Private One Light Burning

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Iris Arani | Briana Sal-Soren

Slowly but surely, Valery dragged herself up the long staircase of the apartment building. She hadn't slept a minute and the exhaustion showed in her eyes, body language, and how poorly she had taken care of her appearance. Iris and Briana hadn't even gotten a message either — something simple she forgot in the emotional inferno she found herself in currently. But luckily, she could feel that her Padawans were home, and they had more than likely felt something was wrong with their Master.

While not as powerful as the dyad with Kahlil, the Force Bonds she developed with her own Padawans were strong as well and allowed them to feel much more than she was sometimes willing to share verbally. Today though, she wasn't going to try and hide anything or fight the urge to cry and show how vulnerable she was right now. This time, she really needed them. As her first two Padawans, her bond with them ran deepest, and she knew them as if they were her own daughters. In many ways, she treated them like that as well, and in return, they always had her back too.

In front of the door, Valery paused for a moment as tears already began to form in her eyes, but she pushed herself through the seconds of hesitation and knocked weakly on the door.

​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing: Morning Robe, Tank Top and Shorts
Equipment: N/A
Location: Briana and Iris' Apartment, Coruscant
Tag: Iris Arani , Valery Noble

It had all started that morning.

Briana woke suddenly, ripped out from a heavy slumber, the kind that had left her covered in a fine sheen of sweat, briefly forgetting her surroundings. The throes of her nightmare followed her into the quiet morning as her vision slowly adjusted to the mercifully empty bedroom... although the relentless sense of dread continued to press heavy against her ribs.

After several deep breaths, her wildly hammering heart calmed to a steady pace, tossing the sheets from off her legs and rolling onto her side to stare into the pit of darkness.

The last time she'd had such dreams, they'd been of Naboo's inevitable future. The battlefield she'd witnessed last night where Valery had almost died alongside another Jedi... Khalil's sacrifice. It was all so vivid. Briana sighed deeply, her long lashes brushing against her cheeks as she rubbed her face with her hands.

Hopefully this time, that's all it was...

... a dream.

After fruitlessly trying to go back to sleep, Briana forced herself up out of bed, padding her way across the soft carpeted floor to her dresser and pulling on a pair of shorts with one hand, grabbing a robe for warmth from its hook near the door. The long sleeves hung off her slender arms, providing a small respite from the early morning chill as she secured the belt tightly around her waist before heading to the kitchen area to make herself some tea, hoping the caffeine would help sort out the thoughts that continued to marinate in the back of her mind.

Her gait slowed to a stop, her brows furrowing in surprise to find Iris already awake.

"Morning," she said, trying to force a smile so she wouldn't appear worried. "You're up... early."

Then, she felt it.

Making quick strides to the door which slid open on command, revealed none other than Valery.

Sorrow spilled from her in palatable waves, her fiery eyes dimmed to mere embers, looking as though she could fold in on herself at any moment. Seeing her like that made the wind feel as though it had been knocked from her lungs, Valery's pain rippling clearly through the Force.

It hadn't been a dream, after all.

Each step felt heavy as she closed the small distance between them, wordlessly pulling her Master into a tight embrace.

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[Iris Arani]

Iris felt it. Something was wrong. She didn't sleep. Her gaze stayed off in the distance, watching through the colors. Trying to see why everything was just.. Wrong. Even as Bri woke up and greeted her, she was off trying to figure out why everything seemed so wrong. In her own head, anyway. But it was Briana who saw it first. Who reacted first. Valery. Quick foot falls echoed out before Iris jumped at the two woman, hugging them both. Mostly their Master, though.

That's what was wrong. Something important was missing from Valery. And she didn't have to think hard on what it could be.

They'd be here for her, just as Valery had always been there for them.

Valery Noble | Briana Sal-Soren

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Briana Sal-Soren Iris Arani

When the door slid open, Briana was the first one to greet her, and just seeing her face was enough to make Valery tear up and swallow hard. In the brief silence that followed, her Padawan would easily be able to figure out what was wrong — both Briana and Iris knew Valery well enough for it. "Hey Bri..." she said, her voice cracking mere seconds before the woman pulled Valery into a tight embrace.

Valery's face lowered onto Briana's shoulder, but even without being able to see, she knew Iris was coming as well. The two were like daughters to her in many ways, so their comfort meant everything to her, and now more than ever, she really needed it. With her arms wide, she kept both hugged against herself and paid no attention to how much time passed. She just held them and cried in a way she had never done before in their presence.

Only when the initial wave of emotions finally passed, Valery looked up and offered a painful smile to each of them, "Can I come in for a minute? I... I really need you both."

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[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing: Tank Top, Robe, Shorts
Equipment: N/A
Location: Iris and Briana's Apartment, Coruscant
Tag: Iris Arani , Valery Noble


Briana's arms tightened around Valery whose hot tears drained on her shoulder as her own eyes began to burn.

Soon feeling Iris join in the embrace, the Padawans encased their master in all of the love and comfort they could muster, unsure how much time passed before she finally pulled away from them. Briana could see the pain etched in Valery's grief-furrowed expression. The red eyes, the trembling lips that tried to form syllables. Despair clung to her very countenance, far more than Briana could ever recall seeing before.

"Can I come in for a minute? I... I really need you both."

Briana merely nodded and reached out to touch Valery's forearm, "Of course," she said softly, her attentive gaze flicking briefly to Iris before guiding their Master into the house. "You're always welcome in our home, for however long you want to stay."

Valery had been there for each of them on numerous occasions, they would never turn her away in her hour of twilight.

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[Iris Arani]

Iris didn't linger too long once Bri invited their master in. It went without saying that Valery was always going to be welcome here. And, well. She sucked at words. She knew what was wrong, but she knew all it took was one wrong word to make it that much worse. So she did what she knew she could. Cook. She went into the kitchen, quickly finding something to make a meal of this late at night. Didn't matter what specifically.

Just something warm.

Valery Noble | Briana Sal-Soren

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Briana Sal-Soren Iris Arani

This was everything she needed and more — comfort and being cared for. As much trouble as these two Padawans have caused her at times, they never failed to show just how much they cared about their Master. In return, she was Proud to call them her Padawans, and even long after they were Knights or Masters themselves, Valery would always be there to help them.

"Thank you," she said with a weak smile after entering the apartment and finding herself a place to sit on the couch. Iris was already quickly moving to cook up something to eat, and Briana stayed close so Valery wasn't alone.

"I... don't know if you two heard already, but Kahlil gave his life to save me," she began after a moment, her voice weak and cracking up with every other word. Tears were quickly forming again but this time, she pushed through and looked up at the two young women.

"I have to stay strong for Vera but... it's very hard."

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[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing: Tank Top, Shorts, Robe
Equipment: N/A
Location: Briana and Iris's apartment, Coruscant
Tag: Valery Noble , Iris Arani


Watching Valery try to hold it together was almost too much for Briana to bear. She was one of the strongest people she knew, to see her so grief stricken...

"I... don't know if you two heard already, but Kahlil gave his life to save me,"

The images of what she now knew to be fact played across her minds eye, hitting her hard in the gut.

"I think we... both had an idea." she softly intoned, a pained expression on her face. "We're so sorry Valery. He was so dearly loved and is going to be sorely missed. We'll have to do something special to remember him by..." Briana reached out and put an arm around Valery's shoulders, holding on to her as she shook.

"I have to stay strong for Vera but... it's very hard."

"No, Val," she wiped her eyes where her own tears had started to form, "the best thing you can do for yourself and Vera is to grieve." Briana told her gently, understanding to a degree how much work there would be ahead of her through this process, and how easily it could destroy ones spirit if it wasn't allowed to exist. "And you don't have to do any of this alone. Iris and I will help be your strength. Let us take some of that weight from you, just as you have done for us, when we've needed it."

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[Iris Arani]

There was a clatter before Iris could stop it.

Just a spatula she was planning to cook with. Surprise had been too quick. She just knew what Valery felt, not what actually happened. Kahlil? Her husband of all people? Iris muttered an 'excuse me' as she picked up the spatula and brought it to the sink to clean. Mostly because she couldn't look at her Master just yet. The thought hadn't meant to be there, but it came regardless.

Thank the Force it was the other Master Noble.

She already hated herself for it.

"And you don't have to do any of this alone. Iris and I will help be your strength. Let us take some of that weight from you, just as you have done for us, when we've needed it."

"Right, yeah. We're here for you." No, no. That's what mattered. Valery was hurting. She needed to be there for her master, just as Valery had countless times for her. She forced a smile, trying to be comforting in anyway she could.

"Always."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Briana Sal-Soren Iris Arani

Valery's eyes had dropped down to her lap, and she continued to shake a little as memories repeated over and over again. Only with the comforting arm of Briana around her shoulders and her kind words, she started to calm down a little. Enough to where the sound of Iris' spatula falling drew her eyes up as if she heard another artillery shell strike nearby, but she composed herself and watched the young woman enter the room.

"And you don't have to do any of this alone. Iris and I will help be your strength. Let us take some of that weight from you, just as you have done for us, when we've needed it."

"Right, yeah. We're here for you."

A sad smile touched her lips, and when Iris made her way over, she looked between them, "I know you two will..." A pause followed before the somber smile turned just a little brighter, "I'm very proud of you both." she sniffed and wiped away some of her tears before she leaned over to pull them both into another hug.

They had changed so much since she started their training, and right now, it felt really comforting to know that they'd always be there for her.

"Why uh, don't we just take the rest of the day to relax? Watch some holo-movie and eat together?" A distraction, and some time spent with her two oldest Padawans — it was the closest thing to a curefor her broken heart right now.

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