The Dining Area

Following Tom into the dining area and indeed she would be looking up at the food bar, a bit perplexed. When asked if she needed any help, she looks up at Tom and nods. "Yes, I would appreciate it if you could give me a hand. The world isn't really set up too well for people who are only half a meter tall. I suppose I could use Telekinesis to get my food, but that would be a rather trivial use of the Force and I'd feel pretty silly resorting to that. But would you like to hear my little story?" She asks curiously, referring to the tale of how she got from Kushibah to beginning her training as a Padawan.

Of course Tom would need to know what food to get for her, but at that question, Asani moves up and down the food bar, unable to see the foods available, but the number of different scents she got from it all was a bit overwhelming. She could tell that there was a lot of food here, some that she would like, some she would hate, and even some that would probably make her sick if she tried to eat it. To make things easy, she just makes her way over to the part of the bar that had the majority of the fruits and vegetables. "A few different things from this section would be fine, just pick whatever looks the most fresh I suppose. Stay away from the Beelpop melon though, because I'm allergic." She says with a nod, and looks around to see if there were any chairs that were raised up to make it easier for the vertically challenged to more easily reach the table. "Anyway, we can share stories then, I can't wait!" She adds in an excited tone as she waits for Tom to hand her the plate of food.

It would seem apparent that Asani is rather hungry, as by the time Tom joins her at the table, she's half done eating the food on her plate. When he sits down across from her and asks about her story, she nods and takes a drink of her tea. "Alright, well like I said, I do love being outside. I even often went exploring when I was back on Kushibah, just enjoying being out in the world and seeing what new things I could discover for myself. My parents didn't like that I was going out alone, often punishing me and warning that I'd probably end up eaten by a Xinkra if I kept wandering off by myself. Well, it turned out their worries were founded, but it wasn't the Xinkra that got me. Some slavers snatched me up along with a few other Kushiban from another village. Well, they certainly weren't looking for us to do hard labor, they were into exotic pet trafficking." She says with a shake of her head before continuing. "Well, I wasn't interested in being anyone's pet. so when they showed us to their customers I wasn't exactly very friendly... They didn't like that, and so they didn't treat me very well. By the time they were busted for trying to conduct their trade on a planet where it was illegal, I was sick and severely underfed. But I was soon found by a Jedi by the name of Arcanus Sunstrider. He helped me recover and then brought me to the temple on Arkania, where I began my training. Later I returned home to be with my family when I learned that my father was dying. While I was there I built my lightsaber, and when I returned, Master Concordia introduced me to Master Roma and she continued my training up until we were separated and I found myself traveling with others around the galaxy trying to reach a Jedi who could either train me themselves, or help me locate Master Roma. So, here I am."

"Sure, don't let me rush you." Asani says with a nod. She is actually a little surprised that no one has actually gone out and asked her what the different colors meant, though she does suppose that one could figure out most of them by context given enough time around her. Already done with her meal, she waits patiently for Tom to finish up, then follows him to the spot where the used utensils are supposed to go, a short hop to place her own, then drops down to all fours and follows after Tom as he shows her to the residential area.

*Morning. Tom had done his duty and checked on Zemear and his family before coming here for his morning meal. He might have stayed with them, had he not already decided to lend his resources to Asani as well. So he appeared in the dining area, picking out Asani and making note of her location. He also noticed another familiar figure at the breakfast far, alone, straining only slightly to see over the edge in order to gather food.

Tom smiled and approached the bar himself, grabbing a plate and sidling up beside the young person.*
Good morning, Jake. Not eating with your family?

*The boy was so polite and knew his manners. Which clearly meant he wasn't very familiar with Tom yet. Tom smiled and set about making his own plate as he responded to the boy.*
You don't need to bow to me, nor refer to me as "Master." I'm much like your father in that respect, except your father accepts polite bows as a common greeting much more readily than I do. I'm more of a friend to all than a superior. Anyway, I am feeling fine this morning, though finding myself concerned about two pupils. One of them I am about to meet with for breakfast. Would you like to join us?
*The invitation was mainly so that he wouldn't have to eat alone, and also to help introduce Asani to more members of the base, starting with the smaller ones. Tom kept a chuckle to himself; Jake and Morgan were tiny children already, especially for eight-year-olds, but now there was someone else even smaller in the base. Yes, Asani was a Kushiban and not human, but that was beside the point.*