Private Ride the Wave

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

Valery fake-gasped to make it seem like the kid's witty comment had hurt a lot, "How dare you~" she even told her, but she quickly began to snicker and looked around for where they could get some boards. "Would you mind taking a picture of me on my board when I hit a wave? I've wanted to gift Kahlil Noble a picture of me for his office. Something that's very... me," Valery said with a chuckle.

He had his mug, his macaroni art from the kids, and some pictures in the wristband she gave him. But why not an old school photo in a frame for on his desk? Something of just his wife.

But before they could get surfing, the surfer they had spotted approached, and stopped when Colette addressed him, "I... thought you two might be interested in surfing?" he asked, his eyes shifting between the two.

"We'll be fine, thanks," Valery said, which only confused him even more, but she didn't care. She wanted to get up on a board, surf a little, and get a cool action shot. Of course, she'd take pictures of Colette too, like the proud mom Master she was. Well, that and she figured Colette was going to fall off her board a few times, and it'd be funny to capture that on camera.

"So, you ready?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Sure, I can do that, yeah." Colette nodded at Valery before the man talked to them. She kept from rolling her eyes. Could he really not see that they were in the middle of something else right now? Not that it mattered, Valery handled it like a champ and sent him away. Colette turned back towards her master and gave her a gentle smile.

"If you think I can manage it…" She said and let out a small nervous laughter. Seemed pretty fast to go from just floating on the water to standing on something that was traveling along its very edge as it threatened to collapse around her. Not that Valery would suggest Colette should go before she was ready.

The kid brushed her hand against her upper arm out of an anxious habit. She had to ask just to be sure.

"Think I can do that without having to call for help at every corner though?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
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Tag: Colette

"Well," Valery began with a chuckle. "You're not going to be able to surf along really big waves, but standing on the board and getting a feel for it is already quite fun. Besides, I know you like a good challenge, so... let's try it!" Valery grinned, grabbed Colette by the shoulders and nudged her along to a small cabin at the sore, where they could rent their boards and quickly be on their way again.

Valery, of course, was quick to get comfortable in the water, and looked over her shoulder. "If you take that picture, I'll help you along after, alright?" She asked, before she went flat on her stomach on the board, and began her approach for a rather large wave. She stood up, felt the wind blowing through her ponytail as it whipped through the air, and shot a grin back towards Colette, right as she was in the middle of a huge wave.

A great picture for Kahlil Noble 's office.

After a moment, Valery returned and offered Colette a smile, "You want to try some surfing now?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

There was no denying that despite her generally foolhardy and cocky demeanor this idea of surfing the water scared her a little. She barely knew how to keep herself afloat as it was, much less move around in the water. The bigger waves were of course off-limit and Valery would be right there, but that tense sensation still clung to the back of Colette's neck and spine as she followed her master to pick up a board of her own.

This one had three blue lines running across the tip. The thing weighed more than she expected, yet not really. Once instructed to place the board on the water, the board was placed upon the water, and once told to get on, Colette did her best to do just that. Although at first she just sat on it.

"And now we just… Stand around?" She asked and looked over at Valery. "Wait for the water to rise somehow?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Tag: Colette

Click.

Valery had grabbed her small waterproof camera to take a picture of Colette sitting on a surf board, while the beautiful beach rested in the background. But after taking the picture, Valery could tell that her Padawan was a bit nervous about all of this, and the reason for it made a lot of sense. This was her first time on open water like this, and that could be pretty scary.

"I'll usually lie down on the board and swim over to the wave before I stand up," she explained. "But if we don't go too far out and just sit on our boards, the water will rise as the waves get closer to the beach. They won't be so high too, and if you keep your legs on either side, you won't fall off."

Valery sat down and gestured for Colette to follow her a little further into the ocean. "Just relax, take a deep breath of fresh air and feel yourself rising up and going back down with the waves. If the thrill of this is too much, you can still enjoy the beauty and calmness of being out here."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Right, just lie down and follow. Colette gave the teacher a most uncertain nod before she too laid down and swept at the water's surface to follow along. She figured this was the key to swimming too, but as far as testing that hypothesis went she was really not up for it just yet. It was all too much at once, she needed time to process it.

Before long she would feel the board move up. It was hard to explain it in any other way. She glanced over at Valery who seemed to slowly begin to stand up on her board. Colette did the same albeit with a wobble that she managed to turn into something that was just a slight sway.

The wave was, well, it was a wave. Colette's attention was so focused on merely keeping her balance that she didn't quite manage to pay attention to much else. By the time they had ridden the wave to its completion she was still keeping her arms out and focusing on the tip of her board, not quite realizing that the ride had already passed.

Eventually she began to blink and look around.

"Oh." She said. "It's over."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
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Tag: Colette

Valery snickered at Colette's reaction and turned around, so the two were facing each other. "You don't have to stand if it makes you nervous, but out here, the waves are gentle," she said, still enjoying the gentle breeze and the sun on her skin. Valery felt at home here, but that didn't stop her from noticing that her Padawan very much still needed to adjust. She wasn't going to push that too far, ever.

"You know, some Jedi can also manipulate the waves or the water as a whole," Valery then said, hoping to strike up a fun little conversation.

"You could make your own wave if you're just messing around or practicing, or use the water to defend yourself."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"Really?" Colette asked as she took a seat on her board. She gave it some thought and it certainly seemed to line up. If you could lift things with your mind, almost a bit like manipulating the air around it, then what was there to stop you from doing the same to water or even the ground around you? "I mean, it makes sense."

Colette reached out towards the water with a determined look on her face. Her brows furrowed as she focused on the surface of the water. It was hard to tell in the waves, but a small ripple formed on the surface of the water, just barely visible beneath the foam.

"Just… Focus… On the space in between." She whispered before she stopped and looked up at Valery. "Like digging a hand through the sand, trying not to let it slip through your fingers."

"I get the feeling you have something more to say on the subject."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

Valery watched Colette subtly manipulate the water with a smile, before she spoke again. "I never really had a connection to the water. At least, not with the Force," she said while she raised her hand as well. The water rippled and shifted around, but her control over the waves was extremely limited. "I found my connection with another element, and perhaps that bond says a lot about me."

She chuckled a bit and turned her gaze back to her Padawan.

"I did bring you out here to enjoy the water, to maybe get into a little bit of surfing, but I also believe that you might have similar bonds to parts of nature. I figured we could explore that together, hm?" Valery turned her hand upside down, palm facing up, and a bright flame burned but without fear of losing control.

She then dimmed it immediately, not wanting to scare anybody, but she hoped that her point came across. "It happened sometime after I was scarred for life, that my emotions could spark flames. My old Master believed that it was connected to the chaos in my heart at the time. Now, I've learned to control it," she smiled softly and looked over at the horizon.

"Maybe your connection is here, or even on land. Perhaps it's not limited at all."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"I think it's just a mindset thing." Colette said rather absent-mindedly as Valery explained her affinity for fire. "Maybe it's the chaos, you know? Maybe it's your determination to pull through, even. Or the way anything will burst into fire if put under enough pressure or heat."

"I don't know that I have an element, but I do have great respect for the living world. Or, worlds, I guess." She said and gently let her legs move in circles within the waters. "Water is shapeless, so trying to force it to take a shape doesn't make sense. It will slip through your fingers no matter how hard you try to keep it in the palm of your hand. All you can do is help lead or obstruct it as it fights its way to its destination."

Then she looked back at the beach where people still seemed to just sleep in the sand like crazy people.

"The ground, or the 'earth', can only be shaped if you are in the right place." She then said and looked at the sand. "Where the water met the earth on the beach, the sand was able to take form because of their combination as one. Water strengthened the earth, made it able to take shape whereas sand without it would also seep through your fingers."

Colette chuckled at herself and rubbed at her neck.

"I sound like the elder."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Tag: Colette

While Colette voiced her thoughts on the subject out loud, Valery listened and smiled along a little. She hadn't brought any of this up if she didn't think it'd resonate with Colette at all, and now her suspicions were just being confirmed. The young Padawan had a connection to nature, likely because of where she was from, but now Valery wanted to find out if it had manifested itself in her connection to the Force too.

She sure seemed very skilled at connecting with animals already, and they were as much part of the world as water, earth or fire were.

"Yeah, you sound pretty old and wise right now," Valery then joked with a smirk. "But I think you're right. Having a way to visualize those things will help you actually change the world around you." Valery gently paddled her way over and looked at Colette, "I'm willing to bet that you can do quite a lot already if you put your mind to it."

"You want to try it?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Try it? Colette's eyes widened for a moment before she looked at where she had caused the ripple in the water and nodded her head in determination. If she understood the idea of it, what was there to stop her from just reaching out and attempting the thing for herself?

Colette took a deep breath.

Her hand extended towards the water. Not to engage with it directly. Given that it was without shape, such an endeavor would be fruitless. Instead she reached into the spaces where it was not, but was about to be like a wedge that she lowered into the water to divert it in the direction that she chose.

It enveloped the little wedge but it quickly poured off the edges. Still, the idea was there. Colette tried again and this time tried to gather the liquid in a little bowl that she could lift out of the water once the wave passed it by.

Before long it launched at Valery's face with a violent throw that spread it wide.

"Hah!" Colette exclaimed, ecstatic in her success. "I did it!"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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Tag: Colette

Valery was in a trance-like state while she watched her Padawan do her best to manipulate the water. It wasn't something Valery had even really been able to do, so she was excited to see someone else do it, especially if it was her own student. It made her proud, almost as if her own kid was accomplishing something amazing. And what parent wouldn't be happy to see their child do something they themselves could not?

Slowly, a bowl of water finally began to rise, causing her fiery eyes to widen in anticipation. It stopped right between the two Jedi, where it levitated and-

Splash.

"Very funny," Valery said, her eyes closed after the water had smacked her in the face. She then began to chuckle and wiped the water from her eyes, "But you did! I'm very proud of you, Colette," she added with a big smile.

"Now..." she paused and grinned.

"Do you think you can make a wave and let me surf on it?" Classic Noble seeking for thrill, but it was totally just an exercise for the Padawan, of course!

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"I don't know. It took a lot to get the water to separate from its host already." Colette mumbled as if in thought. "And even then, what if I accidentally overdo it, or people start to notice what we are doing?"

Her attention set on the people on the shore again. She was sure that she could see an excited kid point and yell at her and Valery from all the way over there. Colette exhaled a happy little chuckled and turned back to Valery.

"Besides, if you'd never let me see anything but water if it turns out I can, so maybe I'll just have to find out when you're not around." She grinned. "Sorry, them's the rules now."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"Wow, I see how it is," Valery said with a chuckle, when Colette told her she'd try it when she wasn't around. But to make things worse, she was the one making the rules now? Valery huffed and sat back down on her board. "Fine, but if you do manage to grow your skills with the water, you'll have to show me. Not so I can surf, but because I'm curious to see your progression. I am still your master, after all."

She grinned, "I make the rules."

Valery then turned her eyes back to shore and chuckled, "I was going to offer that we'd just relax on the beach for a while, but you don't seem to like the idea of just sitting in the sun, hm? So we could either look for some other activities on the beach, or start getting to work a little early."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

"You know what I mean." Colette chuckled. Clearly Valery would be involved in the process of learning. She was her master after all. "I just don't see the point of sleeping in the sun. They could be hiking or at least doing something more productive. I mean, if I wanted to sleep I'd at least find somewhere a little more padded. The sand is soft, yeah, but it also gets everywhere."

Colette turned back to Valery.

"What if we took in some of the sights? We probably have some sort of room we want to get back to and leave our belongings at before we go much further, right?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"If I were to lie down on the beach, I'd probably read a book or be with someone I'd like to talk to," Valery said with a chuckle, "You don't have to just sit still and do absolutely nothing. But... sometimes even that can be nice. Just to clear the mind of every day life for a while. And you'd put down a towel to sleep on..." Still, Valery wasn't expecting Colette to really see a point in it, so she wasn't going push it. The idea of sightseeing was just as nice, and if being a little more active made Colette happier, Valery wouldn't see any harm in it.

She just... wasn't going to walk around everywhere in a bikini.

"Mhmm, I rented a little beach house. We can get changed there and drop off our stuff before we take a look around. Maybe we can go for a more scenic route to where the race will start tomorrow?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Leisure activity, but also proactivity. Now that was a smart usage of time. Colette nodded at Valery as the two began to collect their belongings. To some extent she had imagined to have lost an item or two, but it seemed that most of Colette's stuff was still there. There was nothing that seemed to be obviously gone at the very least.

"You know," She started to speak. "It's funny how scary I thought spaceflight would be, but really it's just like any other part of nature."

…

"Uh, just something I've thought about."

The duo approached a small house, large enough for two to spend time inside of without stepping on too many toes. Although given that Colette had grown up in huts that were rather cramped, that probably didn't say much.

"A place to cook, separate places to sleep, and a small living space to eat." She mused. "No wasted space, a very compact place to live."

"I like it."

 

[Valery Noble]

Pamarthe

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

"It is, although a very unforgiving part of nature," Valery said with a chuckle. But then again, many other parts of nature were also dangerous. The depths of the ocean, jungles full of deadly creatures, and much more. Setting those thoughts aside from now, Valery chuckled and guided her Padawan to the small place she rented. Much like her own apartment, it was simplistic and offered only what they really needed.

Something Colette seemed to really appreciate.

"Maybe you'll have to get your own place someday here," Valery teased with a smirk. "But unpack your back in your room, get changed to something comfortable for a hike, and we'll get going." Valery did the same and soon returned in a grey tank top, brown shorts, and some taller boots meant for long walks. It exposed maybe a bit too much skin for going through a forest or other areas with a lot of vegetation, but she didn't care.

Comfort in this weather was more important, and she was used to nature.

"We'll go around the mountains, but the paths can be difficult to walk. So should be fun, huh?"

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble

Black tights, blue turtleneck crop top, and a set of sturdy boots that she had spent a week breaking in by now. She checked her lacing and redid it in favor of the activity ahead. Hiking was one of Colette's favorite things to do. It seemed to be what others around the galaxy seemed to call the thing that Colette had once known simply as 'existing'.

To be on the move, to be on her feet and to be able to point at a spot in the distance and say 'that is where I will go.' It was a feeling that brought her as much joy now as it did when she was still with her people.

"Not sure I'd expect you to take me through an easy path." Colette commented as she stepped out of her room and flipped her hair back. She withdrew a small band to tie her hair up with. "None of this," She motioned her head down towards her body as she put her hair into a messy little bun. "Has been the result of easy work."

"Soooo," The learner grinned mischievously. "What makes this difficult? Steep cliffs? Small and windy paths? … Old creaky bones?"