(Female Padawan OC x Female Sith Apprentice OC)
Chapter 1: Eggshell Black
The slender black comb gently fell through long strands of deep auburn hair, all tangles had been dismantled ages ago, but the young Zabrak found the sensation of the bristles sorting out each hair to be very calming. Calm. The most important of the tenants they had been taught. Calm. She must learn to combat her natural instincts and be calm. Calm at all times. She had become quite skilled in this art, often through finding practices that stilled her mind. Such as combing. Though this would be a rather impractical way of coping if she were being overwhelmed in the middle of a fight.
Q’tarn stared at their reflection in the mirror, using the Force to sense each individual hair growing from their head. She could braid her hair without moving if she wished. Quite an impressive feat, she believed, considering hand motions were often necessary for those harnessing the Force. And indeed it helped them feel the presence of the life around them better, but that was the benefit of hair. She could already feel it on her head.
Carefully separating her thin padawan braid from the rest of her hair, she laid it gently between her first and second horn. She frowned as she pulled the rest of the hair away from her scalp to begin the larger braid. The nubs of their unsprouted left horns were unfortunate leftovers of their puberty. She had given up hope long ago of them ever emerging. They would simply remain ugly bony bumps protruding from her skull. She sighed and resumed concentration. Three strands separated themselves from the mass of her hair, slowly weaving together in a somewhat thick braid. With half of their head shaved, it wasn’t exactly luscious.
With yet another sigh, she unwound the braid and let it all fall back into its original place. They hadn’t shown Master Windu this particular talent yet, mostly because they weren’t keen on displaying their half-grown horns. She much preferred the right side of her head, three polished ivory horns curving up from the clean shaven side of her skull. Dark tattoos accented the ridges where they erupted from the bone in a half crown configuration, and continued to trail down her forehead where the black lines converged into a single line ending just above their eyebrows. More tattoos traced her cheeks and chin. They softly smiled at them. At least her ceremonial tattoos were not defective.
They were both proud of their culture and ashamed of their heritage. Though many Jedi had risen from the Iridonian Zabraks over the years, they always had to fight against the bellicose instincts that had been necessary for their ancestors' survival in the harsh climate of their home planet. Q’tarn was a victim of this struggle, often being reprimanded by Windu for becoming too giddy during intense sparring matches and the occasional mission that he brought her along for.
She couldn’t help but be excited when her Jedi master was able to spare time to spar with her. He was often so caught up in Counsel affairs that their training became a secondary priority. The other padawans were so fed up with her challenging them to sparring matches that they often outright denied her, not even bothering to make up excuses as they had in the past. It frustrated them how little else there was to do in the Jedi Temple. Though an excellent teacher Windu was, Q’tarn couldn’t help but yearn for a most active master who wasn’t so wrapped up in politics.
Bored of her morning contemplation, she turned away from her chamber’s mirror and exited the room. With a vague yearning, she eyed the mostly empty rooms that lined the padawan quarters. So many of them were scattered across the galaxy at this very moment, learning how to bring peace to the Republic. And here Q’tarn was, stuck in this same building everyday with no one but the sparring droids to train with. Perhaps they could convince Windu to give them a lesson today…
Abruptly, one of the few other occupied chamber doors swung open, and another padawan, only a year or so younger than Q’tarn, emerged.
“Greetings Obi-Wan.” Q’tarn nodded.
“Oh, hello there Q’tarn. Fine morning isn’t it?” He smiled back.
“Well I don’t know enough about it to discern its finery yet.”
“Ah, quite so. Did you sleep well?”
“Quite alright,” Obi-Wan stretched his arms above his head, fingers interlocked, “I always sleep better here than on the starships, you’re lucky you get to sleep in one bed most of the time.”
“‘Lucky’ is one word for it I suppose, though I prefer the term ‘boring’.” Q’tarn revealed.
“Huh, I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He conceded.
Q’tarn’s bright amber eyes lit up as she casually questioned, “Would you happen to have time for a match later today?”
Obi-Wan awkwardly combed his hands through his hair, “Well, I’m heading out with Qui-Gon in just a few minutes, so…”
They sighed, “Of course, best of luck on your next mission. May the Force be with you.”
“May the Force be with you,” he returned, then began heading down the hall into the main portion of the Temple.
Q’tarn watched the other padawan turn the corner and disappear. She supposed standing in the hall wasn’t the most efficient use of time, so she eventually followed after him, attempting to not be disheartened by yet another refusal. Windu was probably meeting with Yoda somewhere…
She closed her eyes as she walked, knowing the halls with enough confidence that she hardly needed sight. Sensing the strong Force presence of their master and the Grand Master in an upper room together, they confirmed their suspicions and secured a target to head toward.
