Private Knowledge Passed Down

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Valery Noble

"Me? I don't have a gentle bone in my body."

Reina joked slightly, even if she did somewhat believe that she wasn't actually that gentle. It was hard for her to think that. Reina believed herself to be a hammer and that everything in the Galaxy was a nail. There was just...a few exceptions like Yvaine was. Yvaine and a few people who were close to Reina weren't nails for her to beat in. No, they were things REina had to protect.

And then the next comment caught Reina off guard. That she was a beautiful young woman. It was something she didn't believe. She could never believe it...yet she believed that Valery meant it. Reina knew Valery wasn't the kind of person to lie about that kind of thing and so it just threw Reina's mind for a loop. What was she meant to believe? No. She couldn't focus on that. It was just going to distract her from the training as Reina took in a deep breath to try and clear her mind, folding her own arms along her front as she looked at Valery.

"I am ready whenever you are Grandmaster."

She didn't exactly do bowing. At least not willingly. It wasn't how she showed respect. She did it by listening so instead she just focused on Valery, preparing to get ready to put as much effort as she could...Especially with Yvaine watching. Had to be a good role model for the little ones.​

 

[Valery Noble]

Valery's eyes flicked to Yvaine, who was now on her back in the playseat, kicking at the air and babbling happily to herself. One little hand kept reaching up as if still hoping Reina might come closer again. "She would definitely disagree with that," Valery said with a faint smirk. "If anyone knows how to spot a gentle soul, it's a baby."

She let the moment hang for just a breath before stepping over to one of the mats laid out at the center of the room. Without ceremony, she sat down and gestured to the space across from her.

"Come sit. We're not jumping into combat drills just yet."

Valery settled into a comfortable cross-legged position and waited until Reina joined her.

"I want to start with protecting perhaps your most important asset: your mind. It's not just for defense against Sith like Serina, either. There are times when even well-meaning people can sense things you're not ready to share. Or you may encounter artifacts with great mental powers."

She paused and offered a smile.

"Have you been taught anything about that before? Any basics?"

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Valery Noble

Reina didn't respond much to the idea of actually being a gentle soul. It was hard for her to wrap her head around in the first place. After all, she had always visualised herself as someone who charged through. A human bulldozer. What kind of bulldozer was..."gentle"? Yet she shook her head, turning her attention towards Valery as Reina sat herself down at the mat, crossing her legs beneath her.

"I...haven't been taught anything about defending my mind. I think...I've always plainly shown what I've been thinking. Whether I like it or not, I'm an open book to everyone except myself. People are able to figure out things about me...that I don't even know myself."

That was what Reina had ended up hating the most about her...lack of emotional control. The people who thought they knew her better than she knew herself. Because more often than not, they were right. It infuriated Reina but she was trying to do her best to keep that under control right now.​

 

[Valery Noble]

Valery offered a nod as she listened, her expression calm. She recognized the frustration in Reina's voice, but she didn't call it out directly. It was enough that Reina had admitted it at all.

"Then it's time to learn," Valery said gently, her posture straight and hands resting loosely on her knees. "The ability is often called a Thought Shield. It falls under what we call Control techniques. That means the strength doesn't come from outside. You don't draw the Force in like you would to move something or sense someone. You focus on what's already flowing through you."

She gave Reina a steady look and the faintest smile of encouragement.

"So that's where we're going to begin. I want you to sit with your back straight, your hands resting wherever they feel natural. Close your eyes if it helps. Take a breath in through your nose, slow and steady, and let it out just as slowly."

Valery waited a moment, giving Reina time to settle.

"Then I want you to focus inward. The Force flows through every living thing, so it flows through you, too. It moves along pathways that you can sense. Find them and feel where it's strong, and where it's faint. You're not trying to control it yet. Just follow it."

She paused there, watching with patience. Her voice stayed calm and steady.

"Let everything else fall away. Thoughts, doubts, distractions. They can come back later. Right now, it's just you and the Force."

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Valery Noble

Sitting in a meditation position was always difficult for Reina, as she tried to rest her hands against her legs. She had to ignore the specific void of Force she could feel in her prosthesis, and instead focused on what she could feel flowing through herself. It was similar to what Drystan had taught her, when she kept a constant level of Force Enhancement flowing through her body. Though this time, she was going to be using that skill for something else. It wasn't to strengthen herself, but it was to protect herself.

The redhead closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in through her nose and then slowly letting it out. Letting her breath flow like the wind as she had to do her best to just let her mind stop thinking. It wasn't like she had any complex thoughts in her mind. It was always something simple. Raw. Sometimes those thoughts were the hardest to stop however. Judgement. Vengeance. All of those were things that were hard to stop feeling and thinking about...but she was doing her best.

All that mattered was the Force flowing through her. Coursing through her limbs, through her veins and pulsing through her as Reina kept her eyes closed. A small ocean forming in her mind. It was a stormy ocean, but it was a storm that she was in control of. It was peaceful. Relaxing. Even though there was plenty of other reasons for it to be terrifying.​