Private Guiding Star

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Hey love?! Can you get Vera? She has been out for a while now," Valery called out from the triplet's bedroom into the living room, before poking just her head out through the door. She was wearing a tiara, and even with just the top of her body visible, he'd be able to tell that she was dressed up as a fairy tale princess. For Aurra, of course, who had been non-stop asking her Mom to play with her. Valery knew it was going to spark some teasing if she walked into the living room dressed up like this, so she preemptively shot her husband a look.

"Mommy!" Aurra whined, and Valery just looked back into the room with a smile, "I'm coming, sweetie." Valery looked at Kahlil one more time to offer him a smile, before she disappeared again. Vera had been out near the forest on her own, and usually she'd always come back within about an hour or so if she went for a walk, or decided to play with Fuzzy in the forest. But it had been at least three hours, she was alone, and it was starting to get darker.

They would be able to feel that she was safe through their bond with their little star, but Valery was clearly still worried.

At the lake with the Temple at the bottom, Vera was standing by the edge of the water. The lake was awfully still, so through the reflection, she saw herself and the clear sky above her. Soon, it would be the stars, and eventually the light of the setting sun would make for a nice glow that she enjoyed. But tonight, she had too much on her mind to really appreciate it for what it was.

She was going to be a Padawan soon.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Of course, your highness."

Kahlil smirked just a little. Yep, he was going to be teasing her later about this, if not a little now. By technicality she was a princess anyway. Married to the prince of the Epicanthix, not that he used that title these days. But absolutely yes, he was going to be teasing her.

He left shortly after, mostly because he was just as worried as she was. She was safe of course, but what was keeping her? What had her want to be alone? Kahlil stepped beside her once he did find her, out by the lake, staring at the water. He sat, leaned back on his hands. Smiled faintly.

"What's on your mind, little star?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Damnit.

Valery pouted just a little when she turned back into the room with Aurra. Kahlil was going to tease her a lot more, but maybe she could get something fun out of it later tonight as well. For now, just a pout - at least until she had turned around to see Aurra standing there, dressed up in her own little costume, and with the happiest smile on her lips.

"Alright, princess Noble, it's time we find Knight Adam Noble and slay the dragon, hm?" Valery smiled in return and Aurra giggled happily. This was the silly stuff Valery loved the most.

Meanwhile, Kahlil had made his way through the forest and located Vera by the lake. Fuzzy was nearby too, up atop a tree branch to stand guard. He watched Kahlil approach and acknowledged him with some bouncing on the branch.

Vera herself was awfully calm for her sake, but she did look at her father with a little smile when he sat down next to her. "I don't see anything. I've used my visions to help you, Mom and Aris, but now that I have to do something difficult, I don't see anything anymore."

"I'm scared I'll be a bad Padawan and fail."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm. You can't see it?" That certainly was a surprise. And, perhaps, quite uncomfortable for Vera. She'd only just gotten used to being able to see everything before it happened, and now she couldn't see her own fate? Kahlil wrapped an arm around her shoulder, just to give some comfort. "While surprising, doesn't that just mean your future isn't set in stone? That you can freely change it how you'd like?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"The future can always be changed, even if I see a lot. That's what I try to do when I see bad things." Vera decided to plop down when her father's arm reached around her shoulders, and shifted closer to him while her eyes were still focused on the ripples of the water.

The lake reminded her of the sea she had seen when Alicio had let her join his journey into the mind.

"I don't like not seeing things. I'm not used to it, and what if it's a bad sign? I'm not like you or Mom, and Aris has only been training for way shorter than me, but he is already so strong. I can't fight like that and I trained so much." She pouted and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Visions are all I have, and now I don't."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The Force is often hard to see or feel when you're distracted or worried." Or jealous. Or envious. He was already very aware on just why she wasn't able to see her visions now. She was nervous, scared. Worried about her skills compared to Aris. He gently patted her shoulder, still smiling as he looked out over the waters.

"Didn't you help Aris find his crystal? He couldn't have done that without you. No one else could've helped him, and he certainly couldn't do it himself. He knows that. It wears on him as much as the fact you can't do what he does wears on you. But no two Jedi are the same, Vera. So long as you remember that and trust yourself, you'll be an amazing Jedi."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Vera blinked and turned to look at her Dad for the first time when he mentioned Aris, the caves, and how much that weighed on him. It made sense that it bothered him - being able to sense the Force was one of the first thing Jedi learned, and he would never be able to. The thought made Vera frown, and she felt really bad for her own worries now.

He was dealing with something way tougher, and she should be helping him instead of being sad over her own little worries. At least, she felt that way until ber Dad pointed out that all Jedi were different. It was okay for her to be worried about things too.

"You really think so?" Vera asked, her expression carefully brightening up in anticipation for his answer. She knew she'd always have the support of her parents, but hearing it like this helped her a lot. Just how Mom had helped Aris, and just how she would help him too.

"I want to do more than visions. They help people but I want to do more than stay behind and watch you, Mom or Aris do the real helping." She puffed her cheeks and nodded, as if she had stubbornly convinced herself.

"Dad, can you teach me more runes? I want to be like you. I want to be a Shield." She was going to have to tell her future Master too, very few people knew how to use runes. That was one thing she could learn from Dad.

"I want to do what you did to protect home against those people who attacked."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil's smile brightened in a way that was drastically different from the calm one he had. There was nothing that made him happier than his own kids being interested in the skills he'd created in the Force. These runes, in particular. He wasn't bothering to hide his grin. If she wanted to learn how to use his runes, he certainly wasn't going to tell her no. He stood up, motioning for her to do the same as he looked out over the water.

"Then, let's start right away. You won't be training with mom or me much once you've your Master. Do you remember the rune you've made before?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Vera stood up and watched her dad's entire expression change when she asked for a lesson. He must really like teaching runes, or... it made him really happy to be teaching them to her. Vera began to smile back at him a little and stood tall noe, with a serious expression to show that she was ready.

She got this.

"You and Mom will still give lessons, right? Just not everything?" Even if she had as a Master, they couldn't teach her everything. Some skills were too specific, and it'd help to learn from different perspectives, too! But she knew that Mom and Dad needed to separate themselves a little more too.

For now, though, she didn't have to think about that. It was rune time.

"Mhm! Do all runes work the same?" She figured nor. Her dad had drawn runes, while others formed on his body. There had to be some differences and the Shield one she saw was not one drawn on the body, if she remembered correctly.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Some. But not as often as now."

It couldn't be, not with her own master. She was going to be busy with her own training, her own Master, to go through soon enough. And anything Valery and Kahlil did was likely going to get in the way of it. Anything more than some minor help, here and there. "The one we have on our bodies is different, yes. But the others work pretty much the same. Runes are an instruction. They give form, focus, to what you want to accomplish with the Force. They aren't technically needed. Everything they do, you could do yourself if you focused. But they make that part easier. They make that focus easier."

He traced a sequence in the air. Several runes, one after the other, as if he was writing a poem.

"Your subconscious remembers these runes and what they mean. When you put them in order, make something complex, you don't have to think hard on what exactly you're doing. The runes remember for you. Does that make sense?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Vera could accept that.

She was actually quite curious about who her Master would be, and what it'd be like to learn from them! She only didn't want that to completely replace learning from her parents. They were the coolest Jedi in the Galaxy, so there had to be things she could only learn from them, right? For now, she put those thoughts aside and focused on his lesson. As gremlin as she still was, Jedi lessons made her unusually serious.

"That makes sense, daddy-" she paused. "That makes sense, Master Noble." She smiled innocently and watched him draw some runes. She remembered a few of the patterns, but they looked intricate.

Difficult.

"What happens if we get a rune wrong?" She then asked. Vera loved drawing, and she had used art to show her visions for years now. So it hopefully wouldn't be a huge issue for her, but... surely the rune wouldn't work if the drawing was wrong, right?

"Are difficult runes harder to trace too?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"What do you think will happen?"

It was a genuine question. That's how the runes worked. Belief. Ultimately it was belief that could and would change how the runes worked for her. If she thought the worst, then the worst would happen. But it wasn't something that could be explained. It had to be experienced, had to be believed and learned on her own. The sequence lit up before the area around them got cold. The lake froze over, solid as he stepped out onto it.

"The more accurate you are, the easier it will be to get the desired effect." Because she'd believe she got it right.

"They are something to practice. I'll teach you something not so complex, but still something more advanced, using the same runes. Cold. Expand. Accelerate." He traced a shorter sequence, naming the runes as they appeared before the moisture in the air solidified. An icicle formed, one that suddenly shot off like a blaster bolt across the lake. "A shorter sequence in a different order changes how it works. Make sense?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Vera blinked, "...whatever I did draw? Will they explode or catch fire?" As long as they wouldn't explode in her face, she was satisfied. Runes seemed tricky enough as it was, but that's also what made them so exciting! Much like her Mom, she loved a good challenge, and this one brought her closer to Dad.

She liked that idea a lot.

Vers then watched her Dad demonstrate more of his runic powers, and couldn't help but have her jaw drop a little. It wasn't the shield rune she wanted to master someday, but she figured that they needed to start with something simpler. The ice bullets would also very much be useful - it gave her a way to support from a distance.

It'd give Aris a chance to get close.

Vera nodded, squinted and began to draw her own runes, though directed at the snow itself. Cold, expand...expans again - she was trying for it to become the snowman she had in her mind. Could it do that?

She had no idea, but she loved experimenting!

"Like this, Dad?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Something like a snowman formed. It was all based ultimately on her belief. Vera believed the runes would make a snowman in the way she was drawing them, so a snowman was made. Just, not exactly how she wanted. Spikes still formed. The mind was a powerful tool, but Kahlil knew that she would not have the ability to focus it completely. Not yet, anyway. She'd seen him freeze over the lake, make the icicles.

It'd had an effect.

So Kahlil crouched beside her, racing a different rune on the spiky looking snowman. "This one is smooth." The icicles faded, rounded off until the snowman was just that, several spheres stacked atop one another.

"Looks very good, Vera."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Vera was already looking quite proud that she managed to make a spiky snowman, but when Dad crouched down besides her to help her perfect it, she bounced up once from sheer excitement. She knew that she wasn't ever going to seriously use runes for silly things like this, but it made practice a lot more fun!

There was one thing missing though.

Cold, expand and...the snowman had its spiky nose of ice. Vera nodded, satisfied, and turned to her father with a grin. "I love learning from you, daddy," she said with a smile of pure joy and child-like innocense.

It didn't matter that she'd be a Padawan soon. She was still his little star.

"Can we do some more practice? Or maybe we make an ice village! I think the triplets would love that!"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm glad you do."

More than anything he was glad that she did. A bright, warm smile had taken over his face as he watched her. His own memories came by, the 'training' under his own father. The pain, the hurt, the hate. It was an environment no child should ever have to go through, but he did. And now here he was, training Vera in a way that made her strong without any of the trauma he'd gone through.

He crouched down, gently patted her head. It was a moment like this that made him want to just take her on as his own Padawan, no matter how much he knew he shouldn't.

"No villages. You've learned how to shape things, but I haven't seen you throw anything with that accelerate rune. Up and up." Up, as in himself. He pulled away reluctantly to instead look out over the waters and raised his hand. Another rune flared over the water some distance away before a chunk of solid ice formed atop it. Almost like a target.

"I want you to hit and break that." Which was going to be a lot harder than it sounded. The right amount of speed was going to be needed to shatter it completely, for when it wasn't it'd just reform from the runes he'd had formed into the ice as it was frozen over.

"Keep focused, keep calm. Remember to fill your runes with intent."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Of course I do!" Vera grinned and looked her father in the eyes while his smile grew brighter and warmer. She could tell something was on his mind for a moment, but whatever it was, he seemed very happy to be here teaching her. Valery, of course, knew exactly what was happening and reached out with a very warm touch through their bond.

<I can tell you're having a good time with our little star. I'll handle the chores and cook dinner, so you spend as much time with her as you'd like. Love you both.> Valery smiled to herself and enjoyed the warmth he felt over being able to give his daughter the childhood and training she deserved.

These were moments to cherish.

Vera meanwhile smiled at the patting of her head and stood up to look across the lake. She was totally still going to build the triplets snow homes, but she did agree that they should practice something new first. Blowing up a target of ice with more ice was exactly the kind of practice she loved too!

She squinted, raised her hand, and for just a moment, Vera was like a smaller version of her Mom. Focused, fierce and with a dangerous sparkle in her eyes at the idea of watching the target blow up.

Cold, expand, accelerate.

Vera watched the spike forms and launch towards the target, but on impact, the target was only damaged while the projectiles exploded. She pouted, and looked up at her Dad, "The target is too hard. How can my ice spikes break it?" She asked. Just how fast would they have to go?

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Do you know how ice works?"

Kahlil raised a hand. Two sequences formed around him like the one she'd been using, but there were slight differences. The emphasis on different words, the thicker lines. Intent was the most important part of drawing these, as well as practical knowledge. "The colder it gets, the larger it is, the harder it'll get. But if it's filled with impurities, it'll get weaker. Focus on the sequence. Cold. As I said, the colder, the stronger it'll be. Focus on it, make it stand out more. Expand. You use it to guide the shape. The sharper the sigil, the sharper your mind will hone it."

He sent the two different spikes out. The more ordinary sequence shattered on impact with the target. The other just punched a hole right through it.

"And don't forget it's an extension of your will. We'll talk more about it later, but you can enhance it further with the Force."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Woah.

Vera listened to her father and watched him manipulate the ice he created even more. His skill was a lot more refined, so with very little effort, he made far stronger spikes of ice. To demonstrate the difference, he first had two simpler spikes explode against the target the way her own had. But the other two went right through.

Vera squinted, that Noble side of her burning in her eyes. She felt challenged now, and much like her Mom, it made her stubborn. She wasn't going to stop until she could do the exact same thing. She needed to, if she ever hoped to learn difficult runes.

The shield he had created around the entire city flashed back into her mind. That was going to be jer motivation to always keep learning. To keep getting stronger.

"I can do it," she declared with a proud sniffle because her nose was getting cold. Again, Vera raised her little hand and this time, she put a lot more emphasis on the cold, then on the expansion and shape she created. These spikes were sharp, hard as rock, and with more effort into accelerate, they flew off to punch right through!

But Vera wasn't done yet.

"EXPAND!" A huge ball of ice formed in front of her, and those little eyes burned brighter. "Accelerate." The entire orb of ice blasted off towards the target, causing it to explode on impact. Vera laughed, jumped excitedly, and quickly turned to her father.

"Dad! Did you see that?!"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh I know you can."

Kahlil smiled proudly as he watched her prepare her next runes. The icicles formed, sharp and sturdy from what he could see before they launched off to punch right through the target. He was all grins at this point as he stared there, though he did blink slowly as he heard Vera continue on.

"EXPAND!"

".. Huh?"

"Accelerate."

He stared as the sphere was sent right after the icicles and blew up on impact with the target. Nothing but the rippling waters remained. He tilted his head in surprise before he grinned wide. Looked down to Vera with an almost goofy expression.

"Well look at you, already making up your own spells, huh?"

Valery Noble