Blurred Sides (COMPLETE)

7.9.2

Shaak Ti sat down on the cushion and waited patiently for the door to open. The Younglings had just finished a lesson with one of their trainers and would be coming up any minute now. She hadn't found a chance to talk to them further about their vision until now, and she was hoping that they had been able to talk to their fellow Younglings about the veil.

It wasn't often she sought out counsel from children, and it was an odd sensation to depend on a group of Younglings for answers. She spent so much time teaching the Younglings, most of the time teaching them how to control the Force, but it was her that was giving advice in those moments. This was different.

Shaak smiled. She had seen almost every Jedi, Padawan, and Youngling come through the Temple in the past fifteen years or so. She had watched them grow and mature, and she was always happy to see another one of her students pass the Trials of Knighthood. It was an important landmark in their journey, and Shaak was always proud to be even the smallest part of it.

Shaak hadn't recognized the Force signature of the Inquisitor, during their brief encounter on Kiros. She didn't necessarily know why, perhaps it was because she hadn't met her before or maybe it was because of the Darkness in her, but the Inquisitor had never been one of her students. No part of the presence radiating from the Inquisitor hinted at the identity of Ahsoka Tano, at least not to her.

She wanted to contemplate what she ought to say to the Council on the matter, but at that moment her thoughts were interrupted by the six Younglings returning from their training. The door slid open and they came in single file, laughing and joking as they sat in a circle around Shaak Ti, in the same order that they had the other day.

When they all settled and sat silently, Shaak opened her eyes and looked at them all in turn. "How was your training today, little ones?" She asked softly, not wanting to worry them with what was truly on her mind.

"It went well," Ganodi answered, and the others nodded in confirmation. "Our trainers seem pleased with our progress lately."

"We've been talking to others," said Katooni, "about the veil you asked us about. No one else has seen it in their visions."

Shaak nodded slowly. "How many Younglings did you talk to?"

Zatt picked up the conversation. "As many as we saw. It was tough to talk to them outside of class, but we asked during meals and breaks and no one said anything about a veil, or something blocking their visions."

"We even talked to Padawan Dume, and he talked to some of his Padawan friends," Gungi said. "Most of them didn't see it either."

"Most of them?"

Byph answered. "He said some of the older ones did. According to him, the only Padawans who saw the veil were older, almost at the age that they would take the Trials. Most of them were eighteen and older."

Shaak did her best to hid her concern. Older Padawans, just like she had suspected. "Did they say anything about what it was like?"

Ganodi nodded. "Padawan Dume said that the veil was more of a haze to the others, and it formed into their surrounding. Some of them saw things in the haze, and sometimes it spoke to them."

Not good, definitely not good.

"Master, why can't we see the veil, like the others? Do we need to be stronger in order to see it?"

"The veil is not a good thing, Zatt. It prevents me from seeing my visions like they ought to be. I'm just wondering why it isn't affecting you."

"But we are seeing the mold, still. Is that a good thing?"