Private The Vacuum

[Valery Noble]

Ravaath

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Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Cailen Corso

After waves of witherling light had lashed out at the Smoke demon, its grip on her Padawan finally loosened enough for Cailen to set himself free. He crawled up to his feet, and while she continued her attack, he managed to make it to her side. Instantly, she felt relieved — even just the thought of losing a Padawan was highly uncomfortable and able to spark stronger emotions in the Jedi Master.

But Valery kept herself composed, and used the purity of her heart to summon the Light. Not her emotions.

Together with the strength her Padawan added, the Smoke demon was pushed back further and further, while it hissed against the pain. The shape it had taken to strike fear into Cailen's heart was starting to change, and as it blended back into nothing but smoke, Valery knew that they had defeated it. For now.

"There's nothing alive in here, Cailen," Valery said with a troubled voice. "Trying to kill this thing is too risky, so we're getting out of here." If she had been alone, she would have hunted it down until it was purged, but not with a struggling Padawan by her side. She couldn't expose him to more and keep her own sanity intact.

"Are you okay?" she then asked while she began to back up already. "I don't know what form it took, but smoke demons turn into your greatest fears. Whatever it is you saw, don't be afraid anymore — it was not real."

 

[Cailen Corso]

Location: Ravaath | Soundtrack: Campus

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The demon was gone. Or at the very least, it would think better of coming between Valery and her Padawan again. As the beam of light dissipated, the room returned to its dim, eerie setting once again. But Cailen could sense the weight of the Sith spirits were gone.

And so were any traces of life.

"I don't know what form it took, but smoke demons turn into your greatest fears. Whatever it is you saw, don't be afraid anymore — it was not real."

Cailen looked to his Master with an unsettling resolve in his eyes. He nodded.

"I'm... I'm okay." He swallowed hard, almost deciding not to say something about what he saw, but the words that were left in his head were too painful to just ignore. Cailen reached out to touch his Master's arm.

"Am I unwanted...?"

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Tags: Valery Noble ​

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[Valery Noble]

Ravaath

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Cailen Corso

"Am I unwanted...?"

Valery had been about ready to turn around and leave as fast as she possibly could, but that question snapped her eyes back to her Padawan. She frowned, stopped, and stepped toward him, so she could pull him against her for an embrace. Sometimes, actions said a lot more than words, and she felt this was one of those moments. So, for a little while, she kept him close and gently ran a hand up against the back of his head.

"Cailen, you're never unwanted," she finally said, her voice calm and genuine.

"You're one of the most important people to me, and to many others as well." She crouched down a little to bring herself at eye level, so she could show him just how much she meant it all.

"I don't know what that Smoke Demon showed you, or what it said, but trust your own heart. Look at the people around you, and feel how they really think and feel about you."

 

[Cailen Corso]

Location: Ravaath | Soundtrack: Campus

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Tears once again threatened to roll down his cheeks, but for the first time in a long while, they were happy tears.

Cailen held on tightly to Valery for as long as she held him, melting as she stroked his hair. And when she pulled away, he stayed quiet but attentive. Speaking would have pulled all the emotions right out of him. Instead, he tried his hardest to show his deepest appreciation for her through their link in the Force.

When the words finally did come, he told her that he was ready to go as well. He could tell she was eager to leave the hospital, and seeing now that the distress signal was a trap, he was too.

Cailen would follow her along as they ascended from the lower levels, quietly walking beside her as he faded into his thoughts. The demon looked just like Master Undara, but it wasn’t him. Tarus Undara would have never said those awful things. Even though some of them felt true, Cailen knew better.

He couldn’t help but think about Corazona von Ascania though. The thought that she’d only really talked because of their mutual mentor and his technical skills had never crossed his mind, but now… it made sense. Painful sense.

When they reached the ground level, Cailen finally spoke up again.

“Thank you, Master Noble,” he said. He left it at that, but he knew Valery would sense the depth of his gratitude.

For saving him from the demon, for encouraging him to be his best, for training him as her own when she didn’t have to - for being his best friend, in a great big galaxy that was scary and confusing.

All he could say was ‘thank you,’ and luckily, it was all that was needed.

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Tags: Valery Noble ​

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[Valery Noble]

Ravaath

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Cailen Corso

Valery allowed silence to linger between them after their embrace. She could feel the emotions inside of him, and she could tell that he was trying to keep himself composed. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel awful about breaking down, so she gave him the space he needed and guided him back up to the bottom floor of the Hospital.

Once they reached ground level, Cailen spoke up again, and Valery turned to him.

She blinked, tilted her head, then smiled warmly, "Of course, and I always will help and care for you," she said with a determined dip of her head. It was easy to tell just how much he appreciated her help earlier, but she also wanted him to know that it would never stop. She'd always continue to be there for him.

Now, as his Master, but in the future as well.

"Now, let's go home, and get some rest. I'll cook your favorite meal, and we hang out at my apartment, alright? Vera is there too, and she has been asking about you." She chuckled and reached out to gently ruffle his hair.

Then, if and only if Cailen was ready, she'd move to leave this place behind for now.

 

[Cailen Corso]

Location: Ravaath | Soundtrack: Campus

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Cailen giggled when his Master roughed up his hair. It was already messy from their fight beneath the hospital, and coupled with Valery's ruffling, it looked like a fiery whisp atop the Padawan's weary head.

"Now, let's go home, and get some rest. I'll cook your favorite meal, and we hang out at my apartment, alright? Vera is there too, and she has been asking about you."

"Really?" he asked, looking to Valery with excited eyes. The tears had already dried away.

"I'd really like that. I miss her a lot! And I miss you, too."

The walk back to the Bastion was much lighter than when they first arrived. Cailen was still alert, eyes scanning the cityscape for any signs of danger, but there was a calmness in the Force that told him everything was okay. He chatted about lots of things as they walked, like the strange worm-people on Dagobah and how Master Edo spends way too much time talking to his plants in the temple gardens.

While he seemed to be enjoying his time away from the Core, Valery would sense a longing in her Padawan. He lavished her with stories and jokes, absorbing every drop of their time together. Cailen missed her deeply when they were apart, so he seemed to be making up for lost time. But no matter how long or how far they were apart, he knew she was always there for him.

Even in the face of purest evil, Master Noble was there by his side. She was like a second mom, and no matter what happens or where he wanders to, he felt in his heart that he was like a son.

FINAL POST​

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Tags: Valery Noble ​

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