Private Rehabilitation

[Iris Arani]

It'd been weeks now. Months, even. Going from the small apartment she and Briana Sal-Soren shared to the hospital. Daily dips into the bacta, then training. Not training, physical therapy. Relearning how to use her ruined muscles. Even now she still hated it. It'd gotten easier. The therapy was working. Her hand could hold a brush again. She could paint. Maybe even hold a lightsaber and fight. But, she was still a long way from where she'd been.

That's what she hated. The nagging, constant feeling of inadequacy.

With a sigh Iris plopped down on a lone bench outside the hospital. Her leg was sore from all the walking. At least it didn't cramp anymore. Her purple eyes settled on her thigh. Even through her pants she felt she could see the scars still there. All over, really. Her whole right side looked like it. Discolored scar tissue. It never bothered her to see it, not for herself. But others who did, yeah. They always felt bad. And she could always tell through the colors.

She frowned. People were hard to deal with.

Kat Decoria

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat was working through different hospitals, making sure to offer her skills in Force Healing as much as possible. It was draining work but it was a healthier way to avoid her thoughts and emotions, the drinking was not the best way to process everything and sleeping her way through the galaxy wasn't brilliant either since it would get her into fights more and more often. Sitting on her bed, she stretches her limbs hard and let out a long sigh, she played with her snowy white hair, tying it up into a loose bun. She wasn't going to spend too long on her appearance today but she did need to fiddle with her legs. There were some odd issues with pistons, they seemed to be moving out of sync and causing her issues when walking. She suspected that the reason was when she took a trip on some concrete the other day. It was likely some jarring and awkward displacements but it was frustrating to have to spend her morning fixing the leg.

She spent several hours working on the leg and making adjustments and some quality of life improvements while she was working on her legs. By the time she was finished, she had some oil and greased on her arms and face. She sighed, it felt like old times when she would to be coated in grease and oil from her work in her tiny tech workshop, nowadays she tended to be a lot cleaner and better dressed. Grabbing a flannel, Kat washed her arms and face, cleaning herself and looking in the mirror with a sigh, she wasn't too sure what she was going to do with her day but she was hoping to get some work done.

Leaving her room, she moved around the hospital and looked around at her patients. All of them seemed healthy and appeared to be on the mend, which was fortunate. Kat then paused and looked over, sensing someone through the Force. She approached the girl sat down and crossed her arms, she was scarred badly on her one side which meant she had been through a lot of difficult things. Kat didn't show any pity or sympathy in her eyes when she looked down at the patient, there was more calculating and working things out. "Hm. So, what are you here for today?"

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

The colors shifted, and another approached. Iris blinked. It was.. Rare, to have someone new who didn't immediately show some kind of pity in their shades. Kat Decoria had no such colors though. The Padawan tilted her head, staring up at the other woman but never directly at her. Just observing the colors of the Force to see what her intentions might be. Or at least her mood.

Stressed.

"Physical therapy. Are you okay?"

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat tilted her head as she noticed that the girl wasn't looking at her but around her in some manner, she had known that there were those that could see through the Force and they would often see things that were unexplainable or hard to understand for those that could see using physical eyes. Kat tilted her head, physical therapy was never fun and Kat had done her fair share of physical therapy when she first had to learn how to work and after multiple invasions and wars that Kat had been a part of. It was a painful task that pushed the mind as much as it pushed the body, she sat down next to the girl and let out a tired sigh as she looked over the person.

"Physical therapy huh? Man, that always sucks. I try to limit how much I have to do with physical therapy through some Force Healing, though it isn't always the best way since it can be super draining." Kat looked around, she had a moment to just chat and relax before she should do another round for her patients. "Me? I'm fine, as fine as life as a Force User can be. Technically not a Jedi anymore, but always willing to help out others." Chuckles deeply as she sips her hot brew of caf, needing something to wake her up and kick out the hangover.

"So, what physical therapy have you been up to?" Kat asks curiously.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris squinted, but she didn't push Kat Decoria any more than she had. People didn't like when she pried into their past traumas. Especially if they didn't know who she was. Though the pale haired woman was absolutely right. Physical therapy sucked. But healing could help? A frown settled on the Padawan's lips as she looked down to her thigh. She'd tried several times to heal it, to no avail.

"Healing's never helped me when I try."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Hearing the girl, Kat chuckled deeply, "well like all things in the Force, takes practice and a lot of it. I have spent years honing my healing powers, and understanding the different bodies and anatomy of the many races in the galaxy. I am no where near the Masters in terms of Healing, some of the things they can do is amazing but my skills have gotten a lot better. It's why I am working around here, trying to help out the worst cases in either lowering their suffering or trying to cure them best I can. But Force Healing has limitations."

Drains her cup of caf, leaning back, "If you want to try learning Force Heal, I can offer some tips. Though, if I teach you, gotta promise not to mention me. Not really seeking accolades, just want to help you out with your problem." Kat offered a smile, using the Force to throw the cup into the bin. "First rule of Force Healing is to understand how it works, what you are doing with the Force is more speeding the natural healing process, manipulating the cells. This means that not everything can be healed, or that it would take a long time and a lot of your own energy to heal the wound. So, you need to understand your limitations and how far you are able to push yourself. Once that is know, then you can push things and eventually get to the point that you can do things that you could never do when you started."

"So, if you want to learn, I'll let you skip physical therapy for today and you can spend the day with me."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Oh, no. Science. Iris nodded slowly, but she really didn't understand the science behind.. Literally anything. Hell, her healing was just toying with the colors of pain she saw through the Force. Pulling them out, replacing them with something less painful. It worked. It was exhausting, but it worked. Her gaze shifted down the hall, towards where her physical therapy resided.

Science or not, maybe she could learn something. Kat Decoria seemed to know what she was talking about. And.. Yeah. This sounded way better than another session of PT.

"Okay, yeah. Teach me."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat's mind was more technical and scientific at times, it melded well with her mechanic background, she saw things more practically and based training around that at times. Standing up, she stretched her arms and looked around, "so, can't have you practicing on patients on Force Healing but I need to do some rounds so how about you watch me use it in practice. Perhaps you can get a view of it through the Force better if that is how you see." Kat mentioned casually, she was use to being around others with some form of disability so she tended to mention them in very casual tone.

Gestures the girl to follow her, "I'm Kat Decoria by the way, I am guessing that you might be a Jedi Padawan?" Kat finally introduced herself and asked about the person she was taking on her. "I remember when I was a Jedi Padawan, heading off to war, getting busy and often getting hurt. Most of my scars are from battles I fought as a Jedi." She shrugged slightly as she looked around, searching for her first patient.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Learn through observation? Iris nodded. It wasn't her preferred way to learn, but Kat Decoria was right. Iris couldn't just practice on other people. She followed the other woman, hands folding behind her back. Keep her hands to herself sort of thing. She was going to see other patients, so, yeah. That made sense in her mind. Oh, wait, introductions! Iris frowned and glanced off, her cheeks a tinge of red.

Why did she keep forgetting about introductions?

"I'm Iris. And.. Yeah. I'm a Padawan."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat could see the slight movements in Iris that hinted that she wasn't keen on learning from observation but also accepted the importance that this was the best way to learn. "Don't worry, we can do some practical work on synthetic flesh, there is some training models for new Healers to practice with around here. This just gives you an idea of how it works on real bodies and I can demonstrate some tips that I have learnt. Also, good to have some patient manners since sometimes you can be dealing with difficult or unfriendly patients that you have to treat."

She smiled as Iris greeted herself, "lovely to meet you Iris. I bet being a Padawan is fun, I knew a lot of my friends would get into so much trouble and joke around as Jedi Padawans." Kat chuckled and shrugged as she led the way, arriving at the first patient she had. The guy was unconscious but have some clear cuts and injuries. "So, first note of Force Heal, as fast as I can tell. You are using the Force to heal someone, however, you need to understand that species' anatomy inside and out. Otherwise you risk doing more harm than good. With your own species not as much work is needed since you understand your own body, but if you are healing a Hutt or Wookiee, need to know the differences there." Kat explained as she took a seat at the side.

"Next part to know, is that you are using the Force to speed up the natural healing process. This can be lifesaving, but you have to be careful since it will drain your own energy to do so. So, you could end up sacrificing your life to save another." Kat placed her hands on the man and began using the Force to heal the wounds. "Depending on the connection to the Force, abilities of the user and injury sustained. Healing can be quick, slow or need either multiple Healers or sessions to recover fully from. This one, the cuts aren't as bad as they look and the doctors done some work already to make this easier for me." Kat nodded to gesture Iris to look as some of the wounds were healing already. "Healing is a delicate balance and it can be hard to know your limits when you are using it. So, always good to be vigilant and observe how tired you feel after you spend time healing. It'll take a lot out of you at first but the more you practice, the better you will get."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Anatomy? Iris tilted her head, watching Kat Decoria but also just.. Clearly being confused. She never did go to school as a child. Recently she'd learned a lot. Math, science, history. But she very much was not that learned of a student. But she'd get there, eventually. Of that she was determined. This? Watching and listening to Kat explain it all just made her more curious about what there was to learn.

".. Okay. I'll have to.. Yeah, I'll need to study more, I guess."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat chuckled, she knew it could be a lot to take in and saw the confusion on Iris's face. "Don't worry, if you have questions please ask. Only way you can learn is through understanding and my job is to help you understand this. Think of a human, you need to understand the number of organs they have, where they are located, their bone structure and how the bones are aligned as well as understanding the psychology of a patient. Some people we try to heal will attack us, hate us or even refuse to be treated by us, what we need to do is understand why and see if there is a way to help soothe them so that we can effectively treat them. There is a lot to study and learn, some healers don't put in the effort to that level since it isn't necessary and some Jedi just want the skill to heal themselves and that is about it. All valid views and wishes, I put in more effort because I want to be the best, I want to use my skills to the best that I can." Kat smiled warmly, she was dedicated to being a healer.

"Don't worry though, I am still learning on how to be the best healer. But I can use the power quite effectively already," she nodded to the patient whose wounds appeared to be fully healed now. "So, don't think that you have to spend years before you can use the power. Most important things to know before you use Force Heal, is the limitations of your body when using the Force and how the person's body works when you are trying to heal them. Since a Trandoshan's skin will heal differently to a human's and a Hutts have different organs to a human, so we need to be aware of who we are healing and what we are healing. Otherwise we do more harm than good. Any questions, feel free to ask away and I will try to answer best I can." Kat smiled warmly.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Oh there was a lot more science to this than she figured. Thinking through what species she did know that lived in the Galaxy, she couldn't even imagine half. Let alone how their bodies worked. But to heal people properly, she needed to learn. A new type of determination filled her eyes as the gears in her mind turned. Focused for once not on the colors, but where she could get the books she'd need. Where she could study, a school.

Though one thing did stand out.

"If someone doesn't want to be treated, why not just use the Force to calm them so they can be?" It was something she was actually decent at. Calming the colors in another who might be panicking or raging.

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat could see the cogs and ideas whirling around in Iris's mind, it made her chuckle since she had been similar when she had been younger. It was weird when Kat realised her age and how long ago it had been for her to be working on the path that she wanted to take. While she was in her own thoughts, it seemed that Iris had a question for Kat to answer. She smiled warmly and nodded her head, it was a good question and relevant to the topic that they were discussing so it showed Kat that Iris was paying attention and following along which was great to see since it could be all too easy for someone to switch off and not care.

"The problem is that calming someone's emotions isn't always possible or the reason they might be refusing care. Say you are in a battle, you can't spend the time calming someone's emotions when everything is going to chit, you need to do some basic non-Force based techniques to ensure they won't die, if possible or locate them after the battle is over. How do you calm the emotions of an enemy? They will never trust you or want you to heal them no matter how calm they are, they might just be more respect in telling you no. For some Sith, using the Lightside of the Force to heal an injury would kill them more than leaving the injury alone as well. There are many reasons why we can't calm emotions and solve all the issues unfortunately, but in some cases, its necessary and effective. If someone is panicking, scared of losing a limb or dying, calming their fears and asking them to let you heal is completely fine and could save their life where others might fail. Just means you need to assess the situation and understand if it is practical or not to heal." Kat explained, she guided Iris to the next patient and demonstrated again how the healing process worked.

Looking at Iris, "if you want to learn how to do this. There are hospitals and medical camps that teach young students the necessary skills, Jedi Healers aren't as common as the warriors and consulars but there are a number and with the wars happening more and more often, we are becoming more and more needed in helping the soldiers on the front lines. Not always easy for me, my prosthetics don't cope with EMPs well and if one went off then I would be deadweight." Kat sighed, it was one reason to avoid combat but it wasn't the real reason that she did.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Learning different ways to heal so if one is taken away, the other can still be used." Iris nodded her agreement. But to think that not being able to help calm emotions all the time wasn't something the Padawan was all that sure of. She was good at it, that much she figured out early on. Would people try to resist her if she was trying to help them? Were people that paranoid in their panic?

Probably.

"I want to learn. Everything I can. So I can help more people."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat nodded her head, she always felt it was important to adopt as many healing skills as possible since she could adapt and maintain the best healing skills that she could given any situation. Even if it meant using healing ways that weren't the Force for people who were scared or wary of Force Users. "So, I can help best I can with training. I have gained a wealth of knowledge and practical skills from years being dedicated to healing and working in hospitals and trauma camps. If you wish to understand anything or ask for some tips and training, feel free." Kat offered a warm smile as she finished the healing with the patient.

"Right. So, lets go find somewhere quiet and you can practice your skills. I think there are some synthetic skin that we can use to practice with. Not ideal since it isn't on a person but don't think you want me cutting my own flesh to practice on that." Kat chuckled as she gestured Iris to follow her. Leading her into a small training room, there were training sims and practice dolls for various skills and honing abilities. "So, here we can train safely and you can practice without fear of harming anyone. Also, gives you a chance to see what training environment looks like if you want to pursue an education in the field." Kat smiled as she pulled out a dummy for practising Force Heal with.

Grabbing a scalpel, she cut deeply into the fake flesh a long line. "Now, this isn't ideal object to practice with since there won't be this calm and friendly atmosphere all the time but, for gaining the basics and working out how it feels to use Force Heal. After you have that, then you can push yourself in terms of environments and working on healing people." Kat then gestured for Iris to give it a go.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris nodded once. She watched the dummy, more curious on how it worked where the Force could actually affect it. Weren't objects.. Different with that? She couldn't see any of the usual colors from it. Wait, she couldn't see any of the colors she needed when she healed people. She blinked before setting her hands on the wound. Okay, so there were no colors she could pull on to knit the wound back together. But she knew how to do the knitting together right, right?

Minutes passed by as the Padawan tried to figure out the sensation she'd felt before. Only nothing happened. Disappointedly she looked to Kat Decoria , looking like a puppy that had gotten caught going through the trash.

"I.. I don't think I can do this on dummies.."

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat watched Iris as she approached the dummy and there seemed to be different way that the Padawan approached the Force to how she would or how she knew others connected to it. But there also seemed to be a struggle because she connected with the Force so different. Kat took a deep breath, standing the opposite side to Iris and place her hand on top of Iris's and looked her in the eye. "So, this dummy, it might be hard to see the way to heal it. Especially because it isn't natural and therefore lacks a real connection to the Force. However, the Force can be used on inorganic things, the Force is everywhere. I can use Mechu Deru on my legs, manipulate them to work and make improvements." Kat tapped her metal leg, highlighting that the dummy not being real shouldn't stop Iris using the Force.

"I don't know how you connect to the Force or how you use it, but what I can tell you is that it is possible to Force Heal this dummy. You just have to open your mind to that possibility. Close your eyes, don't see this as a dummy, don't try forcing yourself to do it. Listen and feel the Force, I am guessing but seems like the Force for you is something you see. Which is amazing, but the Force is everywhere, it flows through everything. There is the Force in this dummy." To demonstrate it was possible, Kat placed her hand on the cut and used the Force the same way she healed the patients, joining the flesh back together and not even leaving a scar.

Slicing a cut again with the scalpel, Kat looked at Iris, "you can do this. I know you can, it just might be harder to see the Force in this dummy. But its there and you can grab it. Just got to have some faith." Kat smiled warmly, trying to reassure Iris she could do this.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Colors." It was a half answer. About how Iris could see the Force. She hummed, watching as Kat Decoria repaired the cut. Really watched. The colors, how the Force moved under the woman's guidance. There were colors there, colors she didn't really understand. No emotion, no life. Just.. There. The Padawan frowned. All the other colors, of the people in the hospital, the sharp reds of pain and excitement, cool blues of sadness and relaxation, they covered whatever colors Kat had just brought to the canvas.

Didn't that just mean there was a whole different layer, then?

Iris blinked. Then nodded. She set her hand over the cut again, closed her eyes. Left herself to the world of colors, pulling back each shade layer by layer. The dummy had no life, no emotion, but it existed somewhere in the Force. She just had to find it.

 

[Kat Decoria]

Colours. Huh. Kat was curious if that meant Iris only saw colours or only saw the Force as colours flowing through them, or around them like auras. There was a lot of questions forming in Kat's mind but she knew better than to just blurt out and start asking them, she had learnt from her own experiences that there was nothing more frustrating than having to answer a thousand and one questions about yourself and how you live life when you see the world differently. While Kat didn't physically see it differently to others like Iris, her mindset from a baby had been different since she was coping with life as someone disabled.

It was good to see Iris pay attention as she performed the Force Heal on the flesh and even better when Kat could swear that something twigged or was observed by Iris that changed everything about how she had seen things. It was good, life would always throw something at you which made you see it in a totally new direction and Kat was victim to that all the time. She smiled as Iris stepped up and placed her hands on the flesh. "You got this. Might be harder for you to work with synthetic life due to how you see the Force than it will with organic beings. Everyone has their blindspots and difficulties when it comes to the Force but all it takes is understanding, accepting and trying to overcome them." Kat watched hopeful that the lesson was going well and that Iris was gaining something from all this.

"Let me know when you are done and I will see how well you did it." Kat mentioned, she wasn't looking to grade or mark Iris on the work, just offer any tips or advice on healing since there can be a few errors when doing it the first time.

Iris Arani