Ask Naboo Into the Gardens

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

It had been a week since Altair had contacted Clove about some herbs, and Clove responded as cheerfully as ever, telling him she knew the perfect spot for gathering herbs. They've kept in touch since that day, and a meeting was set up quickly, much to her surprise. They'd meet at 3 p.m. at the White Gates of the Naboo Gardens of Agriculture and Flora—dubbed the White Gates because of the large white-framed greenhouse that stood proudly in the middle of the garden—leaving them plenty of time to explore the gardens.

Clove dolled herself up from head to toe, as she always did. She didn't put any less effort into her appearance because she was in a wheelchair, no, it motivated her to do the exact opposite. Fashion had always been a way for her to express herself and feel very comfortable, and now more than ever did she desire to do just that. She left the temple of Yavin IV wearing a long flowy pink skirt, a white top, and white heels. She was more than ready to meet her new friend, her arms tingling with excitement.

When the gardens were finally visible Clove's excitement grew even more. The White Gates. Oh, how much time she spent in there with her father, strolling through the golden rays of sunshine and gathering herbs for the clinic. It was always their rare moments of quietness. And at the end they'd often buy extra flowers for her mother as a surprise! Kaalina would always smile and hug those flowers as if they were her child. All of these happy memories flooded back, leaving the girl feeling warm and fuzzy.

Today was going to be just as fun, she was sure of it.

Clove locked the wheels of her chair after finding a nice spot in the sun and fished her commlink out of a small pocket when she arrived at the entrance gates. To be honest, she was never the type to use her commlink frequently. Most of her friends have reluctantly accepted this; if they wanted to talk to her, they'd either spam-call her in the hopes that she'd eventually hear the commlink, or simply pay her a visit. But Clove made an exception for Altair.

// Hey Altair!
// I'm at the entrance of the garden, I'm very excited to finally meet you!
// I'm the one with the pink skirt.
// See you soon!

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was giddy at the prospect of finding some new herb to smoke. From the way Clove described it, it sounded like the good shit. With his constant withdrawal issues, he had to keep up with morphine injections to mellow himself out. Some high quality herbs would do wonders without the bullshit drowsy effects he had from morphine. Truth be told, Altair didn’t even know if Clove was a dude or chick, and he only hoped they wouldn’t freak out about his demon-like appearance. He opted to wear some dark, casual clothes with his hair gelled and styled.

He assumed he would meet up with Clove, smoke the good shit, buy a large supply and then head back. However, as soon as he entered the garden, he felt a bit out of place. It looked like an actual botanical garden and he could see couples here and there enjoying a romantic walk. Altair looked around, trying to see if he could smell some herbs, but he only smelled flowers. He glanced down at his comlink, asking Clove to drop a pin where they were so he could find them.

A few people gasped at the sight of him, pointing at his horns. Altair rolled his eyes and kept walking, deciding to bring up his comlink.

> I forgot to tell you, I got some gnarly ass horns. Don’t scream pls.

Altair kept walking and rounded a corner, spotting a lone figure that was seated in a wheelchair. He slowed down his walk, his eyes widening as she turned to look at him. Damn, she was pretty. But then he noticed the ears. Shit, was she going to scream at him?? The tiefling was frozen in place, blinking a few times.

He cleared his throat, stepping forward only after he was convinced she wasn’t going to scream at the sight of him, “Hey,” He said, managing a shy smile, “I’m Altair.”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Despite Altair's warning about his horns, Clove's eyes widened when she saw a figure with ash-grey skin and large horns approaching her.

Sure, she'd seen species with horns before, but nothing close to this. The horns, combined with his piercing violet eyes and mystical skin, gave him an intense look that even she couldn't ignore. But Clove's larger-than-usual chocolate brown eyes didn't show any signs of fear when he took a cautious step closer, and she didn't look like she was about to scream. If anything, she looked incredibly interested in the horns.

Clove's lips curled up into a warm and bright smile when he shyly introduced himself. "Hey Altair! I'm Clove!" Well, that should've been obvious by now, but still! It couldn't hurt to confirm it, just so Altair didn't have to worry about talking to the wrong person. "I, uhm, I just read your text, the one about the horns? No worries, no screams from me; I think they're awesome! Just like your shirt by the way, cool skull!"

In truth, she wanted to ask him so much: why would I scream because of horns? Do other people scream? Are people mean because of them? But none of those felt like a good way to start the conversation, so she ditched them and kept it at the simple reassurance before moving along to the more important matters. The reason why they met!

The good stuff.

"So! This is the garden I told you about!" Clove's eyes almost sparked brightly for a second, as if she was fighting back an excited giggle. Which, well, she was. "My favorite part is inside the greenhouse itself, but I'm not sure if we're allowed to go at this hour. Still, what do you think? The herbs I mentioned are grown in the gardens' northern wing; if you'd like, we can go there?"

---

​

@Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair couldn’t help but smile when she brightly introduced herself. He had no idea who he had been texting, but this was certainly not what he expected. The tiefling idly touched his horn when she complimented them before looking down at his own shirt. His face heated up slightly, and he looked at her again, “Thanks,” He said, “I really dig your hair,” He said genuinely.

He looked around at the garden, realizing very quickly there was no herb in sight. Altair thought about mentioning that there had been a misunderstanding, but he decided to push the thought aside for now. He had no plans for the day because he intended to completely baked, so he decided he may as well spend it here meandering about. It certainly gave him a break from the drama that surrounded his life everywhere else. And he absolutely didn’t have the heart to call this off when a wheelchair bound girl went out of her way to come out here.

“Yeah, let’s go,” He said, glancing back at Clove, “Want me to push you?” Altair asked, entirely unconcerned with helping her get around. If she agreed, he would kindly step in behind her to nudge her along, looking all around them in the garden. If she didn’t agree, he would simply walk alongside her.

“It’s really cool of you to come out here, Clove,” He said as he walked, “Getting around prolly ain’ easy for you. So we’re gonna go see everything you wanna see today, aight?”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"Thank you!" Hearing him say he liked her hair turned Clove's cheeks bright pink, making it hard to thank him while sounding as casual as possible. But hey, she tried. Her hands reached up for her curly mane for a brief moment, almost as if to double-check that everything was in order, before lowering them back to her lap. Thankfully, she assumed Altair was just as flustered as she was based on the slightest touch of his horns.

She caught Altair's gaze as he looked around the garden, but it never occurred to her that he might be disappointed with where they were. Because why would he? They were almost at the herbs he was asking for! With the exception of the closed greenhouse, everything went according to plan. Although the lacking greenhouse was truly a pity, because it was stunning. But the girl couldn't dwell on her own displeasure with missing the greenhouse for long, because his offer to push her left her blinking confused.

Her ears fluttered a little, and her gaze lingered on him. With the exception of a few glances in her direction, most strangers seemed to pity her or ignore her completely. She didn't seem to mind them too badly; in fact, she tried to ignore them all together and go on about her business. Because why bother? So she was completely taken aback when a stranger, whom she had only vaguely known for a week, offered to push her wheelchair ever so casually. But, as quickly as her expression changed to one of confusion and contemplation, her bright smile reappeared. "Yeh, sure, why not!"

Clove looked over her shoulder at Altair while he spoke to her, her hands toying idly with her skirt fabric. "Oh! That's very kind of you. I wasn't expecting a full day-trip, but that sounds fun!" Her eyes shifted away for a brief moment before her shoulders rose just a tiny bit. "Yeh, it isn't the easiest... But it makes for some good arm workouts! I can't compete with your biceps, though. Are you following the Emryc program?" She'd heard Thelian mention the program before, so she figured it was worth a shot to bring it up.

"To be honest, I've never genuinely hung out one-on-one with someone that I didn't already know! And I'm not sure how any of it works." It was one of the drawbacks of growing up in a clinic next to a resort and being a member of the Jedi Order: everything was usually done in groups or as a lesson. Clove mused for a second before looking up at Altair's violet eyes. "But I am curious about you! So, if you don't mind, could you tell me a little bit about yourself? And then I'll do the same in return!"

She'd return her gaze to the garden ahead of them while listening to him speak, taking in the variety of relatively exotic flowers they came across. The flower beds came to a gradual end at their right hand, leading into a pathway. The path was flanked by large and prideful looking trees, whose leaves were a combination of oranges and yellows that swirled in the air like a bundle of embers with each blow of wind.

At the start of the path, right next to the flowers and the first tree, stood a small sign, reading; "Butterfly conservatory 🡡, Physic garden 🡢"

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair shrugged, “You can’t advertise the greenhouse to me and then we don’t visit it,” He said with a grin, “We committed now,” The tiefling pushed the wheelchair along, gaze flicking down. He briefly wondered how fun it would be to get a running start and then ride on the back of it. The girl would probably pitch a fit, so he kept the thought to himself for now. Altair was shaken out of his thoughts when she mentioned his biceps. His face suddenly grew intensely hot and he couldn’t help but smile stupidly, happy she couldn’t see his idiotic expression, “I uh-my arms are..okay…” He fumbled over his words before clearing his throat, “You know about the Emryc Thorne program?” Altair asked, genuinely impressed. He was also beaming that he apparently looked good enough for someone to pick up on it, “I do follow it! It’s real tough though,” He admitted, “Can’t miss a single day or it throws off your whole groove.”

He was surprised about her comment about never hanging out with anyone she didn’t know well. Altair, like most tiefling males, wandered around quite a bit. It also helped him be an extrovert, “Hangin’ out with only the same people is so boring!” He said, “You don’t learn anythin’ new if you don’t meet brand new folks from all over the galaxy,” Altair thought about how any of it worked and it seemed pretty simple to him, “You just start talkin’, that’s all you do and bam, you know someone new,” He smiled as he kept guiding her along. The tiefling glanced down when she looked at him, blinking curiously when she asked about him.

“I’m from Bandomeer. I’m a tiefling, which is a Devaronian offshoot,” He began, “I grew up on a farm with a huge family. I got nine siblings, if you can believe it,” He chuckled a bit, “We got all kinds of plants and veggies that we sell to the markets. Also got bantha, porg, nerfs and all sorts of critters we raise,” There was a fondness to his tone as he spoke, clearly missing home, “I sing and play guitar, but also perform for tips when major festivals or events happen. If you’re out at those, chances are you’ll prolly see me puttin’ on a show,” He grinned to himself, “And you?” He finally asked, looking down at her. The burning question was why she was in a wheelchair, but he wasn't about to ask something that very well could dig up trauma, “I already know you got insane hearin’ and I don’t envy that.”

He came to a pause at the sign, looking over towards the conservatory, “You wanna go to the butterfly place or nah?”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove heard the small fumbling in Altair's words, but he recovered quickly enough for her to pay no attention or to look over her shoulder. Instead, she grinned happily, delighted that she had found something he could relate with. "Yeh! I've heard some talk about it, so I took a look and then quickly turned off the videos. You're not kidding about how heavy it is! I'm impressed that you can do it every day."

Clove's gaze lingered on his violet eyes for a brief moment before she looked straight ahead, her slightly twitching ears indicating she was smiling throughout his brief introduction. "Wow, wait. Nine siblings? That must be hectic, especially on a farm, but it also sounds quite cozy, having so many brothers and sisters who you can always rely on! Do you see them often, or?" Despite the obvious shift in tone, she wasn't keen on digging any deeper. Because the last thing she wanted to do was make him truly sad. "Also, that's so cool! Performers and singers are... incredible! Singers in particular. I'm not sure how you manage to sing without sounding like a choking crow." Clove giggled while leaning back more relaxed against the chair.

Noticing Altair looking down at her, Clove returned the look with a thoughtful expression on her face that was as clear as day. "And me? Hmm." She paused for a moment, debating on what to tell him and what to avoid. The last thing she wanted was to draw the spotlight on herself, or Force forbids; end up rambling. She knew her friends could handle her rambles, but a stranger?

But then she remembered what Altair had told her about just talking and BAM, you know someone! And so that's what she decided to do; just talk. Or to be more precise, ramble.

"I'm a half-Sephi, born and raised on Ralltiir. My father owned a medical clinic right next to a resort, so I spent the majority of my days there with him and my mother, patching up broken drunk party folk," She started off lightly before the words became quicker the more she spoke, "We eventually had to move to a farm ourselves because tourist hotspots never stay hot for long. Oh, and my mother is a fashion designer! She made the skirt I'm wearing today! No siblings or anything, unless you count two best friends," she paused, laughing, "I used to train to be a dancer, and I tried to get into the New Alderaan ballet university. I got pretty close, but then, as you can see, unfortunate stuff happened. So now I'm concentrating on my studies to get proper medical licenses, and rehabilitation!" Clove's voice remained bubbly despite the slightest decrease in movement in her ears, "And, uh, yeah! The insane hearing. It's honestly not too bad? You get used to it. I just want to crawl into a corner when I hear super loud noises."

Clove finally fell silent for a few moments before bursting out giggling. "Oh, my gosh, that was a lot, sorry," She managed to say between the giggles, "Uhm. The butterflies sound good to me! They have a butterfly that's bigger than someone's head!"

Clove looked over her shoulder at Altair again, her eyes filled with joy. While she hoped she hadn't scared him away with her flood of words, she couldn't deny that she was having a great time.

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Cozy. Altair hadn’t thought of that as the word to use when referring to his family, but it was true. He could already remember the familiar smells of his mother’s cooking, the constant chatter of his siblings, someone thundering down the stairs, one of his sisters slamming the door on another sister. He didn’t even realize he was stupidly smiling as he pushed Clove along, his mind revisiting his home all over again, “I see them every holiday,” He said finally, “My mom would kill me if I didn’t make it home for the holidays. We all gather under one roof, eat a ton of food and just spend family time. Gets crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The tiefling listened as she spoke about her own life, smiling as she mentioned best friends, “Oh yeah, best friends ain't no different siblings. I always call mine my brother and he’s welcome to my house every holiday,” He said energetically before glancing down at her skirt, “Made it? Wow,” He said, brows raising, “Looks real pretty. I can sew things together if I tear anything, but I can’t make clothes,” He remarked, thinking about all the basic how to’s his family taught him before sending him on his way.

However, when she spoke about the dancing, Altair actually stopped pushing her. He paused for a moment, pondering internally before he spoke while facing her, “Ballet? Like you could dance and get on your toes?” He asked, wonder in his tone. He looked at her in the wheelchair, thinking about how much he loved breakdancing or performing. He thought of what he would do if he couldn’t play anymore and the thought hit him like a punch to the gut.

“Y-You’ll be able to walk again, right?” He asked, blinking with slightly wide eyes, “Galaxy’s so big. You got the Chiss, you got Thyferra..they can fix you right up, can’t they? So you can go right back to dancing?”

Altair quickly cleared his throat after a moment and stepped behind her again to continue pushing her towards the butterfly exhibit. Right away he could smell the flowers all around them and see the various butterflies zoom all around. He recognized a lot of the species, but some truly were bigger than he had ever seen.

After walking for a moment, Altair stopped pushing briefly to walk over and rub the residue of a particular flower on his hand. He went back towards Clove and raised his hand, watching as sure enough a large, vibrantly purple butterfly flew over and landed on the back of his hand. He grinned as he lowered his hand towards Clove, “We got these back home,” He explained, “Some of the ugliest caterpillars ever, but damn if they don’t look good now.”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"It sounds like you know a lot about family, which isn't surprising given how large yours is. Calling your best friend a brother, having a mom who makes sure everyone is together for the holidays AND also allows your best friend-brother to visit during the holidays!" Clove smiled; while she had no idea what his family looked like, she couldn't help but imagine nine kids who looked exactly like Altair running around in a nice little farm next to some farm fields, the mother trying to get everyone to sit at the table. It sounded idyllic. The girl let out a dreamy sigh before snapping out of it, realizing he'd mentioned sewing. "But that's already quite impressive! Sewing is incredibly rough. Especially straight stitches." The girl shuddered as she remembered her mother's attempts to teach her how to stitch straight.

"Yeh! All the way up to your toes! We got these shoes that support our feet while we're on pointe." She noticed the chair coming to a halt while Altair's eyes widened. As if he suddenly realized what it all meant. Her own eyes had dimmed, especially after Altair had asked that one gut-punching question.

Clove stared blankly at Altair as he scrambled through a list of planets known for their medical wonders. What was she supposed to say? The truth and risk ruining the mood? A lie that almost always backfired because Force knew she wasn't a good liar? Well, it'd be unkind to lie to him when he was being incredibly sweet to her. "I've looked into higher-end treatments, but it's simply not affordable," she replied matter-of-factly. "However, I have a friend who is into building droids and such, so I'm currently saving up some money to buy the parts and then I'll have him make me some cybernetic stuff. I'm not sure how it will translate to dance, but it will at least give me some movement back!"

Luckily, the butterfly conservatory wasn't far away and the scent of the flowers hit them almost immediately. Clove took a deep breath, inhaling the tropical aroma, her smile returning to her lips. Then they saw butterflies fluttering around.

Clove looked confused as Altair rubbed a flower against his hand. After all, he didn't exactly strike her as the flowery type. But then she noticed why: a beautiful large butterfly with the most beautiful purple wings landed on his hand, looking for pollen. "It's beautiful, I love their wings," Clove said softly, as if she was afraid her voice would scare it away. "You wouldn't be able to tell they were ugly as a caterpillar," she mused, "Reminds me of those bedtime stories about the ugly duckling growing up to be this beautiful white mystical being!"

She sighed happily as she watched the butterflies flutter through the sky and between the brightly colored flowers. "Do you like flying in a ship?" She asked Altair as they strolled through the conservatory.

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair looked slightly crestfallen as she mentioned not being able to afford the care to have her legs back. In truth, his own family had grown up rather modest and hovering close to the poverty line. If something like this happened to him, he doubted they would be able to afford it for him. The tiefling remained lost in thought for a moment as if not entirely satisfied with the answer.

The tiefling grinned as she mentioned the ugly duckling story, “Ah yeah, that was a hit in our household, especially since…” His smile faded a bit, “I mean, look at us,” He pointed at his face, “We all got the spiel about inner beauty and shit cuz we look scary as hell on the outside,” Altair laughed after that, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Was he being lame for talking like this? Probably. He had blurted it all out without thinking. He cleared his throat and continued pushing Clove along.

“I mean, I only been in public shuttles really, so it’s okay,” Altair shrugged at the question of a ship, “Piloting around in a tiny and fast thing would be sick,” He had dreamed of flying in a little one seater and zooming through the sky, “Why, is that your thing?”

Deeper into the path there were signs about exotic birds ahead in a giant aviary. Curious, Altair kept pushing Clove along but stopped when he saw it ended with a large, spiraling staircase that led to the upper levels. His eyes narrowed at once, “For real? Accessibility issues in 146 ABY?” Altair glared ahead for a while before he blinked a few times and looked down at Clove, "You wanna see the birds?"

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove shifted as much as she could in her chair with just her upper body, her eyes dancing up towards Altair as he pointed at his face and explained how the ugly duckling story was often related to him and his family. "Nonsense." She blurted out as well, perhaps a little too bluntly, "Don't get me wrong: the part about inner beauty is wonderful. But you don't strike me as scary? If you try hard enough, I'm sure you can look scary! But when you approached me, I didn't think to myself, "Woah, that's a creepy scary monster approaching me."" She wanted to say so much more, but judging by his empty smile and clearing of his throat, she assumed he just wanted to move on.

"Oooh! Like a star fighter? Those always look so cool," She mused with a light laugh. "I think you'd look awesome in one of those," Her little laugh turned into a proper giggle when he asked if it was her thing, "Oh no, I mean I enjoy the feeling of flying? But because of how bad I am at flying, my friends have forbidden me from doing so. I got them stranded the last time I tried," her tone revealed how fond she was of those memories, as well as how amused she was, "Me and metal stuff just don't go well together!"

Clove tilted her head to the left as she noticed the signs mentioning the exotic birds. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen the birds. So when Altair began to push her towards the massive aviary, she didn't object. But then she saw that dreadful spiraling staircase, and her excitement dropped like a brick into the deepest oceans of Mon Calamari.

"You'd be surprised how common accessibility issues are, but it is what it is!" She tried hard to appear unbothered to not ruin the mood, but it was clear from her body language and tone that she was disappointed. "I mean, I do, but if we can't, then we can't! I'll just send them an angry mail once we are done!"

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair quirked a brow as she mentioned that her friends ‘forbade’ her from doing something. It was a concept he didn’t understand. He thought of Cairo - his best friend and brother who only piled on top of his dumbass ideas. The two enabled one another and usually landed in deep shit together, but they always had great memories about it. Altair grinned at her, “Stranded, yeah, but I bet you can laugh about it or reflect now, right? That’s how you get stories worth telling. Even if something sucks at the time, the stories you remember most are the ones that aren’t so great, but you remember you survived in the end. It’s a chapter of your life, good or bad.”

As they approached the aviary, Altair couldn’t help but noticed how dejected Clove looked. There was a moment of silence as she said if there was no way to go up, that’s all there was to it. Altair looked at Clove, looked up at the stairs, looked at Clove, back at the stairs, back at Clove and did that back and forth a few more times.

“Fuck that,” He put quite eloquently, “Imma carry you up there.”

Altair looked for her reaction to the suggestion of being carried. If she appeared open to it, he would help her detach from the wheelchair. He knelt down backwards in front of her to allow her to wrap her arms around his shoulders, “You can hold the horns if it’s easier,” He said with a laugh, “Don’t bother me.”

If she was ready, he would wrap her legs around his hips for her and hook his arms underneath them to secure her in place. With that, he quite easily rose up and began to walk up the stairs. She was quite possibly lighter than his younger sister, “What good is the Emryc Thorne routine if I ain’t puttin’ it to use?” He remarked as he made his way up. He walked normally at first, but he had a sudden idea.

“You like flyin’ huh?” He asked with a grin. With that, he channeled the Force and leapt up several flights in an unnaturally wide arc. He landed smoothly and did it again before walking normally again. Altair had a smile on his face the entire time, glancing around as his leaps caused a host of birds to fly and flutter all around them.

“Beats a strongly worded complaint, eh?”

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Carry her? Up there?

Clove locked her gaze on him for a few seconds, her ears bouncing up and down. On the one hand, wouldn't that be super weird? Holding on to Altair's back as he carried her around the place? On the other hand, he had offered it, so what did she have to lose? So, with a timid smile and a nod of her head, she agreed.

She wrapped her arms around him as nonchalantly as she could. Even though the horns grabbing didn't bother him, it did bother her, so she held onto his shoulders instead. She was just about to ask about her legs when he started lifting them up and wrapping his arms around them, neatly securing them in place and supporting her body. It was strange seeing them being swung around without feeling anything. And yet the lack of sensation didn't stop her cheeks from burning up to the point where it crept into her ears, turning them a bright violet pink.

"You are absolutely correct, you are walking around as if you are carrying nothing," Clove grinned, clearly impressed by how casually he walked up the stairs. "Uh, yeh I do-" She came to a stop after hearing whispers in her ear warning her that the Force was flowing around Altair. But before she could say anything, Altair leapt into the air with a leap impossible to achieve without the Force. He was a Force User?! But just as that realization hit, Clove felt the wind rush through her hair, and for a split second her mind shut down. All she could do was giggle uncontrollably with pure delight.

It was the exact reason she enjoyed flying so much; the wind, the view, the joy. Being able to go wherever you want. It reminded her of freedom in some ways.

When they finally came to a stop, a flock of colorful exotic birds flew into the air, no doubt startled by Altair's large leaps. The golden sunlight streaming through the large aviary, combined with the rainbows of colors flying around them, was a sight to behold. Clove leaned forward against Altair's back, her arms squeezing his shoulders for a split second as if hugging him. "Thank you, you are right. This is far better than an angry complaint."

After a moment of silence and just enjoying the view, Clove suddenly pressed her finger into Altair's shoulder. "Impressive use of the Force though! I'd never guessed you were Force Sensitive, let alone so skilled!" Obviously she wasn't going to ignore the fact that he was using the Force so casually just because she was having a very good time. Her voice held no judgment though, if anything she sounded excited, or grateful even. Somebody who was kind AND a Force user?! What were the odds!

---

​

tag @Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair couldn’t help the huge smile that broke across his face when he spotted her ears flapping excitedly. The best part was that she likely had no idea that was happening, which made it all the more endearing. The tiefling scooped her up without issue, and if Clove looked, she’d even notice that he purposely contoured the fabric of her skirt against her legs to trap under his arms so her skirt wouldn’t ride up along her thighs while he carried her. As a result, she simply appeared to be wearing makeshift shorts.

He was clearly having a blast as well as he hopped around, his tail waving to and fro in excitement. Altair paused to look at the flurry of birds of different colors and magnificent tails and headfeathers flying by them. The tiefling laughed when Clove remarked on how this was better than a complaint. When he felt her hug him tighter with her arms, his face heated up quite a bit and he felt a sudden rush. However, thankfully she couldn’t see his face right then or feel how his tail waved around eagerly.

Altair made his way towards the top when she remarked on him being a Force user. This gave him pause, and he stopped for a moment, his tail flicking back and forth nervously. He looked slightly over his shoulder, “Oh..you’re…you’re a Force user too?” Altair asked quietly, unsure how to feel about it. For now, he decided he didn’t care and he continued to walk, “I’m from a Matukai village,” He explained as he took the stairs, “I’ve been using the Force for as long as I can remember. You?"

He finally arrived at the very top, spotting a bench that overlooked the entire aviary. Altair very carefully set her down. He made sure she was near an armrest to support her upper body. She would be able to see the birds from here and the various trees and flowers all around. Altair stepped away to glance over the edge before he looked back at her.

“You know..” He began as he flashed her a sheepish smile, “When we were first talking, I thought I was gonna be here to find herbs to smoke,” Altair finally admitted, his smile growing, “And that we’d just get blazed and I’d be on my way,” His gaze lingered on hers for a moment before he looked away and over the balcony, “But I’m glad it turned out to be this instead,” He breathed in the smell of the flowers and plants, watching the butterflies and birds. It all reminded him a bit of home and no amount of smoking could ever replace that.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"Yeh! I am!" Clove said excitedly. A Matukai village... That didn't ring a bell with her. Although she couldn't help but be taken aback by the idea of growing up in a village where the Force was apparently taught at a young age? "Wow, Altair! That's awesome! I can't imagine how skilled you must be with the Force after all these years. Is the entire village Force Sensitive?" Clove paused for a moment, the only reason she knew she was Force Sensitive was because of some Jedi she met by pure luck. And, because of the galaxy's attitude toward Jedi, she was too afraid to tell him or anyone else she was a Jedi. So, a more vague answer it was. "I've found out I'm a Force user when I was fifteen, and I'm eighteen now. So, I'm still learning!"

"Thank you." Clove said sweetly as Altair carefully lowered her against the chair, making sure she was properly supported. As awkward as it was to be carried around, the jumps up the steps and the view were well worth it. Clove sighed happily as she leaned back against the bench, and for a brief moment, she wished she could stay here forever. Especially with such sweet and kind company.

When she heard Altair's voice, her wishing came to a halt, her large chocolate brown eyes dancing up to meet his mysterious violet ones. Herbs to smoke? "Wait—" Clove's cheeks began to burn slowly but steadily, her eyes revealing a hint of embarrassment as she began to giggle. "You thought I was going to lead you to some sort of deal or something? Oh. Oh gosh!"

Her giggling faded away after the Tiefling averted his gaze and admitted he was glad she wasn't bringing him to herbs to smoke. Somewhat nervous to look at him, her gaze returned to the breathtaking scenery and lingered on a bundle of baby blue flowers. "Thank you for sticking around after you realized I was talking about a completely different kind of herb," her hands idly began to brush away some creases on her skirt, "It must've been quite the surprise when you realized this was a literal herb garden."

While the Half-Annfyn's fingers never stopped fiddling with the fabric, she found the courage to return her gaze to Altair. "I'm glad you sent me that message, even if it clearly wasn't intended for me." Clove's lips curled into a warm smile, her head tilting slightly to the right and her ears dancing up and down. "It's been a long time since I've felt this free and... normal."

---

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@Sreeya ​

 

[Altair Din]

Altair’s face heated up profoundly as she brought up the message he sent accidentally. That felt like ages ago, and both of them took it in stride. It was almost like his family said - sometimes the Force works in mysterious ways, “My entire family is Force sensitive,” He said as he turned to look at her again. He was thankful for his very dark skin which made it difficult to spot how red his face would have been otherwise. The tiefling remained against the edge, leaning into the railing as he glanced back at her.

“Why don’t ya feel free and normal?” He asked quietly, thinking back to his own similar experiences. Of course, whenever he didn’t feel it, he simply picked up and went wherever he felt like. Being an acolyte had some perks in the sense that higher ups seldom cared where you went. Altair shrugged, “Whole galaxy’s at your fingertips if you got the Force. Even being in that chair can’t stop you. You can go wherever you want to remind yourself you ain’t no prisoner,” He smiled faintly before looking away again.

He said the words easily enough, but did he believe them himself? Every day he thought about how he would support his family next. He thought of the hopes and dreams of his entire clan resting on his shoulders. It was all him and Imani. Altair’s smile faded slightly, but he didn’t let her see that. He cleared his throat after a moment before looking back at her.

“Where you wanna see next? I think we’ve established accessibility issues ain’t gonna stop us,” He said with a smug grin.

@LilyNion