Jedi Artisan 020

After departing the Council Chamber, Zane directed Shaak Ti to his quarters. Whereupon, he sewed her a maid's outfit, and much to her embarrassed sputtering, watched her clean his room. 

“The white stockings look good on you.” Zane complimented, sitting back in a chair as he enjoyed the show. 

The red Togruta grumbled to herself as she stood on her tiptoes, a duster in hand. 

“Don't forget to use the bucket and sponge on the floor.” Zane remarked, stroking his chin. 

Seconds later, a sponge came sailing at his head at super speeds. His lewd grin froze in place as he tilted his head to dodge. However, his more martially inclined girlfriend was quite fast, and lunged towards him, pressing another sponge into his face. A look of haughty triumph spread across her face, but her eyes began to rapidly blink in surprise as Zane stood from his seat. 

With a flourish, he disrobed into his small clothes. 

“You. No. We are not doing that.” She sputtered, every other glance stealing a look at the tent being pitched right before her eyes. 

“Why my dear Ti Ti, whatever do you mean by that?” Zane grinned, slowly approaching her like a predator. 

Subconsciously backing up, she let out a cute ‘eep’ when her spine touched the wall. 

Placing his forearm above her head, he trapped her escape, and leaned in close and intimate. Closing her eyes, Shaak Ti shivered, but was also somewhat expectant and fearful. Was this it?!

Onlyyy the sweet taste never met her lips, and a bundle of wet robes was dumped on her head. 

“Zane!” Shaak Ti hissed in fury, swiping the clothes off. 

“Ah, ah. You've got to clean this mess up. A bet's a bet.” He placed his hands at his hip, and crowed in triumph. 

She tightly closed her mouth, and puffed out her cheeks in a very adorable manner. The black lace of her outfit was now soaked, making her bouncy tits appear perky and malleable. 

Zane swallowed, and took a deep steadying breath. Patience man. All in due time. 

Huffing to herself, Shaak Ti resumed her cleaning activities, much to Zane's satisfaction. He was going to enjoy the show some more, when a message was sent through his Force Bond. 

‘Zane. Yoda told me you have crafted a most wonderful instrument. We are waiting for you at the Uteni tree~~~’ Master Oogway's will pulsed through their Force Bond. 

Zane felt himself wilt like an oversaturated flower, and hastily tossed on another Jedi robe from his closet. Damned old bastards, always cockblocking me! 

Shaak Ti seemed to sense his displeasure, and noting his actions, softly laughed behind one hand. 

“Not another word, woman!” Zane growled, grabbed her wrist, and then roughly kissed her. 

Without giving the sexy Togruta a chance at a response, he was already out the door, and stomping his way down the halls. 

By the time Zane had reached the courtyard that the Uneti tree was in, he had calmed down, and composed himself. The two best friends-Yoda & Oogway-were a major pain in his ass. Yet for all the heat he gave them, they were probably the best mentors a young idiot could use. 

Pausing for a moment, he appreciated the scenery. The tree's pale branches spread wide over the quiet meditation garden, their leaves whispering in the soft current of the Force. Afternoon light filtered through the canopy in drifting gold, falling across a stone path, hanging moss, and the small tea table that had been placed beneath the ancient trunk.

Master Yoda sat on one side of it, his walking stick resting against the table’s edge. Master Oogway sat across from him, tossing some small crackers into a koi pond nearby. The turtle-alien's own stick rested behind him…Zane had many a memory of being beaten by the thing in preparation for his Knight trials. Between them rested a steaming teapot, and his favorite cookies from Coruscant, clearly this was a bait item. 

Zane slowly approached, and wordlessly poured everyone a cup of tea. 

“Troubled, your student seems.” Yoda said, lifting his cup with both hands. His large ears twitched with barely concealed amusement. “Heavy, the burdens of youth are.”

Oogway hummed thoughtfully and looked at Zane with a smile so gentle it almost seemed harmless. Almost.

“Indeed. The young branch bends beneath the weight of its own leaves, not realizing that the tree is laughing in the wind.” Oogway blew on his cup, struggling to hold it with his aged hands. 

“Masters.” Zane inclined his head, then took a seat of his own. He knew they were talking Bantha shit, but he couldn't help but look at his own teacher in concern, the trembling had grown worse…

Oogway sipped his tea, and smiled at Zane as if to say ‘do not worry.’

Zane replied with a tight smile of his own. Watching the man who had raised him near his end filled his heart with all sorts of complexities. To him, Oogway was like a grandpa & father mixed into one. He wasn't ready to lose a loved one so soon. 

Yoda’s eyes narrowed, ignoring Zane's change in demeanor, and poked his ribs with his walking stick. “Defensive, he is. Barriers he builds, yet soft and fleshy he remains.” 

“I am not defensive.” Zane said in a defensive tone between a nibble at a cookie. 

“Ah.” Oogway murmured, taking one of the few remaining cookies, he crumbled it up, feeding it to the fishes. 

Yoda chuckled into his tea.

Zane looked from one ancient master to the other. Neither of them appeared remotely inclined to explain why he had been summoned. 

He reached for his own tea, thirsty after devouring his cookie. 

Yoda’s stick tapped lightly against his shin. Although it wasn't powerful, a jolt went up his spine as a kinetic impact was sent throughout his body. 

“Patience.” Yoda said.

Zane slowly withdrew his hand, and gulped a dry, saliva-less mouth. 

Oogway nodded approvingly. “Very good. He can be taught.”

Zane sulked. He was flippant in front of everyone else, but these two were clearly using their power and authority to bully him! 

“Mm.” Oogway hummed, as though his charming student wasn't there. 

Yoda leaned forward, peering at Zane over the rim of his cup. “A Jedi Knight, you are. A tailor, also. A negotiator, sometimes. A musician, now, hmm? Perhaps a smuggler now too?” 

“I have never smuggled anything.” Zane denied. 

“Not goods, perhaps, but trouble? Constantly. Effortlessly, with great artistry.” Oogway casually remarked, drawing what looked like a maid's outfit into the pond's sand. 

“Gifted, he is.” Yoda added on. 

Zane felt his already dry mouth go even dryer. Sharing a glance with his Master, Oogway gave him a little smirk as well as a supporting thumbs up. 

“Tch.” Scoffing to himself, Zane closed his eyes. Meditating was always a good excuse to tune this pair of windbags out. 

The Uneti leaves stirred overhead. In the silence, the Force moved like a slow breath through the garden. It was peaceful, and for a while, Zane let the trials of the previous mission disappear as he enjoyed spending time with two of his most precious people. 

Oogway shakily poured more tea into Yoda’s cup, then into his own, then finally into Zane’s spilling just a bit onto the table along the way. The liquid was pale green and fragrant, with a faint floral scent. 

Zane looked at the cup, and watched as some dripped down the lip. He clenched a fist within his long sleeve, angry that time was robbing him of his once practically clairvoyant Master. 

“Drink, it may help you endure enlightenment.” Oogway slowly said, gesturing for Zane to indulge. 

“What is the lesson this time?” Zane suspiciously asked, eyeing the cup of tea despite his extreme thirst. 

He had gone on missions in deserts, tempered his bodily needs, and lived an entire month sustaining himself purely with the Force. If Yoda commanded patience, patience he would practice…he thought to himself like a petulant child. 

Oogway smiled warmly at him, already knowing how his student thought. “Zane, my young friend, we are here because you have recently returned from Mimban. This was a mission of diplomacy, one that required sensitivity, restraint, patience, and tact.”

Zane’s expression remained serene, knowing where this was going. 

Yoda set his cup down, then steepled his hands staring him down. “Played a magic harp at armed attackers, you did. Met pirates with bold judgement, and bankers bolder judgement still, hrm, yes.”

Zane took a slow sip of tea, waiting for them to get to the point. 

Oogway watched him with a fond look, and nodded with an approving smile. 

“What can I say, it worked, didn't it?” Zane shrugged. 

“Always, he says this.” Yoda shook his head, tapping the table with his stick. 

“Because it usually does.” Zane replied, lifting his hands in a ‘I don't know what to tell you’ gesture. 

“Usually.” Oogway repeated, nodding gravely. “The favorite word of those standing near the edge.”

Zane sighed, realizing that they were just concerned over his safety. A warm feeling spread throughout his heart as he drank the aged elders’ appearances in, knowing they would be gone before long. 

Yoda leaned back beneath the Uneti tree as a smile slowly blossomed across his wrinkled face. “Much like Qui-Gon, this one is.” 

Oogway raised one finger, beginning a sentence, but it came out disjointed, and nonsensical. “...ahem.” He coughed in a sick-like manner, and drank some tea to wet his lips. 

Oogway folded his hands into his sleeves, acting like the faux pa never happened.  “When Zane was young, he once spent three days altering the robes of a visiting dignitary.”

“Remember this, I do.” Yoda chuckled along. 

“He wished to prove that the man’s terrible mood was caused by an uneven shoulder seam.” Oogway said with mirth, staring out into nothing as he relived the past. 

Yoda’s eyes brightened. “Was it?”

Oogway nodded. “It was.”

Zane sighed in embarrassment, unable to hate his Master for speaking about the past. 

“What. He negotiated better afterward.” Zane stated, not bothering to argue about what was done. 

“Zane has always believed that if a thing is wrong, it should be fixed, a noble instinct.” Oogway complimented. “However, he has not always been as subtle as he thinks he is.” The turtle-alien shot Zane a sly look. 

“Difficult, learning is, when finding trouble, second nature is.” Yoda looked at Zane, and spoke in a sympathetic tone.  

“There is arrogance in him.” Oogway hummed. “Not the loud arrogance of a fool who believes himself better than others. That would be easier to correct.”

“Less paperwork, also.” Yoda murmured his agreement. 

“Indeed. No, Zane’s arrogance is quieter. More troublesome. He sees patterns quickly. He notices hidden motives. He senses where a stitch has gone wrong in the fabric before others even know there is a tear.” Oogway continued, crumbling up the last cookie, and tossing it into the water. “And because he is often right, he sometimes forgets that others must still walk the path to understanding.”

“Win the game, he wishes to. Before the pieces know they are pieces.” Yoda sighed. 

Patience. 

The Force seemed to breath this word across the leaves of the Uteni tree. 

Zane stared into the steam curling from his cup, then stood up, and bowed to the pair of Masters. 

“Thank you for the lesson, Masters. Now please. Allow me to show you my latest creation.” Zane said with a smile. 

Pulling out the mystic harp, he poured his idea of serenity into it, and began to perform for them. The afternoon sunlight glittered off the leaves, and seeing Oogway’s appreciation, Zane played harder, and for all his worth. To make his most precious people proud of him, to make them happy…that was his Jedi way.