Private To Keep a Promise

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

Katherine wasn’t above admitting when she had completely forgotten something.

Atop the rooftops of Dee’ja Peak; in the wake of the Festival of Stars, she had made a promise to Lorn to reconnect if the rejuvenation ritual proved to be successful. And in typical Katherine fashion, the moment she was able to return to duty, she practically dived into the deep end of her responsibilities.

It had only been during some downtime, where she was watching the HoloNet News, a piece on Naboo, being what finally reminded the Valkyrie of her promise.

She wanted to facepalm at the realization.

Fortunately however, the redhead had time off to make up for her forgetfulness. No battlefield she needed to go to, no wayward Padawans that needed some guidance. With nothing currently on her plate, nothing stopped Katherine hopping onto her ship and setting off to Naboo.

Now, she could’ve just flown and landed at Shiraya’s Sanctuary itself, but where was the fun in that? She wanted to arrive in style. And it just so happened to be a convenient excuse to do something Katherine had wanted to do, back when she had first been there.

To fly through the array of mountains that kept the structure tucked away and hidden. She remembered sitting in the shuttle, unable to do anything but look out and watch as they flew amongst the mountainous terrain. But now she was able to finally spread her wings.

As the redhead drew closer, the Sanctuary finally falling into sight, there was no doubt the numerous security posts were being alerted to her presence. She was hoping that her assumption Lorn would be here, would be accurate. Otherwise…well this was going to end up being a tad awkward.

But if Lorn was indeed present, he was no doubt about to be informed a winged individual was approaching the Sanctuary’s nearest landing platform.

 

[Lorn Reingard]

​

The room was filled with the low hum of concentration, tiny wooden training sabers clacking together in awkward but determined motions. Lorn stood at the edge of the sparring circle, hands tucked behind his back, the corners of his mouth twitching in something that could almost pass for amusement.

"Feet apart. Balance is everything. Even the Force won't stop you from falling on your face," he said calmly, watching as one of the younger initiates lunged too hard and tumbled with a surprised yelp. Lorn raised a hand, and the boy floated upright again, his embarrassment now second only to his confusion at how effortlessly he'd been lifted.

Lorn said nothing more, he just gave a small nod, the Jedi equivalent of a warm pat on the back.

Then, something shifted. A flicker in the window, a strange glint. Wings?

Lorn's gaze flicked to the sky. At first, it was just a shape slicing through the mountain air, fast and fluid. Then the alert chimed on his holotablet. Security had already picked up on the inbound flyer.

Another Jedi might have frowned. Lorn... didn't. He closed his eyes instead.

There it was, that familiar hum in the Force. Vibrant. Daring.

He chuckled under his breath, drawing the attention of a few younglings who looked up like startled meerkats. "Class dismissed," he said, grabbing his robe from the peg and swinging it over his shoulders.

By the time he reached the landing pad, she was already there. Making a gran entrance. Katherine.

Lorn stepped forward, boots crunching against the stone. And there she was, wings unfurled, red hair tossed by the wind, looking like some mythological creature who had wandered off the pages of a Holocron.

Lorn blinked, and then gave a slow, incredulous grin.

"Well," he said, voice wry and warm, "when you said you were going through with the ritual, I imagined something a little less... phoenix rising from the ashes."

He gave a quiet chuckle, stepping closer, eyes searching hers.

"You look... good, Katherine. Better than good. How've you been?"

There was genuine care in his tone, but it was lined with the cautious softness of someone who knew what it meant to hope and be burned. Still, there was a light in his eyes now, one that hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

The redhead was all smiles.

Katherine shrugged sheepishly as she approached, letting out a small laugh. “Tell me about it, I thought the ritual would only ‘repair’ my existing body. Not result in well…all this.”

It was quite the extreme contrast to how she looked when Lorn had last seen her.

Gone was the thin, malnourished body. In its place was something far more athletic and healthy. Wings returned in their white-feathery glory. And the ugly lightning scars that had once marred Katherine’s skin, had been transformed into an intricate pattern of markings that seemed to paint a tapestry across her body.

She was also taller, so much so that the redhead now stood a good foot taller than Lorn.

Katherine shook her head at the realization. “And yeah, I'm still not quite used to being suddenly so tall.” Another laugh escaped her lips. “I’ve been doing fantastic, it took me some time to get used to this new body, to be able to fly again.”

“How about you? What have you been up to since we last talked?”

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Lorn walked alongside her, and for a moment he was acutely aware of the ridiculousness of his own height. Or rather, lack thereof. He stole a glance up at her and then gave a bemused huff through his nose.

"Okay, so the ritual didn't just fix you, it upgraded you," he muttered. "Not that you needed an upgrade." His eyes flicked to her wings, then the patterning across her skin, and finally settled on her face again with a quiet, reverent awe. "Katherine... you look like you stepped out of a legend. A really badass, slightly dramatic legend."

He was grinning now, but it softened with something more sincere.

They moved together through the winding path leading back toward the temple, the towering peaks of Naboo casting their long shadows, the breeze playing with the folds of his robe.

When she asked about him, Lorn hesitated, but just for a moment.

"I've… settled," he said, the word strange in his mouth. "Not completely. That's not really in the job description. But I've found a rhythm here. I teach. I guide. I fix things that aren't entirely broken, and sometimes I stop things from falling apart completely."

His tone was thoughtful, a little distant, but warmer than it had been in years. "A bit more grounded than I was. Not always waiting for the floor to fall out."

Then he glanced sideways, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth again. "Also… I found out I have a daughter."

He said it casually. Like it wasn't the narrative equivalent of dropping a thermal detonator into the middle of a peaceful stroll.

"She's a teenager. Smart. Stubborn. Already better than me at everything. So… not much has happened, just...." he gave a small shrug, "...everything."

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

Katherine felt her cheeks warm slightly at Lorn’s compliment, forcing the redhead to look away for a moment. Though it wasn’t a second later she returned her focus, a matching grin on her face. “Oh shush you.” She said, waving a hand at him. “And only slightly dramatic?”

She listened as they walked and talked. It warmed her heart to know Lorn had found some confidence in finding ‘his place in the galaxy’. A topic they hadn’t really ever talked at length about, but something Katherine had always felt like they had in common. For her, it had been a lack of certainty in how she was meant to fit in, to do anything in the state she was at that point.

“Well, it gladdens me to hear that. That you feel like you’ve found somewhere to plant some roots down, as they say. Even if it isn’t completely, I know all too well of that uncertainty of one’s place.”

And she had to chuckle about his comment of it not being ‘really in the job description’. Katherine was much the same in always seeking to be doing something.

But then Lorn threw out a bombshell, and Katherine almost stopped walking out of shock.

Wait, what??

And a teenager to boot?

“I…I imagine that was quite the shock to learn about.” Katherine’s voice trailed off, as she tried to put herself in Lorn’s shoes. “How did you find out? If you don’t mind me asking.”

 

[Lorn Reingard]

​

Lorn noticed her reaction, the way her steps slowed, the way her eyes widened as if she'd just been informed the temple was on fire and also filled with spiders. He didn't blame her. It was a thermal detonator of a revelation.

"Yeah," he said, his voice quieter now, the tone shifting to something more raw. "It was… complicated."

He didn't elaborate right away, letting the word hang there like mist in the mountain air.

"She called to me. In my dreams. Over and over. Not just visions, pleas. Cries. I didn't understand it at first. Thought it was something from my past, some ghost trying to shake the chains again." He looked down at the path beneath them, then back ahead. "But no. It was her. My daughter."

His jaw clenched slightly, not with anger, but with the weight of memory. "She was in danger. I found her. Brought her here. She's safe now."

He exhaled sharply through his nose, a mixture of relief and disbelief. "I missed everything, Katherine. First words, first steps, first everything. And now she's this fully-formed person with opinions and sarcasm and a mean left hook. And I… I don't exactly know how to be a father. I mean, do I give her Jedi philosophy or just… hand her a lightsaber and hope for the best?"

The edges of that vulnerability were still there in his voice, but then he shook his head lightly, eyes lifting with a flicker of mischief. A pivot.

"But enough about my melodrama. Let's talk about yours. Be honest, did you still have that hoverchair stashed somewhere? Or did you blow it up in some glorious, fiery act of symbolism? I always imagined you launching it off a cliff while screaming something poetic and unnecessary."

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

She couldn’t even begin to imagine what had gone through Lorn’s mind when it became apparent just who had been calling him through the dreams. To have that revelation that they were your own flesh and blood, your child.

Katherine could imagine the level of guilt that must’ve followed.

“Hey,” she began, placing a hand on Lorn’s shoulder. “You didn’t know she even existed until she reached out to you. Yeah, it does suck that you missed so much but you’re in her life now. Plus, when she was in danger, it was you who she reached out to, and you answered.” Katherine smiled, giving Lorn a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder.

“And I can’t really speak from experience, but she sounds as though she’s started her teenage years, right?” She queried, pausing to ensure she was correct. “I have a fairly good guess that she doesn’t necessarily need you to be a teacher. Just be there in her life, for all the moments. The big and small, the happy and sad. So on and so forth.”

They continued walking a bit further, when Lorn changed subjects and inquired about her hoverchair. It elicited another laugh from the Valkyrie.

“As hilarious and entertaining as that idea would be, unfortunately it was loaned to me by the Temple, so it was ultimately returned.”

 

[Lorn Reingard]

​

Lorn felt the warmth of her hand on his shoulder, a simple gesture, but it grounded him in the moment. Her words cut through the haze of self-doubt that clung to him like smoke. He didn't say anything right away, just let the silence stretch as they walked, his hand briefly lifting to give hers a grateful squeeze before she let go.

"You'd think with all the battles I've survived, this would be easier," he said at length, exhaling with a rueful smile. "But apparently, lightsabers don't prepare you for bedtime stories and teenage side-eyes."

Her reassurance lingered with him, though. The way she framed it, being there for all the moments, big and small, it was simple, but it rang true. The kind of wisdom that didn't come from a textbook or a Jedi briefing room.

He glanced over at her again as she laughed about the hoverchair, and that grin of hers sparked something lighter in him.

"Returned?" he echoed in mock offense. "That's even worse. If it were me, i'd explode it somehow."

He nudged her lightly with an elbow, shaking his head. "I really wanted to believe you rigged it with fireworks and launched it off the Temple roof. You've ruined my headcanon."

They reached a fork in the path where the trees opened up, offering a sweeping view of the valley below. Naboo was always stunning, but here, above the clouds and the chaos, it looked untouched.

Lorn took a moment, breathing it in, then turned to her with a slight squint. "So," he said, tilting his head, "did your Order finally come to their senses and Knight you?"

His brow lifted with curiosity, though a smile still tugged at his mouth.

"Because… going through what you went through, you've earned it ten times over. Unless there's some other ritual you need to do that involves becoming a ten-foot Valkyrie with lightning tattoos and the ability to scare off entire squads just by flapping dramatically."

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

Katherine let out an amused snort at Lorn’s suggestion towards the hoverchair. “I won’t deny, that does sound quite an entertaining idea. Perhaps if you had been there; been an awful influence, you might’ve convinced the Healers to let me do that.” She shook her head, picturing the very scene he had painted. “Alas, it was not to be. I apologize for ruining your headcanon.”

As they reached the fork in the path, Katherine smiled as she took in the sights around them, especially the valley below. She raised an eyebrow as Lorn began to speak, but then that smile grew wider, with an added degree of pride too.

“Mhm, you’re looking at a Knight of the New Jedi Order. Happened…some months ago now?” Katherine did internally wince at that, the reminder that she had let this promised reunion slip her mind for so long.

“I think my Master had it in mind for a while, but he wanted to wait until I was ready…and not just to be back on my feet.” Katherine turned back towards the Valley, gazing out upon it. “I struggled for a long time with the belief I’d never be…well here.”

“There was a point where I wasn’t able to walk at all, and that was bad enough. But then I started gaining strength back, able to stand on my legs; walk a few steps. And yet…I was never able to get much better than that. I think that was the worst feeling of the two.”

 

[Lorn Reingard]

​

Lorn stopped walking when she did, standing beside her at the overlook, his eyes scanning the valley but his attention fixed firmly on her. A Knight. He let the word settle in his mind like a note at the end of a melody.

"You know," he said, voice softer now, "I've seen more than my fair share of Jedi who got Knighted for far less. Political timing. Battlefield necessity. Some just… aged into it like spoiled fruit."

He glanced up at her, and the smirk that followed didn't quite hide the truth in his eyes. "But you? You earned it. The long way. The hard way."

He folded his arms, letting silence return briefly between them, carried on the gentle breeze that played through the trees and rustled the edge of her wings.

"And yeah… I remember," he said, "how bad it got. That look in your eyes back then." His voice wasn't pitying, but tempered with the quiet understanding of someone who'd also known limits pressed like iron against the skin.

"You didn't just survive it. You dragged yourself out of it, one step at a time." He shook his head, marveling, brow raised. "And now you're flying literal circles around the rest of us."

He turned slightly, nudging her again with his elbow. "You gonna start acting all noble and Knightly now?" His eyes glinted with mischief. "Because if you've gone all dignified, I'll be deeply disappointed."

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

She didn’t say anything, but the expression on her face made it clear she was grateful for Lorn’s words. Katherine was just glad she was on the other side of all the stuff she had gone through. Even before she had joined the New Jedi Order, her younger self hadn’t had it easy either.

From her parents selling her to the Sith, to being forced into surviving through what essentially was a Sith Academy.

A little over a decade worth of memories…

Though to Katherine they were no more than vague recollections these days. A fact the redhead had always felt conflicted towards. On one hand, she wanted to know what her younger self had gone through, but on the other?

Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t.

Katherine laughed at the notion of her suddenly acting all ‘noble and Knightly.’ “Oh please, and forgo opportunities to scare the bejesus out of lone sentries as I fly by? Never.” She replied, her own eyes flickering with mischievousness.

“Although, I suppose I’ll soon be taking on the actual responsibility of a Knight before long. Taking on a Padawan.” Katherine paused for a few moments, glancing over towards the Temple. “Not that it’ll be too difficult, I already have a habit of helping any Padawan I stumble across needing help.”

“What about you? How’s the teaching been going? Both here, and with the Vanguard.”

 

[Lorn Reingard]

​

Lorn let out a low chuckle, leaning his weight onto the railing, his gaze sweeping over the valley. "Poor sentry," he murmured, shaking his head. "Some poor kid's just trying to finish his perimeter sweep, maybe dreaming of dinner, or that one initiate who smiled at him during meditation... and then whoosh, a nightmare Valkyrie streaks by like a laser bolt. Please tell me you at least scream something dramatic when you do that?"

But when she asked about his own teaching, his smile faded a bit, turning more thoughtful. "It's going," he said. "The temple's finally settled into a rhythm, which is weird, because I really don't trust rhythms. But the younglings are sharp. And, well, a little chaotic."

He shrugged lightly. "As for a Padawan... I've been looking, yeah. It's just... hard. Not to find one, Force knows the Order's full of possibilities, but to find one I won't completely ruin by mentoring them." He managed another smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, a familiar flicker of self-doubt showing through.

"The Vanguard's solid, though, really," he continued. "We're actually getting recruits from all over the Southern Systems now. The expansion of our little government makes them want to be part of something like the Vanguard. So we're expanding with the Republic and the Order. Slowly. Carefully."

He pushed off the railing, giving her a sidelong glance. "Next time I see you, I bet you'll be surrounded by an actual army of Padawans. You'll be the unofficial Den Mother of the New Jedi Council. They'll build statues in your honor, wings outstretched, noble pose, tiny children clinging to your ankles while you recite the Jedi Code from memory in three languages."

Katherine Holt​

 

[Katherine Holt]

Location: Naboo, Shiraya's Sanctuary
Outfit: Link
Tag: Lorn Reingard
​

As Katherine stood to Lorn’s side, she turned so her back was leaning against the railing. Her focus on the Sanctuary, but was ever watchful for the expressions that crossed her fellow Knight’s face.

Especially when he spoke about taking on a Padawan.

“I highly doubt you’re going to completely ruin any student you teach, Lorn. Not even mildly so. One thing I learned from my Master, is that you can’t always be perfect, how always try and strive to be. You will have your successes and failures, just like a student will. The difference is the responsibility, to take the experiences we went through, the wisdom we have accumulated, and pass it on.”

Katherine turned her head to face Lorn, a warm smile on her face. “As I think an old ancient Jedi Master once said, failures can be the greatest of teachers.”

She watched Lorn as he pushed away from the railing, glancing towards her. The redhead let out a snort-laugh, shaking her head.

“I’m fairly confident the Grandmaster still has the monopoly on being the unofficial Den Mother for the New Jedi Order. Though, if I can somehow manage to speak three languages fluently, I’ll be happy.” She replied, her lips twisting into an amused grin.