Private Of Form & Fracture

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Valaine Valentine //:
//: Eshan //:
//: Attire //:

For the past few weeks, Eshan had needed Quinn. This meant her current apprentice was introduced to the other side of the galaxy. Though, since she was apprenticed under another, this side shouldn't have been too foreign to her. Quinn mused quietly as the girl would have been back and forth on Jutrand, then Malachor V, and wherever else she found her way to.

Only to end up on a planet such as Eshan, where the mountains snowed, and the forests were green. It was a beautiful planet, and she was happy to share it.

Closing the device on her desk, she sighed and sank into the chair. Her day was already overly packed, but the appointment she was looking forward to was here. She needed to make it to the ground of the small cottage she had deemed belonging to Valaine while she was on Eshan.

As much as she was used to having her students close, she figured the Sangnir wanted some privacy, something that many masters overlooked with their students.

Quietly, Quinn wandered down towards the clearing in the forest and waited. She was curious about the girl's habits. Was she clean? An early riser? Messy? Foolish? Having Eira as an apprentice before she left Quinn prepared her for anything. The unruly farm girl was quite difficult to rein in, but there was progress.

And progress was always good.

"Valaine?" Quinn looked around, trying to get a feel of where the girl was. Already she sensed the quiet noise of her presence, and, with her explanation of training, she figured it wasn't something she would try to hide.

So today's lesson would be an attempt to help the girl feel the force a bit better. If meditation didn't work, the Echani had her ways.

"Valaine? Where are you? Did you sleep in?"

Quinn stood at the cottage's doorway as she waited. Maybe she was too early?

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Quinn Varanin

At one point in her life Jutrand was all Valaine knew, but ever since she was first sent off to Korriban it seemed that the whole Galaxy had opened up to her. Now she found herself in every part of it, hopping between planets for one reason or another, and now she landed herself upon Eshan, an apprentice to it's Queen. She'd certainly come a long way from a girl without a home...

It seemed that with Quinn as her Master she had every need fulfilled; she finally lived a life where she wanted for very little and all she had to do in return was be a worthwhile investment in both training and time for her Master. When she weighed the pros and cons of her life she'd made out like a bandit. But, perhaps because of her upbringing, none of it was ever taken for granted. No matter how comfortable she slept or how well fed she was, she knew better than any that it could be taken away in an instant if fate so desired.

She had been given a place of residence upon Eshan that she could truly call her own, and what a lovely cottage it was, one that she kept neat and orderly. It wasn't at all what the Sangnir was used to, that being all the greenery and the surrounding forest as well as the quiet, but she certainly didn't mind it. At times it was almost too quiet though, times when she felt she could hear herself breathing a little too loudly for her liking, but those moments soon passed.

Valaine had become rather punctual whenever her Master had set schedules for training or socializing, mostly due to a keen desire to return some of the generosity given to her, and today would be no different.

It had only been minutes since she had cleaned up, her long black hair still damp as she loosely tied the back of it into a ponytail before opening the door. "Hm? Sorry, I was halfway through putting some clothes on." she commented in response to having heard the second call for her name. Her stormy grey eyes regarded Quinn with a level of respect befitting not just her Master, but the Queen of the planet she stood upon. It might've not always shown in her choice of words but she did respect Quinn's authority and status.

"I'm surprised you can still take the time to stop by though, I thought you'd be way too busy, what becoming Queen and all that." she paused for a moment before looking towards Quinn with a slight level of harmless scrutiny before adding with no lack of veiled mirth, "- Your highness~."

​

​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Quinn smiled at the comment. She nodded, agreeing with Valaine's title mention. "Cute." She sighed softly, her smile only widening. It was nice to see that the girl was flourishing a bit more with the care and support she was getting. Quinn hoped some of the freedoms she had also allowed her to feel a bit more independent. Despite Quinn thinking she knew the girl's former Master, she was learning how wrong she was.

"Well, I seem to have been early, my apologies." Quinn mused as she looked around. She did pick a nice location for the small cottage. The clearing was perfect for the chaos the pair would create during training, particularly with the skills she wanted to impart on the apprentice.

"I'll always make time for you," Quinn looked back at the tallish pale girl. "Your lessons are important… also a welcome distraction to the royal bullshit I tend to have to deal with."

She shrugged; there was no reason to be formal with the apprentice. In a sense, Valaine was someone close to Quinn, far closer to those who wanted to be. It helped that the Sangnir didn't put her on a pedestal; Quinn felt like she could just be herself.

"I thank you for being fully clothed." Something was lingering in her words, as she remembered a time when her orders were confused by another student. She wouldn't get into the story, but it was obvious there was a reason the Echani had said it.

"We're going to be using the yard for most of today's lesson. I hope you got a lot of rest."

Quinn began to head towards the middle of the clearing, her arms carefully folded behind her as she admired the space once more. There was enough room, and things for the most part were calm. It was nice to be away from the bustling central city; a part of her was jealous of the Sangnir.

"Just from standing near you, I'm sure you're not suppressing your force presence," She examined again and waited for confirmation.

"You're not as strong as others, which means we get to be a little unconventional. So," Quinn clapped her hands in front of her as she took a few steps back.

"There's a way to absorb the Force from something else or from a general source of energy." She paused, letting the information settle.

"Through the Force, you can turn that into energy to feed our output. If that makes sense. Typically, you can do it through something called 'Force Drain', but that has a severe drawback…"

Frowning, the Echani pondered how to explain it —the hunger, the emptiness—something she had once heard another Sangnir mention—but having that hunger and then one for the Force sounded like torture.

"The drawback is an endless hunger for the Force. To the point that it could consume your every thought. So let's avoid that for now." Quinn wouldn't reveal the reason she knew this hunger so intimately, or the power itself. She had inherited the imprinted hunger from one of her parents, to be so young and to never feel satisfied. She wondered…

"Instead, we'll use a defensive power. Tutaminis. So, we touched a little on what you've learned, is projecting your will, or better the will of the Force outward to protect yourself, something you've been taught?"

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Quinn Varanin

"Mm? Oh, it's not problem." spoke Valaine as Quinn apologized for being early. If anything it was preferable to being late so the Sangnir truly didn't mind. Though the Queen's words regarding her royal obligations had the pale woman raise a brow curiously. "Hmm?" she began with a soft smirk, she could already feel her sharp remarks bubbling to the surface and she so very much wanted to tease her Master about the burdens of sleeping in silk sheets and success, but... she reined in such desires with a light huff and a shrug. "Must keep you super busy..." she commented.

As she followed her Master out from the house, closing the door behind her, she couldn't help but once more ponder upon her words. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be clothed...? I mean I imagine you get some really weird suitors sure but..." she spoke as she followed along. Her steps, as ever, seemed lazy and heavy as if she was already tired of walking. It was just the way she moved when she was relaxed; spending as seemingly little energy as possible in every interaction and movement that she made.

For a moment she took some peace in the brief walk, the sound of the trees around the clearing, nature hidden just beyond sight, and the gentle breeze of the wind. All things that had once been alien to her. When questioned about her presence within the force the Queen's assumption was correct; Valaine didn't disguise it at all, it was just so very naturally weak. "You can do that...?" she asked, which would've answered the question too.

When the two came to a halt Valaine listened intently to Quinn's words, nodding gently along to them as she took in the information. Force Drain... She was certain she had heard others talk about it before, but that drawback...? Indeed, she already suffered from one hunger, adding a second to that was just asking to be tormented. She frowned at the thought, a distaste for such methods made clear. "Yeah... That doesn't sound great, not for me at least." she nodded in agreement.

As the subject of the day was settled upon the Sangnir tilted her head with a light furrow of her brow, "Tutu-what?" she asked. "And uh... Uhm... I'm not sure that I've learnt that? I had some training in precognition if that's the same thing...?" she continued. Her ability in the Force wasn't simply just lacking in potency, but also in knowledge of the various techniques. Quinn certainly had her work cut out for her with this apprentice.

​

​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Perhaps Quinn should have enrolled Valaine in one of the academies. She remained silent, pondering the Apprentice's question while also thinking about how adorable she'd look in one of the uniforms.

"No, they're not the same." Quinn shook her head. They were going to need to start from the beginning, it seemed. A part of her sighed, realizing not even her aunt had done the girl justice. Shrugging off her thoughts, she continued to smile. It had been some time since she had to train someone at this level.

"Precognition, should and will come naturally for you. It's the basic survival instinct for force sensitives," she mused as she continued the small lecture.

"It's that gut instinct, the one that tells you danger is around or maybe more directly almost makes your body move for you. It's a good skill to train, hone it so it's even more second nature." It was a good starting point for Valaine. Still, she needed to push her a bit more to reach the levels where she could convert the natural energy used upon her into something more practical.

"What I'm talking about is energy conversion. When the Force is used, its energy is in motion, kinetic or something else. Can be elemental like fire or water, or magical." Knowing the innate weakness to fire for Valaine's kind, being able to defend against it was paramount. Another reason she wanted the girl to know how to deal with it.

"By using a defensive skill, like Tutaminis, you can absorb that energy and convert it to your own. Since you're weak in the Force, this would boost your own power reserves. You could also get to the point that you could store such power for when you want to use it within the combat frame."

Quinn paused and walked until she stood near Valaine. She offered her hand, expecting the girl to follow suit.

"But before that, you need to learn basic skills to defend yourself. So I'm going to help you. Once you place your hand in mind, I'll feed you energy, you'll focus on the flow of that energy, and direct it to your core."

Quinn gestured with her free hand, the way the energy would flow from her to Valaine, then to her core.

"Hold it there, and if you feel up to it, imagine pushing it outward into a hardened shell — don't worry about size… just focus on maintaining its shape and structure. Easier than it sounds, so keep trying till we get it right. I have a nice big well for you to feed from."

She would wait till the Apprentice finally eventually settled a hand into her own. Then, slowly but surely, the feedback of energy would begin to flow from Master to Apprentice.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Quinn Varanin

"Just... gut instinct? I feel like I already have a lot of that even before I was thrown into an academy..." she muttered softly. Though of course what Valaine had felt was more streetwise caution than anything else. When to avoid certain groups of people, what made an easy mark, and what made a dangerous one... Naturally it had failed her at some point and led her now to where she was.

Her stormy grey eyes tracked her Master as she explained Precognition to her, "I did get a little better at it but... Honestly I've still just mostly been relying on reaction and my speed to avoid stuff. Sure would be nice to have eyes on the back of my head though." she smirked lightly at the thought of being able to dodge attacks before they even happen.

The mention of fire had her frown ever so slightly. She remembered what happened the last time someone tried to teach her about fire... The memory made her wince briefly before she returned her gaze to Quinn as she taught her of Tutaminis next. "I uh... Really don't like the thought of getting that close to fire, even if I could absorb it. It kicks a sorta fight or flight response in me, and I'm not ashamed to say it's usually the latter." she replied as she folded her arms across her chest.

Her eyes dipped briefly towards the extended hand of the Queen; the offer of power, albeit temporary, in front of her. Obtaining more power was something she used to care about, but now? There was a pause before she reached forward to accept the hand and to allow the energy to flow through the connection formed between them.

She felt the Force well up within her and it was a strange sensation. What was mostly always just a whisper or an echo of power within her was now louder, more noticeable, tangible to her own senses. Previously it felt like she had been grasping at smoke whenever she tried to will the Force to do anything for her, but now she was able to pass her hand through it like water, something far more in her grasp.

Naturally such a surge of extra strength was like giving a child a blaster, she had no true idea on how to properly use it. She did as Quinn suggested, focusing on trying to project that 'shell' she had described as she closed her eyes and furrowed her brows. What materialized was less of a hardened shell and more... a cocoon of paper that shimmered and faltered, unfocused and brittle. She struggled with forming that energy into a firm and solid shape and the issue might be that she was simply thinking about how to do it far too much, trying to concentrate on every aspect of it and overthinking the entire process. It made for a tumultuous and failing barrier.

​

​