Private Ride the Wave

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"This isn't just an excuse to join the race," Valery told Colette as their shuttle landed down on the surface of Pamarthe. The two Jedi had been tasked to investigate a series of races on water hosted on Pamarthe, not for the sport itself, but because of the suspected involvement of a criminal organization. There wasn't too much information available yet, so it was their task to investigate, and perhaps respond to whatever they had planned for this particular event. Of course, Valery's inner adrenaline junkie also loved the idea of joining in on the race herself.

Why not investigate up-close if possible, right?

"We'll get to see a new planet, help out the locals, and you finally get to see the ocean! Cool, huh?" She smirked, turned her gaze forward to focus on bringing the ship safely down, and shut off the engines once they were on the surface. The ramp then lowered, Valery climbed out of her seat, and with a gesture of her head, she tried to get Colette to follow her out onto the Island they had landed on. It was a starting point for a race that would take the participants on a track through an entire group of Islands, but there was more to it than that.

With old, wooden bridges, restaurants and shops along the beach, it was quite a popular tourist location.

"I got us a place along the beach, where we can get changed. You uh... have swimwear, right? Or at least something appropriate for the beach."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There was a big greasy stain on the window where Colette had pushed her entire face into it as if to seep in through and freefall into the great big blue ocean below. There was absolutely no denying her excitement about this. She had sat on her hands to keep herself still from the second it had dawned on her what kind of planet this was. The ship touched down, there was some sort of mission, but there were other things to attend to such as the ocean and the beach.

"You asked me to get one, so naturally I got one." Colette said and shook her head in disbelief at such a silly question. "Of course, they asked if I wanted a bick-eenie, but I figured that didn't sound familiar so…" The kid shrugged. "I don't know? I said no and they gave me something that looked just like it but that covered the back and stomach as well?"

Yeah, the civilized world made no sense at all. Like, if the water would still get to you then what was the point of wearing water resistant fabric? That would be like throwing away food because it would get eaten eventually. They could just as well have been made of something else like linen or silk. People liked silk a lot and seemed to desire it for clothes as a symbol of status, so why was she not seeing a lot of silk bathing clothes?

It didn't make sense.

"Look, can we just pleeeease get to the ocean already?" Colette nearly paced worse than Vera after snackies. "I want to see the ocean!"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

The whole trip here had been such a joy. Seeing Colette this excited after some rougher times made Valery feel a lot more relaxed, and they hadn't even reached the beach yet. Just the thought alone already made the girl happy, and there was no doubt in her mind that seeing and experiencing the real thing would be even better. The warm sun, the endless ocean that stretched out far beyond the horizon, the cool breeze and, of course, all the activities.

From swimming and sunbathing, to surfing and riding the waves on much faster vehicles. Valery loved all of it, and sometimes wished she had a lot more time for it. But perhaps the fact that it was so rare made it even better at the same time.

"Yeah it's probably better to have a one-piece or a wetsuit if you're not used to, uh, exposing skin." Valery snickered a little at the confusion that could spark. "I usually wear a bikini if it's just relaxing on the beach. But if I'm surfing or doing something else that's fast and furious on the water, I'll take something more appropriate for it."

For obvious reasons.

"Yeah, yeahhhh," Valery said as she finally began to take the ship down, "Calm down, I can't just land on top of the beach." Well, she could, but the people down there wouldn't really appreciate it. So instead, she brought them down on a landing pad very close to the beach, right around where their temporary place of residence would be. "Alright, off you go," Valery said as she then lowered the ramp, allowing the girl to storm out if she wanted to.

They could get to business later. First, it was time to check out the ocean.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Well, technically you can, they just wouldn't like it." Colette clarified for her master before she shrugged. "Eh, that makes sense. Okaybyyyyye…"


Colette had set off fast in case Valery would ask anything more of her. She had no desire to do much of anything until she was right there on the beach and staring at the endless expanse of waters. At least the seeming rush let Valery get a glimpse of the girl's improving form. There was less slouch, her feet didn't seem to just barely scrape a path through the pavement anymore. She was improving.

By the time she caught up she could already find Colette standing at the edge of the waterline with her hands on her waist, staring out into the vast expanse on the horizon.

The kid turned around. Her mouth was clearly wet along with her hands.

"Can't drink the water." She gleed and quickly dove into the sand where she had discarded her equipment. "Tastes like shi—..." Her eyes went wide in horror at what she almost said. "-ifty… Sands…"

So, this was it. Colette grabbed the blue one-piece bathsuit and held it in front of her as she sat on her towel.

"Underwear, but somehow special." The kid mused and lowered it. "It's kind of stupid, don't you think?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Did you try to drink-" she paused, snickered and shook her head when she knew for a fact that Colette had done exactly that before she arrived. "Ocean water is salty, usually, so it'll just dehydrate you if you drink it," Valery clarified, so it'd hopefully make sense to Colette beyond it tasting like chit.

"I hope you like the view, though," Valery said as she put down her bags, laid out a towel and put on some sunglasses. Her Keshian eyes were especially sensitive, so it helped her feel more at ease. Of course, it also looked great on her, and on what was basically a vacation day, that mattered. A little bit. Looking around, Valery noticed that it was quite a busy day at the beach, even though the race wasn't starting for a while yet.

So, why not relax a bit and go for some sunbathing?

She was about to turn to her bag to grab everything to get changed, when she noticed Colette pull out her bathing suit. With anybody else, she wouldn't have thought too much of it, but this kid had just tried to drink salt water. "NOT HERE!" Valery called out, her hand reaching out to lower the bathing suit.

"Look uh, it's not socially acceptable to strip down in public. There are kids, and to a lot of people, the body is more than what allows us to move around." Man, she was really reaching with her explanation now, but she didn't want to go into adult topics with her now if she could help it. "There are changing rooms back there. I was planning to get changed too, but we should take turns, so nobody can steal our stuff here."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"I… Wasn't going to change right here." Colette said and gave Valery an utmost dumbfounded look. "I learned pretty quickly that nudity is for some reason seen as shameful. Some are even so prudish that it's difficult not to think of them as outright ashamed of having a body."

The plan to go in rounds was good though. Not that Colette had much to be stolen, but Valery seemed to value her belongings enough that it seemed warranted. Mementos and the like. Colette personally would have packed water and MREs if it wasn't because this was bound to be some sort of half-mission, half-vacation experience. Or so she had been sold on it. The ocean was just an incredibly pleasant surprise.

And yes, the way that the girl moved and acted most certainly garnered attention. She could sense curiosity coming from them mostly, but also some measure of indignation as if her carefree spirit bothered them for some reason. Whatever. It was their problem to deal with, she figured.

It took a bit of figuring out, a whole couple of seconds for it before Colette got herself changed and reappeared outside of the booth for Valery to take her turn.

"See?" She said and grinned. "Not a total savage."

"You can go in the shame shack and get dressed now if you want, master."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery snickered, "It's not really about being ashamed of your own body. It's more that... some people get a little too excited seeing an attractive woman showing too much skin. It attracts the wrong kind of attention very quickly," Valery said, as she thought back about her beach visit on Zeltros with Corazona von Ascania . The mental image of Cora snapping when that Zeltron started flirting with her Master could still make her roll over from laughing.

But it had also been a gesture Valery appreciated very much.

"On another note, I also very much don't need to see people butt-naked." She looked over at some elderly folks, and shuddered at the thought alone.

With that said, though, it was time to get changed and with Colette so excited about all of this, it only made sense for her to go first. It took a little longer than expected, likely because she struggled to get into her one-piece, but soon enough she made her way out and showed it off a bit. "You look great, and I'm sure it feels a lot better as well, out here in the heat of the sun, hm?" She chuckled and stepped past the Padawan to enter the Shame Shack herself.

"If someone tries to flirt though, let me know. I'll beat them up," Valery joked, but there was a hint of motherly protection in her voice as well.

Not much later, Valery stepped back out, not in a one-piece but a bikini for now. She had a wetsuit ready for the actual race, but that wasn't scheduled until tomorrow. So, for now, she figured getting a bit of a tan would be nice.

"Alright, anything in particular you want to do out here? It's your first time."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Sounds like some people should be keep their eyes and minds to themselves then." Colette laughed at Valery's almost somewhat defensive posture. "And if some people can't do that, they need to be shown why they should."

And then there was the way she looked at the elderly people. Curious, what made their bodies any less natural? Of course, Colette could very well imagine why, but as long as there was no — as Valery mentioned some people might feel — desire involved, what was the issue here? A body's a body's a body. Everyone shriveled up and pruned before death. That was just the way of things. Valery would become old and shriveled too eventually, but Colette had learned the hard way that pointing this out to people was just not something you do.

When the master returned, Colette turned to face her.

"We both know that it is you who have to stop me from beating someone up." Colette said and looked quite amused. "I want to, I don't know… Learn how to swim? Stare at the ocean for a few hours? See how deep the ocean can go?"

"I don't know what my options are."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"They should, but they won't," Valery said. "You'll see soon enough." She chuckled and briefly let Colette alone to get changed into her bikini. It wasn't often that she got to wear it, but it was fun to be out in the sun, along the beach, and not really worry about being in combat gear, ready to be called into action at any moment. Of course, she could do without weird advances like the one on Zeltros, but most people kept their distance when they noticed her ring.

A ring she never took off, whether on-duty or off-duty.

"Yeah, please don't beat someone up if they flirt with you," Valery laughed and shifted into a bright smile when Colette told her what she wanted to do. It came down to really wanting to experience the world, and what it was like to be out here on the beach. To swim, to mess around and do what a kid is supposed to.

"Let's walk up to the water and slowly go in. First though-"

Tsss.

Valery sprayed some sunscreen onto Colette's arm and smirked, "You've got a nice tan like I do, but you can get burned really fast being around the water." Valery then sprayed a few more spots along exposed skin, and let Colette rub it in herself before she started walking towards the beach. As she mentioned earlier, there were plenty of looks turning their way, but Valery paid little attention to it and just focused on her Padawan.

She wanted Colette to have an amazing time.

"Don't go too deep, okay? Just up to your waist at first."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"No promis-" The kid froze up out of habit. 'Tss' meant snakes, and snakes meant acting fast. It was a hardwired reflex. "Okay, uh… That's good I guess. Won't this just wash off in the water?"

Never needed this at home. But then, they also wore protective clothes for this purpose. Although Colette supposed that given their already heavy weight, adding any measure of dampness to that did very little for it. She rubbed the rest of the weird substance in and got up to follow behind Valery.

The water was cold, a lot colder than Colette had thought it would be, but that didn't deter her. Shame on those who lost their determination on something so simple as a little cold. The girl pushed through the water with a happy smile until she stood at waist-height with her arms hovering steadily a few inches above the surface.

"Okay, so uh, what now?" Colette asked and took a spin around in the water as she waited for Valery to catch up. "Just like, lift my legs, or?"

"Kind of like." The kid said and promptly disappeared under the water but quickly resurfaced with a cough.

"Oh, ish in mah noesh." She groaned. "An eyesh, an—" She inhale. "An—" Shorter inhale. "AN-"

Colette sneezed and promptly threw her hair back over her shoulders as she bounced up and down.

"Oh man, the water makes the wind so much colder."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"It won't lose its effect immediately, but you'd have to re-apply some a bit quicker than if you were to stay dry," Valery said with a chuckle. Not that she was going to make Colette bother keeping track of that time — she wanted the kid to have fun, and if they stayed out here for long, Valery would handle all of the secondary things.

It almost made her feel like taking her own kids to the beach.

Valery then watched Colette head into the water, and watched her carefully. If she didn't know how to swim, she wasn't going to learn it in a day. So staying in the shallow parts was a must. Even people who knew how to swim could get in trouble with strong currents if they went too far into the water.

...she really was in protective mother mode.

"Careful that you don't go to-"

Too late — Colette went down under, but luckily resurfaced quickly. Valery had been just about ready to dive in after, but was left just breathing out a sigh of relief instead. "Yeah it can be colder, so stay active!" Valery called out before she splashed some water up at her Padawan. A water fight was sure to keep her moving, right?

"I don't think it's that cold! No idea what you're complaining about~" Valery teased as another wave of waver came after her Padawan.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

An uncharacteristically loud 'eek' parted Colette's lips into a happy grin. Her arm moved up to protect herself from the oncoming watery assault but it was already too late. Her cheek caught the brunt of it before she began to stagger back only to realize the water was keeping her from moving with any form of grace or stability.

So that's how she wanted to play it, huh? Colette felt the wave wash over her but she pushed against it. Her arm swept at the surface of the water to thrash a small wave right back at her master with a laugh.

"But really, what is the key to this? Just sort of move my arms?" Colette patted her hands against the surface of the water as if to make the point. "Just gotta sorta stay above the water."

"... Somehow."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

Valery laughed along as Colette shielded herself and even thrashed back a small wave of water. It felt so good to see her Padawan this happy after the last conversation they had. Life had been difficult, and they had nearly been separated for good. But right now, they could both forget about it entirely, and just focus on having a great time.

Maybe they'd have to stay a little longer, even after the race and Jedi side to this trip.

"I'd start with just floating using your legs like this," Valery moved deeper into the water, and tried her best to exaggerate the repetitive movements of her legs. "It's not too hard, but swimming can take time to really get down." To show it anyway, Valery began to swim around a little bit, and with great form too. She was no professional swimmer, but she had gone on plenty of underwater missions to warrant proper training.

"If you want to try it, go ahead. I'm here if something goes wrong."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Alright, deep breath. Colette nodded at Valery's instructions and swallowed her somewhat fractured pride for a moment as she let in a deep breath just like she had and gently leaned back to sort of 'sit' within the water and let it carry her a little. Given the new nature of this whole thing it was okay to feel uneasy about it. There was a lot to keep in mind, sensations in the water itself that Colette had never really experienced before until now.

"And then…" She grumbled and gently straightened herself out in the water to let the front of her body reach out from the surface and just kind of bob there. But a nervous chuckle blew from the girl's nose and she quickly noticed just how close to the surface she was. The water was creeping up on her throat, her cheek and mouth until she took another breath and found herself resurfacing somewhat.

But even then she had to exhale. A deep exhale blew through her nose and her eyes closed on instinct as the water reached up to engulf her yet again. Water entered through her nose in an instant, the girl began to sprattle for a moment before she found her feeting in the sand beneath the surface and pushed to get back up again.

She coughed.

"Breathin' ish a bih'…" She sneezed. "Part of all this, huh?"

Colette rubbed at the back of her neck.

"At least I got the leg movements down."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

In fairly shallow water, and far away from dangerous waves, Valery wasn't concerned about her Padawan. If she made a mistake or struggled with floating or swimming, she could either stand up, or Valery would be right there to pull her out. Instead, she watched with a bright smile, as Colette tried to just float for the first time. It didn't matter how skilled of a Jedi she was becoming — this was an entirely new skill to Master, so she'd struggle just as much as young kids would.

She'd just get it right a little quicker.

After watching Colette almost go entirely under during her first attempts, Valery chuckled and dipped her head, "Staying calm, breathing, and just focusing on making those movements natural." Again, Valery swam a little circle around her Padawan, just to enjoy the water, the sun and the freedom herself as well.

What she hadn't noticed, though, was that they had drawn some attention as well. Either they were looking over because a teenager was learning how to swim, or they had their usual interest in the two women. Valery didn't care much either way, and just smiled at her student. "Once you feel comfortable floating and swimming a little, I'll have to teach you how to surf. I think it's something you'd like to do."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Let them watch, Colette figured as she looked on over at the shoreline. There was nothing embarrassing or shameful in learning something that others took for granted. If anything it showed their ignorance, and that in itself was more of a shame on them than it was on her. It was hard to learn how to swim in a desert after all.

"Surf?" Colette asked as a curious brow rose to question her master. "What's that?"

The kid looked around and tried to get an idea of what others were doing, but everyone just seemed to be on the beach and lying in the sun. Her brows furrowed and she gave them a confused look.

"That's not sleeping in the sun like that, right? That's dangerous."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"It's not too dangerous if you apply enough sunscreen regularly, but I wouldn't bake in the sun all day either." She liked to have a bit of a tan, but she also kept her skin healthy and lying under the sun too much was not a good idea for that. It was a quick path to really get all shriveled up, and she couldn't have that.

People getting her age wrong, and guessing low was too good of a feeling.

"But surfing is more like..." Valery grabbed Colette's shoulders and turned her to a lone surfer in the distance. "You stand on a board and ride the waves~" Valery said with that signature Noble grin she had whenever something dangerously fun was right in front of her.

"I'm pretty decent at it. If you want to try it as well, we can."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble
"Sounds like a waste of time." Colette mused and shrugged. It was just another one of those stupid things that civilized people did. "But that's their choice, I suppose."

She turned back to look at Valery as the master explained what surfing was.

"So, what… Just stand on a board and float on the water?" Colette pulled back for a moment with her head shaking in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense at all."

"Is this something people do? Just… Bring boards out to the water and stand on them?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Ship: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Colette

"Not everything has to make sense, for it to be fun, Colette," Valery said after snickering a little. "It's hard to keep your balance on the board, but if you manage it, you can do... that." She pointed fairly obviously right at a surfer who was hitting a big wave and definitely showing off a little to the crowd watching from the beach and water. Valery then looked back at her Padawan with a smirk, and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"The rush of air through your hair, the adrenaline and feeling in your gut~" she sighed happily, "It's really great, but not for softies." Was she teasing at this point? Maybe a little, but she meant it in a fun way and smiled all the way through. At least, until she noticed something.

"Wait-"

She double checked and blinked.

"I think the guy I was pointing at is coming towards us."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Then why do you seem to like it so much, master?" Colette fired right back at Valery as she tried to insinuate that Colette could be a big softie. Never let it be said that the girl didn't pick up on the art of having wits, or as others simply called it: being a smartass. There was plenty of that to go around the Jedi Order.

A suspicious frown befell Colette at the approaching man and his weird plank-thing.

"Can we help you?" She asked and raised a brow.