Private A Hair-Raising Outing

[Starlin Rand]

“We both got jacked up pretty badly, huh?” Starlin remarked, noticing her pained walk. “You patch me up, I’ll patch you up. If you want.”

He listened to her explanation, nodding his head. “Sounds about right. They got me at a refueling station. I stopped for gas, went in ‘cause I had a craving for snacks, and they took me from behind.” Never did get those snacks.

"On the planet itself... I followed your presence but also your pain."

Well, that’s one way to do it, I suppose. His gaze flicked to the bottle in her hand. “Nah, you go ahead,” he said, steeling himself. “I handle pain pretty well, all things considered.”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Shadow Gear
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"They got the back of my shoulder. I think it's mostly burned," she nodded and listened to him as he explained where they had managed to catch him. It explained why his ship was parked the way it was, but she did wonder how they were able to find him. Valery homed in on the ship's signature that she found in a Jedi database.

But the cultists had no access to that, so maybe they had a tracker on him?

"If they interrupted your snack time, maybe I can get you something to eat after this." After all that fighting, she was a little hungry herself, and the trip to Coruscant would take a while.

"Alright, sit still. 3... 2..." Before she got to one, she sprayed the liquid onto his chest, hoping that not being prepared would help in the end. In her experience, it always hurt like hell anyway. Valery then reached for some burn salve and offered it to him so it could be applied to the scorching of the lightsaber that had struck him.

"There," she smiled softly and grabbed some bacta patches. "They don't have cute prints, I'm afraid, but they'll make you feel a lot better."

Once they were applied, Valery stood up and started taking off various armor pieces that covered her upper body. Robes were then dropped as well, leaving her in just a tight undershirt that was used to keep her warm and cover her skin against various hazards. "How bad is it?" She then asked as she sat down with her back turned to him. She slipped down her shirt enough to expose the injury and let out a sigh.

"I always hate this part of a mission."

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin brightened immediately at the possibility of food in his imminent future. “Oh, that’d be fantastic—YEOW!”

He knew the spray would sting, but damn. It stung. He bit his lip and tried to keep his watering eyes from overflowing as he gingerly applied the burn salve. “But I like the cute prints,” he said with an exaggerated pout, having already recovered his sense of humor by the time she handed him the patches.

Then Val started stripping. Starlin’s first instinct was to look away, but then he remembered he had offered to help her with her shoulder wound. Okay, keep it professional…

Man, she's built like a brick chithouse! Look at those keyboard abs, you could fethin' play chords on them!

"How bad is it?"

“Oh, it’s real bad. Sorry, looks like your whole arm is gonna have to go.” He sprayed her with the stinging stuff, then handed her the salve. “Weird question to be asking at a time like this, but—how many Padawans have you had?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Shadow Gear
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

Valery snickered at his response "Maybe next time, but the food will make up for it," she promised with clear confidence in her voice. It was definitely going to taste a lot better than a meal at some refueling station for ships. Valery loved to cook, and she always had fresh ingredients with her.

If he didn't like it, he just had bad taste.

After stripping out of her armor and sitting down, she rolled her eyes at the comment that followed. "Well, make sure to be quick about it, at least." She chuckled but her amusement quickly faded when the cold spray touched her wound. She clenched her jaw, and the muscles in her body tightened for a moment. Chit, that hurt.

"I trained three to knighthood, and currently have two," she then answered after letting out a sigh of relief. "It's very different these days, though. We used to spend about a decade with a single Padawan when we had more Jedi to train others. Now, we quickly have several and the training is much shorter."

Very then accepted the salve and awkwardly started applying it to her back, but it at least wasn't as awkward as asking him to do it. "Can you apply the patches? Bit hard for me to do it." She flashed a sheepish smile and kept herself steady.

"You're training Eliphas, right? Is he your first Padawan?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Not so much bad taste as an occasional odd hankering for nasty processed junk food. It reminded him of his childhood, and while certifiably not good for his health, it was comfort food. Besides, it was hardly the worst thing he had ever put in his body…

Val soon got a taste of her own medicine (quite literally), tensing up as the spray hit her skin. Starlin was just glad he didn’t have to rub her down with the burn salve.

He whistled as she named off her apprentices. “That’s a lot of Paddies in a very short amount of time. When I was a Padawan, my training lasted about a decade. These days the fastest they’ll knight somebody is, what, half that?”

Opening the patch wrapper, he carefully lined it up over her wound. “Yeah, Eli was my first. Now I have two apprentices. Him and Makko Vyres. It’s difficult. Not that I thought it would be easy, but—well, Eli was the easy child. Makko is harder to… impress? Understand? Motivate? It’s hard to describe.” Finished applying the patch, he leaned back with a sigh. "You ever had a kid who acted like they weren't even sure they wanted to be a Jedi?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Shadow Gear
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"My training as a Padawan was about a decade as well and started when I was way younger than most start these days. Now they're lucky to have five years." She let out a soft sigh — this was one of the reasons why she struggled with letting go. She wanted to spend even more time training them. Another part was that she was rather protective of people she cared about, but that wasn't something she was going to admit right now.

A softer breath then escaped her lips when the bacta patch settled against her skin. She raised her undershirt back up after and turned around to see Starlin plop down into his chair.

"I have, and with varying outcomes. I've seen one leave the order after they realized that this wasn't what they wanted, and others just needed to find their place within the Jedi. Makko joined at an older age and is from a background that most wouldn't really associate with the Jedi. He... just needs time, and the right people around him." She chuckled a little now. "He has grown to like my Padawan quite a bit."

This time she reached down and took off her utility belt, which she set aside before looking at Starlin again. "Hmmm, feel like burgers? And uh, if you need a new shirt... I'm sure I've got something laying around here."

 

[Starlin Rand]

“We had similar backgrounds, actually,” Starlin said with a small smile. “We were both street kids that got recruited by the Jedi, although I was younger when I joined… and I loved being a Jedi. I still do.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If I can instill some of that love in Makko, I think he’ll turn out all right. But I don’t know how to even begin to do that.”

Makko wasn’t some kid hyped up on idealism and stories of Jedi heroism. He was an adult who had already had his illusions shattered before he even had a chance to dream them up. What had come naturally to Starlin probably couldn’t be artificially induced in Makko. On the other hand, Starlin had also had his fair share of trials and dead dreams, but it hadn’t killed his optimism.

“I’ll figure it out eventually,” he muttered. Hopefully.

“Oh yeah, Cora right? I met her. She’s a funny girl.” He thought about making some smartass comment about the recent rash of Padawan pregnancies and making sure to have the talk with them before it was too late, but he kept his mouth shut, not sure how such a joke would be received and not wanting to look bad in front of Valery Fethin’ Noble.

“I could go for a cheeseburger.” Starlin glanced down at his ruined shirt. The gashed front hung in burnt tatters, creating a "cleavage window" that showed off his bandaged chest and a whole lot of singed body hair. “And yeah, if you have one…” Would it be one of Kahlil’s shirts? He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Hopefully it would be a nice shirt…?

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Shadow Gear
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"Cora, yeah, and well..." Valery began after listening to him talk about the difficulties with Makko. "I recently had both of them over for lunch and offered to take them on a mission together. That seemed to really brighten up their spirits. So if that's something you'd like to do as well, feel free to contact Cora and bring her along with you and Makko."

"It might be something small but I think it can help him adjust if friends... and girlfriends... are there with him." She chuckled at the idea, especially because it wasn't that long ago that she walked around the Galaxy during a very different time. A time when the Jedi would never give advice like this.

She was glad that things had changed.

"A cheeseburger it is, along with a shirt. Can't have you walking around with this much cleavage," she joked with a grin and a wink in his direction. Valery then disappeared for about a minute and returned with a shirt that was definitely a bit on the bigger side. She tossed it over and gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. "Anything specific you like on your burgers?" she asked, while she tied her long hair up into a ponytail so she could start cooking.

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Bring her along?” Starlin echoed, looking slightly ill-at-ease with the notion. He preferred to leave his students alone when it came to their relationships and whatnot (he was still under the deeply misguided impression that Lief was some sort of hoverchair-bound casanova after having witnessed a few strange incidents without the proper context to understand them) and the idea of inviting his Padawan’s girlfriend to join them was not something he would have ever thought of on his own. After giving it a few moments’ consideration, however, Starlin seemed to take to the notion. “Huh. Okay. I’ll do that.”

"A cheeseburger it is, along with a shirt. Can't have you walking around with this much cleavage."

“Hey-o,” Starlin crowed, cheeks reddening despite his grin. He changed quickly, feeling a bit self-conscious. The shirt was huge on him and smelled distinctly of soap and another man’s musk. “Ah. Feels like I’m inside Master Kahlil,” he muttered.

“Oh, uh, grilled onions, mushblooms, pickles and mayo.”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Shadow Gear
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

There was no way she was going to miss his response to her joke, so seeing the man blush got her to snicker. On duty, Valery wasn't really a funny type around most people, so these comments tended to come out of nowhere to others. It was always funny to see the reactions to it.

"I'm just teasing you," she told him with a chuckle while he put on the shirt. It was one she had only just washed, so hopefully, the smell wouldn't make him too uncomfortable.

"Ah. Feels like I'm inside Master Kahlil,"

Valery turned to look at him, eyebrow raised and with a rather dirty response for a joke in mind. But she wasn't quite sure how that would play out with someone she didn't know too well, so all Starlin got was a rather playful grin before she turned to the kitchen.

"I could offer one of my shirts, but I don't think you'd have liked that much better~" she joked instead while she grabbed everything together and began preparing their burgers.

"So, Starlin..." she began after a moment. "When you're not on Jedi duty, what keeps you busy?" Valery did not want some kind of awkward silence to linger, so why not learn more about him?

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I could offer one of my shirts, but I don't think you'd have liked that much better~"

“I wouldn’t mind being inside you—r SHIRT! Your shirt. Heh. I’m a lanky guy, so… smaller.” He ducked his head to cough into his elbow, hiding his burning face. Sweet baby Yoda, that was close.

Starlin had a bad habit of uttering the first witty response that came to mind without thinking it through first. In this case, Val was so easygoing and friendly he kept forgetting to be professional. Or that she was happily married with a child.

“I’m in a band, actually,” he replied. “It's called Friendzoned at the Funeral. I play guitar, drums, and the harmonica. We have a revolving door of musicians, though some people stick around longer than others. Basically, anyone who can sing or play an instrument and wants to perform can join.”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit:
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

Even though he recovered... somewhat, it was Valery's time to blush. She coughed, turned away to hide her face, and pretended to just be focusing on the burgers for now. Of all the jokes or comments he could have chosen, that was clearly not one she had expected at all. But at least she didn't seem bothered either.

"On uh... one moment."

She disappeared again, this time for a little longer to compose herself before she returned with a simple shirt. Starlin was a bit taller than she was, but it'd likely still fit. Perhaps just in some areas, it would be a little less fitting. "Here you go, feel free to try it." She tossed it over and smirked. It wasn't really necessary at all because Kahlil's shirt would be just fine considering it was only temporary. But the thought of him trying it on was pretty funny.

Valery then returned to the kitchen and continued finishing up the burgers while she listened to him. "A band, hm? That's actually really nice. I don't play any instruments, but I can sing. Maybe I should play with your band sometime if you'll have me?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Luckily, Val didn’t seem offended at his little misstep. Starlin dared to breathe a sigh of relief—only for one of her shirts to be tossed his way. He held it up, a smirked slowly making its way across his mouth. “Thanks,” he said, hastily changing his clothes.

While claiming he was smaller in terms of width and girth, Starlin had failed to account for his height. As a result, the hem of Val’s shirt stopped just shy of his navel, leaving him with an exposed midriff. It was also rather form-fitting and sported something of a V-neckline… he was basically wearing a crop top.

While other men might’ve felt ridiculous, Starlin was apparently delighted (or at the very least highly amused). He went about his business as if he were wearing his usual everyday clothing, stepping into the kitchen to fetch himself something to drink from the fridge.

“Sure,” he said cheerfully. “I never would’ve thought you were into singing. Although… Didn’t you sing during karaoke night at the Cobalt Club?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit:
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"Well, that shirt almost looks better on you than it does on me," Valery said with a grin after he had swapped shirts and walked into the kitchen to grab a drink. As he did, she'd offer him a plate with two burgers on it — she was clearly quite good at making them. Not too strange, given how much Vera loved burgers.

"Almost though," she quickly added a little smugly. "And I hope you enjoy the burger."

The two then left the kitchen, and Valery was quick to direct them into the living room area, where she plopped down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other. While she took a bite, her fiery eyes shifted up to look at Starlin, and for just a few seconds, she remained quiet after his question.

"I've always loved singing but... I usually just do it when I'm alone. I did once sing a duet to distract a group of Hutts so that other Jedi were able to infiltrate their warehouse but yeah..." she smiled a little sheepishly all of a sudden. "I thought about singing during the karaoke night, but I feared that it would be weird for the other Jedi to see me sing. Everybody was really enjoying themselves, so I decided to just watch."

It wasn't often that Valery was self-conscious about anything, but this clearly seemed to be an exception.

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Why, thank you.” Starlin preened and peacocked his way over to the living room, drink in one hand and plate of burgers in the other. He was back to having way too much fun.

“Burger’s good,” he mumbled between bites, digging into the food with relish. He had no idea how long he’d been imprisoned, and consequently no clue when he’d last eaten, but he felt like he was starving.

Wiping a glob of mayo from the corner of his mouth, he licked it off his thumb as Val spoke about singing. “Well, I remembered that you were there, at least,” he said. “I’m sure it wouldn’t have been weird. If anything, it might’ve increased your popularity—not that you aren’t already the most well-liked Jedi I know of. Anyway, what was that about singing to distract some Hutts?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit:
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"I'm glad you like the burger," Valery said with a very bright smile. She could always appreciate a compliment, but one about her cooking definitely scored points with her. It didn't matter that he might be enjoying it a lot more because of how starved he was, and it certainly tasted better than whatever fast food joint he'd have found along the way back.

The conversation then shifted to her singing, and her cheeks reddened a little again at what he said. She didn't like to think of herself as popular at all — just helpful and approachable to her fellow Jedi. That was something she always worked hard for. "Well, I'm just happy that other Jedi find me easy to talk to. I remember being intimidated by some Jedi when I was a Padawan, and I always wanted to be different."

"As for the singing..." she grinned again. "We wanted to infiltrate their office and retrieve some files we could use against them. But the Hutts had this spot in the main hall of their Casino that allowed them to oversee everything. So, dressed up in this very... revealing... dress, I sat on top of the grand piano and sang to keep their eyes on me."

"It allowed a few other Jedi to get in and out of their office."

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I'd say you're a little bit intimidating, but only because you're so famous. Your reputation precedes you."

Starlin listened intently as Val told the story, eventually breaking into laughter. “That’s hilarious! Wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall to see that.” Finishing off the burger, he added, “Did they get the files?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit:
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Starlin Rand

"Well, as long as I'm not intimidating anymore after getting to know someone..." she looked at Starlin, but he had never seemed particularly tense because of her. Unless she was more oblivious to it than she had thought. Either way, she was satisfied as long as people felt she was approachable once they had gotten to know her a little.

Valery then looked at him with a grin when he laughed, and raised a hand up through her hair, "It was tense at the time, at least until I started singing. I just... got really into it." She blinked. "But in hindsight, it is pretty funny." She chuckled again and finished up her own food.

"We also got what we wanted, so it's a win-win, I suppose."

She paused and looked at Starlin, "We should be getting close to Coruscant, but I'll definitely have to sing with the... Friendzoned at the Funeral soon, and maybe we can work together again sometime as well, hm?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

"Sure."

Valery Noble​