Val's Advanced Training

[Sreeya]

Val's eyes widened as he brought the sword out. Her jaw visibly dropped at the magnificent blade he had forged for her. She was almost afraid to touch it, fearing that she would ruin it somehow. The Knight had never seen something quite so spectacular. She could feel the Force energy pulsating through it, her eyes landing on the curious crow on the blade. Val had to smile, as he had truly poured every bit of himself into this creation. When he spoke, she had to work to tear her eyes away from the blade and meet him.

"Huang..this is..."

Her expression spoke more than she ever could have. Val's hands trembled slightly as she reached out to accept the sword. She knew instantly that it would replace one of her lightsabers. She felt the power of the blade in her hands. Val glanced up at Huang, mustering a smile.

"It's perfect. I..I've seen your work but I wasn't expecting something this exquisite."

Val berated herself for not being able to come up with something more special to say. His words rang strongly within her mind. She finally looked up again.

"I will always have a part of you with me. You will accompany me to every battle. You told me I went out into the galaxy to face it and now..now I won't be alone, Huang. You will be there with me. I will defend the Order to my last breath with this. I...cannot tell you how much this means to me."

---​

"Everything all right?"

"Yes thanks.."

The padawan didn't look convinced. Was she that obvious? He raised an eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged, wandering off. Val turned and watched him leave. This would possibly be the last time they would make their usual greeting every day. She hadn't even learned his name. Val turned back to face the training chambers, walking in quietly. She attempted to suppress all her emotions, even though the pain almost overwhelmed her.

There were some hints of the fact that something had been troubling her. Her hair was slightly messy, and she appeared as if she hadn't slept. Her attire wasn't casual as she had often wore around him. She was dressed to travel, with his sword fitted onto her back. The convex faced away from her, allowing her to whip it out into a lethal diagonal arc should she unsheathe it in battle. For now, though, Val had other things on her mind.

As usual, she spotted Huang in the distance. She hoped he wouldn't be able to sense that she had been crying. Hiding behind the wall of an unreadable expression was something she had picked up from him. More than anything, she masked her own Force energy, keeping it from betraying anything. As she approached him, she couldn't help but pull him into a tight embrace, letting it linger for a long moment. She pulled back after a while, gazing up at him.

"I have something for you."

 

[Will]

Stress.

That was marked all over Val as she entered his small room. Stress and...something he couldn't place. She was dressed differently as well. Something was wrong. She had been participating more in the order recently. Perhaps something there...

He accepted the embrace, something he had cherished since the first time it had occurred. He looked back at her, his happiness showing in his features.

''Really? What?''

 

[Sreeya]

It took all of her willpower to pull back from him. She simply wanted to forget everything and simply fall into his arms and build a life with him. She quickly shook her head. It was preposterous to think like that. Val sighed. He was far too important to the Order and the Jedi meant everything to him. She reached a hand up and rested it on his cheek, gazing at him warmly before drawing back. Val reached into the folds of her clothing.

"I can't exactly forge blades or..well, I'm terrible at most creative things."

She had to laugh quietly at her words. Val pulled out a simple necklace. It was a black cord with a curious block on it.

"I know this is..not much. This block was given to me by my trainer Sheng, when I was ten years old. He was like a father to me and raised me as his own. However, he exiled himself later on, and left me with this. It was a block I had trained with when I was a child. I know it's simple and insignificant, but it...it means everything to me. I've kept it with me all of these years."

She thought about Sheng for a while, the memories bringing a small smile to her face. Val grasped a hold of Huang's hand, making his palm face up and dropped the necklace on it.

"I want you to have it. It's a part of me that I've always treasured."

 

[Will]

The small thing dropped into his hand, and the physical weight, though infentissimal, made great presence in his hand. The weight of it was emotional, rather than physical. It was a piece of Val's soul. A symbol of her feelings for him.

His heart swelled. That she trusted him enough to give him this...

He looked up, putting around his neck.

''It will never leave me. Thank you.''

He leaned in for a kiss.

 

[Sreeya]

Val smiled as she watched him put it around his neck. She was about to speak, but he did something even better than that. Val met his kiss, starting off lightly and barely pressing her lips against his. Within seconds, she deepened it, passion exploding between them as she pulled him closer. Her eyes were closed, and she felt the room around them simply erode away, replaced with a place deep in her imaginations. She saw the landscape of Ossus, the beautiful evergreen stretched out for miles, then she saw the winter wonderland below them, a perfection of nature that could never be recreated. And then she saw him, his piercing golden eyes, his tender lips, the piercings that only made him more beautiful and the complete work of art that covered his pallid body. All of those thoughts exploded around her as she was lost in the kiss, as if making up for a million more kisses she would never have.

When she finally pulled back, her lips were swollen, her eyes brimming with tears. Val looked down before he could notice, blinking to hide them. She never wanted to leave and simply wanted to tell him. He would accept her. He wouldn't leave...no, she couldn't do that to him. Val glanced around at the training room, at the swords, the battle droids and everything else he had prepared to train his pupils. All of this would be snatched away from him and it would be her doing. Val knew she could never do that to him. Not with how she felt about him. She finally got the courage to gaze up at him.

"I.."

No! She had almost said it. Val quickly bit down on her lip, at a loss for words, though her mind screamed them at him. She felt as if she were trapped within an invisible cage, slamming the bars to get out, but she was silenced. She couldn't understand what part of her it was that had decided she could never stay, but that bit of her mind had a louder voice than any of her other thoughts. Val wanted to say the words, so bad. She wanted to tell them to him every single day. She wanted to see his smile, hear his laugh and enjoy the moments of pure silence when they told each other so much without uttering a single word. Val quietly pulled back from him, pausing for a long moment.

"I.."

There it was again. The rest of the sentence repeated over and over in her mind, exploding, screaming and pouring out of her. In every way but in the form of speech. No, she couldn't do it. Val knew that she would lose the last bit of will she had left if she heard herself say those words. By now, Huang would hear them anyway, with how loudly they resounded within her mind. Val quietly began to take steps backwards, keeping her fingers interlocked with his. For the first time, however, she wasn't pulling him along with her. At long last, her fingers detached from his, but she kept walking backwards. It took her last bit of self control to muster a casual tone.

"I will see you around.."

Nothing more was said. She knew he wouldn't understand, and that was how she wanted it to be. Val gave him one last smile before turning to walk out of the chambers. Her steps progressively quickened as she approached the exit, before the tears finally came. But he would never see them. Val had already disappeared from sight.

 

[Will]

-Three days-
​

Where is she?

Huang sat in his room, cross legged upon his palette. Val had not been to see him. Three days ago, she had said she loved him, and left. Normally, she returned every day.

A dark thought took root in his mind, and blossomed.

She has left. The stress. She hid the sadness. The small things, the messy hair, red eyes, being dressed for travelling. Back then, Huang had been oblivious to such things. But now, with hindsight, they became glaringly obvious.

She left me.

Did she not say she loved him? What were those months all for then? To lead him on, and then drop him when another came along?

Anguish and loss coursed through him, tugging at his mind and soul. He had lost her. The one who made him feel whole. The one who had made him feel happiness.

He snapped the block from his neck, regarding it. He closed his palm, forming a fist. It cracked, and broke. He opened his hand, the detritus falling to the floor.

Anguish turned to rage. Not the controlled rage of the battlefield, the uncontrollable wrath of the berserker. A growl escaped his lips, as he threw the string aside, and upending his table. He had trusted her! Confided in her!

Loved her!

He should go after her. Hunt her down. Make her pay.

No! That is the path of darkness! Do not let emotion rule!

Huang sat, brows furrowed. She had made him weak, yes, he saw that now. Emotion, which she had caused to flow from the broken vessel of his control, had clouded his judgement. He had lost control. All because of her.

Well, no longer. He closed his eyes, sitting, unifying his mind.

Sadness, anguish, rage. Happiness, enjoyment, Love. All were boxed away. All, he vowed, would never surface.

Emotion is weakness.