Jedi Academy

Eir scanned the notice on her datapad for what had to be the twentieth or thirtieth time since it had been sent to her yesterday. It was still early, but she hadn't slept well.

Dear Eir,
This notice confirms your enrolment in the trials. Congratulations.

Below that, there was some information about what to expect and when things would be starting, and she glossed over those. Congratulations. she thought and groaned softly, why did I accept?

She locked the datapad screen, dropping the device on the bed next to her and rolled onto her side, looking at the cot opposite hers. Each night she roughly divided her hair into three and loosely braided it, taking up large sections as she did. It kept the tresses from getting tangled while she slept. Picking up the tail of her braid, she fidgeted with it, tucking her other arm under her head.

Taime stirred, always sensitive to the sounds in the room, even it was just Eir. Seeing her with the datapad, he stifles a sigh. "Its not going to change if you keep looking at it, you know."

Rolling her eyes, “I know that,” she huffed. Eir pulled the elastic that held her braid and began unravelling it, “don’t you think it’s weird, though? that we’re both doing the trials?”

He shrugs. "It was a pretty foregone conclusion for me. I don't know if I could do anything else."

He rolls over and lets out a huff of air. "And frankly, I'd rather you were here. Being alone would suck."

Closing his eyes for a moment, he makes sure his face is clear before he asks, "Do you not want to be here? She'd understand, you know. You're not obligated."

“Don’t be like that,” Eir complained, “I accepted, and I don’t regret that.” Sighing thoughtfully, “it would be more weird watching you go through the trials and leaving me.” The two had known each other since Eir’s arrival, and Taime had been the first constant the girl had known.

He opened his eyes, looking over at her. "You know that wouldn't happen. Even if I become a Jedi, I'm not disappearing."

Fixing her roommate with a baleful stare, “you know it’s inevitable, right? Sooner or later you’re going to go your way and I’m going to go mine. Besides, don’t the Jedi have that thing about not getting too attached to one another?” There was a soft mocking tone on the last sentence as she teased Taime.

His body posture hardens, as it does every time they have this argument. "Just because we go on different paths doesn't mean we're not going to stay in touch. And Jedi are allowed to have friendships, we're not supposed to be automatons." His soft voice was definitely a little harder with those words.

Eir sat up, ruffling her hair with both hands, the last twists of braid falling out. She stuck her tongue out at him, “okay, okay, it’s too early in the morning.” They’d likely never see eye to eye on the matter anyway, she just couldn’t seem to help bringing it up.

He sighed softly. "You started it. I was just lying here." He rolled over and pushed his face into the pillow for a brief moment, wondering if he dared scream into it. Too risky. Someone will hear.

He sat up and gave his pillow a thump. "Do you think it'll be very different? Than what we've done before, I mean."

With a sniff, Eir pushed off her bed and unselfconsciously flopped down on Taime’s cot, “make room, fathead,” she shoved him playfully. Through the force, Eir could be highly sensitive to others’ emotions, but she had know the boy long enough to tell he was stressed, “is there something in particular you’re worried about?”

He made an undignified noise at her flop. "Yeesh, give me a second."

He rolled over, feeling a little relaxation seep into him at the closeness. "I don't know. This is literally what my entire life has led up to."

He shook his head. "Its a lot. That's all."

Eir wiggled like a puppy as he accommodated her, “yeah, it’s gonna be different. They’re gonna be watching us, like, every second.” Eir, confident enough in most situations, was always overcome with self-consciousness whenever it came to assessments and tests, suddenly doubting herself and her abilities when she felt she was under the microscope.

He laid next to her, trying to figure out how to explain his thoughts. "I don't mind that. I mean, we've always had Chriala watching us. It doesn't sound that different, just more." He looks down at his hands. "I guess....this is when we can fail. This is when it could all go really wrong."

Eir craned her neck so she could look him in the eyes, she understood, but that was a huge, all-encompassing fear that she didn’t know what to do with. “T’ame,” she wanted to say that the opposite of succeed wasn’t failure, that the consequences of being less than stellar weren’t career-ending, but her young mind didn’t really have those words yet. “Hey, you’re gonna do fine.”

He shrugs and tries to laugh it off. "Yeah, I know. Its just a big day. I probably needed more sleep. But someone snooores." He says in his best annoying voice.

Eir elbowed him, “not as loud as you do,” she opened her mouth and made a snoring sound, “that’s you, that’s what you sound like. And you fart like a bantha.”

He sits up straight. "I do not! You're the one whose breath could kill a tauntaun!"

Scrambling up onto her knees, Eir huffed right into Taime’s face, morning breath and all.

He flailed backwards, gagging. "Oh why! You're so gross Eir."