Private Home Wasn't Ever Farr

[Efret Farr]

It was easy to block—by tilting the hilt downward until her blade was parallel with her back.

She twirled her body around until she was facing Val and stepped back.

In the true spirit of Soresu, she waited to be attacked.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Good.

Even though Effret hadn't been put in situations where she needed to draw her lightsaber, the basics had not gotten lost on her. It was a kind of muscle memory that wouldn't ever fade but only needed to be refined and maintained. Now that she gave a sign that those movements were still part of her, Valery pressed forward.

Valery opened up with a quicker strike to the side of Efret's left shoulder to draw out her guard, then brought her blade around for a more powerful strike aimed across her chest. For now, she wanted to build up in terms of strength and speed and gauge how comfortable Efret was resisting it.

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

She swung her blade to the left just as quickly, managing to block that strike. But as Val's blade came back around, Efret's surprise broke her focus. She had missed the Force's precognition of the other woman's next movement, so intent on stopping the first.

The violet light of Val's saber burst back into Efret's vision with all of its intensity. A hiss slipped past her lips before she sloppily threw up another parry and stumbled back out of Val's reach radius. Efret took one hand from her saber hilt and touched the open palm to her forehead.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

As her blade came around for a second strike, Valery felt a tremor in the Force. She saw the way Efret responded to the flash of her saber and watched her stumble in retreat. This was a training spar, so Valery would never take advantage of a moment like this and lowered her blade to make it clear she wasn't moving to strike again.

"Efret?" Valery asked while she disengaged her blade, "Are you alright?"

Valery was obviously worried, knowing about the woman's reduced sight. The last thing she wanted was to hurt someone who placed their trust in her for a lesson.

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Only when Efret perceived Valery deactivate her lightsaber did she think to do to same for her own. Flipping the hilt backwards with a practiced hand, she clipped it back to her belt for now.

"I'll be okay," she said as the obstacles behind and around her faded from view. "I let my focus break, then then light of your saber..." She trailed off and pushed healing though the palm on her forehead. The relief was immediate but not entire; her headache was chased to the very sides of her temples.

Withdrawing her hand so she could sign with both again, she looked up at Val. "It was too bright. I'm sorry."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"It's alright," Valery reassured her rather quickly once Efret made it clear what had gotten to her. It confirmed something Valery had assumed, and now it was an opportunity for them to find a way through together. Every obstacle had a solution, and it was a Jedi's task to confront those challenges.

But she wouldn't have to do that alone.

"It has been a while since you sparred or fought, right? I'm sure you'll get used to it, or perhaps we can find a way to help you handle it." Valery did her best to seem comforting and clipped her lightsaber back to her belt. "I've helped a lot of students overcome something that made dueling harder for them. I'd really like to help you, too."

"As a friend."

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Efret smiled at Val's determination. There was no way to avoid its contagiousness. She might have been defeated the moment before, but not she was reinvigorated. At the same time, trying again to spar didn't strike her as the best idea.

"Yes, it's been some time," she admitted again. "I agree that coordination and confidence will come back with practice." After all, there was a time she used to manage it all rather reflexively, and often, if not only in drills done under the safety of the Temple and Jedi peers. Still, it had been exhausting to manage Force sight, Force listening, martial art, and light management all at once. She couldn't do much about the first three—her physical disabilities were what they were but all three required practice. The fourth, however: maybe it was possible to cut it out altogether.

Val might know something about the plausibility.

"You're Keshian, right? Have you done anything to desensitize yourself to light that bothers your eyes?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"I have," Valery said in response to the thoughtful question. "I haven't learned some special ability or tried some unique tricks to get my eyes used to changes in light. I've just... gotten used to it." She chuckled and held up her hand to gesture towards a path leading back uphill and to the waterfalls they could already hear from within the Dragon's Den. Behind the water, there was a whole network of caves leading to a quiet spot called the Overlook.

But she wanted to take Efret to the caves.

"My eyes are sensitive because they can see a wider spectrum of light. In the dark, my pupils will adapt but a sudden light can be overwhelming because of it. In that moment, my other senses briefly take over and I've trained myself not to panic or turn my head away."

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Nirrah flew down from the canopy to join the Jedi on Efret's shoulder, between the two near-humans, as they began to walk again.

"Not to panic," Efret repeated, expression thoughtful once more. "Then, do you just tolerate the pain?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery dipped her head in response, "In some cases, I do. When I'm caught off-guard and had no chance to prepare for a sudden burst of light, I've trained myself not to shut down, but to keep going and fight through the pain. I feel comfortable relying on my other senses, so I turn to those and get through it until my eyes return to normal." It usually only meant a few seconds of discomfort, but in battle, a few seconds could be enough for an enemy to strike.

She needed to be able to set it aside.

"If I'm in a duel or if I know it's coming, I can prepare myself for it. I'll try to adjust my eyes, look away or preemptively close my eyes and shift my focus into the Force." Valery and Efret reached the waterfalls at this point, but where most stopped at the edge of the small lake around them, Valery began to walk around.

There was an opening behind the waterfall, and once they were through, very little natural light reached them. Colorful crystals along the walls and ceiling provided a little bit of light, but certain stretches and tunnels were pitch black.

"Quite pretty, isn't it?"

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Efret's nod was to both the concept and the question.

"I'd like to learn some of your techniques. While I'm doing drills, I have five things to manage: Force sight, Force listening, martial art, light management." She counted them on the fingers of one hand as she signed. If she tried to use any other Force power, for offense or defense, as was common practice of her prefer lightsaber form, Niman, she had to drop something. That was the main reason she had defaulted to Soresu in the ring. That form was less busy while still being similar enough to Niman.

"I've gotten strong in the Force, partially out of necessity to see through Nirrah so often, but it... it's like physical strength. We can build as much muscle as we want, but we only have two arms." Her mind jumped to all the exceptions. She glanced over at Val with a bit of a smirk. "Most of us are limited to two anyway."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"I get what you're trying to say," Valery said with a chuckle when Efret made the comparison to having only two arms. "A big part of what I've done to overcome it is quite simple in idea — exposure. There's no quick fixing things like this, so you're going to have to build it up over time, and keep exposing yourself to it. This might be uncomfortable at first, but with perseverance, it'll pay off in the long-run." She was sure it'd help Efret, as it had once helped her be able to fight in the dark.

These days, she barely needed to think about it anymore.

Valery took Efret into the caves behind the waterfalls and allowed her eyes to get used to the dark. Only colorful crystals offered some light, but much of that faded away when the two went through one section of the cave system.

"An idea to start — you raise the hilt of your lightsaber but you don't ignite it yet. I'll expose you to varying levels of light intensity at random intervals, and your task is to keep your hilt up. It's to practice that you don't flinch and lower your guard whenever a sudden light source is exposed to your eyes."

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Something struck her as Val spoke. Maybe her light sensitivity didn't cause pain, but rather just discomfort.

Efret nodded again. "That sounds like a good exercise." She knew that, at least for the first while—even first few sessions—they were at it, she'd most likely do her share of flinching, that made it an even better idea rather than a worse one. What was practice for if not some failure?

The master unhooked her saber's hilt from her belt and raised it. She even assumed a Form III stance again.

Nirrah jumped from her shoulder onto a nearby boulder.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"I'm sure it will help you," Valery said with a smile. Her plan was to use Force Light and expose Efret to increasing intensities of it in the dark. At random intervals, so she wouldn't expect the moment it happened. It was the most realistic test Valery could come up with and, after some trial and error, she felt certain that it'd help her adjust.

So, with that in mind, their training began.

...

"You're making progress quickly," Valery said with a warm smile, as they left the caves and felt the fresh air again. There was beauty in the caves, especially with its colorful crystals, but Valery much preferred to be outside. Where she could feel the wind blowing through her hair, and heard the songs chirped by the birds that lived around the Temple.

"Do you already need to head back? Otherwise, I'd love to offer you a quick tour of this Temple's archives. I'm sure you'd find it interesting."

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

As they left the cave, Efret placed a hand on her forehead. There was definitely a point in the training when her eyes had become rather desensitized to the light and she no longer flinched away, but it had only lasted a short time, after which the beginnings of a migraine had settled behind her eyes. There, it had slowly grown, and, there, now it more quickly shrunk away as she channeled the Force through herself in healing waves.

Efret took her hand from her head in time to see Val speak. "Right. No pain, no gain."

It was cliché, but in most cases it was also very true.

"You said the magic words," she added when the archives were mentioned.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery smirked, "I thought that'd get your attention." Archives were often one of the most intriguing places to visit at a Jedi Temple, but she felt even more love for the one on New Cov. It's where she had spent countless hours struggling studying when she was a young Padawan, and where she later hosted classes for the new generations. Every time she walked through the open doors of the archives, the memories flashed back through her mind.

It helped her to never forget.

"Here it is," Valery said as they walked down the path and up the small stairs to reach the archives. It had no doors that could be closed, so there was always a small breeze inside. On the ground floor, there were rows of archives with datapads, a large projector in the center and various studying tables and seats for Jedi who wanted to linger.

The second floor had more archives, but the path there was restricted.

Up on the roof, stood a massive vault.

"What do you think?"

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

Once they entered the archives, Efret surged ahead of Valery, walking more quickly towards the holoprojector in the middle of the room. She spun on her heel and looked up to the upper floors. When she looked back to the grandmaster, wonder clearly shown in Efret's eyes. "That it's wonderful," she answered. "You're lucky to have learned here."

Part of Efret's heart broke for the Coruscant Temple archives. Seeing them already relatively empty already, and knowing that they would be even more so in the coming days, was very hard. She had returned to the Core a few days before her reunion with Val and spent them volunteering with the Jedi librarians to send away the unique and more sensitive artifacts and records that either could not be replaced or should not fall into Darksiders' hands.

Being among a complete collection was very satisfying. It triggered hope that the objects sent away could come home again soon, much like was the hope for the padawans and the others who that chose to sequester themselves.

A large planter caught her eye. "What's this?" she asked before moving over to it and gingerly placing her hand underneath a multicolored leaf as she examined it. With her other hand, she hovered over the surface and traced part of the purple splotch pattern with a finger. She smiled involuntarily. Elias Edo most likely knew the name of whatever species of plant this was, but maybe he'd be impressed if she learned it too. When she had first met him about a year ago, she had taught him a few things about geology, paleobotany, and prehistoric humanoid-Force interaction on Jakku. She didn't know how much had made a lasting impression and stuck with him, but it didn't matter—she wanted to learn about something in his area of expertise, even if it wasn't directly from him.

After Val gave her answer, Efret's eyes shifted back to the plant to admire it a moment longer until she felt a light energetic tug. Her gaze gave it, following it down to the soil. An echo was laying among the humus like a grain of white vermiculite. It felt like Val's aura. Efret smiled to herself as she reached down to touch it, to experience it.

What had Val done to this poor plant once upon a time?

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"I'm glad you think so," Valery said with a warm smile. "I didn't appreciate this place enough when I was a young Padawan, but I spent a lot of time here after I was knighted." She paused, blinked, and rubbed the back of her neck, "I was even the Chief Librarian here for a short time. Can you believe that?" Valery turned to Efret with quite a smirk. Most Jedi, especially nowadays, knew her for her role as the Sword.

Not a Jedi who spent a lot of time in the archives.

But as far as Valery was concerned, all Jedi should spend a lot of time in the archives. To learn about the Galaxy they were meant to protect and prepare themselves to be the best Jedi they can be. The path of a Jedi was that of an-

"What's this?"

Oh dear.

Valery looked at the plant and blinked again, "I'm uh, not quite sure which one it is, but I'm sure it's written down here somewhere." She looked around but it was already too late. Efret's mind was drawn into the Force, and the entire archives began to swirl to a time long passed. The interior of the archives looked almost identical, but the Jedi inside were very different from those in the New Jedi Order. Each one wore traditional robes and there was a very different aura around them.

With the exception of one Jedi.

"Valery! Stop running through the archives!"

The Librarian sighed frustratedly but stopped running after the young girl. There was no stopping her, but with others still chasing her, Valery sprinted up to the second floor and jumped down from there. The plant below would be a good cushion in combination with the Force, and she made her landing quite elegantly.

"Sorry! I'll be going now!" Little Valery giggled and sprinted out through the archives.

Efret Farr​

 

[Efret Farr]

"You monster."

She turned on her heel to face adult Val again. As always, the voice coming from Efret's lapel clip was not very intonated, but her signing and facial expressions communicated her jesting mood easily enough—that and her ringing laugh.

"Does the Council know that you used to terrorize plants?" She scoffed just as playfully before putting her hands on her hips for a quick but dramatic moment. "Master Noble, that's a war crime. This one's not even spiky. It can't defend itself."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery raised her hands in surrender, her lips curved into quite a widespread grin, "You caught me," she said with a chuckle. "It wasn't anything personal to these beautiful plants. I just needed an escape from the angry librarian." Valery snickered and turned around to look at the archives again. There were many more of these memories here. Of her running around and being difficult to the poor people who protected it.

But she had changed for the better and later even contributed to the archives.

"Luckily, the plants had the librarians to defend them. That time, I managed to escape but they caught me as well. Several times, even. I've spent hours on library duty to clean or sort things."

Efret Farr​