Private A Simple Lesson

[Shan]

How does one teach about healing without being in the field? That was the main issue Shan was thinking of right now. With Zaiya, it had been the aftermaths of a battle, so he was able to guide her through helping some of the sick and injured already there but with Everest Vale it was going to be much more of a difficult process. He couldn't exactly take her to the Halls of Healing and let her test herself out there with actual people who needed help. They came to the temple expecting to be looked after, not to be treated like a guinea pig. That just made his promise even more difficult now. Part of him had hoped that there was some kind of battle he could have had her help out with but considering the last time something like that had happened was Hapes...Yeah. No. It wasn't a good idea.

He'd just have to teach how to use the Force in the way of healing. How ot use it to influence yourself. That would be for the best, right? That was his plan at the very least. Shan just sat amongst the gardens of the temple, waiting for Everest to arrive as he folded his arms along his front. Sat amongst the greenery as he thought to himself. He could understand the worry that people had about letting inexperienced people work on patients. Of course, that didn't do anything to reduce the annoyance he had felt when he had been told so long ago that he shouldn't be helping the people of Coruscant. Urgh. No. That was not a thought he needed right now. No. He just had to keep his mind focused on positive things. Especially if he planned on teaching.

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve could not hide the subtle spring in her step. Not only had it been some time since she last saw Shan - who was rapidly becoming a good friend to her - he had promised to teach Eve in the foundations of healing when next the opportunity arose. That opportunity had finally sprung itself on them, and she couldn't be more excited about. After their initial meeting, and the moment of panic that ensued beneath the trees of that bright courtyard, she had determined how important and useful it would be for her to learn how to heal others much like Shan did.

But she brought something else with her on her way to the garden class her Mirialan friend was holding for her. Much had changed since their last meeting, and Hapes had left its mark on the whole temple. Eve knew she couldn't come close to comprehending what it must have been like for Shan, being on the ground there, but her heart ached for the entire situation; for the helpless civilians who got caught in the crossfire; for those who tried their utmost to avoid conflict altogether but got nevertheless swept up in it; those who tried their utmost to help those suffering, only to experience their own suffering as a result. Though not entirely privy to all of the bloody details, Eve knew Shan was among the latter, and so she entered the garden with a degree of awareness should the Mirialan need space for healing of his own.

"Shan," she said when finally she saw him. "It's so nice to see you again." She smiled at him in a warm and wholesome way she was perhaps incapable of doing once, to such an extent. But she was beginning to heal and grow, no longer just a scared girl, but someone transitioning into a confident young woman whose compassion knew no bounds.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

"Welcome Everest. The day always gets brighter when you're around."

Shan gave a short nod at that. It was true. The more he interacted with the Jedi and the younger generation, the more it reminded him of what he got up for. What he fought and stood for. Hope. Connections. That was what he needed to focus on. Just let the negativity escape. He kept his arms folded along his front as he tilted his head at the sight of Everest. She seemed stronger. Not by a lot. Though even a little bit of progress was better than none. That was something he had to remind himself. It wasn't going to be perfect.

"Today is going to be a bit...different. To how I've taught healing in the past. But we can try it. To heal someone, you need to be aware of the Force, and the Body. How it works. How the Force flows through the body and how everything is connected."

As he spoke, Shan couldn't help but move his hands together. Linking his fingers together for a moment to show what he meant by the interconnection. Life was all brought together by the Force, and thus it was important to work on your control of it. You can't risk healing someone if you aren't able to use the Force precisely. There was a possibility you could accelerate their healing too quickly.

"So. What I need you to work on is breathing. Focus on the Force flowing around you. I want you to try and feel the current of the Flow through your body. The way it moves. When you come across someone who is hurt, you'll need to figure out where the current of the Force is stopping. Why it's stopped. Most people have the Force flowing through them, even if they aren't sensitive to it."

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve grinned at Shan's welcome comment. It was a joy to see him too. Since their first meeting, Eve considered the Mirialan a good friend already. Nobody seemed to hold a peaceful space quite like Shan. It inspired her to want to be able to do the same for others one day.

She listened closely to the start of his instruction, and her eyes honed in on him with a dedicated focus. She had never considered thinking about the Force in such a way, to pay attention to where its current may be stopping due to an injury of some kind. It suddenly made her aware of her own current that flowed effortlessly around it at all times, and what must happen whenever that is interrupted.

"So when we feel that flow is interrupted in some way, we need to find where that interruption is and use that as a basis for how we heal..." she summarised quietly, really just for her own benefit of understanding. "That makes a lot of sense."

Shan
​

 

[Shan]

"Yes. You help the Force flow where it's missing, to help accelerate the healing process. Of course, some cases need extra work. Like with a broken bone, you'll want to focus on holding the bone in place as it heals."

Shan nodded slowly. That was a key part. Not everything was one force trick fixes all. You had to actually put thought into it. It was part of why he also worked on learning conventional medicine. Sometimes it was better to let them naturally heal than try to use the Force.It wasn't something he'd suggest to Everest though. Not now at all. It had been a large time drain for Shan and had stopped him from doing plenty of his duties. There was a part of him that felt like if he had told Everest about leaving the Order to become a Doctor, the young woman might have thought about doing it herself.

"I have a small technique you can use to try and practice controlling the flow of the Force, that you can try. I learned it from an old Jedi who used to be around a lot. Jasper Ka'iel. The technique is called Soft to Solid. You can use it to make your skin as strong as natural body armour. It can be helpful when dealing with melee weapons or even slugthrowers."

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve listened with a fresh eagerness as Shan discussed the details. It made sense to be as mindful as possible with healing, and she suddenly started to realise how much pressure would be involved with practicing such an art. It wasn't just about waving a hand and everything is okay again.

'Soft to Solid', he said. She'd never heard of it before, never seen it in any of the preliminary texts she had read in the Archives on healing. Was it new, or so lesser known, that it was something only a few had used? It piqued her interest and she leaned forward with anticipation. She had never considered the need to wear armour, and the thought made her a little uncomfortable. As an Echani, she was never used to heavy and bulky clothing. But if she could sidestep that by a Force power that did effectively the same thing, she would jump at the chance.

"That sounds amazing," she said softly. "Yes please." Her voice was eager as a smile came to her.

Shan​

 

[Shan]

"It sounds amazing. Until I tell you that it doesn't dull the pain that much. Someone hits you with something heavy with this technique, it's still going to hurt. It'll protect you though."

Last time he tried to teach this, he had Zaiya punch a bunch of wooden boards. He felt like that type of lesson wouldn't work that well for Everest. So he was going to try how Jasper had taught him. By throwing firm tennis balls at Everest for her to block with her body instead of dodging. Pushing himself up to his feet as he pulled a few of the tennis balls out and passed them between his hands..

"If I remember correctly, this is a technique that the Matukai use. They're mostly attuned to physical enhancements from the Force. They're also avid martial artists."

Maybe that means Everest would enjoy it more. Shan hadn't met a single Echani yet who didn't enjoy martial arts. Even back when he first joined the Jedi, he had met with an Echani Padawan. Strange for him to think how much he had changed since then. The Mirialan shook his head, keeping his eyes on Everest.

"So...You're going to want to focus on the Force flowing through you. You'll be able to direct it to certain sections of your body that you want to harden. It's going to be hard for you to do at first. You'll probably only be able to hold it for a few seconds at the most. I can only do a minute or two before cracks start to show up...literally."

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve listened closely to the Knight, and she found a strange mix of fascination, excitement and apprehension take hold of her. 'Cracks'? That didn't sound good. But seemed like it would be such a useful skill, especially if she decided to lean more into her martial skills. The thought made something in her rebel. Unlike most of her kin, she only enjoyed the Echani arts as a solo meditation and not for any combat. Yet, perhaps it was now expected of her to lean more into it, now she was consciously on the frontlines.

"Alright, I suppose I ought to give it a go."

She looked at the back of her right palm a moment and took several long, deep breaths. She shifted her awareness to the current that flowed through her, allowing it to swell and hum with warm Light. Then she willed it to direct towards her hand, pushing as much as she was able. The tension was strong, and she struggled to even get the current to focus itself to begin with. Until finally, a shift happened. Her hand shook involuntarily from the sudden change in focus, and she could feel a change.

With her other hand, she reached to touch the back of her hand to test it, but as soon as she did, the concentration broke. She exhaled hard, as if finally being relieved of holding in a breath for several minutes. Panting lightly, she shook her hand loosely as if trying to bring back sensation to normalcy.

"Okay..." She looked back at Shan and and gave a small grin. "That's hard... Pun unintended."

Shan​

 

[Shan]

Shan watched Eeverest carefully, folding his arms along his front. It was interesting to see the different approach people took to this. Shan and Ko had rushed straight into practising it when they learned from Jaspar. When Shan had taught Zaiya, Shan had made her also rush straight into the use of it. Perhaps it was more important if he let students take things at their own pace. As long as they were making progress, Shan shouldn't feel too rushed to get to work.

"Don't expect to be able to master it in one day Everest. Coruscant was not rebuilt in a day. Do not rush into mastering a skill, less it fail you when you need it the most."

Wow. He really sounded old when he said stuff like that, Shan wondered if it made him sound like he was trying to sound wise but the Mirialan shook his head, trying not to focus on that. No. Instead he had to focus on his teaching. Shan reached forward to ruffle Everest's hair with a smirk on his face. He might as well try and support her that she was doing a good job.

"The fact you were able to make a chance at all is good Everest. Keep working on it. We can leave the actual testing for it until another day. Unless you want me to pelt you with a bunch of different objects to see how well you can keep it up. A lot safer than waiting until you're getting pelted with blaster bolts."

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve grinned sheepishly at the suggestion. As tempting as it was to want to excel as quickly as possible in this skill, she thought she'd better not take him up on the offer to be pelted by goodness-knows-what so early.

"Yeah, probably a good idea I practice a bit first." The grin became a warm smile.

"Thank you, Shan. This is really useful to know." As she thought about the applications of such a skill, she mused on how it might help in her Echani skills too.

"I'd better get going, I have history class soon." She gave a humble bow to the Mirialan. "I appreciate you taking the time with me here. Hopefully I'll see you again soon. May the Force be with you, Shan."

With that, she prepared her things and set off back down towards the classrooms.