Private The Weight of One's Wings

[Katherine Holt]

Katherine was slowly but surely getting used to the day-to-day life of being a Padawan. It consisted of training, lots and lots of training. Be it with her Master, her fellow Padawans, or a combination of the two. Even Rhemti wanted to teach her how to swim, which was an oddly specific thing. But apparently his kind were naturally talented at it.

Today however was going to be different. Rather than Kahlil teaching her, it was going to be Valery instead. Apparently the Nobles frequently assisted in training each other’s Padawans, especially so when one was occupied elsewhere.

For Katherine, she needed to learn how to generally fight with her wings in mind. While they weren’t heavy per se, they were still an additional weight on her back that influenced her movement. And fortunately, Valery was going to come to her room and get her, as opposed to instructing her to meet at the training room. It was a relief to someone who was still very unfamiliar with the Temple’s layout.

Unfortunately however, she had forgotten today was that day.

So when Valery arrived and was about to knock, a muffled cry of pain emanated from behind the door.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

NJO Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katherine Holt

<And you tell me I don't know when to stop,> Valery teasingly told Kahlil Noble through their bond. She was on his way to meet another one of his Padawans — a newer one with quite the interesting history. He had told her a bit about it, but she always wanted to learn more from the Padawans themselves. This would be no exception, so she looked forward to finally meeting the young student who would likely become like family too.

Would Kahlil already have given her a key to the apartment? The thought made her snicker.

Soon enough, Valery reached the door of Katherine's room, and was about to knock when she felt a tremor in the Force. It was followed by a cry of pain, so she wasted no time and used her special codes to override the lock. The door flung open, and Valery immediately stepped inside to figure out what was happening.

"Padawan Holt? It's Master Noble," she said, her voice clear and loud enough to echo through the entire room.

"Are you okay?"

 

[Katherine Holt]

The sound of someone entering the door code made Katherine freeze. Whomever it was knew what it was, and that list of people were very few. She began to panic, sweeping her foot across the floor before making a dash towards the only other door in her room.

By the time Valery stepped in, Kat had disappeared into the bathroom.

Master Noble? That doesn’t sound like…

The realisation of who and why finally struck, making Katherine panic more. She immediately went over to the sink and turned the tap.

“I’ll be out in a minute!” She called, over the sound of running water. In the meantime however, Valery was left to her own devices in the Padawan’s room.

It looked like someone who had only just recently started living there. Sparse, with only a few bits and bobs here that Katherine had brought. What was out of place however, was a couple blood red feathers sticking out from under the bed. A curious look would reveal a small pile tucked underneath.

Not to mention the splotches of blood that dotted the floor in front of it.

After a few minutes the bathroom door slid open and Katherine stepped out. Her wings were folded as tightly as they could be behind her, and there was hesitation in her movements as she looked up to meet Valery’s eyes.

“Hi,” she said quietly, raising her hand in a shy wave. The Padawan did her absolute best to make it seem like nothing was wrong, not realising just how badly she was failing at it.

The hand she raised up still had some blood on it. Not to mention the obvious puffiness around her eyes from crying. Her attempts to splash her face with water had done nothing to hide it.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

NJO Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katherine Holt

It wasn't just the blood and feathers she easily spotted, but the emotions she felt that told Valery part of the story. Either she had been hurt by someone, hurt herself, or something was happening to her body that she didn't understand just yet. But whatever it was, she realized immediately that the Padawan was going to need help, even if it wasn't the most comfortable thing to talk about. Valery just couldn't let a Padawan be in pain.

So when Katherine finally appeared from the bathroom and offered a shy greeting, Valery smiled caringly, almost like a mother. She then stepped closed and tilted her body as if she were trying to look around the young woman, and to her wings.

"Heyy, it's very nice to finally meet you, but I saw the blood," she said, which perhaps seemed direct, but her tone was gentle and her smile warm. "Do you maybe want to sit down and talk about it with me?" she asked before she gestured at the couch in her room.

"I'd like to help if I can."

 

[Katherine Holt]

Shame.

That’s what immediately filled Katherine as she refused to look Valery in the eyes. In part because she had, yes, been caught in the act. But because she had fallen to this point. All the staring, the judgemental looks of suspicion and accusation.

The attack.

She still couldn’t shake it off her mind, haunting her during sleepless nights. Of that civilian who shouted, who grabbed her. Tried to stab her. Who would have succeeded if it weren’t for those with her at the time.

Katherine had begged them, pleading to not mention this to anyone. She just wanted to ignore it, and avoid the attention. The man had been arrested, and a report filed anonymously.

But it did nothing in getting rid of the nightmares.

The hand that had been raised fell limp to Katherines’s side. Her body began to tremble as she looked down, the waterworks returning. She did nothing as Valery stepped closer and peered around her. Where Katherine would’ve vainly tried to hide her wings, they didn’t budge this time.

Where the top of them were untouched, it was clear a handful of red feathers had been ripped from the bottom.

“I…” Katherine tried to speak, but she already found her voice hoarse. The redhead could feel her legs shaking, and decided to accept Valery’s suggestion, moving over to the couch. If only to ensure she didn’t collapse to the floor instead.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

NJO Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Katherine Holt

Valery had seen enough.

All of this had started as an offer for help, but she could tell that Katherine was far too overwhelmed by her emotions. Because of what happened to her. No responsible Jedi would ever just leave now — she had to help. So with a gentle touch, she guided Katherine over to the couch to make sure she wouldn't fall over, and helped her sit down if she needed the assistance. She was her husband's Padawan, and that meant she'd become like family to them, but even if she hadn't been, Valery would have done anything she could to help.

"Alright, let's just take it one step at a time," Valery began, her eyes looking over the wings again. "First, do you need any immediate medical help?" Valery didn't know anything about her species, but blood was universally a sign that something was terribly wrong. If she needed a healer, Valery would arrange that first.

"And if you can tell me what happened, I can maybe help you. I promise that everything you tell me will stay between us if that's what you want."

 

[Katherine Holt]

Once she was seated, Katherine immediately buried her head in her hands. If only to muffle any potential sobs that might threaten to escape. She hadn’t expected to be so emotional right off the bat, but then this had been something bottled up for a while now. Something Katherine had refused to open up about, not for a lack of others trying.

Capris had checked in with her after the incident, but she had assured her fellow Padawan that ‘everything was fine’. It wasn’t, but Katherine had managed to uphold a neutral expression then.

The same could not be said this time. Primarily because she had been caught in the act, red handed to an almost literal degree if Katherine hadn’t disappeared into the bathroom. She felt that swell of stubbornness, the desire to not say anything, trying to rise to the surface. But something pushed it back down, not in an aggressive manner, but in almost smoothing motion.

It was a feeling Katherine couldn’t quite place, but knew it felt familiar, tied to the hazy memories of her past.

“No medical help…” She said, her voice muffled beneath her hands. “They’ll grow back.”

This wasn’t the first time.

Katherine finally moved from her initial position, if only to stop slumping forwards in favour of slumping backwards into the couch. The redhead wiped her eyes a bit, before speaking again.

“It’s just all…too much. Months…years, I don’t even know how long it’s been.” Katherine paused as she closed her eyes for a moment. “I was just an ordinary girl, going through life like normal. Now all of this…”

Valery Noble​