Ask Kashyyyk Buckets of Water

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove couldn't decide which was worse. Someone walking around knowing no one should be there, or an animal walking around knowing the Kashyyyk fauna was deadly and included some of the largest animals out there. But she nodded once before continuing on, her ears perking up at every little sound she heard in the distance.

Altair came to another stop after a bit more walking. Her head tilted curiously to the right, her gaze fixed on Altair's violet eyes. In this pitch-black forest, the only splash of color. He opened his lips, but then his face vanished. The chill down her spine was barely enough of a warning, because when Hannibal's distant laughs reached her ears, her entire body froze. She was aware she was hallucinating; at the start of her recovery, the smallest things would set them off. But she overcame them, she overcame the triggers.

Apparently not good enough.

Clove's chest rose and fell quickly as Raze's visors locked on her eyes, her hands trembling beneath the cape-like sleeves. Then it faded, just as abruptly as it had appeared, revealing Altair's violet eyes in its place. Clove took a few steps back, her eyes scanning the trees around them, startled. Ajan Klos's corridors were no longer there. Her attention was drawn back to Altair, who gave her a worried look. How could she begin to explain what had just happened? Did she really want to relive those memories while the cold, unwelcome air clung to her skin and crawled up her throat? No.

"I'm... sorry." The half-Annfyn shook her head quickly. "Something just reminded me of... things, She paused, then quickly added, "Jedi things." Hopefully, he'd get the hint, because it was one of the things best left quiet. "Let's keep going. You mentioned something about plants, didn't you?"

Clove continued forward, her free arm tightly wrapped around her own chest, her gaze fixed on the horizon ahead of them. She was, to put it mildly, distracted by the images that had flooded to the foreground. Too distracted to notice the footsteps she'd been hearing intensifying to the point where Altair's ears began to pick them up. They kept getting louder and louder, closer and closer to Altair's side, until suddenly... nothing. They stopped ever so abruptly. Then, in the distance, next to a trunk, Altair noticed two almost burning eyes staring at him. The figure lingered for a split second, its features forming a blank hollow stare, before darting to the left and disappearing behind the many trees. The leaves began to rustle, and the wind began to howl into the night.

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair’s eyes widened as he stared at Clove. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost, and he knew she had no intention of explaining herself. The tiefling simply nodded and walked with her, feeling a pang of guilt for bringing her along, “Hey..” He said as he fell into step next to her, “We don’t gotta keep going. I know you’re uncomfortable and I don’t wanna push you into this,” The concern was clear on his face. Altair followed up by gently reaching out to place a hand over hers - the one that was holding her cane - to keep her from moving further.

“This place is messin’ with ya, I can see it in your eyes,” Altair said, “Let’s go back, okay?” He said, nudging her to head the other way.

That was when he finally heard the rustling at the footsteps. The tiefling stiffened at once, channeling the Force and looking around. He spotted the eyes staring at him before disappearing. Altair was prepared and he unleashed a powerful blast of the Force, hearing a loud thud and an angry noise that didn’t sound human. The shrill screech was enough to make his skin crawl. Instead of heading in that direction, Altair grasped Clove’s hand and tried to yank her in the opposite direction. He had no desire to find out what the hell that was.

Altair barely managed to drag her back when he skidded to a halt. His eyes were wide and his jaw dropped, “...Where the fuck is the speeder?!” He cried out, staring at the empty spot where they had parked their speeder moments prior. They were effectively stranded out here.

The tiefling looked up, “Let’s get to high ground. We gotta get you up there!” He gestured up at a tree. He was entirely uncertain on how to help Clove head up a tree with her spine situation. All around them there was rustling and footsteps, that sense of dread almost overwhelming. It was bad enough to where even he could feel it. Altair kept glancing over his shoulder, intent on getting Clove to higher ground first.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove's gaze lowered to Altair's hand, resting on top of hers. Well, now she's done it. She ruined the trip. Her ears started to droop, and the arm that was wrapped around her own chest tightened its grip. She opened her mouth but stopped. Long before she saw or heard anything, she felt Altair use the Force. She lifted her eyes, confused, and stared in the direction she felt his Force travel. That's when she finally noticed the horrifying shriek.

Altair didn't need much to drag her along, even though her body took a second to reawaken. She was more than happy to follow him, because even though her mind was a jumbled mess, her survival instincts were strong enough to take control. She lagged in front for a moment when Altair abruptly came to a halt; in truth, she wanted to keep going, but Altair's hand around hers was immovable. She stared at him, puzzled, until he cried out about the missing speeder. Clove made a face and redirected her gaze to the empty field, realizing their speeder had genuinely gone missing.

How did a speeder just magically disappear into thin air?!

The half-Annfyn noticed his gesture toward one of the many trees. "Okay, I can do that!" She said with some kind of confidence. She let go of Altair's hand and hurried towards the tree, the Force coursing through her body. Fortunately, Crix had been teaching her how to jump in and out of trees while wielding an absurdly heavy sword. It sucked, a lot, but it also meant that after a few more practice sessions, Force Jump came fairly naturally to her. Clove gritted her teeth before releasing the Force into her legs and leaping as high into the tree as her body would allow, her cane extending outwards to act as a hook in case she couldn't catch herself.

She couldn't catch herself, just as she had feared. Her free hand touched the branch but was unable to grasp it. But where her hand failed, her cane caught the branch, leaving her dangling for a moment on nothing but the cane. She had to get up. Clove grunted and pushed herself up until her free hand could reach for the branch again. This time, her fingers were able to wrap around the branch as well. With stabs of pain shooting through her back and her legs feeling like numbing electricity coursing up and down her nerve, Clove began to pull herself up the branch. The rustling and footsteps were more than enough motivation to get to the top of that branch no matter what.

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair watched as Clove channeled the Force and sprang up, marveling at her abilities. As he watched her push through without leaning on anyone for help, he couldn’t help but admire her. He always considered her frail because of her back and timid nature, but it was in that moment that he realized she couldn’t be further from that. At the end of the day, she had been here when Kashyyyk was ablaze, she was here when the Sith were streaking across the sky, when all hope was lost. And she fought through it just as she easily returned once again without knowing if there could be another attack or not. No, she was not helpless in any sense of the word. She overcame every obstacle in her way and didn’t let even paralysis stop her.

The tiefling quickly shook himself out of his thoughts when he realized she was dangling from her cane, “KEEP GOING CLOVE! YOU HAVE THIS!” Altair cheered her on instead of babying her anymore. He knew she could do it. He focused instead on the rustling all around, seeing a few figures. From Clove’s perspective, she would see all the bushes and plants below rustle and shake. She wouldn’t be able to see Altair but she would hear a lot of commotion.

After a few moments, the tiefling sprang up and hoisted himself up. He practically crawled up the tree, coiling his tail around and using the skills he knew to move up. Altair found the top branch that could support their weight and plopped down next to Clove. His clothing was in tatters and he had a nasty wound on the side of his arm and a few scrapes on his leg. Altair looked shaken and he was trembling a bit. The beady and glowy eyes gazed up at them from below. If Clove looked, every now and then the eyes would flash back and forth with overlapping memories of Raze's red visor.

“They…they looked kind of like Wookiee but…their skin was pulled back and they had these long teeth. I could see half their skulls. It wasn’t infected because they were coordinating..” Altair said, his voice shaking a bit, “I don’t know what happened to them..” The tiefling flinched as he saw claws come up and scrape against the trunk of the tree. But Kashyyyk trees were sturdy and firm. They were safe up here for now.

“I’m so sorry for dragging you into this, Clove..” Altair said while he stared down, his entire body still shaking and reeling from the attack.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Swinging her legs on top of the branch felt like a nightmare, and when she finally made it up there, her face scrunched together in pain. Breathing became a labored task and she leaned back on the branch for a moment, trying to recollect herself as much as she could. But then she noticed Altair wasn't on the branch with her and that recollecting had to wait.

Worried, Clove began to sit up, her gaze lowered to the location where she'd last seen Altair. But he was gone, and all that remained was the rustling of the plants and bushes. That must've meant he was fighting something, whatever it was. "GO ALTAIR!" Clove cheered as loud as she could, just like how he cheered her on only moments prior. She knew, or at the very least hoped, that he would be fine. His skills in Huttball proved he was a capable fighter, and judging by his muscles, he'd have no trouble throwing everybody around like a ragdoll. And yet that didn't stop her worries.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, something sprang up the branch, startling Clove with a yelp. Her head snapped to the being, her expression hard and focused, until she realized it was the Tiefling. Her eyes softened the moment she realized what had happened, especially when she saw the numerous scratches and a rather deep wound on his arm. And he was trembling horribly. "I... that sounds horrible. Half their skulls... they shouldn't be alive like that." Clove's voice faded as she became noticed the claws digging into the trunk. Her whole body shuddered.

She hadn't missed the glowing eyes blending together into Raze's visors, only to snap back into terrifying beady orbs. Although she wished she had. Instead, she focused her entire attention on Altair, refusing to look down until they were gone.

And he... apologised? Clove's head tilted to the right before she shifted closer, firmly grasping both of his hands. "No. Stop. Don't apologize. I could have said no. And... I don't think either of us was expecting... these creatures." She said before looking at his arm again. "You're hurt... Do you want me to try to heal you?" It'd sap all of her energy, especially since her own body was protesting with every breath in and out, but she couldn't just let him bleed like that.

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair wasn’t surprised when she cut him off for apologizing, though it didn’t make him feel any less guilty. He glanced over when she mentioned healing, a skill he knew nothing about, “Uhhh… you can try?” He had no idea it was a taxing Force power, but it was certainly one he couldn’t do. It was a stark reminder that he was a Sith - he ultimately couldn’t use any restorative powers. He had learned about drain at the academy, but even the thought of that made him uneasy.

He looked down and could still hear the growling, “Guess we’re stuck here for a bit,” He said with a sigh. How the hell were they going to get any help? There was no reception out here and they were clearly outnumbered and exhausted with a missing speeder. The tiefling thought for a moment, “I got some ways to keep my mind off the pain, so you’re gonna have to forgive me,” He smiled sheepishly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some herbs. Altair rolled up a joint and pulled out a lighter to ignite it. She was likely going to judge him, but quite frankly he was too shaken and in pain to care.

Altair drew in and exhaled a cloud of smoke facing away from Clove, feeling relaxed almost at once. This herb was plucked on Kashyyyk and it was more potent than anything he had tried before. The tiefling coughed a few times before he went to take another hit. However, he gave Clove a sideways glance, quirking a single brow.

“You….wanna try?” Altair asked quietly. He was entirely unconcerned about the werewookiees or whatever the fuck those things were below that continued to claw and scrape at the trunk that remained firm and impenetrable.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"Hmmm. Okay. It might tingle a little. Or maybe burn. I'm not sure how the Lightside feels for you..." Clove let go of his hands, hovering hers in front of his arm. She closed her eyes and began to channel the Force through her body, which was becoming rather difficult as the growls, snarls, and stabs all tried to fight with her concentration. But, albeit more slowly than usual, she managed to summon the necessary Force before slowly releasing it towards Altair's arm. A swirl of Lightsided Force curled around his arm before seeping into his skin and targeting the cells responsible for skin regeneration.

She didn't get very far before she started seeing little flickering stars, indicating that she had reached her limit. So, before she passed out from overuse, she drew her Force away from his arm, the warmth that lingered around him fading away almost instantly. She leaned in closer to the wound, squinting to see if the bleeding had stopped. Which, thankfully, it did. "Well, it's better than nothing."

Clove rubbed her eyes for a moment. "Yeh, I guess we are stuck." She raised her gaze to the night sky, wondering which was more likely: the creatures becoming bored and leaving them alone, or dawn breaking and the creatures withdrawing due to the sun. And judging by how active they were, it was going to be a long wait regardless. When Altair mentioned something about a way to relieve his pain she merely nodded.

It wasn't until she noticed a cloud of smoke fade into the sky that she realized Altair was smoking a joint. But she didn't judge him, he was scratched up and had a partially healed wound on his arm. If it helped him cope, then so be it.

"Huh? Uhm." She furrowed her brows before leaning in closer to smell the joint in his hand. Her nose scroched together as she was hit by a scent that caused her to pull a face. "Woah! I... don't think that's my type of thing. But thank you for the offer." She leans back with a small laugh. "I think I'll try to meditate for a while to clear my mind."

The half-Annfyn pushed herself closer to the trunk, allowing her back to rest against the wood and provide some support. She closed her eyes, placed her hands on her thighs without dragging her legs into the "iconic" crossed-leg position, and focused on her breathing. And she sat there in silence for a few minutes, focusing on nothing but her breathing and trying to drown out the scratching in the background, Raze's visor, or the blood-soaked corridors that lingered in her mind.

But she had no luck; she couldn't focus. So, with a sigh and her ears twitching in annoyance, she slowly reopened her eyes, her gaze returning to Altair. "Sooo... what now?"

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair saw the face she made and simply laughed in reaction. He wouldn’t have expected her to try this - Jedi were goody two shoes after all. He drew from it and blew out the smoke again, this time using the Force to disperse it further, "You can't hate on this - these herbs are from nature!" He eyed her curiously when she did the healing, fascinated with this use of the Force. There was a time when he would have been able to do this, but not since he began to study at the Sith academy. He wondered if some of his siblings could learn it. He felt dazed and sleepy, the sensation of healing warm and comforting.

“Wow…” He said with a lazy smile, “That felt amazing..” He remarked. Combined with the mellowing effects of the herbs, he was in a great place, “Thanks, Wheels,” Altair said with a smile before he continued smoking. He simply nodded as she mentioned meditating. The tiefling looked away, dangling his legs back and forth as he quietly smoked and stared up at the stars. It reminded him vaguely of back home when he could see them through the thick canopy. He had never seen a sky so brilliant, and he found himself vacantly gawking for a while as he smoked.

Altair ignored the scraping and the growling below, feeling exhaustion taking over. He almost tilted over a few times until Clove spoke up. The tiefling looked over at her and quirked a brow, “Well first of all, unless you wanna get squished, I need you to move,” He stated simply. With that, he shifted around her so his back was against the trunk, “In case we gotta sleep here, you can lean against me so we don’t fall off,” Altair said as he pointed to his chest, making it obvious he had to do this before, “....Learned from a camping trip with my bros gone wrong,” He explained sheepishly.

The tiefling finished smoking the joint and put it out, “All right we can play Questions,” Altair said after a moment, “If you could go back and stop time in one moment, which would it be? What’s a totally surprising fact about you?” The rules were that questions couldn’t be repeated.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove frowned but shuffled over the branch, away from the trunk, to make room for Altair. When he mentioned that she might have to sleep against his chest, her frown disappeared and her cheeks burned up, while her hands instantly began to fidget with the hem of her skirt. She couldn't exactly say no because she wasn't the most serene sleeper and Altair was... quite the muscular broad guy, which meant that sleeping separately on a branch was doomed to fail. "Okay." She managed a shy mutter.

Then there was the question of when she would lean against his chest. She obviously wasn't going to sleep just yet, but she was exhausted. And she was in desperate need of something to lean against with her back. "Well ... If you don't mind, I'll just scooch right over. I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment." Her shy smile never faded; in fact, it grew larger as she moved closer to Altair before turning around. She reached for her ponytail, removed the ribbon, and let her mane of hair fall down and cover her back. Not only did she prefer sleeping without a ponytail on her head, but the hair on her back might soften the metal bits of her cybernetic spine against his chest, even if her coat already covered most of it.

She leaned back carefully against his chest, her gaze fixed on the night sky. There was no way she'd look up at him and see his face, not when she was this close to him. Because her cheeks were as bright as Tatooine's double suns. After all, this was her first time getting this close to someone who wasn't family. If you don't count the times she had to awkwardly lean over a passed-out patient.

"Questions sounds good." She responded while grabbing her long sleeves and draping them over her chest like a blanket. "As for the totally surprising facts about me, uhmmm... I have a slight case of hypermobility. It's very mild in most cases, except for my knees. I can do this." Clove extended both of her legs forward before lifting her lower legs slightly upwards into the sky, while her upper legs remained motionless. "It doesn't really help me outside of ballet, and it doesn't bother me; it's just a thing." She let out a small laugh. "And a moment where I wished I could pause time... I've got two. So I'll cheat with two. The first was the potluck where I met my two best friends. The second..." Clove's voice trailed off for a moment as she inhaled deeply. "The second one would be in the garden with you. Specifically, the moment we got to the birds."

She shifted a little against Altair's chest as she awkwardly cleared her throat. "Okay, my turn. What's your favorite color and why, anddd... What is your biggest kitchen blunder?"

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had certainly thrown the idea out there, but seeing her flustered suddenly subconsciously reminded him to be flustered as well. His face instantly grew warm, but he otherwise kept a very nonchalant look on his face. The last time he had done this, it was a little sibling stuck on the tree with him and it was nothing but complaining and whining. This was entirely different and with Clove. He adjusted his legs so they’d be on either side of her as she moved in against his chest. He glanced down at the cascade of curls, and the nice smells that mercifully masked the lingering Wookiee sweat he had on him from earlier. Altair was a bit self conscious about the herbs smell on him, but quite frankly he was too tired to care. He only hoped she couldn’t feel the way his heart was thundering against his chest pressed against the cybernetic spine.

Altair looked down as she demonstrated her mobility, brows raising, “That’s….really cool actually,” He remarked as he watched the trick with wonder, “And it may mean that more of your mobility might come back,” Altair said hopefully. While most of it was already back for her, he could tell it was still stiff and rigid in many ways. He was about to chuckle at her breaking the rules for mentioning two examples when she named the second as the day she had met him. The words died in his throat and he blinked stupidly, his heart beating even faster. In many ways, he would go back to that moment as well, though he didn't admit that aloud.

He forced himself to think about her questions instead, lingering on them as he thought about them, “Hmmm,” He pondered, “I like the color red because it’s always so bold and gives no fucks. It’s always in your face like “yo, I’m here, whatchu gon’ do about it?” and I just like that vibe,” Altair wondered if his answer sounded like he was completely stoned - which he was. Oh well. He thought longer for the next question, chuckling to himself.

“Life Day feast,” He began, “The entire Din clan was there. So all ten siblings, parents, cousins. House was packed and we had seating outside. We been cookin’ all day for two days to prepare all the food. Table was set and I was told to put some dishes down. I walk over, do it, , don’t realize my tail got caught on the tablecloth. I see my brothers throwing around a ball and I start runnin’ and well…” He grimaced, “You can guess. Entire cloth pulled, every single dish just toppled right over. Everything shattered and crashed and I just see my brothers staring at me. And they all just bolted right outta there so I was left standing there guilty as charged by the whole family.”

Altair shook his head, “Let me tell you, Clove, I thought I was gonna die. I never seen ma or my older sister look so mad. Ma chased me 'round the entire farm with a spatula and that’s when I learned to climb a tree for the first time,” He couldn’t help the grin that came, followed by a chuckle. The memory was hilarious now but it was so terrifying at the time.

He pondered for a moment, “All right, let’s get interesting,” Altair was clearly more comfortable now, his arms lazily resting on his thighs on either side of her. His chest gently rose and fell against her back, his voice rumbling when he spoke, “What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told without getting caught? When do you feel your strongest or your most vulnerable?”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"Maybe, yeh!" The doctors and healers had already told her that it wouldn't get much better than this; the nerves would become more reactive as they healed, and there's still some movement to be gained, but she'd never regain the flexibility she once had. It would get better on some days and worse on others. But she wasn't going to say it out loud and ruin the mood.

"I'll agree that red is a daring and careless color. And some red outfits are so lovely! Particularly crimson red. Nothing beats a simple crimson red dress that is form-fitting to the body!" She sighed as she imagined such a dress. Once they were free of this nightmare, she would have to contact her mother and ask that she make her such a gown. "Nice color choice!"

Clove gasped before looking over her shoulder up at Altair, though from her angle she could only see his chin. "No way?! They just left you there?!" She began to giggle. "With all the food, I can't blame your mother for being upset. I'm glad it taught you how to climb a tree, though." The half-Annfyn kept giggling for a few moments, the story still stuck in her head. It must have been terrifying for a younger Altair, but there was something hilarious about him running through a farm while an older Tiefling ma chased him with a spatula while screaming curses.

Her giggling gradually faded, and she, like Altair, became more relaxed. She wasn't sure if it was the fun story, her sleepiness, or the fact that he was like her personal little oven, but she was getting comfortable. While she remained careful, she allowed herself to lean back against his chest even more, and her hands finally stopped fiddling with some fabric and rested on top of her own belly. "Hmm, those are interesting questions indeed!"

"So I don't bother because I'm a terrible liar and most people seem to notice whenever I lie. BUT, BUT, BUT! A few months ago, I uhm..." Clove took a deep breath in. "You have to swear you won't tell anybody. I and that Bir guy from Huttball broke into a pet store. And we rescued the loth-cat kittens. I took one to the temple, and they obviously began to wonder why I had a loth-cat kitten in my dorm room. So, with the straightest face I could manage, I lied and said I found it in the streets and took it with me. They actually believed me! I think. They either didn't believe me or didn't care." Clove thinned her eyes before returning her gaze to the sky. "Maybe both."

"Strongest and most vulnerable... Hmm." Clove pouted her lips before leaning her head against his chest. "When I'm wearing medical gloves, I'm at my strongest. I know it sounds stupid, but it's the only thing I know I'm really good at. Fighting is a thing. My Force is coming along nicely, after a lot of tries. It's whatever, you know? But once I start doing medical stuff, I get into this zone where everything just flows right."

She let out a self-conscious laugh before continuing. "Most vulnerable is when I'm alone. Not because of the silence; I can deal with silence when I'm with others just fine. I just feel... tiny when I'm alone, no matter where I am. And then my mind wanders because I have nobody else to focus on and, blegh. I've gotten better at dealing with it, but still."

"So we are keeping the questions interesting." Clove, like Altair, had to pause for a moment to think. "Okay, I've got two! What is your biggest fear, and what motivates you to get out of bed each morning?"

---

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair couldn’t help but smile when he heard her giggle, the sound always so airy and carefree. It drowned out the growls below and the creatures seemingly gave up on clawing at the tree for now. However, he could still hear the rustling of bushes to suggest they hadn’t left the area. The tiefling listened to her answers and his brows rose, “Bir? Krazy Kel? You knew him before Huttball? Wow,” He muttered in surprise to himself. The Sith had a reputation for being quite erratic and nuts. However, he hadn’t seen the Kel Dor around in quite some time, “Psh, that’s such an innocent lie,” Altair chuckled, “I think you attending a party full of Sith is a more scandalous story than that,” He playfully nudged her elbow.

He was silent as she spoke about how when she felt vulnerable especially, finding it was something he could relate to. Altair pondered for a moment, “You feel alone often?” He asked almost immediately, but it was clear it wasn’t a part of the game. The tiefling would let her answer before he moved onto the questions she posed to him.

“My biggest fear is…failure and disappointin' everyone around me,” He said after a moment of pause, “My family really counts on me and I made a promise to my master that I’d be the best there was. So I’m tryin’ to do everything I can to move up the ranks and really push myself,” Altair smiled a bit at the next question, “My family and my friends. My best bud Cairo is like a brother to me and I got some real good friends at the academy I get excited to see everyday and…” He paused for a moment, “...my girlfriend,” Altair added very quietly. It was true, and he couldn’t exactly deny it. She had become an integral part of his life, but he knew how Clove felt about her.

As time passed, he began to feel more and more tired. The sounds of the forests were rhythmic and therapeutic now that the beasts stopped howling and scratching. Altair exhaled softly and tilted his head back against the trunk of the tree. He closed his eyes and began to softly hum, thinking of a quiet, melancholy song.

After a moment, he began to softly sing, his voice melodic and soothing. His exhaustion carried through it, and he sang gently for them both, lulling them both to sleep. His tail wrapped around the branch to keep him steady, his legs and arms postured safely on either side of Clove to keep her from toppling over. Altair kept singing, his voice carrying gently through the night, his chest rising and falling softly against her back.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"No, no! I didn't lie about the party; I mentioned that I was going to a friend's birthday party, which is true! I've been very good." She grinned as she gave Altair a playful side-glance. When he asked if she ever felt alone she drifted her gaze away. "Hmm. Yeh. More than I'd prefer." It was always strange. Because, while there was plenty of company in the temple, ever since she took on more responsibilities she was more often in a shuttle or focused on a passed-out person than with someone's company. And when she returned to the temple, she spent most of her time studying in her dorm room.

"I'm sure you make them proud." Clove gave him a soft smile before returning her gaze to the sky. She wanted to say more, to scream that she knew he'd make them proud. But belittling his fear in that way felt wrong, especially since they were playing a game of Questions. When he explained the reason why he got out of bed she nodded against his chest, the same smile still on her lips. That was until he brought up Aadya. Her smile faded faster than she'd like to admit, and her stomach clenched together. Which wasn't the time that happened that day. Still, she had to reply with something. "It's sweet that they are such a strong motivation for you, which also kinda explains the fear!" Well, it wasn't the best answer, but she was at least honest while avoiding the girlfriend part.

Silence fell, leaving them with nothing but the scratching and growling of those nightmare-like creatures at the bottom of the tree. She leaned back further against Altair, her eyes closing as she held back a sigh. A soft hum broke their silence, causing her ears to twitch for a split second. It was Altair, searching for what she assumed to be a melody. When he found it, he began to sing softly. His voice seemed to wrap itself around her like a warm blanket, giving her skin goosebumps and silencing her mind. She began to focus on nothing but his voice, and the words he sang.

Clove's arms became heavier, her mind drowsy, as the lyrics repeated in her head;
"So move me, baby
Shake like the bough of a willow tree
You do it naturally
Move me, baby"

Huh. Wouldn't that be perfect? One last dance, for Altair, to move him? It'd take a lot of practice and a lot of painkillers, and Force had no idea if it'd even look okay. But it'd be worth it all, he would be worth it all. And it could have been the final push she needed to push herself to the limits and get the most out of her new spine. Especially since it'd be only one performance, one to show him and the galaxy she wouldn't let Aadya, or her spine, win. Clove began to drift off against Altair's chest, her head turned so her cheek rested against his shirt instead, those thoughts circling in her head.

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The sun finally broke through the ashy clouds, lighting up Altair and Clove's faces. The half-Annfyn grunted and tried to turn her head away from the sunbeams, only to realize she wasn't touching the soft silk of her pillow sheets. Instead, it was a coarser fabric with a layer of comforting warmth behind it. Her chocolate brown eyes slowly opened, her gaze falling on the side of Altair's arm. That's right! She dozed off against his chest. Her cheeks flushed instantly and she slowly turned her gaze to the ground in the distance.

Everything seemed to be clear; her ears couldn't pick up on any footsteps, growls, or scratching. Except for their own breaths and the quick fluttering of her own heartbeat, there was no sound. The coast was clear. They survived the night. They could finally get out of the tree and move. But instead of sitting up, she raised her gaze to Altair's chin, looking for signs of life. She knew she had to sit up and maybe wake up Altair while doing so. It was the right and polite thing to do. But she couldn't bring herself to leave his chest, where she felt so safe. Not yet.

Yet after staring at him for a minute, Clove reluctantly decided to slowly sit up. Not because she wanted to because she'd rather be in this moment forever. But she didn't want to come across as a creep. Imagine if he woke up and noticed her staring at his chin, no way! No. She yawned and stretched her arms and still-achy back.

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Tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was entirely oblivious to the fact that Clove was staring at him for a while. He was peacefully asleep, his chest still rising and falling with that familiar rhythm. His tail was still coiled around the branch and his head was tilted slightly to the side. When she moved around, his arms almost instinctively wrapped tightly around her to keep her from falling over. He almost appeared agitated in his sleep about her moving away. However, he slowly blinked his eyes open and realized where he was. His face flushed at once and he pulled his arms back, feeling entirely awkward.

“M-My bad..” He muttered before clearing his throat. He looked over the edge of the branch, “Hey! They ain’t there no more!” Altair said excitedly as he rubbed his eyes. The dark side presence was still there, but the monsters were nowhere to be seen.

“You ready to get down?” He asked, but he didn’t really give her a chance to answer. Altair grabbed her by the arm and leapt off the branch, cushioning the landing with the Force and ensuring she could stand up properly in case her back was stiff.

The tiefling looked back towards the direction of the ruins, grimacing a bit. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair, “So..I think we should just forget about the ruins,” Altair decided, surprising himself. Truthfully he didn’t like how the energies around that place impacted Clove, but he wouldn’t bring that up in case she felt as if anything was her fault.

“Besides, I need a shower anyway,” He chuckled, “I still smell like that Wookiee lady.”

Altair paused and looked at her for a moment, "I'm....really glad I came and saw you here. And I'm glad I could help."

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

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Clove felt Altair reach out for her just as she was trying to stretch her back and feel how stiff it was. Her already red cheeks became twice as red, her brown freckles standing out against the almost pure pink skin. Her head jolted to the right, to look at Altair over her shoulder. The Tiefling, much to her surprise, looked almost annoyed in his sleep. Then his violet eyes opened, his eyelashes fluttering like her heart, his face so serene for a moment. Then his arms abruptly withdrew, and he looked just as flustered as she felt.

"Uh, don't... worry about it." She cleared her throat as well, her left hand falling to the sleeves that had remained draped across her chest all night. Shyly she began to fiddle with the fabric, listening to his excitement about those weird creatures being gone. All she could manage was to run her left hand over her cheek to remove some dried-up drool before he grabbed her arm and dragged her off the branch.

Despite a surprised yelp and her cane clattering to the ground, the two landed smoothly thanks to Altair's Force. She was grateful for him allowing her to stand properly because even a grandmamma moved more smoothly than she did. Clove summoned the cane to her hand with the Force while stiffly straightening her back and quickly began to lean on it. "The ruins... yes. I'm not going to argue against that. I need a very warm and long bath myself." She smiled at him before leaning in closer and taking a very dramatic and over-the-top sniff. "Hmmmmmm. Yups. I conclude that you do smell like Wookiee armpit." She tried to joke with a grin before straightening herself.

His pause caught her off guard, and her grin dipped just a bit. "So am I, Altair. I truly am. Thank you for your help and... for just being here, and talking." What a strange feeling; she was genuinely happy, and her fluttering ears reflected that happiness. And yet at the same time, she wanted to crawl into that hot bath and cry for hours with a tub of ice cream. What a mess. "I'll text you once I get back safely, okay? Promise. Don't do anything stupid!"

Clove took her commlink from her bag and summoned the shuttle she borrowed from the Jedi Order, using its good old reliable auto-pilot to head to her location after giving Altair a quick and somewhat awkward hug and saying their final goodbyes. Once it landed she gave Altair one last look with a timid smile, rose her hand into a small wave and disappeared up the ramp.

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/End Thread
Tag @Sreeya ​