I am become death (D7 MM)

[Mir]

"Uh, I think so. Well mabbe not Byron and Zanja." he admitted. "That Zabrat kid. Tsk. So haughty." Mir did his best to imitate Zanja's voice. "Zee, that's ze problem with you Mir, you need to go out more. Have fun. Do fun ztuff." Mir waves his paws as he had seen the Zabrak wave hers. "So yeah. She might not like me." he added, returning to his normal voice. "and Byron's just a bully."

[Farissa Kho]

Farissa couldn't help but to laugh at his imitation, as well as the situation. "Oh, man... you three need to spend some more time together. You have much more in common than you think. Zanja wants to help people from criminal scum too, you know, as do Byron."

[Mir]

"Uh, Byron was totally saying that we can't help all the poor when we were handing out gruel with Murah." Mir shook his head. "He's meanie. Big too." he tried to lift his paw to indicate the height. "And so old. Like, almost as old as you! And Zanja. She's just a sour mole-pine. Umm... a critter about this big." Mir spread his paws about foot and a half wide. "Lots sharp spikes. Goes oink-oink in the night."

[Farissa Kho]

The Pantoran snickered again, but did a good job of sobering up quickly. "Byron is not mean, but he grew up on the streets of Coruscant himself before the Jedi found him - it was a pretty rough childhood for him too. So he's speaking from a point of view of his own experiences. He wants to help where he can, but he understands that the Jedi can't just wave our hands and then everything will be better."

She puffed out some air to blow away a lock of her hair. "And Zanja too had it hard growing up. Running with the wrong crowd, almost ended up a slave. She got away from it too, and I understand the experience has made it hard for her to open up with everyone else. But as I said, you all have much more in common than you think."

"And besides, they might be your fellow Jedi. You must learn to accept and understand eachother's differences, and not let them cause dissent between you all. Sure, master Jaric and I might not see eye to eye on everything, but we trust eachother and work together without trouble."

[Mir]

"Eh, he ought to understand then. But no, Byron is so adult and important." the farghul huffed his chest. "And he lived free." It was if that made a world of difference. "He didn't seem to be bothered by the plenty when so many beg for food. How could he be so ignorant." Mir fumed. "So so stupid. Like, we give out gruel, yes. But that doesn't take away the problem." In many ways the young student seemed to think that people like Byron were the problem.

"If Zanja wants to chase Bonewhiskers, it's her choice. But I don't know why she thinks everyone should!" Mir argued, his tail pluffed out. "Criminals-schiminals. You think she was lying?" That thought seemed to bother Mir a little, though he did sound suspicious. "I think she meant what she said."

"I'll work with them when they don't look down on me. Fair?" the farghul's ears slanted against his skull at an acute angle.

[Farissa Kho]

The smile became a little bit like a frown. There was a lot to unpack in what Mir said, but she sought the core of the issue instead. "What makes you say that they look down on you, Mir?"

[Mir]

"They say I do things the wrong way." he replied honestly. "As if their way was any better. Don't need anyone byroning around when I want to be sneeky-sneeky." Mir's ears flipped up and then down again as if he had assume a stealth configuration.

[Farissa Kho]

"Ok, I see..." she nodded a little. "Thing is, sometimes byroning is the right way to do things. Sometimes being sneaky is the right way to do things. See, you can both be right and wrong. Sometimes neither byroning or sneaking is the right way. If you wish to become a Jedi, Mir, these are things you must learn to accept. They have also been training for this longer than you have, so it could also be that they are trying to help you when they say you are doing something wrong," Farissa suggested.

"And just because Byron doesn't seem bothered by those in need doesn't mean he doesn't feel bothered. He puts on a brave face, because he wants those in need to see someone who is happy to help them - in a way, that is how he hides how much it hurts him that he can't help them all, by putting on a smile and a brave face."

[Mir]

"Yes, but Byron only knows to byron." Mir huffed indignantly. "Or so it seems. No sneeky, just byron." The last 'byron' was a verb. "Yes, I can be wrong. But neither Byron or mole-pine seem to think that could happen to them. Always right, oh yes. I know I can kriff up. That's why I am careful."

"Can't eat brave face. Can eat gruel. If he wanted to help, he'd make more gruel."

[Farissa Kho]

"Can't eat brave face, no," she chuckled. "But a friendly smile and a warm face can be so much more. It can inspire others to be better, and it can give them something to look up to or admire. On Coruscant, and elsewhere in the Republic, Jedi are looked up to as heroes - the ones that show up to do the right thing and help those in need. For many small children, it's an ideal and a rolemodel to emulate. Things like that have a ripple-effect, so to speak. If more people want to be nicer and helpful to others, well... then the galaxy might slowly become a better place over time to."

Farissa sighed. "But I think you have only seen one side of Zanja and Byron. I recommend you spend more time with them, to get to know them better. Open up to them too."

[Mir]

"Maybe?" he tilted his head to the sided. "I'd rather have food than smile, though. Unless I could have both." Mir explained thoughtfully and the shrugged. "People weren't too nice to each other in the queue. Maybe he helped, maybe he didn't."

"Kriff no. They are mean enough without knowing too much." Blue eyes looked Farissa markedly. "It hurts enough as is."

[Farissa Kho]

"Mir..." she said, a touch more stern now. Kind of like how a mother would speak to an unruly child. "You know you're not going to go far with that kind of attitude."

[Mir]

"I'll talk to them when they talk to me, ok?" Mir scoffed. "They didn't seem to keen on talking about themselves so, I don't know why I should talk about myself with them. I talk enough with Eir and Ares."

[Farissa Kho]

"You don't have to open up with talking about yourself, of course. Just... try to spend some time with them, doing something together, and ask them about what their life was like before they came to the Jedi temple." Farissa almost insisted. "You can come a long way in the galaxy by learning to make friends with people. Especially those who are sharing in your trials in these days... as master Chriala says, there is a bond among those who face these trials together."

She flipped away some of her hair from her shoulder. "And if you all pass your trials, these are the ones you might be working together with in the future. Either as fellow padawans under the same master, or later when you start to have missions."

[Mir]

"Eh, I don't see them wanting to hang out with me. Why go there and get poked at just for the sake of it. I have some friends." Mir mused. "And if I don't want to talk about my past why they'd want to talk about theirs. If they come to me, sure. But why would I put my hand basp nest if I've already been stung once."

[Farissa Kho]

Farissa folded her arms across her chest. "Being difficult might work with master Murah who is too nice to say anything, but that attitude won't get you far with me or the others. You can take the initiative yourself to start over again with your fellow students, or I will take that initiative for you."

"Don't take for granted your place in the trials, Mir. Master Pollo believed you were ready... I'd hate to see him being wrong."

[Mir]

"Uh? Take initiative?" Mir tilted his head to the side.

[Farissa Kho]

"Take initiative. Take the first step. Show interest in following the way of the Jedi." Farissa sighed. "You might not be able to pass your final trial if you continue like this, Mir."

[Mir]

"You are not master!" Mir scoffed. "You can't tell people what to do." That wasn't exactly true, most jedi were pretty adamant at telling people what to do. "I don't even care." With that the young farghul stormed out.

[Farissa Kho]

Farissa did not move to stop him. No, this was something Mir had to figure out and think through on his own. She sighed and uncrossed her arms... this master-thing was quite a bother. Why couldn't she be back in the shadows by now, or pretending to be someone she was not as she often did? She wasn't cut out for this teacher thing.

"I'm just not as patient as Murah or Orgus," she murmured and closed the door behind Mir.