The Dining Area

Serena shook her head."No. Dad won't let me get anything like that. He says we have to stick to that part of the Jedi Code or something like that. All of my clothes are kinda plain."She sighed, sometimes wishing she could wear whatever she wanted, but it was one of the rules at home and she had to follow it."But he let me pick out a nice swimsuit one time! Except I didn't bring it with me. I hope Mom brings it."Not that she would likely be needing it if she was just going swimming with Morgan, but if her brother wanted to come along sometime, then she would need it.

Serena nodded, glad that Morgan understood."Guess we'll have to. That's OK though."She smiled and turned her attention to the rest of her meal. Today had been sandwich day apparently and so she had made herself one and there was only a little bit left, which was soon eaten. She giggled and nodded in agreement with Morgan."I like it when I can make my own sandwiches. It's always a little yummier when you make it yourself."Although she had probably put a little too much mayo on hers, it was still good.

Serena giggled loudly as Morgan asked where she had been all her life. She knew Morgan wasn't confessing her love or anything like that, but despite this, she still felt herself blushing a little. It was certainly nice to meet someone that had so much in common with her, but that didn't mean Morgan was in love with her, right? Of course not!

She took a deep breath and managed to stop her giggles."Y-yeah...I know what you mean."Whew. This was a little embarrassing for the both of them it seemed, so she just hoped they could shrug it off and move on. It looked like they were both done eating, so Serena pushed her plate aside."Er...so...I should probably get my stuff unpacked..."Not wanting Morgan to feel like that comment had made it too awkward, Serena smiled reassuringly at her."Wanna come help?"

Lance knew he was nearing the cantine by the bustling noise and drone of audible chatter; well communication was perhaps a better word since not all species present spoke in fluent basic. As a matter of fact Lance was rather surprised to find such a diverse gathering and could think of no where else where he had seen such a collective, truly this was a rather unusual space. He entered unnoticed, not receiving an odd glance or so much as a look, all others were htoo busy preoccupied eating, conversing or moving around the space. Lance paused momentarily before locating the serving area then made his way there, he grabbed a tray and loaded it up with food all of which looked plain and safe and somewhat; he hoped, familiar. He then made his way to the end of a bench that was vacated. He was halfway through his meal when he a small polite cough drew him to look up. As he did he found himself looking at diminutive dark little creature with rodent like features, wide black pebble eyes and a pair of huge ears, the creature seemed rather skittish and when it spoke it did so in a shrill voice.[/color]

Lance nodded then swallowed slowly, he looked around him to see if anyone had noticed, but everyone continued about their business, taking this as her cue Sifi continued.

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Lance questioned, this drew a small almost bird like tittering from the creature.

Sefi spread her hands on the table as she explained to Lance about how there were lots of Jedi Master's, she then further explained about the ranks of the Jedi Order and a little about the training, whilst she also expressed a little doubt about whether she would ever make it into this legendary collective. As Sefi spoke Lance became more relaxed he told her a little about himself and how fast everything had moved. Sifi replied that it had been similar for her and before he knew it Lance had passed an hour talking to the creature whom he now knew was a Chadra-Fan.

Lance was about to continue the conversation when a familiar brimmed hat Jawa sat beside him.

Came the metallic flat tone of the Jawa's synthesized voice. Lance turned and smiled then gestured with a hand and introduced Sefi. This drew a chuckle from the Jedi.

Atch provided what Lance assumed was the Jawa equivalent of a wink and then the trio were chuckling. Atch then checked his chrono.

With that he rose and left the table and Lance bade Sefi goodnight and then followed suit making his way to his dorm room.

I'm just glad you didn't crash and burn!
*The chatter entering the dining area came from two girls, eleven years of age, one blond, one dark brunette. The blond-haired girl, Michelle, was still in a state of disbelief at the tale of the other girl, Shells, and it showed. Shells, meanwhile, was only grinning stupidly.*
What can I say? I got the skills?
*Michelle puffed in disbelief, shaking her head as they made their way toward the serving line.*
More like dumb luck.
*Shells' grin became somewhat smug, having an immediate retort as she and Michelle took their trays.*
I thought there was no such thing as luck.
*After a pause, she had a bit of a realization and tilted her head before giving Michelle an accusatory look.*
Did you just call me dumb?
*At this, Michelle giggled and shook her head.*
Well you certainly have your moments... like now... but you're not dumb!
*It only took Shells a quick moment to realize what Michelle meant by right now being one of her "moments," then she playfully shoved Michelle down the line. Michelle only stumbled a little and laughed, regaining her footing quickly as the two of them loaded their trays with food for the current meal.*
Seriously though, Bix must've exploded after that!
*Shells' stupid grin returned after this accurate guess.*
I'm pretty sure he was just glad to be alive for a moment... then he exploded! I don't think he's ever gonna take me flying again!
*Michelle laughed again.*
I wouldn't either! At least for a little bit! Stick to simulations for a while, Shells. Then maybe you can be as good as me.
*Michelle grinned and Shells nudged her again, more gently this time, before they started to look for a table. Michelle scanned the crowds before seeing a lone girl at a table, one she didn't recognize. Michelle would not claim to know every single inhabitant of the base by name, but she certainly could recognize faces. Well, of humanoid species at least. But this girl was a human Michelle was pretty sure she'd never recognized before. She seemed a little lost and overwhelmed, and that was no good. Michelle nudged Shells and nodded toward her.*
Looks like a new girl by herself. Let's go say hi! And try not to scare her off!
*Both girls giggled and Shells agreed, so the two of them made their way to the table and stopped at the edge, Michelle greeting her with a smile.*
Hi! Do you mind if we sit here?

*Poor girl, she seemed confused and was stumbling over her words. Definitely could use some company. Or maybe she was just a little uncertain of herself, like Jake. Ah, Jake. It was different having a boy in the family, but he was a good kid, very well-mannered, but again, sometimes had a little trouble with words. Maybe that was all there was to it with this girl.

Michelle and Shells both took a seat when the girl said it was okay, then introduced herself as Raine Ordo. Michelle tilted her head a tiny bit to the side. Ordo... that was a Mandalorian name, wasn't it? And the galaxy had just seen itself threatened by large-scale war by them, though that hadn't lasted too long. What was one doing here? She was Force-sensitive, that much was clear, and the recent war had been against those who could touch the Force, light, dark, or between. Was she a renegade? A refugee? If she was, it was doubtful she would be toting her heritage like that...

Presently, it was unimportant, as Michelle only continued to wear a friendly smile and nod.*
My name's Michelle, and this is Marie.
*She grinned, as, while that was indeed Shells' birth name, she hadn't gone by it in so long she hardly reacted to it. Indeed, Shells had a confused look on her face, as though wondering why Michelle had called her such an odd name, then Michelle suppressed laughter at the look of realization then the scowl that followed.*
That's not my name!
*Then she looked at Raine.*
I mean, it is my name, but no one calls me that! My name's Shells!
*She looked back at Michelle in disbelief.*
Why did you call me that?!
*Michelle finally did break out in laughter, highly amused by the reaction.*
To see what you'd do, of course!
*Shells narrowed her eyes at her, then shook her head and started to eat. Michelle waited to eat after looking back at Raine and asking a question.*
Are you new here?

*Just got here and hadn't been introduced to anyone? That was no good. She was looking for training, but so far unable to find any. Well, if she had only just got here, she had plenty of time then. Michelle smiled at her encouragingly.*
Don't worry, there's still time to find a Master! And even if you don't, well, classes are good too, for learning stuff.
*Raine then looked toward Shells, asking her why they called her that. Ah, the origin of Shells' nickname, a mystery for the ages. Shells seemed to think about this for a moment, considering her response, then decided to divulge the details.*
I dunno. They've just called me that forever.
*She shrugged and went back to eating, leaving Michelle with a grin and a giggle; she didn't know the origins either, and she wasn't sure anyone actually did. Shaking her head, she looked back to Raine.*
So how long have you been training? Before you came here I mean.

*Michelle noticed the smile and was glad that they were at least able to make her feel comfortable enough to smile around strangers. Easing one into their new surroundings was always important, and Michelle wanted to make sure she felt as welcome as possible.

As far as not having any training, that was totally fine and normal, but the sudden trailing off when she mentioned her parents... It wasn't really hard to know what happened. Shells didn't seem to really notice, but Michelle's expression became a frown briefly before she quickly turned it back into a friendly smile, trying to not look aware of the implication.

And then Raine revealed that she'd been living on the streets for some time, teaching herself how to control her abilities. So much for the implication, that was pretty much confirmation. Apparently people just got hurt by her abilities, and that didn't sound any good at all. Michelle frowned again a little, feeling sorry for the girl, but then put on another cheery smile again.*
Well that's okay! I'm sure someone can help you here! Just probably not Shells.
*Shells looked a little affronted at this and nudged Michelle.*
Hey! ... she's probably right.
*Both girls giggled.*

*There was the laughter. Michelle beamed, glad to have gotten through already. Raine then asked how long they had been training, along with the obvious question of what it was like. As Michelle was in the middle of a bite of food, however, Shells took it upon herself to reply to that one.*
Ugh, it's hard! All the hard work every day, getting up early, no play, and the homework—
*Michelle's eyes had widened as Shells began her fallacious rant, and she did her best to chew through her food quickly and swallow it so she could cut over her with a nudge.*
Shells! Shut up!
*Shells gave a mock-pout, faking insult as Michelle quickly shook her head at Raine with a nervous-but-reassuring smile.*
It's not like that! Really! ... well, the homework can be annoying.
*Shells snickered. Michelle gave her a mock-glare before continuing.*
I mean I guess it is hard work, but you're not doing it all the time like Shells joked about.
*Michelle gave Shells a hard stare, one that made her actually shrink a little; joke or not, saying stuff like that was going to be anything but encouraging to a new member of the base. Softening her expression, Michelle returned her attention to Raine.*
There's a lot of things you'll have to learn, but learning them is really cool, especially mastering them! They're pretty useful, and you can do so many things that it feels good to know these abilities.
*This fact was actually Michelle's own driving force when it came to learning: The many abilities taught by the Jedi were so useful that who wouldn't want to command these tools and be prepared for just about anything? She wasn't sure exactly if most Jedi shared this mindset, but it was certainly her own.*
Anyway, don't worry! There's still plenty of time to relax and play as well.
*She concluded this with a smile.*