astheworldfallsdown-writing

[astheworldfallsdown-writing]

Chapter II - Move On

Bright white lights flashed on the crowd, filled with mostly older, scruffy looking men, but a few women appeared too, most being the wives of the men. They roared and clapped, looking upon the winner of tonight's Womens Brawler one on one match. Her cherry red hair was french braided back, but that was no match for her shaggy side bangs or baby hairs. At the start of a match, she looked like a million credits, well, for Greyslough. But by the end, she was as sweaty as a tourist on Tatooine, her makeup smudged, body red from the hits, and sometimes a bit of blood.

“Val! Val! Val!” The crowd chanted in unison as the redhead stood up from her knees.

“And the winner by pinfall… Valll!” The ring announcer spoke in the microphone, holding up Valerie’s arm by her wrist. She used her other to wipe the blood from her bottom lip.

After a few moments of glory, Valerie left the circular platform, walked up a small ramp and through a black curtain. A few men gave her a pat on the back as she walked by them, all proud of the match she had put on and the perseverance she displayed. It was against an opponent she had faced before, several times actually, but Valerie knew that the other girl had been training hard to win. And there was her opponent, sitting in the women's dressing room, removing the fighters tape from her hands and knuckles.

Valerie walked in and took a deep gulp from her water canister. She watched her remove the tape, waiting for her to look up. The girl finally got rid of the tape and held back her dark, curly hair, glancing at Valerie.

“I’m gonna get ya next time, I hope ya know.” She spoke in her thick Greyslough accent, shaking a finger at the Naboo native.

Valerie laughed, relieved to see her opponent and friend in a better mood than expected. “I don’t doubt it, you really have made great progress, Shina.”

Shina waves her hands. “Don’t you get started. There’ll be progress when I pin ya on that mat.” She stood and gave Valerie a gentle shove. “You got any plans then?”

“Come on, you know me.” Valerie walked towards the shower room. “The only plans I’ve got are heading home and getting a good rest.”

“Yeah after 2:00 am maybe.” Shina poked as Valerie ran the water cool. “How’s Mr McDavin doin’ anyway?”

Valerie stepped into the shower, closing the curtain behind her and sighed. In all honesty, things hadn’t been going so well for Shay, the man who saved her all those years ago. Last year he had suffered his second heart attack since Valerie had known him, and though this year he hadn’t had one, she could feel his weakness growing and his strength leaving. It pained her to sleep in the same house as him every night, sensing when he felt pain or discomfort, she wanted to help so badly but she had already done all she could. 

“Things are how they are.” Valerie said curtly, rinsing the sweat off her toned body.

Shina felt sorry for her situation, not many people knew much about Valerie, that’s how she liked it, but Shina was her closest friend and she knew the pain Valerie came from. 

“You know if you ever need anything, ya tell me, right?” Shina asked while applying some fresh berry body spray. “I’m nowheres from yer house, even if ya need a sleepover or somethin’.” She heard Valerie laugh quietly. “Ay I’m bein’ serious.”

The water shut off and Valerie took her towel to dry off. “I know, I’m just thinking of the last sleepover we had.” She said with a smile, stepping out of the shower stall with her towel wrapped around her like a strapless dress.

“That definitely was somethin’.” Shina said as a smile crept onto her face as well. “In my defense, Shay should know better than to keep his Chugger’s Chaw in the open when a couple of twenty three year old girls are hanging around lookin’ for some fun.”

“ “out in the open”” Valerie laughed. “It was literally in the bottom drawer of the side table, you were just snoopy.”

“Maybe, but we had a fun time.” Shina sipped on some sparkling water. “I’ll never forget that furious look on his face, ha, what a guy.” She zipped up her duffle bag and checked her com for any missed messages or calls. Valerie slipped on a black shirt with some old band’s logo on it, dark blue pants and her white leather boots. Shina placed her com in her back pocket. “Right well, I’m gonna have a drink with the guys, tell me when you’ve gotten home, k?”

Valerie nodded with a small smile. “Have fun out there loser.”

Shina flipped off Valerie as she left the room, Valerie laughed under her breath and pulled the tie off that kept her braid intact. Her red locks bounced as she ran her fingers through it, brushing out any potential knots. It was almost as if she had been to a beach, the sweat from the fight gave her hair nice curls, not nearly as tight as Shina’s though. Valerie liked to take a moment to herself after each match, regaining her energy and calming her mind. Becoming a brawler wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when Valerie would think about her future all those years ago, but it was the path she ended up taking. She sometimes wondered how things could’ve been differently if she had left GreySlough, if she had tried to continue her training to become a Jedi. But those thoughts were most times dropped and pushed to the furthest corner of her brain before she could give her head any chance to run wild with theories. 

Brrrrr… Brrrr

Her com buzzed on the hardwood countertop. It was a couple seconds before she reached over and realized it was her preset alarm. She didn’t have an expensive com, not one that reflected messages into the air above it and displayed holograms, it was the cheapest but most efficient one she could get on the planet. “Shay’s night pills @ 11:00 pm” the screen read.

“Shit.” Valerie cursed under her breath while she scrambled to put her damp fighting gear in her backpack.

For the last couple years, Shay had been prescribed different sets of pills that were meant to be taken at different times of the day. They would help keep him healthy and keep his heart from going too fast, and though Valerie wasn’t his caretaker, she still took it upon herself to make sure he was as healthy and strong as he possibly could be. This was the man who practically saved her life all those years ago, she felt it was the least she could do.

Valerie finished packing her things away and zipped up her black sweater before shutting off the lights and closing the door. She slid a small silver key into the keyhole and turned it til she felt a click, trying to listen for the click would be no use considering the bar was still packed. The crowd continued to roar, invested in the final match of the night while she entered from the backstage. She smiled, looking around at the sea of familiar faces, all people who watched her evolve from a scared ex-padawan to the strongest woman in town, though they didn’t know she was a padawan. Shay felt it best to be kept a secret so no one bothered her about it, and because half the town was anti anything political. Greyslough was a neutral planet, it sometimes bothered Valerie to think about it, but she wasn’t about to try and change what hadn’t been broken. The Empire didn’t invade Greyslough because they didn’t see a point in it, nor did The First Order.

She was halfway through the venue before she glanced around, looking for her hearty opponent of the night. And there Shina was, sitting at the bar chatting and laughing with a few of her friends and probably some fans. Valerie watched her until they made eye contact, she waved goodbye to her friend and Shina held up her glass of beer to her with a smile. Then just as Valerie turned and began to walk to the exit, she heard someone call her.

“Val!” A man with short brown hair and tan skin waved his hand back and forth in an attempt to get her attention. Valerie stopped and watched him get through the crowd towards her. “Hey, your name’s Val, right?” He finally made it to her, he wore black pants and a brown leather jacket with black, horizontal stripes on the shoulders.

“Valerie, yeah.” She said, looking at the man who she did not recognize. Was he new here? Can’t be a tourist. She thought to herself

“Valerie, pleasure to meet you. You’re a very talented fighter.” The man spoke loudly over the crowd so she could hear his every word. She felt very suspicious and mildly uncomfortable, not knowing someone in this town wasn’t something she was used to.

“Thanks.” She said curtly. “Do you have family here or?”

“Oh no, no I don’t. Doing some scouting actually.” He said with a smile on his face, his friendliness making Valerie want to ditch this place as soon as she could.

“Scouting? Like for brawlers?” She asked and crossed her arms. There were in fact scouters for brawlers but they only visited Greyslough every 5 years, and never this well dressed.

“Well, not necessarily. You see, I’m with an organization who is looking to.. Expand. So I’m here looking to see if anyone here has what it takes.” He spoke carefully, Valerie nodded simply just to show she wasn’t ignoring him. “I think you have what it takes.”

“Oh wow.” Valerie said unenthusiastically. “Really? Thanks.” She slowly began to back up to the door. “I should get going. But thanks though.”

“No wait, please!” He said reaching out and grabbing her arm. “Seriously, we could really use someone like you.”

Valerie rolled her eyes and sighed. “I have no interest.”

He let go of her arm. “But I haven’t even told you what it is.”

Another sigh slipped out of her mouth. “Ok, I’ll bite.” She tilted her head at him, it was now or never.

“You ever heard of The Resistance?”

Valerie instantly smirked and turned away, walking straight to the door. She felt she had wasted her time enough, and she didn’t want to keep Shay waiting any longer. She was half way through the damp parking lot when she heard the man again calling to her.

“Valerie! Just give it some thought! My name is Isaac, I’ll be around!” He called from the bar door, Valerie lifted up a hand to acknowledge his words, though they really didn’t mean anything to her.

The Resistance was not something she had any interest in joining, though she didn’t keep up with any galaxy news, she knew they had more than enough support from within and from other planets. And on top of that, she wasn’t even sure if that man, ‘Isaac’, was even legit or just a drunk visitor experiencing their first brawler show. It didn't matter to her anyway, she just wanted to get home, check on Shay, and go to sleep. 

The house was about a 15 minute walk from the bar and the rest of the ‘downtown’ strip, which was literally one clothing store and a grocery store. Valerie occasionally thought about opening up her own store there, selling imported gifts and goods, but it would be way too expensive to start up so she never went through with it. But she did miss all the little trinkets she used to collect. Sometimes Master Luke would take a group of padawans to a new planet for training, a new atmosphere to take in helped expand the mind and test skills in a different way. Valerie always made sure to buy at least something small wherever they visited. The one time they visited Kashyyyk she forgot to grab something, luckily one of her classmates had kept her in his mind and brought her back something when he visited. A small keychain, carved from the trees that grew on the planet and shaped like her star sign. It was one of the few things she still had from her past, hooked on to her keys to the bar back room and Shay’s house.

It was a habit of Valerie’s to knock on Shay’s front door before entering, he told her nearly every time for the first year she lived there that it was unnecessary but eventually gave up. She entered and closed the door behind her, noticing the light in the living room was on and she could hear the radio playing some folksy sound.

“Shay?” She called while taking her boots off.

“I’m in here, lass.” Called Shay from the living room. “How’d ya do tonight? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it but a certain gal wouldn’t let me leave the bloody house!”

Valerie shook her head at his sassy remark. “Because that certain gal knows you’d drink too much and have to carry you home.” She had no problem sassing him right back. “And it went well, I won.”

“Atta girl.” Shay sat on his favourite chair beside the window with the side table tucked close by. He turned the radio down slightly. “Shina get mad?”

Valerie took off her sweater and placed her bag down by the staircase. “No, not really.” She walked into the room and sat on the couch nearby. “She did good too, still needs some practice.”

“Ha.” Shay remarked. “As if that’ll help her beat ya.” He chuckled, making Valerie smile a bit. Shay was her number one fan from day one, and actually the reason why she joined the brawlers, he knew she’d be great at it and he wasn’t wrong.

“Oh, did you take your pills?” Valerie remembered and looked at him with focused eyes.

“Yes, yes, don’t worry Val. I knows I’m old but I’m not stupid, right.” Shay grumbled, he didn’t like how much she looked after him. Nothing would change his mind from seeing her as the young girl who had lost it all, after all these years he still felt the need to protect and provide for her. Even though she was the one making the money to support them now.

“I know. I just want to make sure.” Valerie held her hands up with innocence.

Shay took a drink from his glass of meiloorun juice, a bit of the red liquid dripping onto his graying beard. Valerie looked to the floor and played with her fingers, even though she acted like that apparent Resistance scouter didn’t matter to her, it started to cloud her head, she couldn’t put her finger on why exactly, but she began to feel things she hadn’t felt in years.

“What’s wrong?” Shay brought her back down from her head being in the clouds.

“Oh um…” She said quietly. “I don’t know. There was a guy at the bar tonight, said he was with The Resistance..” And right then and there, she regretted her words.

“The Resistance?!” Shay sat forward quickly. “Who was he? What did he want?”

Shay had brought up The Resistance several times throughout the years, he would sometimes suggest Valerie should leave Greyslough and go join. Valerie never listened to him of course, the thought of leaving the planet left her unsettled, and sometimes panicked. 

“You know, never mind.” She said standing up from her seat.

“Valerie-” Shay began.

“No, I don’t even know if he actually was with The Resistance, he was probably just a drunk having his fun.” Valerie walked towards the stairs and picked up her belongings she had placed down. “It’s getting late anyway, you should get some sleep.”

“Valerie.” Shay started again, she stopped, one foot on the stairs. “This could be your chance.”

She hadn’t heard his voice this serious and bright, hopeful even, in years, or maybe ever.

Valerie turned to him slightly. “Shay, it's a chance I don’t want.”

“Dear, I know you’re probably scared..”

“Shay.”

“But you’ve got to move on from here some day.”

“Shay!” She raised her voice, she never did, not at him. She quickly caught herself and breathed. “That’s enough of this. I’m sorry, but goodnight.”

She felt upset that she had yelled, but she just hated hearing him say those things. She went upstairs and to her bedroom without another word, not from her or Shay. The door shut behind her with a small push as she began to change into her sleep clothes. Her mind felt so scattered, she didn’t know what to do to calm it. She sat on her bed, head in her hands as she breathed slowly and deeply. The house grew quiet as the radio downstairs was turned off. It only made her feel guilty for speaking the way she did to Shay.

There wasn’t much that could be done anyways. Valerie laid down in her bed, using what small portion of the force she still felt to flick off her light. But she quickly shot up from her position and looked at her hand. This was the first time she had used the force in almost 5 years, and it was instinctual, she didn’t even realize she was using it til the light was off. The last thing she needed was another topic rushing around her mind. Maybe that was why her force instincts had kicked in, too much going on. The force worked in funny ways, sometimes it required lots of focus and a clear mind, sometimes it could be used like second nature.

She blew out from her mouth. “Keep it calm, Valerie.” She whispered to herself, picking up her Peglin plush and holding it. You’ll be fine with some rest. She thought before laying back down and closing her eyes for the night.

[astheworldfallsdown-writing]

Chapter I - You Can’t Truly Be Gone

A cold, heavy rain fell on the red-neon lit bar sign, a staple in the town of Greyslough, on the planet Calyzen. It was a small planet that wasn’t heard of very often, floating cozily on the outer rim, far from any politics and destruction. Grassy hills and long lakes made the planet what it was, a thick layer of gloom laid on the planet but that didn’t stop the citizens from having a good time.

Every weekend the local bar doubled as a fight space, Calyzen brawlers all came and competed, not for any titles or anything fancy, just for the love of the crowd. It was mostly men that participated in such events, but around 7 years ago a young girl showed up and began training right away. She had to prove herself tough enough to take on the rough life of a brawler, but she surprised everyone and was deemed worthy. This girl was Valerie Sorveya, but her brawler name was just Val, some even called her Victorious Val which both embarrassed her and humored her.

Valerie was just 22 when she arrived on Greyslough, she was scared and alone, brought in by a delivery ship operator, Shay, who knew little about her. The first time they met was when Shay was on a regular route, picking up supplies from Naboo as well as other planets. But on his way to the lush planet, he got a call from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, requesting that he pick up Luke’s cargo and drop it off on the way to his next stop. Shay had a great deal of respect for the Skywalkers, so of course he accepted, little did he know that this ‘cargo’ was a young girl with braided, dark brown hair, padawan cloak, and eyes bloodshot from crying, it was Valerie. He wasn’t the type of man to ask questions, he wanted to get the job done and have that be all, and Valerie remained quiet for the entirety of the ride. The only problem was that when Shay brought her to Luke’s requested drop-off point on Yavin 4, everything was either burned to ash or on fire, no one was on the planet at all. Shay watched the distraught brunette fall to her knees when she saw the destruction, the pain in her eyes was unlike anything he had ever seen. Shay contacted Luke several times and heard nothing, but he knew he couldn’t leave her there alone.

“Do you want me to take you back to Naboo?” Shay asked her, keeping some space from her.

She mustered up the courage to speak. “But I-...I’m supposed to be here.”

“But hon, there’s nothing here, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” Shay got on one knee beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

Valerie looked at him. “Death, so much death.” Her eyes then focused back on the scene of black and red.

Shay shrugged his shoulders slightly, she wasn’t wrong but what was he supposed to say back? He thought for a moment before speaking. “Let’s get you back to your home.”

“I don’t have a home.” Valerie looked at Shay again, her voice grew a bit more clear. “It was Naboo, but my parents both died just days ago. I wasn’t supposed to come back here for another month but I requested Luke to end my break early, I couldn’t bear being there any longer.” Shay didn’t know what to say. “So I’m sorry sir, but I have nowhere to go now, and I have no way of paying for your service.”

Shay shook his head. “Don’t you worry about that right now. You’ve been through a lot, n’ I don’t normally do this… Well, I don’t normally deliver people actually.. But listen kid, if you’re willing, I’ll take you back t’ my home and we can get your situation sorted out, how does that sound?” Shay knew he needed to help her, it was the right thing to do and this girl needed any help she could get.

Valerie took several moments, the gears turning in her head as she tried to think of her options. She couldn't deny that his idea was the best one, though she didn’t exactly want to go to a new planet with a strange, somewhat scruffy looking man, he did seem to genuinely care for her though they hadn’t even exchanged names. “Where is your home?” She finally asked in a breathy voice, her tiredness was starting to affect her speech.

“Oh I live in GreySlough.” He said. She seemed confused, which didn’t surprise him. “It’s a great little planet, do you like rain?”

She laughed under her breath. “I actually do.” This made Shay smile.

“I’m Shay, Shay McDavin” He held his gloved hand out.

Valerie accepted and met her hand with his. “I’m Valerie, Valerie Sorveya. I was training here.”

“You was training with Luke Skywalker?” Shay said in amazement. “You’ll have to tell me about it on the ship, c’mon, let’s get a move on. Late schedule’s means less credits for food.” Shay helped Valerie stand and began walking to the ship. Before he got in, he turned and saw her standing there, lost in the sight of destruction again. “Valerie?” He called her.

This snapped her out of her fixed gaze. She turned her back slowly to the fires, walking away from what was meant to be her future, her life. Her face remained solemnly sad as she got into the ship and sat in the back seat. Shay reached back and took her hand in his.

“I promise things are gonna be alright. I always get the job done.” He gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go and starting up the ship.

After a few hours and a few stops along the way, Valerie had spoken only every now and then about Naboo, about her training, and asked questions about the planet they were heading to. Shay enjoyed having someone with him on the trips, they usually got lonely but after 40 years in the business, he was used to it. They finally arrived on GreySlough, rain dripping down the ship's windows and rusty panels. Valerie swallowed quietly and got out of the ship, her backpack secured on her shoulders as she followed Shay down the dirt road lit up by tall white lamps. They really weren’t very bright, all the buildings were very dark and looked somewhat abandoned.

“I’ll tell ya this right now, it isn’t much” Shay spoke as he walked up the wet wooden steps to an old brick house. “But it’s kept me dry all these years, so I think you’ll find it suitable. Then again, yer from Naboo.” He laughed, unlocking the doors with a slim key.

It was definitely a lot more old fashioned and run down than what she was used to. But her home on Naboo was usually described just like that. It was only a small cabin by the lake, not any kind of fancy city build, no porcelain or hand embroidered curtains like most others had, but she didn’t mind. This home was still very different, though who was she to become picky after losing essentially everything she had?

Shay showed her to her room, it was mostly empty, but there were a couple dusty boxes, a tall lamp and a spare mattress. Valerie put down her bag while Shay searched the closet for extra pillows and bedding. She walked towards the window, she was glad her bedroom was on the second floor, being up high was something she loved.

“What’s that over there?” Valerie asked. She noticed a bright red sign a few streets over but couldn't make out the text through the pouring rain and droplets hugging the window’s glass.

“That is the town’s entertainment center.” Shay said with a small chuckle as he stood up from making up the bed for her, she was too distracted to realize he had done that for her. “It’s a bar. But each weekend we have these town brawlers that fight over there.”

“Brawlers? Like.. they fight each other?” Valerie asked in a confused tone.

“Yep, but don’t worry, they’re all good sports, at least most of them.” Shay stepped towards the doorway. “I’ll take ya one day. But anyways, I know you’re probably tired so I’ll let ya go. I will be gone early in the morning but not for too long. If you’re up before I’m back, feel free to make yourself at home, you saw the kitchen on your way in right?”

Valerie nodded and leaned down to her bed. “I did. And Shay, thank you, truly.” She ran her hands on the blanket, it wasn’t very soft but that’s really how Valerie liked it, things that were too plush always bothered her skin.

“No need to thank me, hon. You’ve been through enough for one day. Just try to rest up.” Shay reached for the doorknob. “Goodnight.”

Valerie nodded to him as he shut the door. She took a glance around the room before reaching into her backpack and pulling out a medium sized plush toy of an Ice Peglin, a species that lived only on extremely cold planets, swimming and living off of fish. It was her favorite animal and her mother had made her this plush when she was just a baby.

She let out a small sigh and placed her plush on the bed. Her heart began to pound slowly and her emotions all reached her at once. Valerie was good at keeping her true emotions unknown from most, the exceptions being her mother and a classmate of hers. But this was all too much, everything was gone, everyone was gone. It was a dark day in the galaxy for everyone, but especially for Valerie. She began to slowly hyperventilate and tears streamed down her chiseled cheeks before she reached into her bag again, digging through for something. She pulled out a small device and unraveled a wire with two earpieces hung at the end of it. With the press of a button on the device, music began playing in the earpieces, Valerie put them in her ears and closed her eyes, hand over her mouth. Music was something she grew up surrounded by since her mother was a Nabooan musician. It calmed her from a place deep within her. Her breaths slowed, but the tears didn’t stop. She allowed herself to cry for around 10 minutes before wiping them away and changing into some sleep clothes, an old shirt and shorts. She had pictured her night very differently. She expected to be curled up in the arms of the man she cared so deeply for as he would have comforted her over her loss. It would have been in secret of course, Luke couldn’t know what was happening among his own students, his own nephew.

Valerie laid down in the bed, looking up at the ceiling with cracked white paint. One arm holding her plush close, the other on her heart, feeling to see if it had slowed down from her small panic attack.

“Ben.” She sighed. The tears began again, she saw no use in stopping them. This was what real, true, raw pain felt like. And she never expected to feel it over such things.

How will I keep going if you’re gone? She thought to herself.

The rest of the night was quiet, the rain pattering on the window helped ground her. Deep breathes filled the room as she put the music device away and curled back into bed. Her blanket met her shoulders and she turned towards the wall. Sleep was something she both feared in this moment, but also provided her comfort. She was scared to sleep because she saw it as making the day more real, like adding a period at the end of the sentence. But her comfort was just from her curiosity, would she go to sleep and then wake up on Yavin 4? She wondered if she had passed out on Naboo and was having a terrible dream. This wasn’t the case. And this was how she spent most nights for at least the first year on GreySlough.

You can’t truly be gone, Ben.