Ask Hellfires

[Crix Aran]

Did... did Clove just adopt a woman who had just gotten through trying to stab her to death not too long ago? He was beginning to think that the joke he'd been told about Padawans becoming their Masters wasn't so much of a joke anymore because the parallel between him with Sebastian and Clove with her own murder-friend were real. That reminded him, if they were going to be adopting the woman they needed to know her name at the very least.

He sighed and gave Clove a fond side-eyed look.

"Do you even know her name?" he teased his padawan with a smirk, "Got to at least ask for a woman's name before declaring that you're giving her a soul. Propriety's sake and all that."

He was going to have fun teasing her about that for months - though he would have to make sure to come up with better jokes. If he kept coming out with such terrible jokes people were going to start calling them Dad Jokes and he was not old enough for that label.

Still, he turned to Clove with a grin.

"Ready to see Brighthome?"

He... he was ready.

It felt like he had been on the cusp of finding Brighthome for years, pulled off the hunt every time for something else that demanded his attention but no longer. He would actually arrive at his goal after so long.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Huh? Her name? Clove's cheeks lit up a vibrant violet as she giggled awkwardly. Whoops. She had, indeed, forgotten to ask the girl her name. Her gaze returned to the girl with a shy smile. "Well, in that case, what's your name? My name is Clove!"

Clove would nod her head and stand up, regardless of the raider's response. Then, without warning, she leapt towards Crix and swung her arms around him, tightly embracing him with a bright laugh. "We did it! You'll finally find Brighthome!" The half-Annfyn said with a happy singsong tone. "I wonder how it looks like! You should totally have your own large chamber in there, which we can decorate to your liking and make everything look all pretty." She nodded her head afterward as if to say, yes, she was correct, and no one could convince her otherwise.

Clove took a step backward after lowering her arms, ignoring the raiders who were still awkwardly standing in the hangar bay. "Before we go to Brighthome, I got this little Life Day gift for you. It's no longer Life Day but- you know," she giggled as she took the small pouch from her pocket, relieved that it had survived the fight. "Here."

In the small pouch was a small pendant with a see-through quartz attached to it. The quartz hummed quietly, almost like a meditation crystal. "It's not as strong as a real crystal, and I'm not sure if you can use it as a lightsaber crystal... But! I figured it could at the very least be by your side if you need help with your meditations!" Clove explained with a warm smile. "I hope you like it."

---

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tag@Nefieslab​

 

[Crix Aran]

Sometimes Crix wasn't sure that Clove was fully connected to the Galaxy and he was half convinced that it was a good thing. The girl didn't allow herself to get all bogged down in the politics or the social conventions of much of the Galaxy. Take the young girl she had fought - she didn't even know her name and already she was opening her heart and home to her. It was adorable and something he was going to have to caution her against when she was in hostile territory.

Still, the young woman who had been defeated looked at Clove like she was the strangest, most wonderous, thing in the Galaxy before speaking again.

"Luxor."

Well simple names for simple folk he supposed.

Catching his padawan learner without looking was something Crix had perfected at this point - Clove was a very excitable hugger and a hugger she definitely was. Grinning a little bit, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to himself, patting her head as he chuckled.

"Well you did most of the heavy lifting there at the end." he teased her, "All I did was follow several dead-ends and different directions from a holocron."

That he had rescued from a Clone Wars era ship trapped in a continuous mass electrical storm but that was neither here nor there. Smiling, he accepted the Life Day gift quietly before quickly tying it around his neck. He wasn't one for jewellery but this hardly counted and he would happily use it as intended by his cute little Padawan.

However...

"It's wonderful, thank you Clove. But there's something I need to offer you as well..." he took a breath, "The fight you just had? Was a Trial of Skill. Do you know what that means, Clove?"

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

"Luxor, that's a beautiful name."

Although, to be honest, her thoughts were no longer focused on Luxor. Not right now, anyway, because Luxor would soon become her top priority. But for the time being, brighthome was in the foreground. And the gifts, of course.

"Pffsh. Perhaps, but you not only backed me up, but you also did all the research, flying around, and locating. You know!" Clove smiled brightly and tilted her head to the right.

The gift went better than expected, and Crix seemed genuinely happy with it. Even better, he wore it around his neck! That alone would have been enough to call today a success with a cherry on top. A day she'd never forget. But Crix wasn't done yet just yet and decided to throw a surprise back in her face.

"Wait... Trial of Skill?" Clove locked her gaze on Crix, her cogs spinning in her head as if trying to process what he had just said and what it all meant. And for a brief moment, all she did was stare at him blankly. Trial of Skill. Trial of Skill. Trials. Jedi Knight Trials. These were her Jedi Knight Trials! And she's just completed her first one!

"I'm... getting my Jedi Knight Trials— I just finished one— I'm going to be—" Clove's lower lip began to tremble, although she beamed pure happiness. Even though she just walked away from his arms, she dove right back into them, squeezing her master even tighterly. "Thank you so much! I promise I'll make you proud!" Crix's robes muffled her voice, but it was audible enough.

Clove then took a step back, admittingly with a few tiny tears of joy and a less-than-charming sniffle. "But... That will have to wait! Brighthome is more important. Let's get there first, shall we?!"

---

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tag@Nefieslab​

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix just laughed good-naturedly as Clove tried desperately to share some of the responsibility for their success in actually getting Brighthome for the Jedi Order. It was cute. Most Padawans her age would have been shouting from the top of the rooftops that they had found it and that they had managed to do so purely by their own skills and raw determination. He had always known that Clove was too pure for such boasting but he thought she would have accepted at least a little bit more credit.

She accepted partial credit so he'd leave it there for now.

With the weight of her gift resting comfortably on his chest and around his neck, Crix smirked a little bit as the realisation of what he had just said dawned on Clove. He nodded to her to confirm what she was no doubt thinking - that which he had outright implied and was waiting for her to pick up on, really. He let out a huff of laughter as she got what he was getting at, only to throw herself into his arms again. And, because he had a heart, he hugged her back.

Shaking his head, Crix reached out to rest a hand atop Clove's head.

"No Clove... this isn't the beginning of your Trials. You're more than halfway through them." he told her with a small smirk that became somewhat more strained, "You have suffered for your Trial of Flesh. And Jakku served as your Trial of Courage."

He moved both hands, to place a hand on each of her shoulders.

"You are fast becoming a truly great Jedi and I am very proud." he told her with a small smile, "When we arrive at Brighthome, I will give you the last two trials. You know what they are, don't you?"

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove's head tilted to the right once again, looking up at Crix as he explained that only two Trials were left. Every few seconds, her ears danced, particularly when his hands reached her shoulders, holding her and complimenting her. The stuttering, trembling lower lip, and beaming gradually calmed down as everything settled in her mind. It wasn't that she wasn't happy; on the contrary, her eyes shone brightly. But there was a sense of calm and gratitude washing over her.

Gratitude to Crix for helping her and training her to this point, gratitude to the Jedi Order for granting them the opportunity, and gratitude to the Force for bringing them together. But, as much as their Padawan and Master bond was infused with gratitude and happiness, all she could say was an almost shy; "Thank you for helping me and bringing me this far. Without your support, I would not have become the Jedi that I am today," She took a breath and grinned for a moment. "If I've completed the Trials of Flesh, Courage, and Skill, the only two remaining trials are the Trials of Spirit and Insight!"

The two trials she was most concerned about. And yet, she was more than ready to face them.

But it wasn't time just yet. The half-Annfyn took a step back before turning towards one of the docking station's many windows. It was time to get to Brighthome now that the fight was over and the gift-trading was done. The place Crix had worked so hard to find, the place Clove fought to free from raiders.

"Well, let's claim the most beautiful rooms before anyone else can!" Clove said to Crix with a bright smile.

---

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/Exit | End thread(?)
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tag@Nefieslab​