Val's Advanced Training

[Sreeya]

Val smiled at his response. Deep down, she was surprised to hear it. It was a simple response, but coming from him it was- she immediately began laughing as he started scratching directly afterward. Val had attempted to ignore her own predicament, knowing that scratching only made it worse. The fire was warming them now, allowing her to relax. She scooted closer to him, closing the distance between them.

"Now stop moving around."

Her voice had a mock commanding tone to it as she weaved in to where his arm would be around her. Without a word, Val gently rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes. There was truly nowhere else she would rather have been than here. She didn't know what kind of hell tomorrow would bring, but for now she would simply enjoy his warmth and the security being in his arms provided.

 

[Will]

Huang sat with her, his arm around her, their bodies huddled for warmth. Sure, they may be trapped in the forest, covered in itchy rashes from the poison Ivy, with only their underwear. But he felt it had at least started and ended well The middle was simply filler. He pulled her tight, watching the fire.

 

[Sreeya]

Val woke up to her itching arm, cursing under her breath. She had to glance around to remember where she was and quickly found Huang asleep, his arm still around her. For a moment, Val simply watched him, smiling. He looked peaceful and content, contrary to a usual emotionless mask. As she spent more time with him, Val began to realize he had a wide spectrum of feelings, all kept bottled up. She leaned in and gently kissed him on the cheek, feeling content despite this situation.

"They came around here somewhere.."

"Are you sure?"

"YES DAGNABBIT"

"All right, old man, simmer down!"

Val gasped, immediately shaking Huang lightly. She whispered urgently into his ear.

"Wake up! That old fool's back! We have to leave now!"

She slowly rose up to stand. Unfortunately, the trees blocked her vision, but she surmised there to be at least three or four people searching for them. How they could get away from this was beyond her. Val quickly looked around for an escape, hoping they weren't surrounded.

 

[Will]

Huang woke as Val rose. It was the quick jerk of someone used to being alert at all times.

''Company?'' He asked, rising. He swatted an errant branch, which had seen fit to tangle in his hair when he rose to full height.

 

[Sreeya]

Val stared at him incredulously. Here they were in trouble and he was acting as if they were on a picnic.

"No, princess, I woke you up to look at the sunrise."

She put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him down. If he rose to his full height, he would be easily picked out. Val quickly sneaked through the trees behind them. She stepped on a twig which snapped.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Ugh..old men..all right, come this way."

Val cursed inwardly. They were headed right towards them. She carefully weaved through the plants, wincing as one grazed against her stomach, leaving a small cut. Val glanced back to see if Huang was coming. She knew they had to be quiet, something she had always been terrible at. Val could see a beam of sunlight piercing through a group of trees and headed in that direction. By now, the voices sounded more distant, but they were still too close for comfort.

"Look! Look! They built a fire! The wood's fresh! THEY'RE STILL HERE!"

"COME OUT YOU FIENDS!"

The sound of a rifle cocking was heard. Val grimaced. The situation had gone from bad to horribly worse.

 

[Will]

Huang shot her a look to tell her the joke wasn't funny. He began to leave with her. His ears twitched as the rifle cocked.

He ran, pulling Val with him. He threw out a hand, pushing out to the left to create a disturbance, hoping to throw them off.

''Right. Run for our clothes, then back to the temple. Sound good?''

 

[Sreeya]

Val felt herself be dragged away by Huang. She wanted to remind him that he was much taller and it was difficult to keep up, but she kept her complaints to herself for now. As they drew further away from the group, she grimaced at their position. They had to cut across open field. Thankfully, Huang's distraction had taken the group off their trail. Val glanced around, happy there weren't any people directly around them.

"You know...Mr. High and Mighty important and all wise Jedi..you could've just remembered to grab the clothes while you ran past them. I'm young and reckless, but you?!"

Val could never resist a bit of teasing, even given their predicament. She started walking towards where the grass was taller, making it easier to blend in. Of course, Huang would have to get down to be able to hide his form. Val picked up her pace, weaving through the grass till she could see the lake again. She crouched behind a boulder, spotting their clothing on the other side. Unfortunately, the Bantha herd was back. Val grimaced.

"I have a very bad feeling about this.."

 

[Will]

Huang glanced back as he ran, making sure the farmers hadn't followed. He was glad to see they hadn't, when Val accosted him.

''Everyone makes mistakes, Val. Multi-tonned beasts do that to the mind.'' Mean woman! She could have just as easily picked up their clothes. It was so easy to point fingers...

He crouched as he entered the grass, making sure to keep below the tall stalks. He moved swiftly through, perfectly silent.

He came to crouch by the boulder. Why more Bantha? Why was the pasture open so early? He sighed. He closed his eyes, drawing on the force. He lifted the pile of clothing, floating it over, leaving the discarded 'chutes.

''There we are.'' He looked at her as he floated them over.

''So difficult.''

 

[Sreeya]

Val could only mouth off words inaudibly, feeling like an idiot. For some reason, she often appeared to forget she was a Jedi and thus, could do things normal folk couldn't. Floating over something from a distance was one of those things. Of course, Huang's sarcasm didn't help the situation.

"Shut up..I knew..I was going to..I...you know what?!"

She playfully shoved Huang to the side, toppling him over. Val laughed at her actions, quickly putting her clothes back on. She knew they would have to hurry, and the temple was still a long ways away. Val mused about how odd they would look appearing in the temple, both with Poison Ivy rashes, covered in dirt and with bits of twigs in their hair.

 

[Will]

Huang pulled on his own clothes hastily. He ran of after Val, back to the temple.

* * *

The flitter hung above the mountaintop, the door open. The drone of repulsorlifts, combined with the wind made it impossible to be heard.

You ready for this?

Huang was sat on the edge of the open doorway, legs dangling off the side, board strapped to his legs. Flitter-boarding was a rare enjoyment for Huang, as he had to find an ice world applicable. He'd come up good this time. Only half a day by hyperlanes, and it was truly beautiful. He shuffled forward, one last look back at Val, before throwing himself off.
​

 

[Sreeya]

"No!"

Val had no idea why she allowed Huang to take her anywhere. All his suggestions were horrible, terrifying and disastrous. The memory of the Bantha and Poison Ivy was still fresh on her mind. Val looked down over the edge and once again had to jump back. This was getting to be routine.

"Why do you always have to.."

Too late. He was already off. Val growled in frustration. She knew she would have to follow in tow. She half wondered what would happen if she never jumped and simply let him go down by himself. Val snickered quietly, but the people behind her cleared their throat. She grumbled incoherently before finally jumping off. Val was shocked to land on the board and began actually doing what she was supposed to! Only for a second. The front of the board hit a rock, sending her toppling over, face first into the snow.

 

[Will]

Huang moved expertly, swinging his board around to stop. He could see Val a bit of a way up the slope. He had presumed she had at least boarded before.

''Come on. If an old man like me can do it, you can too!''

He waited for her, a light grin gracing his face, bracing himself for another inevitable tirade. She would have to understand this is what will happen every time she asks him to 'do something'.

 

[Sreeya]

Val peeled herself off the ground after falling over multiple times. She hated that she was on one board with absolutely no means of using her legs to balance herself. She finally rose to stand, awkwardly positioned and completely clueless. As Huang spoke to her, Val scowled. She reached down and balled up a giant lump of snow and chucked it at him, using the Force to aim.

"I thought you were younger than me!"

She got back to attempting to use the board. Val hopped a few times before getting on a path and began to smoothly glide down. As she began to ease into it, her smile widened.

"Hey..this is kind of fun...."

Val glanced over to people around her. A small child was doing the same thing and she marveled at his ability to board, while she, a Jedi, was so clumsy at it. Val scowled at Huang.

"How do you know how to do these things? You stay cooped up at a temple all day.."

 

[Will]

''Hey! You're always calling me gramps!'' Huang retorted as she sped down the mountain beside him, the susurruss of their boards the only sound.

''It is, is it not? Off the beaten track then!'' Huang sped for the side of the groomed path, hopping into the treeline, and the deeper powder, carving it expertly. He chuckled when Val asked when he had time for this.

''A common misconception. Have you followed me all day for a week? Do you wonder why it takes me so long to get to places? I also am not training all the time. Everyone needs their release.''

And things like this were the perfect way for him to find his release, without a blade. He only hoped Val could share it with him.

 

[Sreeya]

"That's because you acted like an old man when I first met you! And believe me..most people still draw that conclusion about you!"

Val looked at him quizzically as he suggested they go off the path. Why did he always have to make things more difficult than they had to be? Val grimaced, watching him expertly jump off to the side. She attempted to veer off in the same direction, but abruptly lost control. Her little maneuver landed her in a giant pile of snow. Instead of getting up, she simply rolled over onto her back, enjoying the snow bed. She felt like a child again, waving her arms around in it. As Huang spoke again, Val glanced over, grinning.

"I have been around you for that long. You've gotten absolutely no work done."

She had to laugh out loud. People back at the temple were most likely wondering why the Sword Master had gone MIA. Snowboarding and parachuting would definitely not be their first guess.

 

[Will]

''And may they continue to. Still need to present a serious face to the order.''

Why did she never enjoy going off the beaten track? He stopped as she fell. Again. He undid bindings, wading through the deep powder to sit himself beside her.

''I oversee training, which isn't as laborious as it sounds, not many seem to be passing to knighthood right now. And there haven't been any coming for advanced sabre arts recently... So I've had a lot of free time recently.''

He put his bindings on, getting up, before extending a hand to help up Val, obviously still not used to being strapped to a plank.

 

[Sreeya]

Val had to laugh at his words.

"Maybe they haven't come because you haven't been there!"

She looked up as he offered his arm. Val grasped it, motioning to get up. However, she simply yanked on his arm, making him fall down with her. After he did, she rolled over to pin him into the snow, smiling widely down at him.

"Come on, don't you know me by now?!"

Val decided to give him a taste of what he made her go through with his ideas. She grabbed a fistful of snow and smeared it right on his face. This was accompanied with laughing, something she had been doing a lot being around him, of all people.

 

[Will]

Huang knew his error as soon as she grasped the proffered hand. Being unwieldy due to the bound board meant he hit the soft snow. Fortunately he landed on his back. At least he didn't get a fac-

Val smeared snow in his face, the icy cold scratching him. He tried in vain to wipe the snow from his face, But could only content with doing as much as possible when he found himself pinned.

''I had hoped you'd have gotten nicer to me by now.''

 

[Sreeya]

"It's revenge for your terrible ideas for activities!"

Val had to laugh. He looked so helpless, even though he was much bigger than her. She used this moment to lean down and steal a kiss from him. Val almost drew back immediately, as his face was cold and wet. She finally rolled off him. A few hops got her back on the trail. She simply winked back at him before going down the hill. Her pace quickened, but she used the Force to help her focus more. By focus, she meant avoiding obvious things like trees, which Val would find difficult to do otherwise...

It took her no time to get used to the idea of boarding. Val zig zagged through the trail, even leaping off an edge and managing to land on the board upright, without eating more snow. She only glanced back once to see if Huang was following. He was rather easy to pick out, always towering over everyone else.

 

[Will]

Huang was about to reply before she planted a kiss on him. He leant up slightly as she pulled away, not wishing to break the contact. He hopped up, chasing after.

Huang, due to his competency, seemed to move almost lazily, seemingly as still as a statue while his legs turned with ease to move the board. He saw Val looking back. let her think she was faster. He smiled as he crouched slightly. He sped up.

Next thing Val would see of Huang was him flying over her, mid flip. He landed in front of her, throwing her a playfully challenging look, pretty much inviting her to race.