follows.

She directs it to the cup itself, and voila. No more mess. She gives Barriss a small smile] Cleaning is one such use I have found.

[but then she mentions healing and Tempest can't help but be surprised - not because it's a huge revelation, but because it's something she can understand very, very well] I did something very similar, in my youth . . . I was to be a healer, and in my free time I would read my father's books about the world.

[ there's a quiet oh of appreciation from barriss at tempest's skills. it seems very force like, minus the incantation, but it doesn't feel the same as someone using the force around her, which answers a few questions barriss wasn't outwardly asking yet. ]

I was the same way. I never knew my family, of course, but when I was finished my lessons, I always wanted to go look through the archives, the massive library we had at the Jedi Temple. There was information about everything there. I loved it.

[it's so rare to meet someone with similar life experiences as hers that it immediately endears the other woman to her - she was interesting and helpful and kind, and for a first impression she was certainly making a good one. She finds herself smiling, one far more genuine than she's given so far]

I cannot imagine a library that huge . . . [it sounds utterly amazing] We did not have a library in my village, but my father would bring books back whenever he would travel to the capital. Our house was filled with them.

I would think that's the next best thing. If you can't have a library, make one.

[ be the change you want to see, et cetera. barriss is enjoying this conversation as much as tempest is, a comfortable smile settled on her face for the time being. ]

I think that is what he had intended.

[it's so strange to be at ease and speaking of something that, with most people, she wouldn't dare bring up]

A good goal. [ she'd do the same thing, hoarding all the information she could, if it wasn't already done for her at the temple. centuries worth of collected jedi knowledge were far better than anything one young jedi could collect on her own, though. ]

I'm curious about your magic, though. How else can you use it?

[if her parents were still alive and their home still there, she can only imagine just how many books it would have now; ones from her father, ones she'd inevitably have brought home. It's a bittersweet thought, thinking of what could have been, but the change to focusing on magic is welcome]

Mm . . . hold out your hand? [she waits for her to do so, and then she her own over, palm up; a little ball of fire conjures up there and she reaches over to place it in the woman's hands. It feels warm, but doesn't burn] I have used it like this numerous times, because I get cold very easily.

But I have used it for other simple things, like starting fires and covering up firepits. Regrowing grass and filling in dirt, mostly. I have used it to clean, once or twice. The form of magic I use can be rewritten to be more or less powerful, and I have used that to my advantage.

[ barriss gives her hand willingly, not sure what to expect, but she doesn't bother to hide her surprise at the fire she's suddenly holding. jedi can manipulate most things well enough, but actually creating something like fire is a different story entirely. ]

This is incredibly practical.

[ she's a little excited about it, actually, bringing her other hand up to feel the warmth of the flame, touching it gently with her fingertips. even if it does burn her other hand, that's easy enough to fix. satisfying curiosity is worth it. ]

One of our practice exercises as healers is to encourage plants to grow, so I have some idea of how difficult that can be. At least for me. It requires a lot of concentration. Does it for you?

[it doesn't burn her other hand either, remaining pleasantly warm. She can't help but smile at Barriss' excitement; it's rare that she gets to demonstrate her magic just to do so, and rarer that with someone who has powers of their own]

Mm, it is the most practical use I have found.

[and she nods at the question] It does, yes. It is not magic I use very often, so I am not as practiced in it as I am in something like that - [she nods to the tiny flame]

We all have our specialties.

[ she's still enchanted by the fire, toying with it a little, seeing how she can impact it with little nudges and suggestions in the force. it may very well wind up looking like it's dancing in her palm, but this is just her way of seeing how two powers can interact. ]

Is everyone where you're from capable of something like this? Any of your magic use, I mean.

[the fire moves as it's played with, as if it's alive and reacting to the different nudges. Tempest herself looks amused and a little enchanted as well, having never had her own magic played with in such a way with another's powers]

Mm, some are. Most in my world are capable of magic, but there are not many who can call themselves wizards or mages. Small spells - ah, like light spells - those are the most commonly used. Or lockpicking spells, if one is a particularly skilled thief.

Things like this - [she gestures to the little fireball] - takes a great deal of practice. Because it is cast without the words and without doing harm.

[ barriss is nodding along as tempest speaks, still toying with the fire in little ways. ]

Ah, I see. Training to perfect the finer skills of one's powers are a constant then, I like that. [ and because they're sharing as they go: ] Not everyone can sense the Force the way that I can and even among those who can, everyone has their own limits and specialties. I'm quite fortunate that there are so many lessons I was able to take easily to.

Mm, more or less. It is not strictly necessary, but I enjoy doing it sometimes. It is a stress relief, in a way. [setting things on fire, for example, is a great stress relief. Though she doesn't do that nearly as often, and certainly won't do it here]

It sounds a bit similar to magic, but . . . is it something someone must hone as well? Or is it something one learns and has no need of further practice? Though it sounds more the former, if there are so many lessons one can learn.

One of the tenets of the Order is that a dedicated Jedi should never stop learning. Officially, I've finished my training, for example, but I know that there are plenty of things I don't know yet about the Force. I'll learn more as I see more of the galaxy, or all of reality, I suppose, and I'd learn more from teaching when the time comes for me to take a student of my own.

[ she hums, an amused noise. ] And I am entirely certain that if I put my lightsaber down for too long I'd risk cutting off my own limb when I went back to it.

That makes a great deal of sense. I wish wizards of my world thought the same way; many learn their spells and potions and once they reach - mm, a certain age? They stop. There is not a lot of call for wizards, though, so it is not as though they are completely at fault. And many do take on a student, especially if one is attached to a smaller town or village. Is taking a student required for a jedi?

[and a pause at "lightsaber". She knows that word] A lightsaber is . . . a type of sword, yes? Someone explained it to me once.

Correct. It's an energy based weapon, with a special crystal at its core. It can be difficult to master and unwieldy for the untrained, which is why a Jedi typically constructs her own lightsaber. I haven't really been without mine since I finished constructing it until I was brought here.

[ and she feels a little naked without it, to be honest. her lightsaber is like a part of her. ]

Taking a student isn't required necessarily, though. Most Jedi see it as an honour, of course, and it's how our Order survives, especially in times of war. I look forward to finding mine, when the time comes.

Ah - yes, I knew about the - energy? - part, but I did not know they were constructed by Jedi as well, nor - ah, the crystal part. But that is fascinating, that you make your own. It is not something swordsmen do where I am from.

[she understands that feeling, even if she just has a regular ol' sword]

I hope you find one where you both suit one another. It sounds very much like the apprenticeships of my world, but less . . . ah, less important. That is how trades where I am from are passed on, via family and apprentices.

It's a good way to do things, if you ask me. Then people aren't just learning how to do something, they're learning the whys and what-fors, not to mention the drive their teacher or family imparts.

Mm, I would have to agree. I have found it easier learning that way myself, rather than just out of a book.

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