I calmly looked at Sirius as I fully relaxed. Nature was truly the best place to free myself from worry. "Have you ever meditated before?"
Sirius shook his head. "I have not. I typically clear my head through a long walk in the forest near my family's estate. I can only do that on good days…"
I smiled. "Well, meditation is a great alternative to that."
I shifted my position, fully relaxing my entire body. "Meditation is not just some far east spiritual bullshit. I once thought that, but I was sorely mistaken. It is so much more than that."
My gaze shifted to the peaceful forest surrounding us, appreciating the beauty. "Through meditation, we clear our mind and senses, washing away our tangible concerns and stress. With that space empty, something must fill it. The Jedi order teaches that a Jedi should practice meditation often. It invites the force into their bodies and minds. They just listen."
"The force can speak to us. It will guide a Jedi towards their destination. Sometimes, it may even uncover unforeseen and long forgotten paths. In addition, there are other benefits that can come from meditation. These include visions of the present and future, influencing emotions on a wide scale, and he strengthening of ones connection with the force."
Sirius unclipped his belt and placed it to the side before scooting away from the tree until he was a mere 2 feet away from me. "What does any of that have to do with me?"
I shook my head at his shortsightedness. While I may barely be older than him, I had accumulated much more wisdom due to his illness. "Do you think only a Jedi can benefit from meditation?"
The teen took a moment to think before nodding. "Well, of course. What purpose would it have for someone who cannot make use of the force?"
I smirked since I now had him right where I wanted him. "Let me ask you this, Sirius. What is the force?"
Sirius tilted his head as he entered deep thought for several seconds. "Well, it should be a force, right? It is some strange power that a Jedi can use to manipulate objects, predict the future, and influence others."
I shook my head, recalling how similar my answer was to Master Shan. "Those are merely things that you can do with the force and while it may be strange, it is not just a power. The force, while more concentrated in Jedi and even that varies, is everywhere."
I pointed to a boulder that was about a hundred feet to the East. "It's in that boulder there."
Then I pointed to the tree that he was just leaning against. "It's in that tree there too."
Lastly, I pointed to Sirius. His eyes followed my direction as he looked down at himself. "And it even flows through you. Now, close your eyes. That instinct you mentioned before, try to find it, feel for it, listen to it."
I watched for a few seconds as he closed his eyes with slight hesitation. Then, I followed suit and closed my eyes. My mind was cleared almost instantly as I turned my entire focus on Sirius. I closely observed the force surrounding him.
I felt that it was significantly stronger than the average person. However, I was not sure of the cutoff point where an individual could be considered force sensitive. It was hard to use myself as a reference because apparently, I was quite strong with the force.
With a deep and slow breath, I spoke calmly to him. "This is the first step a Jedi takes when establishing their connection with the force. By means of this instinct, it appears that it has already reached out to you. Now, you just need to let it know that you have acknowledged it."
For a moment, I turned my focus internally and appreciated this moment. Guiding someone through meditation was quite interesting. I felt that I was discovering things about it that I had never considered before. My senses were suddenly much more open to my surroundings rather than being internally focused.
The force was fluttering all around me. A light pressure weighed down on my right shoulder. Then, it gently caressed my left calf. It was probing me, seemingly curious about my existence. It made me smile.
I turned my focus back to Sirius, only to frown. I could feel the feeble waves of the force pressing against his body but bouncing off. He was not accepting the presence of the force.
After I opened my eyes, I took another deep breath. "I can tell that you're not fully invested. Is something wrong?"
Sirius sighed and opened his eyes, looking off into the distance with a blank stare. "Reality has been cruel to me for as long as I can remember. The existence of some supernatural force just seems absurd. How can someone like me, crippled with illness, have superpowers?"
I shook my head, seeing that he still didn't understand. "Sirius, you seem to not understand what the force is. Maybe I need to put it another way. What isn't the force?"
Sirius tilted his head in confusion, clearly enthralled by the question. "Well, that's an awfully interesting question. Based upon what you've said, the force is everywhere. That means that it isn't an object or an individual. What is it then?"
"It can't be like anything we know of. It wouldn't be a particle since it isn't tangible. Could it be a wave? It would make sense since it appears to be an energy. But if it's an energy, how do we interact with it?"
I smiled, happy that he was on the right track. "While the force flows through everything, only sentient beings, life-forms if you will, can interact with it. Why do you think that is?"
Sirius furrowed his brow. "There must be something within us that allows us to communicate with the force. If it is a wave that flows through everything, then this has to be the case. I still don't understand the final piece of the puzzle."
I nodded. "The force presents itself differently to everyone. I won't tell you my own understanding but I will give you a hint to help you move along."
I intensified my gaze, putting a bit of pressure on Sirius through the force. He shivered slightly as the force shook around him. "The force… connects… everything."
His eyes shot wide open as an intense wave of energy pulsed through the force and nearly knocked me on my back. This was something that I hadn't seen since Master Shan struck Darth Malgus with an explosion of the force that shattered the cliff face he had been thrown into.
Sirius had a shocked expression on his face as he stared at his hands. It was evident that great power was flowing through him. I could tell by the ecstasy in his eyes.
I sighed and threw my head back. "AHHHHH! That was too fucking easy for you."
Sirius furrowed his brow and looked at me suspiciously. It seemed that he finally put the pieces together. "What do you mean by that?"
I smiled wryly and held out my right hand. Using the force, I pulled one of my lightsabers out of the left side of my jacket. I shook it for a moment before putting it back in the pocket it came from.
He had what I could only describe as an 'aha' expression on his face. He nodded. "I see. I constantly felt that something was off about you but it finally makes sense. Why are you hiding it?"
I shrugged, leaning back and planting my hands on the ground behind me. "It's no fun when everyone either worships or sucks up to you."
Sirius nodded slowly. "I wouldn't know."
Suddenly, I snapped my head towards him, looking deep into his eyes. I imparted even more pressure on him now that he was slightly strengthened by the force. He could handle it.
Sirius shivered once again, goosebumps forming out of sight underneath his bandages. I watched as a bead of sweat rolled down his head.
I closely analyzed him, feeling every ounce of his emotions. "While you have experienced several people's worth of suffering in your life, the light of hope and the flames of faith burn brightly within you. There is no hate, no despair, only a deep seeded resentment towards your illness. This is nothing that can't be fixed. How would you feel about becoming my padawan?"
A cautious expression formed on his face. "What is a padawan?"
I nearly choked as laughter snuck out of my mouth. "HA! You came to this galaxy and you don't even know that?"
Sirius shrugged. "I've never cared for the things that aren't relevant to myself or those around me."
I nodded, understanding what he meant. With his illness, he is quite sheltered and innocent. "That mindset can be healthy but is also quite dangerous. To answer your question, a padawan learner is basically a disciple to a proper Jedi. I was a padawan until quite recently."
He tilted his head. "Then what makes you qualified to be someone's master?"
I chuckled and shook my head. "Did I not just teach you how to meditate and then help you connect with the force in one go?"
Sirius nodded. "Well, that is a fair point. How would this work?"
I had to think for a moment because I truly didn't know how the process worked. "I'd probably have to discuss this with the Jedi Council first, but I don't foresee there being any problems."
I then took out my smartcomm and messaged Sheema. I needed her to pass a message onto my master. Hopefully he could help me handle the council.
As I was about to put my smartcomm away, it started blinking. I tapped the button to answer the called. "Yo."
A frantic voice screamed on the other end, causing the audio to peak. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
I rubbed my ears due to how loud it was. "Ahhhh, don't be so fucking loud, Violet. I went hunting. Is there a problem?"
Violet continued yelling through the comm channel. "YEAH! BIG FUCKING PROBLEM! WE FOUND A SPY!"