Alara woke easily, an uncharacteristic frown on her face. While the mornings usually welcomed her gracefully, today was slightly different. She hadn't dreamed last night. Dreaming was a regular occurence for the Miralukan girl, she enjoyed the way dreams made her feel like a normal person. She relied on them to take her to far off worlds, do extraordinary things, and ignore the life she was currently living. Alara shrugged. She was, after all, Master Shan's padawan, she supposed that she really shouldn't complain about things like that. Alara got out of bed and got herself ready for the day. She began with the usual meditation, followed by her hygiene routine, and finished by removing her pajamas, folding them up, placing them in the hamper, and putting on her white ropes. All with the help of the Force. It may have been the littlest bit lazy, but it was good practice. Alara quickly slipped her green training sabre into its hip holster before she left her quarters. While the weapon was still just a traiing tool, Alara still hated the very thought of it. She despised the idea that she was carrying a weapon, that she would one day carry a weapon with the power to take the life of another. She shook her head, as if trying to physically remove the thought. Alara walked to her classes, a slight smile dancing across her features. She had remembered that she was going to be seeing her brother today. Usually, the pair were inseparable, but for the last few weeks, Jurian had been training exclusively with his Master, the Jedi Battlemaster himself, Jun Seros. He was nearly a knight in his own right, and Alara was very proud of him. Alara smiled wider as she walked to her classes. Her brother was such an amazing Jedi. He weilded two sabres, and was a very accomplished duelist, or at least he had been the last Alara had seen him. He was more than willing to fight for the side of justice, and with his own two hands at that. He was so much more of an admirable Jedi than Alara would ever be. She sighed. "After all this time, I'm still hiding behind my brother..." She whispered to herself. Unbeknownst to Alara, she was being watched. The majority of the school knew Alara for what she truly was: one of the most gifted, if not the most gifted, padawan at the Temple. "There she goes." The said, their tones reverant and fearful. "Alara, Master Shan's padawan." Voices whispered in awe, the white robes doing nothing to dispel the ostracism she had instantly garnered when she walked through the Temple doors. Alara could do nothing to quash the gossip and the rumors. She could hardly approach the other students, let alone talk to them. Alara, instead, attended her classes like usual.
During classes, it was the same as every other day. "Excellent work Alara." "You've exceeded my expectations yet again Alara." "Everyone watch Alara, she's mastered the technique perectly." The only course in which she wasn't surpassing all her peers was sabre combat. There she was merely average. Regardless, she progressed steadily enough, and whatever she learned, she remembered. Her teacher's praise did nothing to lift her steadily worsening mood. Not dreaming had been one thing, but the students not talking to her, and the gulf between her and them widening was almost too much for the poor teenage girl to take. After her general lessons, Alara retreated to her Master's private study, where she would begin her advanced curriculum for the day. It had started innocently enough, Master Shan had asked her to levitate. Alara rose into the air gracefully, her legs crossed, her palms resting on her thighs, just below the knee. Next, her Master had asked her to lift two chairs into the air, while Master Shan was still sitting in one. The chairs rose evenly, the real issue was once her Master began actively pushing down on her testing materials. Alara maintained perfect form. Then came the next step of the exercise. "Now put a slight spin on the chairs. Make them orbit around you, slowly," she says calmly. Alara nodded, smiling sweetly. As if a large hand had absentmindedly flicked the floating chairs, they began to spin. After a moment, they slowed, and then maintained a constant speed. As the chairs settled into their movement, Alara began the second part of her Master's request. Again, the chairs began to move, much more smoothly this time. The chairs picked up a little speed, and the maintained a walking pace as they orbited Alara. This continued for a few minutes until Master Shan once again exerted herself upon the chairs, attempting to halt both their rotation and revolutions. Alara held firm. She battled against the unseen forces that buffeted her assignment. She began to grin wolfishly, the way her brother did when he began to truly relish a chalenge. Her grin was much less terrifying than her brother's. His usually meant someone had earned his most ernest attempts to destroy them. Alara, on the other hand, was excited. She hadn't been pushed this hard for a while. She doubled her pace, of both revolution and rotation. All the while, her Master pushed her. It became a contest for Alara, one she felt the need to win. However, as time wore on, and Alara pushed, her Master began to gain the upper hand. Alara became frustrated. Here she was one of the best force users in the whole Temple, hand picked by her Master, and she couldn't keep up with this simple little game? Alara redoubled her efforts, picking up the speed as much as she could. Finally, she returned to her normal pace, before slowing, and returning the chairs to the ground. Though she was still floating, her breathing was ragged, and she glistened with sweat. Slowly, her hands clenched into fists, and she floated gently to the ground. Shan stood from the chair she was sitting in and walked over to Alara. Slowly, she knelt, and placed a comforting hand on Alara's shoulder. "Something is wrong Alara." Her Master stated. It wasn't a question. "Of course." Alara said, upset. "It's not the difficulty of the training. I know that that makes you happy. You told me yourself that you enjoy the challenge." Her master said, her words soothing, but they felt like daggers. "What's the point of being a freak." Alara snapped. "What's the point of all this? So I can never be normal? To ruin my chances of friendship with the others?" Alara spat, her words full of venom. "Patience, my padawan." Master Shan crooned. "You are exceptionally gifted. These powers come with a price and a responsibility. The reason I chose you wasn't to turn you into a tool, to make you unapproachable. I chose you so I could nurture the gift I see in you. To give you the control you desire. You will come to terms with your gifts in time. Now get up and go. You're dismissed for the day. Your brother's been here for over twenty minutes now, I'm sure he's waiting to see you." Master Shan said, sighing as she watched Alara bound out of the room. She was such a child. To wield that kind of power at such a young age was horrible. It made you an outcast.
Alara nearly skipped out of Master Shan's study. She bounded over to her brother, who was leaning up against a wall and hugged him tight. "Hello brother!" Alara said, a massive smile on her face. "I'm so happy to see you!" Alara looped her arm through his and nearly dragged him with her, causing quite a commotion. Alara ambled for a moment, hugging her brother's arm and enjoying his presence. After a while, they began to attract stares. "Isn't that Alara? Who's that guy she's with?" Some of the furtive glances were jealously for the position of the boy Alara was holding onto. Others knew Jurian from their classes, and remarked simply, "Siblings. How sweet." Others still were shocked, "Is Alara smiling? Since when does she, you know... hang out with people?" Alara ignored all of these things and looked up at her brother, smiling. "So, I was supposed to help you meditate today. What for big brother?" Alara asked sweetly.