Knights of the Vale [Aria]

[Théodred Heavenshield]

And so it was that Théo, Knight of the Watch, walked around the parameter on patrol. Regardless of rank or experience, those of the Watch take turns on the wall. The night was still, save for the constant falling of snow, but no wind would howl around the tall towers, no assault of ice cut his cheek. Yet, the black cloak lined with álk fur clung tight to this body for warmth.

A new knight had joined the Watch, Aria Vale who he had meet on Ossus, seen her in the Temple many a time and now she is here at least for a short time. Not everyone that comes, stays. He stood looking out over the vast ice fields, as black as the night sky yet he could see, his force sense attuned to the environment allowed him 'vision'. Some small night creatures moved from rock to rock forraging for food or hunting. In the distance Théo sensed the presence of the field patrol making their rounds before checking on the cave.

All was quiet.

And she was late.

Aria's first watch, he would show her the ropes as they say, she would soon get to know the place, like it or loath it. Not everyone loves ice.

​

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Aria hated being late.

Normally she was good with first impressions. As an early waker, she could usually be counted on to be fully ready with plenty of time to spare, and her anxious reserve made her almost abnormally polite. She had come to Rhen Var to join, for an indefinite but hopefully lengthy period of time, the Silver Watch, hoping to further her growth as a Jedi and perhaps find the inner peace that she seemed to be losing touch with, and today a Jedi Knight she knew as Theo had offered to introduce her to the Watch. She knew Theo from the time she had karked up at his archery workshop - a memory which brought about some embarrassment to say the least, but he at least she remembered in a positive way.

Perhaps after today, the same would not be said of her, for when a meeting was in the evening, Aria didn't have the advantage of waking early and was as liable to be late as anyone else. She would have made it too, had she not underestimated her ability to walk a great distance through a terrain that varied between thick snowy fields and shiny, slippery lakes of ice. She could not have been running more than ten minutes late, but that was more than enough to dial her awkwardness up to the maximum.

"Hi," she said quickly, still somewhat out of breath from having to jog through all the snow, though she had slowed down at the last few yards. "Sorry I'm late." She managed a smile that could hopefully lighten the atmosphere, though she certainly remained tense. "Nice to me-I mean, see you again."

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

His eyes narrowed as she drew close, not because he was annoyed with her for being late, as he is well aware of the hardship of the ice. They had narrowed in order to shield a smile. "Good to see you again Knight Vale", he said and his voiced seemed to echo around Rhen Var as the sound carried over the landscape. "You will get used to it", he added knowing her plight. "This place is beautful in its starkness, dangerous and unforgiving if you do not respect it. But it is also filled with the light side of the force if you open yourself up to allow it in". She would be able to sense the force well enough, it is everywhere, but would she hold fear to allow it to inform her here? She should, for the force can reveal more about a person then they are willing to see in themselves.

Theo turned to face her now, "Come on, I will show you around some more". Besides he had to complete his rounds on the wall until releaved of duty. It was a bit dull tonight so he was glad for the company. "Each one of us has to patrol up here, the roster is down stairs in the main common room. The hardest thing about this patrol is the bordom and you can't afford to let it distract you".

So while he was talking, his force awareness had not dropped in fact it had strengthened until able to feel everything. Her as well. "How is your training progressing?". He did not mean with the bow of course, that lesson was designed to have been fun for them that day, but regardless of the fact both of them are Knights, they are still in training and always would be until they join the living force.

​

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Pleased to see that her tardiness hadn't caused great offence, Aria smiled properly, nodding with a keen interest at his description of Rhen Var. She'd only been on the planet once before when the Silver Jedi hosted a masquerade, and thus hadn't really taken the time to appreciate the planet itself, but she could certainly understand what Theo meant about sensing the Light in it.

She set off alongside Theo as he offered to show her around while continuing patrol. In all honesty, she didn't think she would mind the boredom and might even, in fact, appreciate it. Boring was nice. Aria didn't have anywhere near enough boring in her life.

"Oh, not too bad," she answered in response to his question. "Nothing exciting really - not since the promotion, at least. Only a matter of time though." She grinned to go with her words, but the statement was only half a joke - she had learned early on in her career as a Jedi that being the peacekeepers of the galaxy didn't by any means make their lives peaceful. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"How about you? How's the training going - are you in Rhen Var most of the time?"

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

It was as if they partook in a leisurely stroll around a beautiful garden as the pair walked atop the wall, and in a strange way it was. The garden, although not filled with lushious greenery and tall trees, was one of ice and to Theo's eyes not less beautiful for it. "I seem to spend my time between three place, Voss, Midvinter and here which has left me with limited time to train, but as you say .. Only a matter of time".

They came to a part of the wall on which there is a small tower, Theo stood back extended his arm to indicate for Aria to walk up the stairs before him, a small smile gracing his lips and after she beings her climb he would follow. The steps to the towers top are hard stone, as cold as the ice of the fields on Rhen Var and caution is required to step foot upon them. He has walked this part many a time and knows his way and once the summit had been reached, Aria would witness .. nothing. Nothing but the darkness of the night's sky and blackness of the ice beyond the horizon, but this is not his intention to show her this.

The air seemed thinner up here, his breath billowed out of his mouth with each push of air from his lungs, but his arm raised and point to the unseen line of mountains, maybe if her eyes are good she would make up the darker outline where mountain meets the night sky, "On that mountain to the east is a beacon and beyond that another, and beyond that ... another". He turned to face her, "It is this that we watch for each and every night. They light up, we know that the enemy is coming". The beacons of which he speaks is not one made of wood, but relay stations that do give them early warning and a call for help.

"A tedious job is the watch but one that has to be done". Once she would take a look at .. nothing, Theo grinned. "Now .. doesn't training sound like a far better options?".

​

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Following at a leisurely pace, Aria swung her head from side to side as she took in the views. The icy gardens were perhaps not as colourful as regular ones - and they were much colder for sure - but Aria found them beautiful in their own right. Of course, her thoughts might change once she'd become accustomed to the new view, but until then she would appreciate it happily.

"I've not been to Midvinter," she admitted - in fact, she'd never even heard of it, but she kept that to herself. Geography wasn't exactly her favourite subject. "What's it like?"

Then as she climbed the stairs of a tall stone tower, keeping up with Theo reasonably well - a Knight she may be, but Aria had never been fond of staircases - still admiring the view as the stars began to show. Theo stopped as they neared the top, pointing this way and that to show her how the patrol worked. She squinted at the beacons - they didn't light up. That was a relief. Perhaps drama was always around a corner in the Jedi lifestyle, but Aria would've been suitably irritated if her first day on the Watch coincided with enemy attack.

He spoke again, and Aria turned.

"Definitely," she said cheerfully in reply. "Any specifics?"

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

"Midvinter is .. majestic", there was no other word Théo could think of to describe it, his home planet. "It is not like here, although a ice planet. There are the seasons in which it changes and you get to see flowers and grass. Trees". He could not help but smile remembering the forests in which he hunts. "And the people, well, they are unique to say the least. It is beautiful beyond anything or anywhere I have seen in the galaxy". He could talk about Midvinter for hours if the listener was prepared to listen, but he knew that would bore her senseless.

He turned his back to the wall and looked down into the courtyard which was lit with a yellowish light glowing off the snow and ice, it is the courtyard in which the Watch trains when they have spare time to do so. A hand raised and rubbed his chin covered in his beard thinking about what training they could offer each other. After all they are both Knights and have great abilities of their own. Théo knew of Aria's profile having received it before her arrival and knew she was very skilled in martial arts, he wasn't .. at least not in the sense of anything formal. Combat with a sword, on the field of battle against foe of equal skill he was. Very much so. But those skills are poles apart.

"Well", he begun still thinking, "How about something beneficial for us both?". This was no Padawan he was training nor she, and they would face each other on equal footing. "You train me in a form of martial art of your choosing, and I will offer you training in sword or saber".

Now Théo turned to look directly at Aria, small and lithe she might be compared to his height, weight and strength, but he was under no illusion that the girl before him was not capable and could throw him on his back in minutes. In fact, the idea of that .. made Théo smile. After all she is pretty.

​

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

A small, appreciative smile formed at the offer of exchanged skills: Theo could have chosen no better way to ensure that she got the best possible first impression of the Watch. Whether it was intentional or not, Aria commended him in her mind - and in the pleased almost-smirk on her face indicating that she would enjoy this.

"You're on." Right away, she racked her brain for the best way to begin the training. After all, Theo was a Knight, and experienced enough in sword and saber fighting that he'd be able to adhere to a more challenging lesson without great difficulty. Oh, she could have some fun with this, all right: Aria doubted she was being expected to go easy on him.

"Alright, so any martial artist worth their salt will tell you straight off that being big and strong is only an advantage if you're fighting somebody half your size or without experience," she began, adopting a spirited teacher-tone. "It's about how you move: how you attack, how you evade, how you fall. You've got to be fast and agile; if you move stiffly, it's not martial arts, and it's not useful. So say a kick comes your way..." Aria's leg spun out in a swift half-moon, the grin on her face clear to behold..."you can back up like a wild animal, or you can move with the kick and then use my momentum to your advantage." She waited to see which it would be.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Lesson one: Expect the unexpected.

And that grin on her lips was unexpected, and he could not help but do the same in return, however in a matter of minutes that grin would vanish. The words, 'you're on' came way to fast for his liking and it did not bode well for him he thought. This is a training exercise and no they would not go easy on each other, but at the same time Theo had to be very mindful of his natural strength that his Valkyri blood had gifted him with, it is five times the strength of the average man in the galaxy and so any punch from him would have the recipient stayed hit, if not broken. His legs the same in strength and would and could prove to keep the man on his feet with the hardest of hits, all that without the any infusion of the force to give him added strength. Strangely, he is also agile on his feet, that is not natural to him, but gained through training with Master Jericho and mother's evil dance lessons. That skill might .. might, surprise Aria.

Theo did not back away, but dropped to one knee and hunched his shoulders to allow her kicked to sail over his head. He could have turned into her kick, and before impact landed a punch to her inside thigh as she swung toward him, but he knew that kind of impact from him would shatter her leg and that was never going to be an option for him. If she was Sith however .. he grinned.

As her leg passed over, he raised his left hand, his palm flat and pushed her leg at the calve using his strength the throw her off balance, and prevent any back kick coming his way. "You know wild animals have good defenses and attacks as well", deep down his delighted in her referring to him a one. "Among .. other things". Not just a pretty face it was now apparent, but nice legs too. Although he knew that soon enough he would be sporting bruises.

​

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Aria's eyes widened - part reflex as she literally hopped backwards, part glee from the enjoyment of a good fight, and part surprise. Was he...flirting with her? Socially inept as she was, even Aria wasn't completely oblivious to these matters. Not that it mattered, of course: she was teaching. Maybe later.

Back to the lesson. Aria hopped perhaps a foot backwards before becoming aware of her own hypocrisy and lowering her leg to evade his counterattack. Unsurprisingly, Theo had strength enough, perhaps not to make him invincible, but at least that against a better opponent he'd have less chance of total defeat. Equally expected were his quick reactions - no Jedi would rely on brute force unless it was their only available advantage, and no Knight would be granted such a rank without knowing how to adapt to the unexpected. Had it been a test, Theo would've passed: the way was cleared to start teaching properly.

"Only against the inexperienced," she replied cheerfully. Admittedly, she'd never faced off against wild animals before, but that was beyond the point. "That was good. You're fast. Getting someone off balance is the easiest way to tip the scales - so say with the kick, even if I miss, if you have to back up then you're easier to knock down. That's also why punches don't do a lot outside of bar fights. When you're a Jedi, the goal should always be self-defense, so you've got to fight strategically instead of just hurting your opponent as much as you can as soon as you can." She was going on a bit, but it was so much fun being the teacher.

"Here's one." Aria began moving her feet, careful not to stay still for more than a second. "Try and trip me up. I favour my right foot, by the way." In a real fight, picking the weakest side to attack would require some analysis on his behalf, but she was being nice today.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]