Private Teacher For A Day

[Kahlil Noble]

"You'd be surprised at how unpicky Vera can be with food. At least when it's fresh baked goods. Especially pastries." Kahlil chuckled a little as he hopped onto the counter behind him. Sitting and watching as Silas Westgard got into make the bread. He felt it, the cry. But it didn't stop him or pull his attention? The Master just watched for a moment longer, then glanced around the ship.

"It's challenging. If it wasn't for our nanny droid we'd probably of sunken into some kind of despair. Babies sleep when they want to, not when you want to after all. But.. I wouldn't change it for the world." He smiled faintly, gazing off towards one of the photos they had of them all together. All the while, that same cry echoed throughout the ship. The happier the topics got, the more intense the cry seemed to get. Begging for help, only to grow resentful when there was none.

 

[Silas Westgard]

"That's a relief, maybe if I win Vera over Valery Noble will be more accepting" he said with a chuckle, his fingers carefully mixing and forming together a clump within the bowl. Eventually, he puts his hands under the mound and lifts it onto the clean table to mould it into the correct form. Silas places his palms on top and pushes it down, now and then putting it in different positions to slowly but surely begin forming it into the shape he wanted.

Silas was going off what he thought was muscle memory right now, all he knew was that he had probably already made a mistake without realising it. Either way, it was going to tell once the bread itself was finally baked.

"I feel it can be a pain at first, but in the end it will all be worth it. Vera after all is very lucky to have you two as parents" The boy said positively, turning his head slightly to offer Kahlil Noble a warm smile "I can se-" was the only thing he could say before another faint yet louder cry rang out in the ship. Silas noticeably tilted his head and shot a gaze down the ship, his hands slowly but surely coming to a halt. It sounded low pitched and constant for now, as if it was far away when it wasn't. Yet, it still managed to catch his attention

"I'm sorry master, I think my head is playing tricks on me" The padawan mentioned with a shake of his head, before clapping his hands of any muck and walking over to the cupboard to find an oven tray.

"I presume you two will be training Vera when the time comes?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil was quieter this time. He didn't immediately answer Silas Westgard , instead watching him as he mixed the bread. Paused as he took note of the crystal so close yet so far away. He'd done what he could to keep the crystal from affecting others, sealing it away in a box that hid it's worse effects on people, Jedi specifically. It was something he wanted to heal, but knew he couldn't.

If he took that crystal out, he'd only be dragged back down with it.

"Is it alright to assume a cry for help is a trick of the mind?" The Master lied earlier. Everything was training. He said nothing more, simply watching the Padawan, curious what he'd do now that Kahlil confirmed, if not directly, that something was there.

 

[Silas Westgard]

"Wait... you heard it too all this time?" Silas asked with a look to the master, a confused brow raised questionably as to what and where the sound was coming from. He finally lifted his hands off the bread and fully turned his body to Kahlil Noble with an urgent need for his questions to be answered "Can I ask why you have something crying for help in your ship master?" he asked cautiously, eventually backing away a few steps and looking up to the taller jedi with suspicion brewing in his mind.

"Come on then, spill the credits. You may as well tell me now that I'm curious" the boy said sternly with a fold of his arms, his eyes narrowing slightly from what he was hiding away from him.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Hmm.. It's hard to explain exactly. Before I realized Valery was pregnant I'd left to confront my family. My sister found me first, though. Took my arms, threw me at the feet of my father. Not the first time, actually, but that's besides the point." His gaze shifted, looking back towards where the box was, just around the corner. "I chose to try and use the Dark to fight my father. Destroy everything he built from the inside out. In the process, I hurt someone close to me. Do you know what a Solari crystal is?" It was then Kahlil hopped down from the counter. Stepped past Silas Westgard to the box in question. Gently setting a hand atop it.

"Crystals that cannot be bled. So pure is their light. I found a way to break one. In my fevered dream to do anything to stop my father I broke this one. My first crystal, when I first became a Jedi. Now I can't touch it. The runes I carved keep it from the Light it so desperately wants. Outside this box it would corrupt anyone that got close. So I keep it here, where it won't hurt anyone."

 

[Silas Westgard]

"That's why you have cybernetic replacements" he added in confirmation, following his gaze to where he was looking at a box in the corner. His eyebrows raised slightly when Kahlil Noble explained his story, stating how he tried to destroy the work his father created, but in the end hurt others in the process "I'm afraid not Master, it is something I haven't heard of as of now" Silas replied, nodding slowly as to what Kahlil had to say about its power.

"I'm sorry Master, but if you know it brings harm to people why have you chosen to keep it?" the padawan asked curiously before stepping beside him and examining the box at at closer angle. Silas dared not touch it, cautious of its true power.

"I assume you've kept it for a reason. Is it the hope you may be able to finally use it again?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm? Oh, no." Kahlil laughed, glancing between his arms. "These are as real as they get. Machinery can't channel the Force, not in the way my father wanted at least. So he had my arms remade and reattached." He left out the fact he was awake throughout the whole painful process. But he did pull up a sleeve to show the white line that revealed just where his arms had been reattached. Though his attention turned to the box again, his smile turning to something sad.

"I've no hope to use them again. I shattered that bond when I broke it. But, it's not just some stone. Kyber crystals are alive. More in tune with the Force than anyone. It's state isn't it's fault. It can't stop itself, it can't fight against what had been done. I can't heal it, but.. Would you abandon something like that?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

"Oh... fascinating" he remarked as he looked down to the remade arms, curiously looking from where it was attached all the way back up to his hand silently. It was strange to hear why his own father would do such a thing, but that was a good example of sith parenting for sure. Looking down to his slightly scarred arms he seemed to remember how he got each one, painful memories of the past that were set as a permanent reminder of what he went through to get to this point.

"We all have our own scars right?" he said thoughtfully up to the master before he began explain why he chose the crystal. From the sounds of Kahlil Noble had also sacrificed a lot to get to this point too, a point in time where he was happy for who he was. Both of them had more in common than they thought.

"No Master, you're right. When something is alive like you say it will be more harder to simply cast it away. No matter how broken it is, I doubt you'd ever let it go" he nodded slowly, showing a small smile before putting two hands on his hips.

"Is it always meant to be this faint? because even though I'm close to it, the cries haven't got any louder"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil nodded in silent agreement to everything Silas Westgard said, smiling faintly in return. The kid really did have a good head on his shoulders. Good. His attention again turned to the small black box he'd been using to contain the crystal, and the smile was short lived.

"Usually you can't hear them at all." He rubbed at the back of his neck, frowning a little. "The box keeps it isolated for the most part. It's influence on the Force is.. If it senses the Light, it will try to drag it to the Dark. It's a corrupting influence I cannot resist myself because of my connection to it. As for others, well. I'm not sure how well others might resist it."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas glared at the box and frowned slightly from how lonely they crystal must of been. Now it had lost the bond with its master, it had nothing else to do but cry. Even if Silas wanted to fix it somehow, he'd be taking an incredibly huge risk and put others in harms way at the same time. There was no chance he was going to be doing that sort of thing in this current time.

"It's probably wise you leave it alone until you're absolutely sure someone can resist it. To go against such a thing I'd presume you'd need to be mentally sound. Without training, I doubt you'd last long from what you've described" he commented, looking back up to Kahlil Noble with another small smile.

"We better get back to making that bread for Valery Noble before she returns and sees the surprise. We don't want her coming home to an unfinished mess do we?" he said before playfully nudging him in the arm with a smirk and walking past him towards the half done bread.

"Does the Crystal ever bother Valery at all, especially with Vera around? because you know how kids are with their curiosity"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Ahh, that's a good point." Kahlil was all about turning back to the bread, even started to roll up his sleeves. But the question Silas Westgard brought up gave him pause. Food for thought, as it were. The Jedi turned his gaze to the box, staring at the small container. It wasn't something Vera could open, but the crystal could still reach through. Would it affect Vera? He hummed, then turned his gaze to Silas.

Watched him for a moment. Then smiled nervously.

"You mind looking after it for me? Vera can't get that open, but I don't want it to influence her at all. And you know about it now, so you should be fine, right?" He smiled as if he hadn't planned some of this out. "Sides, maybe you'd be able to figure out how to heal it where I can't."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas walked back to the table and rerolled his sleeves, making sure they were at his elbows before he began reforming the shape of the bread again. Following Kahlil Noble recipe and methods seemed to be more easier than trying to remember it from the top of his head, all he hoped was that Valery Noble and Vera were fans of his creation.

Kahlil seemed to watch him for a moment as he thought about something, before offering a nervous smile when Silas finally looked up from his bread making. Look after the crystal? he was proud Master Kahlil trusted him enough to do such a task, but at the same time he was quite cautious of the crystals nature. He seemed to ponder on it for a few moments, choosing to finish off the mould of the fresh before he answered.

"If it means giving you a peace of mind for Vera, sure. To be quite honest master I would even know where to start in terms of healing it, but I'll be more than happy to hold onto it for a little while to see if I can figure anything out myself" he said with a nod, before reaching down under the table to take out an oven tray. Using both hands he placed it onto the black tray and motioned to the bread with a small grin.

"Want to do the honours master?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

More peace of mind about the crystals fate, but he wasn't about to tell Silas Westgard that. Something in the Force pushed them to this point, and the Master was simply going to trust it's path. It's guidance. But first, bread. Kahlil nodded once, taking up the dough to rather swiftly knead through it. Shape it into a loaf. He even scored it with a practiced ease, producing a blade from a drawer to bring in three perfect ears.

Much like his life on the ship, he'd practiced baking far longer than he had been a Jedi.

"There. Fresh baked bread." He chuckled, sliding it into the already hot oven. "What does it mean to be a Jedi for you?"

The question came outa no where. It was supposed to. People answered more honestly when they weren't given time to think. He kept his back to Silas, watching the oven with a faint smile as he waited for an answer.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas stepped back from the table and folded his arms, leaning up against the wall of the ship as he watched Kahlil Noble finishing off the formation of the bread. It seemed so natural to him, like he had been doing it for years. Maybe later he'd ask him more about his baking history, right now the master had a question to ask him unexpectedly.

He seemed to ponder on the question for a few moments with a smile and nod, looking back to the turned Kahlil with a thoughtful smile

"Being a Jedi means being a bastion of peace for all living things in the galaxy, the light for those who are lost in the overwhelming darkness. In realty, we are the ones who find that light at the end of the tunnel for those who can't find it"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

A good take. Kahlil nodded his head in agreement. Was it his own personal belief? Close. Close enough that he very much did appreciate hearing Silas Westgard say something similar. But rather than dwell on the subject, or just because he wanted to keep Silas off guard with the atmospheric mood swings and subject changes, he nodded to the Padawan's lightsaber.

"So, what was your trial like? For that."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: New Cov Temple | Bastion
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Silas Westgard

Slowly, the simplistic shuttle came to a stop on the Temple's landing pad, and the very second the ramp lowered, Vera sprinted outside and towards the Bastion, with the new doll Valery had gotten her in her hands. She ran up the ship's ramp and flailed her arms about excitedly as she began looking for her father.

"Daddy! Look what mommy got me!"

With some of the money they had leftover, Valery decided to get something for their daughter — a simple toy, but one the young girl couldn't be happier with right now. But as Vera moved into the kitchen area of the Bastion, the spotted a stranger inside. She had never seen Silas Westgard before, and so she suddenly stopped and lowered the doll down to her chest while she looked at him with big eyes. She was completely quiet and just kept staring at him.

"We're home, love~" Valery practically sang as she followed after Vera with a heavy shopping bag full of groceries in each hand. She set them down as she reached the kitchen, and paused as the smell of freshly baked bread reached her nose.

"Hmm... you baked bread?" she squinted and began to smirk, "What did you two break?" she joked before she stepped over and pressed a quick kiss against her husband's lips. The woman then turned to Silas and smiled brightly, "Good to see you again, Silas. I hope training went well?" As she asked the question, she turned to Vera and blinked — the little girl was still standing there, shyly watching the stranger in her home.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas seemed to raise his brows a bit when he was asked with another question about himself, this time about how his trial went to gain his lightsaber. Calmly, he nodded once more and answered as if he only did it yesterday.

"My trial had its ups and downs, but overall I did excellent. The teachers at the time seemed impressed by my attitude as well as my lightsaber abilities, they seemed to think I was a natural because of how fast I picked up their teachings and how I used it in a live environment. It's one of many reasons why I chose Valery Noble as my master at first. Although, some of them seemed to be concerned of my aggression towards certain things..." he said with a small shrug.

Just as he was going to finish what he was saying an excited voice came calling for Kahlil Noble to find him. Silas looked over and spotted Vera walking over to them, soon stopping and staring right at him shyly with big eyes. The padawan looked back at her expressionlessly for a few moments before releasing a small smile and waving slowly at the girl to try and indicate he was nothing to worry about.

"Master Noble, we weren't expecting you home so early. Thankfully we didn't break anything, but you may need to wait a little bit longer if you and Vera want to try some" he said before lifting himself off the wall and taking a few steps forward to fold his arms "Training was great, Master Kahlil was helping me develop an understanding of Soresu with the droids. We even had a little spar at the at the end, which I won" he said with a straight face to Kahlil, knowing that he took it easy on him throughout the fight. Even so, he'd take any small victory over a master.

The boy turned back to the curious Vera and smiled, her gaze giving him the idea that she was curious of new faces. Nodding to Kahlil and Valery to excuse him, he slowly walked over to Vera and knelt down to her level. Silas felt she'd be more comfortable without anyone tall and imposing standing over her, the worst thing he didn't want to do was scare Vera or make her intimidated.

"So, you must be Vera right? who is this little guy here, has he got a name?" he said to her in a calm manner, his welcoming blue eyes examining the doll to show he was interested in the toy she was holding.

"You definitely made the right choice, he looks really cool"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Vera and Valery?

Kahlil blinked, glancing to the ramp before the rest of his family came into view. Then smiled wide. What Silas Westgard said about being too aggressive was something he'd remember for later, if they ever ended up like this again at least. Knowing Valery, well, he assumed it would. But right now his attention was on Vera. And ironically Silas anyway. He stepped forward, ready to brush off Vera's shyness and pick up his daughter to help her feel comfortable.

But Silas was already there. He watched closely. The ever protective father he'd become trying to make sure his daughter was at least comfortable. Half paying attention to Valery Noble as she stole a kiss.

"Mm. Training went great. Silas is correct." So distracted was he by his kid he seemed to miss the boast about Silas beating him and just agreed. "How was Vera today?"

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Location: New Cov Temple | Bastion
Appearance: Link
Outfit: Factory Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Silas Westgard

"Oh I don't mind waiting until it's all ready," Valery said before she nudged her elbow gently into her husband's side. She knew he was watching with that protective dad side of his, but there was no real need for it with just Silas here. But then Silas made a comment about his training, and Valery tilted her head slightly while she watched her daughter as well.

"I'm glad your training went well but remember, there's no such thing as winning or losing in sparring — it's not the point of it," she said calmly and still with a smile. "Be proud that you've learned something new or pushed yourself, not that you 'won' a training session that hardly captures what a real fight is like."

Valery then leaned back into Kahlil and watched as he went down to his knees in front of Vera, who kept the bear hugged tightly against her chest, "Vera helped mommy pick groceries, and because she was so strong after Empress Teta as well, I got her the bear," Now up close, Silas would see the rather strange eyes of the young girl — a swirl that mixed her mother and father's eye colors.

"His name is Eddie," she said proudly as she held him out a little to show him off. "He's really strong, like daddy!" she said with a brighter smile, clearly a lot more comfortable. "Just daddy?" Valery teased. "Mommy too!" Vera giggled before she turned and looked up at her father. Her arms went wide again and with the bear in her hand, she hugged herself around his leg.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas had a feeling his little tease would come across as cocky, but to him it was acceptable now and then to joke around and be loose. Either way, he perfectly understood what Valery Noble was saying and wouldn't even dream of treating it as competition or a game "You're right Master Noble, and I understand training is no where near the real thing. The real victories are reserved on the field, and that's where they'll always be" he said with a smile to both masters, his calm demeanour breaking slightly into a chuckle when he looked to Kahlil "And trust me, I know I wouldn't of stood a chance if you didn't hold back. My back would of been on the mat within seconds..."

Afterwards, he went to Vera and chatted with her about the toy she held. She seemed way more comfortable when he presented his calm nature to her, and from the looks things more than happy to show the toy "Eddie huh? that's a nice name" he said before looking at her straight in the eyes. Something was quite unique and peculiar about them, it was almost as if her parents eyes had been mixed together to form some kind of hybrid. Orange with a combination of blue and gray, it was far different to his light blue pupils that shone back at her,

"You're mom and dad are really the strongest people I know, so you're not wrong about that" the boy smiled kindly as he watched her go to Kahlil Noble and wrap her arms around his leg in an adorable fashion "Make sure to look after him now, you don't want him to lose that strength do you?" he said as a reminder to Vera as he got up and looked to the family.

They all seemed so close to each other even through such stressful times, and that to him showed their characters and true colours as people. It saddened him that he'd never get to experience his own mother or fathers love anymore. But now, he had found a new family in the form of the order where he could rebuild his once hopeless life. Valery and Kahlil were one of the few who were of the many that were doing just that.

"I'm happy to see you again Master Noble and in good health as always. Kahlil was the one who thought about and helped make the bread with me, it's the least we can do as a way of saying thanks for all the things you've done for us" Silas said as he stopped in front of Master Noble with a small smile.

"Without him I probably would of made the most deformed and burned bread in the universe"