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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3508952" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 455: I am...Tobias looked out across the forest that covered Yavin IV. The usual look of the moon was now covered by a thick haze of rain, drenching everything below. Tobias was included in this, having been out in the jungle with Master Ral for a good hour before the rain had started. Now they were in the large clearing outside the Great Temple which was now covered in mud and underbrush rather than the usual dirt...and Toby felt like he was carrying two extra people with every step. His clothes were definitely not designed for the rain.    “Stand up straight, Tobias!” the Jedi Master, also drenched but seeming not to notice it, had to practically yell to be heard through the torrent.    Grudgingly, and with a bit of a growl under his breath, or at least, as much as a human could growl, Tobias stood up against the weight of his clothes and looked to his blue-skinned Master. The rain actually made it hard to see, despite the fact that Master Ral was only a few meters away. That was the point really...to limit his vision. It didn’t help that he was already tired from earlier exercises during the day, but that seemed to only encourage Master Ral’s sadistic enjoyment in watching Tobias reach new levels of exhaustion.    And then there was movement.    Tobias didn’t see it. He couldn’t see it. But he did both hear it and feel it through the Force. Left. Up high...arcing towards his head.    Quickly, Toby raised his left arm in a defensive position. A second later, he yelped as a sharp pain wracked through his arm. The object had to have been moving nearly as fast as a blaster bolt and was large, heavy, and, from the feel of it, very solid.    There was a thud a moment later that Toby could barely hear, though he felt the ground shift near his foot. He clenched his teeth to hold back another noise of pain when he moved his arm, then instinctively reached over to hold the injured limb...somehow managing not to remorph it.    Master Ral took a few steps towards him, close enough to be clearer in the rain, and let out a sigh, “Tobias, you were supposed to dodge that.”    A whimper escaped him this time, and it was because Tobias managed a shrug and it sent a shock of pain down his arm again. But he didn’t say anything, and it became obvious quickly that Master Ral was detecting something he’d been looking for. Without another word, himself, the Omwati placed a hand on his young apprentices shoulder and led him into the hangar bay.    Within the bay was the usual collection of various ships. All of them were off to the sides, leaving the open center section for training and, of course, room for the ships to arrive and depart through. Currently, with the weather as it was, many of the Masters were using the area for some of the more basic training for the younger students. This kind of rain was a bit difficult to deal with for the children, usually, and could easily get in the way of some of the early lessons.    Once out of the rain, Master Ral turned and gave Tobias a serious look, “Why did you raise your arm rather than avoid the object, Tobias? You knew it was coming...and you should have sensed the danger it possessed.”    “I...” Tobias shook his head, still clutching his injured arm gently, “I don’t really know. I just reacted.”    “You have reacted that way more than once,” the Jedi Master’s eyes narrowed. It wasn’t menacing, but what Tobias had learned occurred when he was thinking hard about something, “It is...dangerous. You seem to have no concern at all for your own personal safety. I can feel it from you. The Force does not make you invincible, Tobias.”    “Its not that...” Tobias mumbled, realizing he was being caught in a situation that Marix would probably know how to get out of. But he didn’t. Well...no...he did, but she’d kill him, probably.    Then again, she hadn’t killed him when he’d asked to come here in the first place, and that said a great deal. So...maybe...    “I cannot continue this training if you continue this way,” Master Ral was still going on, having taken Toby’s mumbling as idle defensive statements that most people made when confronted with an ugly truth, “I have known many young apprentices, Tobias. I have seen many nearly killed because they think the Force means nothing can hurt them. That they can simply do anything without worrying about the consequences. The Dark Side is a danger in that, yes, but not as much as the prospect of getting yourself killed.”    “No,” this time, Tobias’ voice was less defensive and stronger. That was because he’d come to a decision. Motioning to the lift tubes at the other end of the hangar, he asked, “There is something I need to show you...is there as...uh...place without so many people around?”    Through the Force, Tobias could easily detect his Master’s curiosity, though it was mixed with a strong concern. Despite this, though, Master Ral nodded and led the way. It was an awkward silence as he led the way, and to Tobias’ disappointment, he didn’t dry off during the process at all. Instead, they both left a good long trail of water from the hangar, to the turbolift, and then to a small, empty training room that was usually used for sparring from the looks of the mats that were everywhere.    Once the door slid shut, the Omwati Jedi turned to face his apprentice again, “You are terrified, Tobias. Why?”    He let out a long, deep breath to try to calm himself.     Why?    Because Marix could do worse things that kill him.    Of course, he couldn’t say that, but...he could say...    “I have kept this to myself for a reason, Master.”    “And why do you suddenly feel that this should be shared...whatever this is?”    “Because...” he trailed off, went over a thousand reasons in his head, then came up with one that seemed reasonable enough, “Because you are my Master. I should not keep things from you...especially when you are questioning my...my...well...me. Like that.”    When Master Ral did nothing but simply stand there, a blank expression on his face and his presence in the Force remaining the same as it had before, Tobias decided that continuing to explain things over and over wouldn’t do any good. So, very carefully so as to avoid more of those painful shocks, he removed the jacket that, for some reason, he continued to wear on this planet. It probably had something to do with Jyren...or at least, Marix had once commented about his idiocy in wearing heavy clothes on scorching hot planets.    Once it was off, he dropped the drenched piece of clothing to the mat at his feet and then rolled up the sleeve on the shirt he wore under it. It revealed that his arm had been not only bruised, but very well broken by the impact. The bone was bent at such an angle that the damage was disturbingly obvious. Tobias just tried to ignore this, holding the arm up as best he could for his Master to see...then closed his eyes, and let his body remorph the arm.    Soon, only the shadow of a pain was left in his arm.    For a few moments, Master Ral simply continued to watch him. Eventually, though, still showing no signs of what he was thinking, the Jedi stated, “That was not the Force.”    Tobias shook his head slowly, “No, it wasn’t.”    “You are a Changeling.”    “No,” he shook his head, then realized that the term didn’t really apply to just one species as he’d thought immediately, then corrected himself, “Well...yes.”    When his Master’s expression turned into a more curious one, Tobias realized he might have made a misstep and tried yet again, “Actually...no. I mean...not...really. Sort of,” he sighed and looked at the floor, “Its...not...that. I...”    Sensing, easily, that Tobias was having trouble here, Master Ral raised up a hand slightly to stop him, “Please, Tobias, calm yourself. I know that many are distrustful of Changelings and fear them...but I am not. Especially not one who has proven himself with me as you have.”    “But I’m not a Changeling,” Tobias was finally starting to sort out how to do this. He did his best to remember the stories Marix had told him to keep safe out here. Changelings were a reptilian species that most of the galaxy considered to be lying thieves...for good reason, as they mostly were. Using their shape changing abilities to get what they wanted no matter what.    “I am...” he started to say ‘Alraxian’, but realized the name would mean nothing to his Master. Instead, he decided he might as well just get it all over with. No point hiding any of it anymore. So, slowly, as he wasn’t exactly an expert at it, Tobias returned to his ‘natural’ form. He remained the same height, but a few muscles became apparent that humans didn’t have, especially near the arms. While his face remained mostly the same, it took on the subtle changes that shifted it to Alraxian, and his eyes returned to their natural silvery-green colour. Two large ears appeared through a dark blue streak of hair that cut through the black and, uncomfortably, his tail returned to a pair of trousers that were never designed with tails in mind.    Once it was done, Tobias shuffled his feet, managed to look a bit more sheepish somehow, and mumble, “I am an Alraxian.”</blockquote>

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