Private Children of Shiraya: Fated Junction

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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"I know I should have told you before I left Coruscant, but I wanted the news of my reassignment to be a surprise." Briana explained, unloading another box filled with various items of her personal belongings into Brandyn's waiting arms. For how long had they been apart this time? Too long, at least since all of this 'Jedi' responsibility had taken over their lives. "I met this amazing Jedi Master who agreed to bring me here to Ossus and..." whipping around with the last of her belongings in hand, Briana frowned. "Brandyn? I haven't seen you in almost three months and you're already tuning me out? Hey! Are you listening to me!?" Her eyes rolled, nudging him with her elbow to get this reunion train moving, relying on him for guidance.

"Anyway," she continued on, as if not missing a single beat in her sentence. "She agreed to train me after telling me about her methods, and honestly? Sounded waaay more interesting than what I've been doing."

Shafts of morning light glinted off the stony cliff surfaces leading them to the temple where dozens of other Jedi trainees of varying ages and species roamed the grounds. Briana instantly picked up on the mixture of languages and sounds, along with the rich open-air smell that came from the uncharted terrain beyond. She was already finding this much more exciting than being stuck back inside a stuffy old temple, smack dab in the heart of one of the most heavily populated and polluted cities in the Core. The old holo recordings she'd seen of Mom and Dad from back during the days of the TBK investigation made Coruscant look a lot more impressive than it actually was, much to Briana's disappointment.

"Just wait until you meet her, you'll see. I think she's meeting us at the dorms." Blindly following Brandyn along, Briana only stopped once, her deep blue eyes falling on the ancient structure that emerged before them. She felt a tangle of nerves hit her gut, glancing back over to her brother. "Wow." Even Briana had to admit (begrudgingly), that in all of her years looking over her beloved Naboo landscape, she'd never seen anything that hit her at the core of her soul. Briana instantly shook her head, annoyed by the idea that her feelings were allowing her to become so awestruck.

She cleared her throat lightly, "Hey, don't let me forget... once everything gets settled, Hisashi sent some personally recorded holo letters from Marcus and Careina, they sent them to the Estate for our last name day celebration."

Brandyn Sal-Soren | Valery Noble ​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Well. She had not stopped talking as much. Brandyn grimaced as he was given yet another bag, or box - he was losing track - just for him to pawn it off on the droid that he was here for this purpose. “There Is a droid…OOF,” he tried to explain for the fifth time before another piece of luggage was thrust into his barely emptied arms.

He had been training for some time and only recently been given the opportunity to move on to the Ossus training facility permanently. One of the other Padawan on Coruscant had said that it was probably because a Jedi Knight or Master had their mind set on making Brandyn their apprentice. Actual, regular on mission training was going to be fantastic. But when he heard who it was that was considering him for mentorship he was all at once intimidated, honoured and nervous.

Valery Noble had been someone he had interactions with in the past, but nothing she had said had indicated that she had been looking at a decision like this. She is the epitome of grace, power, focus, compassion and…Brandyn stopped his thoughts in their tracks. He knew where his mind was going, and it was vital that he not fall prey to his boyish tendencies to ‘crush’ on people. He had to mature out of that.

”…tuning me out!?”

”Sorry, Bree,” he said as he winced from the pain caused by a metal latch from the most recent piece of luggage scratching his arm, “a little distracted by all this…you know there is a droid here to take your luggage…right!?”

With the next piece of luggage coming his way he held up his hands in protest and pointed at the droid.

”New Jedi Master, aye?” Brandyn said with a wry smirk, “sure thing Briana…just when I am poised to become an actual apprentice you are as well? Are you sure you just got nervous with me being gone…worried that I might surpass you in my Jedi training? Keeping an eye on the competition and all that.”

That fact was, he as surprised that she had not already been assigned someone. Briana, as usual, was a natural at everything she set hear mind too. At first, Brandyn had excelled her, because, well, she didn’t care! But then she started care and quickly caught up, even surpassing Brandyn in many respects. It bugged him no end, and had secretly been one of the great things about moving to Ossus. He could be his own…Sal-Soren. Without the shadow of his more adept sister hanging over him.

”Dorms, aye?” He said with a nod towards the droid, “looks like we are going there anyway.”

He shared a quick glance around the uniquely rugged but beautiful landscape of Ossus. It sure was a great place to set up a Jedi training facility. “Come one then, let’s go see this Master of yours,” Brandyn said with a quick tug on her sleeve, “we can watch the messages Marcus and Careina after we get you unpacked.”

| Briana Sal-Soren | Valery Noble |​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Briana Sal-Soren ​

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Should I have told them that I was going to train them both?​

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Valery thought about the question in her mind for a few minutes as she sat inside the cockpit of her X-wing. She had only just gotten back from beyond the safety of Alliance space and was traveling to Ossus to meet with the two siblings she was going to train. Or at least, Briana was the one she contacted, but she had a feeling Brandyn would be there as well.​

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"Nah," she smirked to herself as she answered the question. ​

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After pulling the ship out of hyperspace, she began a steady descent down towards the surface, until she reached the landing zone of the Praxeum. It was quite amazing to see how much was rebuilt already, but these efforts were likely going to continue for some time and she would be helping Romi Jade to accomplish it all. It was certainly one of the more rewarding projects she was involved in. Perhaps some of the tasks would be appropriate to have her new pair of Padawans assist with as well - she'd have to keep the option in mind. ​

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"Just a simple routine check will do," Valery told the maintenance crew as she climbed out of the X-wing. She left her helmet inside the cockpit and offered the people below a smile, as they began to work on ensuring that she could safely fly again the next time she climbed aboard.​

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"If someone could take a look at the scanners, I'd appreciate it though. The display keeps flickering on me. Thanks!" she called back with a brief grin before her expression grew more neutral again.​

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Valery then began to walk towards the dorms of the Praxeum and fixed her long ponytail up along the way. While the helmet offered her a great tactical display inside her ship, it also wasn't too kind to someone with hair as long as her. But these little problems hardly mattered and were fixed easily enough so that soon, she'd arrive looking the way she always did. Confident, calm, and ready to take on anything on her path.​

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Then after only a few minutes of walking through the Praxeum's hallways, she could faintly hear some squabbling up ahead, coming from the dorms. Must be them, Valery thought and so she'd use the source of this noise to quickly reach their particular room. She'd knock on the door and without any further warning, Valery stepped inside.​

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"Padawans Sal-Soren?"​

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[Briana Sal-Soren]

“Competition? Please, who was the one that always won Naboo’s gymnastic championship of the year? I can run literal circles around you, and you know it.” Her elbow gave him a slight nudge to the ribs, and while said with a certain level of humor, there was a double edged truth to Brandyn’s statement that she didn’t care to acknowledge and tried to play off.

Throughout their lives, more or less, it'd always felt like the two of them were an extension of one another and it was truly hard to face the idea of being separated for so long. On the other side of that was her pride, an inherent part of Briana’s personality, a trait she knew that no Jedi should have, and indulged in more than she should. That bit of sibling rivalry was always in the background.

Ducking through the stone archway of the living quarters, Briana took a moment to look around. The student living accommodations were much smaller than what the young noble had grown up with but something she’d been forced to adjust to back on Coruscant, albeit not without a lot of whining along the way, mostly used as a ploy in the hopes that Brandyn would give up on this endeavor to become a 'great Jedi Master' and come home with her. She’d given less than a wampa-rats behind on whatever lineage she’d inherited from their mother. Never had it crossed her mind that she’d end up enjoying what she learned among the Jedi.

Already she was making mental notes of what needed to be done. “They couldn’t even scrub off the moss and lichen from the walls?” Briana complained, going about setting up some glow panels so they could see better. It was going to take a few days to get this the way she liked it. Her head tilted sideways, hands on her hips. “Well, I guess we should get started?”

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A short time later...

“Seriously!? My crystal makeup box was in that, you oaf!” Briana practically screamed, her expression turning to abject horror as the droid all but haphazardly tossed her valuables into one of the empty spaces. Sinking to the ground, Briana rummaged frantically through the box to make sure nothing inside had been damaged, “This is exactly why I didn’t want droids helping with the unpacking Brandyn!” When she confirmed that it wasn’t damaged, she hugged the crystal box to her chest and cast a disparaging glare over her shoulder, "GET THAT DUMB THING OUT OF HERE AL-"

It took the barely twenty-year old less than a few minutes to figure out that Valery Noble was watching in the entryway. Her cheeks inflamed, jumping to her feet and giving the woman a bow of respect, her heart thumping with the embarrassment of being caught in one of her emotional outbursts. “Master Noble,” she cleared her throat before straightening out. “Uhm, this is my brother… Brandyn. Brandyn, this is the Jedi Master I was telling you about earlier, Valery Noble.” The word 'padawans' used to address them, hadn't yet clicked.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Hands were lifted in protest at his being included in the droids fumbling of the blessed makeup box. "Alright, alright," he muttered while repressing a chuckle. Briana never changed. She always knew what was right, had confidence out her ears, but still could resist blaming him for nearly everything that went wrong. "I didn't program the droid, Briana," he said with a little too much childish sass as he said her name.

He could not help but turn to see what had made Briana stop in her tracks. She had been talking, but now stood in momentary stunned silence.

“Master Noble. Uhm, this is my brother… Brandyn. Brandyn, this is the Jedi Master I was telling you about earlier, Valery Noble.”

"Wait...what?" He said, eyes growing wide.

His heart pumped hard as the full gravity of this moment sunk in. Their masters that had offered to take them on...were one in the same.

Master...Valery...freaking...Noble.

"I know Master Noble...already, Briana," he said, catching her eye and trying to communicate the now hopefully obvious scenario.

And then he turned to Master Noble, gone was the fluster he might feel in her presence due to her prowess, stature or appearance. She had approached both siblings individually and gotten them to agree to an apprenticeship with her. This would never have happened had they known her intentions. "Are you...sure...that you can really manage...both of us?" He said with a quirked brow and wry smile.

| Valery Noble | Briana Sal-Soren |​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Lightsabers: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Briana Sal-Soren ​

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Valery had been looking between the siblings for a moment, clearly somewhat amused by what was going on. But when they finally noticed her, she'd offer a warm smile. She had certainly picked up on Briana's embarrassment, and Brandyn's rather apparent state of shock, but she made no comments yet.​

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After offering the two a bow of her head, she straightened her posture and stepped into the room.​

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"It's good to see you both," she said, taking a moment longer to enjoy the confusion. "I hope you're settling in well enough. The sooner you're ready, the sooner we can begin your training."​

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She finally stopped and raised a hand up that went through her long hair. Her eyes turned to Brandyn and she'd smirk, "And don't worry, I'll be able to handle the two of you just fine. But I'm sure that there is some surprise - it's not often that siblings train under the same Master." she said.​

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"There will be times where I intend to have you both together for a training exercise or assignment, but there will be one-on-one training sessions as well. This isn't going to become a problem, I hope?"​

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For a moment, her orange eyes narrowed just a little, as her gaze shifted between the two.​

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[Briana Sal-Soren]

Briana's face twisted into one of shock when her brother's words floated into her ears, the situation that was unfolding becoming apparent.

"Are you...sure...that you can really manage...both of us?"

Her eyebrows frowned, shooting a dirty look at the back of Brandyn's head at his barely-there stab. Although she agreed that this was not what she'd had in mind and was already worrying that Brandyn's zeal would shine an even brighter light on her very un-Jedi-like foibles, it was all so typical of him to try and get rid of her right off the bat just like when they were kids, that it had her fighting against the urge to retaliate in her normal way. Instead she chewed the inside of her lip, having learned that it helped to keep her mouth shut, and folded her arms over her chest.

And don't worry, I'll be able to handle the two of you just fine. But I'm sure that there is some surprise - it's not often that siblings train under the same Master."

"Not often? How about unheard of..." She mumbled, glaring at the floor and finding it hard to go down without some sort of fight.

Valery Noble:

"There will be times where I intend to have you both together for a training exercise or assignment, but there will be one-on-one training sessions as well. This isn't going to become a problem, I hope?"

"Of course it's not a problem," Briana said, unable to keep the sarcasm completely from her tone, but knowing better than to press her luck too much with a Jedi Master. A slight smirk pulled at the corner of her lips, her eyes filled with fiery challenge. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into...but, hey, you wanna try to make us both into Jedi at the same time? Then Jedi we shall become."

Brandyn Sal-Soren | Valery Noble ​