Private The Hermit

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

Deep breaths.

Valery didn't like how Marigold seemed to bounce between opening up and accepting what they were trying to say, and being distant and rude again. But she supposed that was just part of the package after she had been through hell with slavers and her hunt for them.

"Training does require repetition, but also rest. We are not going to force you to practice when it's so demanding." She dipped her head, then turned her gaze to Kahlil and chuckled when he very casually brought up that she would become his Padawan.

Valery was curious to hear Marigold's response to that.

 

[Marigold]

Marigold's train of thoughts was a mess, surely switching between one flow to another. But, that didn't seem unnatural to her. "Padawan? What's... That? Am I going to be... Like, your student? Well, I suppose I can still learn new tricks, eh?" She chuckles. "Will she be teaching me as well?" Her gaze turned to Valery, unsure. One didn't need any connection to the Force to tell that their relations were strained at best.

Of course, she did try and care for Valery in heat of the moment, and, at times. She seemed to enjoy her company when the facade of sass was cracking. But comparing her demeanor between Kahlil and Valery, it was much more reserved and less aggressive towards her master. "It's not that, the training is not demanding!" She huffed to Valery, with defensive tone. "I'm not whining, alright? I'm sure I'll get it next time." At the very least, she didn't give up right away, progress. "If she's is going to teach me along with you, then I can at least hope we're not going to claw each other's eyes out by the end of the first few lessons." Marigold spoke with a wide grin and a teasing tone.

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Master Valery will be helping, yes, but you'll be my Padawan directly." It was the easiest way to go forward. Kahlil would be able to keep an eye on her that way, and she could have someone who at least had some understanding of where she came from in her corner. "We're going to continue with this, though. Until you can connect to the Force in a way that's calm and peaceful, we won't be doing any fight training or the like. You must come from a place of balance, otherwise you're never going to find it on a battlefield."

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"Will she be teaching me as well?"

Valery narrowed her eyes and parted her lips to speak, but shut up as soon as Kahlil answered the question for her. He remained fairly calm and answered it for what it was, but Valery detected something in Marigold's tone she didn't quite like. Perhaps she didn't want Valery to help with her training? But ff course she was going to be involved — she was her Master's wife. They were always going to be helping each other with Padawans.

"We'll be fine, I'm sure," Valery then finally said, choosing to ignore the teasing tone Marigold had. "My husband will likely be spending more time with you early on, just to help you with control. But there are things I can teach you as well, and I will." She looked at Kahlil now, and offered him a smile.

Yeah, she'd have his back.

"That said, it's in both of our interests to get along, or at least be respectful to each other. I know we've been off to a rough start, but let's move on from that, and just focus on all of this. What do you say?" With this, she was showing her own willingness to be on better terms, so it was up to Marigold to respond in kind, or show that she couldn't.

Either way, Valery looked forward to her answer.

 

[Marigold]

"Look, rough start is an understatement here." Marigold spoke up. "I can't just... Instantly respect you, you know? It takes time. I-... Don't know how can you just move on so easily from that, if you're going to do that right away." She certainly didn't move on from many things, clinging onto the past desperately, it's clear her words were coming from place of genuine concern, however crude she voiced them, she couldn't comprehend the thought process.

"Well... I dunno', maybe we could just uh-... Hang out sometime?" She suggests, smiling ever so subtly. "And then I'll consider."

Eventually, her gaze moves towards Kahlil, seemingly distraught. "Wait-... Really? No combat training? Come on! That's the only thing I'd be good at! Urgh... This is going to be a slog, isn't it?" She puts a hand to her forehead, which slowly goes through her golden locks, revealing her long hair. Quite moody.

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It will be a slog, but you'll be better for it. Get used to a life of peace for a bit. You deserve a chance to finally breath, Marigold."

Maybe she wouldn't understand it, not yet. He doubted she could. This was only the first day. They had plenty of time to work on everything, but for now she at least needed to know what it meant to be at peace.

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"I can move on from it because I understand what this must be like, and because it's important to me to help." Not just her either. This was important to her husband as well, and she felt terrible for making this harder than it already was by having tension between her and Marigold.

"Good things never come easy, and the better you become at this, the better you'll be at the combative stuff." Peace and control first, then they could help her refine her skills with the Force and let her grow from there. Perhaps she even had the potential to be quite a good Jedi.

Her connection to the Force was certainly strong enough. Just her mindset had to be right as well.

 

[Marigold]

"Life of peace is slow and uninteresting." Marigold concluded, taking a deep sigh. Her gaze softens as she looks at Valery. "Well, if you understand what it feels like, then you understand my answer, for sure, yeah?" Although there was a playful, teasing tone present, her words were genuine. She really didn't know any better.

"Well then, what now? Seems like this training didn't work out." She huffed, a palm put to her cheek. She wasn't tired yet, but discouraged for sure, the trainings were going to be, way, way harder than she thought. Even if most of them boiled down to calming oneself down, obviously, she had problem with those as well.

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

"I believe it might be best if I leave this to you, for now." She looked at her husband, stood up and began walking towards the turbolift. She did stop behind him, reached down to squeeze his shoulder, and looked over at Marigold one last time to offer a dip of her head.

She felt like she was just getting in the way at this point, and wasn't really interested in the sass or disrespect of a troubled child who has been given a chance at redemption, where others would have disappeared behind bars.

"Good luck with your training," she said before she turned back to Kahlil to offer her husband just a faint smile. Valery then stepped away and quietly left the chambers to leave them to it.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil glanced to Valery as she passed by before smiling. He reached out to pat her shoulder, nodding. He had this. Probably. He looked back to Marigold once Valery had left, giving a brief smile. "It's easier to make people angry and frustrated, right?"

Valery Noble | Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"Giving people an attitude is something I'm quite well known for." Marigold comments, lifting her gaze to look at Valery, then back at Kahlil, she didn't want to push the master to the point of leaving-... Something she sensed with her gut feeling, what little of it she had, however. Damage was already done.

A sigh escapes her, she'd wait until Valery left the chamber, continuing. "I don't know, it's hard to speak with either of you." She brought a hand to her chin. "Both of ya' keep telling me that you understand me, or understand how it feels. But despite that, you tell me completely different things, how can you understand me, but I can't understand you?" She waved her other hand around, opening up a little. "Feels like we speak different languages at the times." The girl shook her head, looking down, and canting her head to the side as she makes an inquiry.

"If I was a normal person, y'know, without all this... Force, stuff, wouldn't you just send me to prison or wherever you wanted? Why make an effort? With how chit my connection seems, it doesn't look like I'll be hurting anyone in there." Marigold huffed. "It's easier to send terrorists behind the bars, instead of making an effort to shape them back into normal people, right?"

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm not sure you can understand me now, but you can probably understand me when I was near your age."

Kahlil shrugged his shoulders a little. This was difficult. They had just met, just decided to change her whole fate. The whiplash alone was one thing, but the uncomfortable feeling she probably had was another. He sat back down on the ground, motioned for her to do the same. "You'd be facing the same as what we're doing here. They would be teaching you how to exist in society. Perhaps using your skills and putting you in the military. What you've done is inexcusable by law, but at the same time, your age, your background, they would all be taken into account. You wouldn't be left to rot, but rather heal."

That, at least, would be what Kahlil would have ensured even if they weren't able to take her as they did.

"There are evil people out there. People who know they can do better and choose not to. They're the only people who are unredeemable. Asides, I doubt you killed as many people as I have when I was close to your age. It'd be hypocritical for me not to help you."

Marigold

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Tag: Kahlil Noble Marigold

After leaving the Council Chambers, Valery didn't really feel like staying at the Temple any longer. She took a straight path for the Hangar, ignoring other Jedi along the way, and took her X-wing out to fly home. What happened, as silly as it perhaps was, made her want to distance herself from Marigold's training. She knew she couldn't do that, and she was definitely going to keep an eye out on her, but... how could she help her if that's how she acted towards her teachers?

There was also the fear that she'd-

No, the smile and pat on the shoulder assured her that Kahlil wasn't disappointed with her decision, and she could feel it through their bond as well. Maybe he even agreed, but either way, Valery felt it was for the best.

After arriving home, Valery took a straight path towards the bedroom and plopped down onto her back with the door still open. Vera and Aris were somewhere in the house, she could tell, and likely confused that Mom came home without saying hi. But they weren't the only ones confused.

A whole bunch of little feet tapped their way over, drawing Valery's gaze to the side of the bed to see all three of the triplets standing there, looking at her.

"Mommy?" Aurra asked with an innocent smile that made Valery forget about the entire day instantly.

"Come on up, mommy could use some hugs," Valery said, as she leaned down to lift the three of them into her arms.

 

[Marigold]

Marigold shook her head, although, sitting down as he beckoned her to. "Comparing murders isn't the best way to go about it, I suppose, at the end of the day. We still killed people, ay? The difference is, when we stopped, and why we stopped." She argued, taking a deep sigh. "Well, aren't you training me like one would train a soldier? If... If what Valery said is true, about combat abilities growing along with the connection to the force. That means I'd grow to be a menace more than before. Why do that?" She mused, her tone filled with confusion.

"If you want me to heal, then how is the Force going to help me with that? I don't understand anything about it, but if tapping into it the wrong way, the... 'Dark' that you two spoke of, makes people do bad things, then why train me in the ways of tapping into it, in the first place? If the potential remained locked, then the dangers of the Force would remain locked as well, no?" The young girl tilted her head, it seemed strange to her, in a way. Cultivating her powers like that, did make her suspect there was an ulterior motive, after all, she didn't trust them both fully. What if they were using her?

"Well, I killed all the unredeemable, but why do you see it as the wrong way? Sure-... I hurt innocents along the way, but couldn't I just- do better? Kill without hurting the civilians? I've saved a lot of slaves, you know?" Marigold crossed her legs. "Why is it bad, if I saved tons of people, and got rid of tons of bad people?"

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'm not comparing murders. You said yourself you don't understand me. So I'm trying to help you understand." Not that he was the best at talking about himself, given how she reacted. There were a couple misconceptions he could already tell. Thankfully, they were the type he could clear up.

"We'll start from the top. Answer your questions one by one, rather than all at once. The 'Dark', the Dark Side of the Force, is born from negative emotions. Hate, fear, the more you feel of that, the stronger it grows. You will get stronger. The more you hate, the more you fear, the stronger you'll get until you can't keep control at all and you hurt yourself badly. That's the only result of not teaching you. It's happened many, many times before.

It doesn't make you do bad things, though. But it can twist your mind until you truly believe it's the only option. You have to learn control. There is no 'lock'. You're already using it. Even without realizing it."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"So I've been cursed, huh?" She looked at her hands. "With powers that I didn't choose, that would also make me into a monster if I'm not going to be able to control them? Must be a lot of burden." Marigold muses, a sharp exhale escaping her lips. "But our patience isn't limitless, is it? Valery walked out on me after I insulted her enough times, same could happen to you or me, push hard enough and the patience will disappear." She commented. "And control will waver."

"Doesn't that make me, or uh, you, or-... Anyone, with this weird thing, a ticking time bomb? We all explode in the end." The girl waved her hand dismissively. "I used to be a lot calmer, believe it or not, though I'd just go about as a small-time bounty hunter, then I had a big raid on one of the slaver cells, I snapped after nearly getting myself killed, and went on a rampage."

Marigold brings a hand to her chin, taking a deep sigh. "I met a Jedi once, in a bar at Nar Shaddaa. She was really sweet, we talked about private matters, now that I think about it, a lot of things she said-... Not that different from what you two are saying to me." She mused, despite the fact that it wasn't too long ago, it did invoke feelings of nostalgia in her. "I broke a promise, told her I wasn't going to become a monster, then-... Went right off and did exactly what she wouldn't want me to do." Shaky breath followed her words, however, she still held her composure.

"The dark didn't make me do any of these things." She mused, as realization dawned on her, her expression sinking into one of pensiveness and deep thought. "I would have done it anyway. Force or not..."

Kahlil Noble
Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You're assuming a lot. What do you think would've happened if you continued as you did? So full of hate and anger. That would've made you a time bomb. A lack of control won't turn you into a monster. It's embracing all of those negative emotions and only those emotions that will. A Jedi isn't above those feelings either. They just learn how better to control themselves. If you left here now, never picked up a gun or bomb again, you could live a normal life."

He paused. She did seem to at least realize that much. They were her choices. Her actions.

"I can't say you were wrong, exactly. Bombs like you made were, but your mission, where it came from, that's why I want to teach you how to be a Jedi. To show you another way like I was shown. You can ask questions of me, you know. I don't want you to think you're not allowed to know about me or try to understand me."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"We both know that it wouldn't happen." Marigold spoke in regards to picking up a gun or a bomb. "Firstly, I'd sitll have to deal with consequences of the bombing, and secondly, I've painted a big target on my back with the rest of the underworld. That much I can tell." She understood that in her current state, it's likely she wouldn't be able to leave anyhow, too much risk, she posed.

"Well." A sharp exhale, and a thought is given to the offer, she dips her head. "I guess we can take turns asking each other about... Stuff? I don't know... That's how a conversation goes, right?" A genuine question on her behalf, she didn't pause however, as she had a question on her mind already. "What was your childhood like? Before you became a Jedi?"

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"No, it wouldn't."

He knew just as well as she did that there was no free, peaceful life for her now. Not easily, anyway. But at least they were now having a dialogue. Understanding was the first step. And of course it was the hardest question right from the bat.

"I was born as one of many children to the Sith Emperor and lived my childhood trying to prove I was worth being alive. Or, well, after my sister killed the original version of me when I was five. A clone, programed with the memories of the original, and set to be a vessel should my father die and need a new body. I killed a lot of people to try and prove my worth. Innocent or not didn't matter. That's what it meant to be Sith and worthy. Then, when I was sixteen, someone showed me that that didn't have to be my life. That I could be someone more, and live differently. It's really all I'm trying to show you."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"That's one messed up childhood you had."

Marigold comments, mulling over the story that he told, it's clear that behind the hood which hides most of her expression, there was a hint of empathy in her eyes, just why was she so reluctant to admit feeling it?

"I don't remember much of my childhood, in fact most if not all memories of it are-... Really hazy to me, and just trying to remember them hurts my head, but... Most immediate memories were when I was... Five? I woke up in uknown people's house, covered in the cloak I now wear, back then it was oversized for me, so I was wrapped in it like a blanket. These people I've eventually started to call mom, and dad. I knew they weren't my real parents, but at that point, it didn't matter to me, y'know? They fed me whenever they could, and took care of me, but it'd be a lie if I didn't say that-... It was fething slums down there." She takes a shaky breath.

"They didn't really... Earn a lot, so there wasn't always food on the table, but I was quiet about it, I didn't want to upset them-... I was really quiet in general when I was a kid, a lot more than I am now. I just-.. Didn't want to make people angry or feel bad, y'know? Cared about that sort of thing." It's clear that the young girl was getting more, and more upset as she talked, but she held her composure well, even if, shaking slightly. "One day though, I overheard my parents speaking with armed men, members of some kind of criminal group, they couldn't pay their protection fees, and so..." She bits her lip, her eyes closed.

"They commanded my parents to 'grab the first valuable thing you see, and bring it out'. So they did, entered the house and the first thing they saw?" She looks up, in disbelief. "A little, scrawny girl, playing with toys, a little girl, who ate their food, a little girl, with whom they could barely get by."

Marigold scoffed, it really looked like she was on the verge of tears, but sadness? Turned into hate. "And then the time I spent with those degenerates, listening to their every whim and command-... Until I couldn't handle it anymore and..." Her hand clutched into a fist. "That night was a bloodbath, and I enjoyed every bit of it, you know? If I could do it all again? I would in a heartbeat. I'd kill them over and over-... Over and over, and over and over, and over and over and over-....."

She snaps out of it, taking a deep breath, and exhaling through her nose. "Then I've come to a realization, that I love killing people, especially people like them, so that's what I did until... Well, my capture." She lifts her hands up. "It's okay, though. I guess I'm fine, at least.. I feel fine? I don't know, mostly I didn't think much about what I was doing. I never really questioned what I was doing, never thought I had a reason to, I saw bad people, and I killed em'... Simple as that."

She lifts an open palm and places her chin on it, thinking out loud. "Child of Sith Emperor, huh? I... Can't imagine that, though, must've been really rough. How was it like when you were offered the chance? Was it easy for you to leave it all behind. The past?"

Kahlil Noble