Chapter Text
Cin Drallig liked to think of himself as fair and just Jedi.
He tried to judge others by their actions and personality, rather than their background and heritage.
That's why he didn't know what to think about Danas Drak.
The young Zabrak, Padawan to Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, was an enigma among the Jedi.
Hailing from Dathomir, a mysterious place surrounded by the Dark Side, Drak was a quiet and reserved boy.
Most of the Jedi Order cast him out because of his striking resemblance to Darth Maul.
Drallig distanced himself from these opinions. He didn't interact with the boy before.
He wanted to judge the boy by himself.
Besides, if there was one thing Cin knew about Quinlan Vos’s line, is that they're unpredictable.
Vos was known to be crazy while Aayla Secura, ever so polite and collected, ripped Master Windu a new one not that long ago.
So Drak was a wild card.
Add all of this to the fact, that Master Windu requested the Zabrak trained with Anakin Skywalker.
Cin silently asked the Force to give him patience.
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“Skywalker?! What are you doing here?”
The older boy looked at his fellow Padawan.
“Since I'm superior to you in lightsaber combat, I'll assist Master Drallig in your sessions.”
“Really? You'd never come here voluntarily, so it has to be the punishment of some kind. Tell me, what did you do, oh great Padawan Skywalker?” asked Danas sarcastically.
Anakin blushed with embarrassment. Drak was good, he had to give him that.
“None of your business. And I‘m still better than you.”
“Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Hey, listen here-”
“Boys, enough!” said Cin Drallig as he entered the training area. “Try to focus on your training and not killing one another!”
“Sorry Master Drallig.” They both bowed in apology.
“Grab your training sabers. No Padawan Drak, the normal one.”
“But Master...”
“I know you have a double blade. But you need to know how to use single one as well. We’ll move on to a double blade later. Now, let us begin. We’ll start with Form I. Padawan Drak, what can you tell me about Form I?”
“It is also known as Shii-Cho. Its primary focus is on disarming opponents rather than injuring them. It’s not very good in a lightsaber duel, although in a hands of a Master it’s fluent and unpredictable.”
“Very good.”
“Show-off” mumbled Skywalker.
“Look who's talking!”
“Boys!” said Master Drallig. “That’s enough! Padawan Drak, watch our movements and try to copy them.”
Their training session lasted about three hours.
Danas very quickly got the hang of Form I but his movements still were a bit clumsy and unrefined which was to be expected.
Still, Master Drallig was impressed.
When it came to sparring with Skywalker (both of them used only Form I), the older Padawan was clearly better at lightsaber combat. And he bragged about it.
Cin firmly told him to be humble and focus on the training.
Danas stated sarcastically that Skywalker wouldn't know what humility is, even if it hit him straight in the face.
Anakin growled.
Cin also noticed that the Zabrak uses multiple things in a sparring. Not only his saber.
The Dathomirian used Skywalker’s arrogance and short temper against him, with his sharp tongue and quick wit. He also was very fast and agile.
Add that to Zabrak’s unpredictable movements.
Skywalker came out on top in the end with his raw power and experience.
That didn't mean Danas didn't put one kark of a fight.
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“How was your first session with Master Drallig?” asked Aayla, as she and her Padawan shared a meal in one of the Temple’s dining halls.
“Would've been better if Skywalker wasn't acting like an arrogant douche.”
“Anakin’s training with you?”
“Yes. He's there as punishment but won't admit it. Other than that, it was pretty good. Master Drallig said I did very well for my first session.”
Aayla smiled.
“See? I told you everything would be alright. Now, I was out of the Temple and I smuggled some donuts for you...”
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One week into their Form I training, Danas was able to hold his own against Skywalker even better. He still lost but the improvement was clear.
His movements were more fluid and elegant, although there still was a lot to be desired.
Skywalker even stopped bragging so much.
Things were definitely looking better.
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Master Drallig walked into the training area. It was early in the morning.
He saw Danas, practicing Form I stances.
“Padawan Drak?”
The Zabrak turned around.
“Master Drallig. Good morning.”
“Good morning. May I ask, what you're doing?” he asked, obviously knowing the answer. But he wanted to hear what the boy had to say.
“I wanted to practice some more. I still don't think I'm getting it. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...?”
Master Drallig smiled at him.
“You’re doing just fine. If the Form wasn't meant for you, you'll never feel entirely comfortable using it.”
“I thought that focusing on a specific form is just a matter of preference.”
“It is a matter of preference. But why do we choose something?”
“Because we feel that it suits us.”
“Exactly.”
The two of them chatted some more and Cin offered to supervise the Zabrak’s practice, which the boy happily accepted.
Danas left half an hour later, when two other Padawans came for their training session.
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Half a week later they moved on to a double-bladed training saber. Now, this was more familiar to Danas.
It showed. His movements became more elegant and precise and he gave Skywalker more of a challenge than before.
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Danas sat in the Jedi Archives looking through some information. Master Nu provided him with quite a stash of books and data.
“Hello, Padawan Drak.”
Zabrak looked up to see Master Cin Drallig.
“Hello, Master.”
The battlemaster looked around the Padawan.
“That’s quite a lot of information. May I ask what is it?”
“I’m researching Ryl. I wanted to learn it, so Master Secura told me to do some research first, ‘cause she had something to do.”
“Learning a second language is impressive.”
Danas blushed.
“It’ll be my fifth language, actually.”
Cin’s eyes widened.
“What are the others?”
“There’s Basic, of course. Then Togruti. I wanted to learn it because of Master Ti. The third one is Huttese. Master Sinube always told me that with knowing Basic and Huttese I'll be able to communicate almost everywhere. The fourth one is Binary. I thought it'll be useful, knowing what droids are saying. And the fifth will be Ryl.”
“I’m impressed.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Cin sat down with the Padawan.
“When did you have the time for all of this?”
Danas looked down.
“Between my classes as a Youngling. I didn't have many friends and Archives were kind of my safe place.”
The Padawan didn't say more but Master Drallig knew exactly what he was talking about.
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Three weeks after their first training session.
Danas and Anakin were sparring, like usual.
Anakin swinged his training saber at the Zabrak’s left leg but the other blocked it with one side of his double-blade and aimed at the older Padawan’s shoulder with the other.
Skywalker ducked at spun around, aiming for Drak’s right side but he got blocked once again.
For some time they danced around each other, swinging and blocking.
Usually, Skywalker was able to strike the younger Padawan within 10 minutes at most.
This time, they sparred for almost half an hour. With no success from either side.
Both grew very tired. It was visible.
Master Drallig clapped his hands.
“Very good, very good. I think that's enough!”
As soon as he said it, both Padawans collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.
“Not bad Drak.”
“You’re complimenting me? Who are you and what did you do with Anakin Skywalker?”
“Don’t get used to it!”
Cin smiled at the two.
“This will be it for Form I. Next time we’ll start Form II.”
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Danas and Aayla we're sitting at the dining hall.
The Padawan ate enormous of meat.
“I see the training left you hungry.”
“Mhm. Master Drallig said that we’ll move on to Form II next time!”
“That’s very good. I'm proud of you Danas!”
“Thank you, Master!”
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Three Jedi Masters we're sitting together and drinking tea.
“How are their training?” asked Shaak Ti.
“I thought Mace put them together to torment them but to be honest, they seem to bring out the best in one another. Skywalker’a still a bit arrogant but he caught on that Drak uses it against him. He toned it down. And his emotions are more in check. He’s kind of tolerable now.”
“And what about Danas?” asked Depa Bilaba.
“He’s hardworking. Quickly got the hang of it. But he has low self-esteem. He could be so much better if he believed more in himself.”
The Togruta frowned.
“Even though he says he's fine, he still has problems. I'll talk to Aayla about it.”
“And what about you-know-what?” asked Depa.
“It’s still to early to say anything. I'll be able to tell you, after we go through more forms” answered the battlemaster.
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Cin Drallig taught many Jedi before. He didn't remember many of his students very good.
But he was sure he’ll remember Danas Drak.