revivalproject | A Stitch In Time

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A Stitch In Time

WHO: Lark
WHERE: Central Temba
WHAT: A new arrival learning the world
WHEN: Early May (pre-event)
WARNINGS: None

1. Flocks Are Friends

Animals were not exactly the thing that Lark cared the most for. Not that she did not know how to handle some beasts. But exploration must in a new place, to understand how things worked here. And walking was a good thing for fitness. What she hadn't expected was the glowing pony-sheep with wool.

"Shhhh, come here," she cooed to one of the creatures, reaching out for one. Her fingers came away with loose bits of wool, for they leapt to her hand, clinging as if she was staticly charged. "You're so beautiful. I promise I will only use your wool for the finest threads and cloths."

Hand pulled back she pulled one hand in a pinching motion through the air above the other, and the stray wool leapt across the empty air, forming into a thick clump. The woman smiled at that and reached for the wooly creatures again.

"Does your wool remain glowing when it's free of you for a while? I wonder."

2. Grass is Greener

The greenhouse. In a way it's like being home, if only because it reminded her of Rosethorn's. Granted she also knew that wandering around too much in that space could get a rather sharp lecture from the other Dedicate. Still, the space is lovely, and Lark finds herself walking slowly through it in her green temple robes. The plants felt so... still. So quiet. Strange how she had grown used to watching plants catching deliberately at robes and skin because they were eager to touch Rosethorn. Then again, she understood that sentiment quite well.

"What a lovely space," she muses as she walks calmly through the paths. "I've never seen such a large hotbox. What a wonder."

Even Rosethorn's garden was not this large. No had Crane's greenhouse been so extensive

"Where did they get all of this glass?"

3. What Is This Technology?

Yes, she's spent quite a bit of time wandering around this place, trying to find answers and things she was comfortable with. When she returned to sit by the fountain, she pulled out the device she had been given from the leather pouch at her belt.

That left her frowning. IT was a piece of something, glass perhaps, with pictures on it. But what was it supposed to do? Lark touched a button and frowned, and it brought up something like a book, with a lot of text tied to pictures of plants.

"Oh dear, this is powerful magic."

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Ezra's just coming to say hello to the flock.

He comes around the bend just in time to spot that clump of wool moving without being visibly touched.

"Oh, hey, you can-" Well, who knew what this new person called it. He raises the hand he's holding his communicator in, and levitates the device several inches above his palm for a couple of seconds.

"Can you...connect with them, too?" he asks, eyes bright with excitement.

Lark hadn't realized she was not alone until she heard the man's voice, and she turned at once to consider him. Well, he wasn't flinching away from her magic, so that was something. But she raises an intrigued eyebrow over the levitation of the device.

"Connect?" she asked, moving to approach him. And a glownie followed after her, nosing at her soft green robe.

"I do not believe I understand what you mean. The device, you have magic to cause it to fly?"

Not many magics she knew could manage that.

"Where I'm from, the people who taught me, we call it using the Force," Ezra replies, as he catches his communicator and slips into the pocket of his light brown cloak.

"I mean, moving things is just one way to use it. Maybe the most common obvious way Force sensitives show themselves. I've got a bit of a knack with animals. Communicating feelings. Forming bonds."

He's trying to be careful about how much he uses it with the glownies, though. Bonds can wax and wane, in a barely noticeable way, and that's fine. He'd rather not feel when Mr. Vanth kills some of the glownies for food.

"I'm Ezra," he adds.

The Force. Intriguing. Another place with magic, and to call it something different. Except it was different, not that she knew it. Given time she might well come to that conclusion.

"I have never heard of an animal mage," she answered. Then again, she hadn't heard of a dance mage either. How interesting. A magic that could speak to animals. That would be quite useful.

"I am Dedicate Initiate Lark," she answered with a brief bow of her head. "It is my honor to meet you, Ezra. You are familiar with these lovely creatures then?"

"Dedicate Initiate," Ezra echoed, thoughtfully. "If you wanna be formal, I'm Padawan Ezra Bridger. And padawan means a student under a particular master, in the tradition I've been learning. Initiates are younger students." He suspected that's not what initiate meant in Lark's experience. He flashed a quick smile. "But really, just Ezra is fine."

He reaches to pet an the ear of the nearest glownie."We call them glownies. I've only been here a couple of months; al lot of what I know about them come from the Agriculture data point, really. But yeah, I've been helping take care of them."

What an interesting use of terminology. A student under a particular master in her world would most definitely be an apprentice. But she felt like she might need to explain. The woman folded her hands before herself and nodded at the name and explanation.

"Being a dedicate means I have dedicated myself to a Temple of the Circle, I am of a religious order and have completed my time of training to be a full member of my order."

Here she gestured to indicate her green robes, which were an outward sign of her dedication to the temple. Green for the Earth Temple. Then she gestured to the bottom hem of her robe, which had patterning done in black.

"An Initiate is something more. Initiates are those dedicates who are practitioners of a form of magic. Those magics can be quite many and sundry. Some are academic mages who have chosen a life of dedication to the Circle, though this is not as common if they are not of certain specializations. I am an ambient mage."

There was a very marked difference between the two forms of magic.

"Agricultural data point? Like the glowing orb of magic I saw when I arrived here? And I must ask, have you been collecting the wool? Does the knowledge it grants direct you in how to sheer them?"

She would very much like to start working on spinning to help keep her busy while she thinks of this place. And as she didn't know where she might find cotton or flax to work instead, she would need this.

Well, now Ezra had even more questions. He set those aside briefly to try to answer hers.

"Yeah, like that orb. There's a few others that are working, and a whole bunch that seem to be broken or dead. So, yes, we've started to collect the wool, and I know a safe way to shear them, but there's only one person I know of who has any practice at all doing anything with raw wool. That's Sansa, and where she's from, she's a queen, not...a weaver."

Broken. How did one repair ancient magics that were lost and dead? Sadly it was not a thing she could do. It was Sandry who could manipulate magic on that level. Niko who could look and possibly see what was wrong for it to be prepared. And if there was metal to it, Frostpine that might change it. So many others that might assist. But she knew her purpose here already.

"I am very adept at handling fibers," she answered with a soft smile. Sansa. She will keep that name in mind. "I shall not be able to weave easily without a loom. Perhaps one here might be able to craft one for me. Until then, I can work at spinning. Perhaps yarn rather than wool. One doesn't need quite the same tools to turn wool into cloth. That's merely knitting."

Ezra's eye light up in a whole new way.

"If you can help sketch out how the loom is supposed to go together, then yeah, someone can probably help you build one. We have lots of people who are pretty good at building things. That would be so helpful. There are babies here, and I know they're going to be going through clothing like crazy."

"I can. I suppose I should start with a simple lap loom, for a larger one for proper textiles could take a while, especially as I do not know if there is anyone here talented at working wood."

She sighed, a bit annoyed at that. It seemed more likely that she was just going to have to use a great magic, and that would be very draining and dangerous to her without help, but she would do it. First, though, she had a good deal of spinning to do.

"Yes, children do grow. I will be glad to assist them," she smiled. "As well as anyone else with repairs."

"I've done a little woodwork getting some of the houses here back to habitable," Ezra volunteered. "And some have some other people, but a loom would need some fine precision, right? I'm not sure who your best bet would be."

“Precision is better, so things move smoothly. Sadly it is not a process that falls well in line with building a home,” Lark sighed.

Perhaps she could make do with a more clumsily rigged thing.

“I am certain that, if need is great enough, it can be met. Mila provides to those who seek.”

Honestly, just a moment ago he'd resolved to not toss a barrage of questions at Lark simply on the basis that her religion seemed to bear even a passing resemblance to Jedi terminology, but-

He can't help himself. "What's Mila? Or - who?"

Ah, clearly not someone who practiced the same magic as as she did then. But his question is met with a soft, exceedingly patient smile.

“Mila of the Grain. She is an Earth goddess of the Living Circle. She is patron of cultivated lands and crops, but also of spinners and weavers. My patron, though I follow all of the Living Circle.”

Ezra mulled that over a second. Ok, gods with names, sure. Even back home he knows of religions with various gods.

"Patron. Does your magic from Mila then? Can everyone in your religious order do magic?"

Of course the gods had names. It would be harder to honor them if they did not.

"Magic is something one is born with. Whether it is gifted by the gods of the Living Circle or some other gods or just nature itself is a debate to be had. But as you ask, no, not everyone in the Circles are Initiates. Many are not."

Ezra nods. "So your patron god's a personal choice, then?"

“I serve and hold faith with all of the gods and goddesses of the Living Circle. But I am an Earth Dedicate, which means I live by the will of and deepest devotion to the Earth. To Mila of the Grain and the Green Man. But there are others.”

So it was less choosing a god and more the god and belief choosing her.

"Now I just have more questions and wonder if I should be taking notes," Ezra muses.

"So right now there are four of us here, who consider ourself Jedi. We have a area for a temple of sorts, but everyone's welcome there. I mention it because if your tradition involves contemplation or meditation-" He shrugs. "There's early morning meditation most mornings."

"Questions are always welcomed. One cannot seek knowledge of any depth without asking questions," she agrees with a smile.

But an offering of a place to meditate is not bad at all.

"We do have meditation of course. Do you and the other three have a warded meditation room, or do you make a circle before each session that is a mixing of your powers and skills."

"I'm not sure what you mean by a warding or a circle," Ezra admits.

"There's a room that the Agra clearly associated with good things. We can...feel it. We usually use that."

Oh dear. Lark looks at him with all the concern of an elder dedicate looking at the newest acolyte. This was not good at all.

"If you do not ward with a circle, your magic might spin out when you are meditating and cause mischief."

Ezra scrunches up his face thoughtfully.

"I won't say that's impossible. My master was always there when I was first learning. And I've been whammed pretty hard by visions when I'm meditating. But I don't think Jedi make wards the way you're used to. We shield our own minds not...physical spaces."

"One in my world creates a circle not only to shield their mind, but their spaces, as well as the magical workings outside of themselves. We teach the young with very large circles, until they can draw into themselves at will. But meditation is valuable to all."

So yes, she might join them, just to see what their meditation is about.

"As curious as I am, Master Kenobi's probably a better person to compare notes on technical details and theory with," Ezra admits.

"My training has mostly been very, uh, haphazard by traditional standards."

Haphazard. Lark truly looked distressed at that. Poor young people, not served well in the lessons they needed.

“I believe I shall do so. Thank you for the advice.”

Just how unhappy she seems startles him.

"My teachers' have done the best they could," he tries to reassure her. "When and where I'm from is a pretty dark time."

After a beat he admits, "Which I guess isn't reassuring, but the point is I haven't had bad masters. Just bad circumstances for everyone. Winding up here's given me the chance to fill in gaps."

"Many are the times that are dark. It is often through education and training that we are put in a position to make them better. I am sorry that you have experienced such times, but our first responsibility must always be to those who come after."

And without context, she would just assume that those who failed him were just not worthy of teaching.

He shakes his head slowly. "I mean, I get your point."

Kanan had been ashamed of how long he'd hidden he was a Jedi; shame Ezra his master had had to begin to let go before he could properly embrace teaching. Ezra still has questions about where Master Yoda had hidden himself. Maybe that older version of Master Kenobi could have done more than stay on Tatooine while watching over Luke.

But he doesn't hold it against any of them.

"But back home, Jedi had been hunted by the highest political and military authorities because the Jedi Order opposed tyranny. There weren't many full fledged masters left. Trying to gather survivors and new students, without a lot of secrecy, would have almost certainly gotten them all killed. Operating openly enough to be known by the Empire as a Jedi did get my first master killed."

Hunted. Lark's hand came up to cover her mouth to hide her distressed gasp.

"Oh dear, that is horrid. Forgive me for speaking out of turn. I was unaware."

And just like that, Ezra relaxes back into the curious and cheerful young man again.

"It's ok. You couldn't have known, and it's probably a good thing that level of bad isn't what immediately comes to mind."

"There are other levels of bad I can contrive of. But that is one I would not have anticipated. Truly my greatest apologies."

She pauses to off a brief bow as part of her apology.

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A Stitch In Time

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