Ask The Green Hell

[Aranmir]

When he felt Ashen rest the head on his shoulder, Aranmir stiffened and the color of his cheeks got a bit darker. He didn’t expect that the Kage was going to do that, but he soon got used to it, making his body relax. Then, the Tiefling started to use his thumb to caress the other Jedi’s hand. At this moment, he could only think that there were only the two of them here.

By this point, the sun had already set in the horizon. The forest was covered by darkness, with the only light being that of the fire and of the small electric lantern that was in their tent. The sound of the diurnal animals was replaced by the one of those active during the night.

The Padawan would remain next to Ashen for some, basking in his presence in the Force and the warmness of his body next to him. However, the Tiefling was forced to move when he noticed that the saveloy were already cooked. If he got distracted for some more, the two lost their dinner.

Moving his food away from the fire, Aranmir went to pick the bowl with the farofa. Once he returned, the Tiefling showed it to Ashen. “Now we need to cover the saveloy with it.” he moved the sausage around, until it was covered by the flour. “Once you are satisfied with the cover, you wait a bit to cool down. After that you can start eating.”

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

The closeness he felt to Aranmir as they sat together was something Ashen hadn't experienced in a long time. He felt calm and at peace, moving only when Aranmir had to attend to the saveloys cooking over the fire to prevent them from burning. As the tiefling went about his task, Ashen sat upright, watching him as he handled the food. The kage couldn't help but admire Aranmir's appearance, but he quickly dismissed his thoughts when he felt himself getting flustered once more. Moving closer, he paid keen attention as Aranmir showed the proper way to eat farofa.

Having never eaten it before, he appreciated and nodded at Aranmir's explanation with a smile and proceeded to gently cover the saveloy with the farofa before taking a bite. Naturally, he didn't listen to the padawan's advice to wait for it to cool down, which proved to be a painful mistake. "Ahh!" he winced as the piping hot sausage burnt the tip of his tongue.

After allowing his mouth to cool slightly, he regained his composure and patiently waited for the saveloy to cool further before continuing to eat the rest.

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

”No! Wait!” Aranmir screamed, but it was too late. Ashen had given a large bite at the saveloy, screaming right after it. The Tiefling bit his lips to not laugh at the face that the Kage was making. It was mostly funny, but there was also something adorable on it. By this point, he was already thinking that the Knight was completely cute.

While Ashen recovered from his burnt tongue, Aranmir went to retrieve a bottle of water. Once he was seated next to the Kage, he passed it to him. “It’ll alleviate the pain a little bit.” the Tiefling said, smiling at the other. “You are really cute, do you know?” this time there was no teasing, the Padawan was being totally sincere.

Once his saveloy got cool enough, Aranmir started to eat it. He would remain in silence, letting the Kage think about what the Tiefling had said. The only sound would be the voices of the animals of the forest. Rather than feeling afraid with them, the Padawan thought that it was comforting. Even if everything was covered by darkness, the light of life was still out here.

When the Kage was comfortable enough, the Tiefling would start talking again. “I always heard that people tell stories when they are camping.” he turned to look at Ashen. “Do you want to do that?”

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen looked at the bottle of water for a moment before taking it from Aranmir. He was so thoughtful and sweet, Ashen thought before bashfully looking away as the Tiefling called him cute. Unsure of how to respond.

He sat in silence for a moment, trying to gather his scattered thoughts and come up with an appropriate reply, reeling from the compliment that had caught him off guard. To say he was bad at flirting and the like would be an understatement, "You're cute too." He muttered, immediately regretting his delivery and choice of words as they left his mouth, unsure if he was meant to answer the question first. "I mean, uhm..."

Completely speechless, his mind empty of any words.

...
...

A full-on battle raged inside his head, torn between his embarrassment, his need to clarify himself, and a complete shutdown of his communication skills.

...
...

"Never mind," he shook his head in self-pity.

"Yeah, stories sound good" he smiled slightly when Aranmir asked. Right now anything was better than mulling over what just happened. Even though he didn't have many stories to tell, he figured he could think of something.

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir’s smile grew when he heard Ashen call him cute. It was the first time that he heard someone say something nice about his appearance. Usually people would say that he looked like a devil and that he was scary. It wasn’t only him, but it was also common treatment with other Tieflings. Hearing a praise like this one only made him more interested in the Kage.

Because it was obvious for him that he had started developing some feelings for Ashen, he was only unsure of what he should do about it. He watched the way that the other acted, without words and totally embarrassed. Through the Force, the Padawan could feel that these feelings weren’t coming in a bad way. So he decided to do one last thing.

“Thank you!” the Tiefling said, before leaning and giving the other Jedi a brief kiss on the cheek. This would be all the flirting for today, Ashen would probably die from embarrassment any time soon. “Well, I’ll start with the stories.” this would probably give the other some time to recover. “It wasn’t going to be a terror one, I promise.” then, he rushed to his backpack and retrieved a pocket holobook.

“Before arriving here, I was reading this holobook about local myths of G’wenee.” he could have been born on the planet, but only recently he had decided to learn a bit of the folklore of his homeworld. “I'll tell you about the creation of the moon.” he pointed at the astronomical object that was now visible in the sky. “According to the Arandu, the ancient species that lived on the planet before it was colonized by people from Humbarine, the moon was created by the goddess of Light, Ajyra-jaci. She made the moon to ward off the demons of her brother, the god of darkness Vaípe-memby. His demons were preying upon the people during the dark hours of the night.”

“Always afraid, the Arandu sealed themselves in their walled cities every night, but they were still attacked. Fearing these attacks, they prayed for Ajyra-jaci’s aid. She felt piety for them and descended in G’wenee to help. She ordered her servants, the seven guardians, to gather large stones from seven different parts of the planet.” he paused, remembering something important. “Ah! Remember that giant snake that I told you? The holobook says that it’s one of her servants!”

After this small trivia, the Tiefling continued. “Then she used the Ikuva, the Arandu name for the Force, to gather all the stones in a large sphere and gave light to it by bathing it in her sacred pools. Then, she sent it to float around the planet, allowing the Arandu to walk around in the night without fear. However, since her brother complained with their father about the constant light disturbing his demons, she was forced to have the moon’s light disappear sometimes. During these days without the moon, the Arandu would never leave their cities and would stay during the night praying to Ajyra-jaci.”

“So, this is the explanation for the creation of the moon and its phases.” Aranmir said, smiling at Ashen. “It's your time. Tell me an interesting story.”

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen blushed as Aranmir gave him a small kiss on the cheek. By now, he should've known to expect the unexpected with the Tiefling, yet somehow he was still completely taken off guard.

He listened to Aranmir's story intently, not missing a single word, and then it was his turn to tell a story.

A story, a story, a story.

Ashen's mind paced as he tried to think of something interesting. "I don't really have anything." He paused for a moment. It wasn't exactly true, there were many stories his mums would tell him growing up, but he wasn't sure if Aranmir would find them interesting. Those were only children's tales after all.

"Maybe we could just chat a bit?" He smiled, leaning back on his hands while sitting cross-legged on the rock. "Your story was interesting. Do you read holobooks often?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir smiled at Ashen, while waiting patiently for the other to tell him a story. When the minutes went by and the Kage started to feel uncomfortable, it became obvious for the Tiefling that the Knight knew none. It made him wonder how bad his life was before joining the Jedi Order. Didn’t he have any interesting tales from his childhood that could be told? Did his parents never tell him any?

“It’s fine.” the Padawan said, after Ashen confessed what he already had understood. The way that the other Jedi looked at him, so distressed with this simple fact, made Aranmir even more infatuated by the Kage. He wasn’t only adorable, but also sensible. The Tiefling immediately placed his hand in the same cheek that he had kissed early. The Padawan caressed the skin tenderly, feeling the skin against his own.

“You don’t need to feel uncomfortable, we can talk.” he removed his hand from the cheek, but not before giving it one last caress. “More or less.”Aranmir said, before turning to look at the fire. “I only learned how to read when I joined the circus, since then I like to occasionally read interesting things.” after all, he needed to catch up with the time that he spent in illiteracy.

He turned to look at Ashen, a smile at his lips. “Besides, I thought that this story would impress you.” he winked at the Kage, while his smile became a grin. He had said that wasn’t going to tease the other Jedi anymore, but it was being difficult. The Knight was adorable and the Tiefling was captivated by him and his expressions.

“Do you have parents?” he asked, curious to learn if Ashen’s childhood was difficult. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen closed his eyes when Aranmir's hand made contact, leaning into the touch ever so slightly. With a nod, he acknowledged the consoling words of the Tiefling.

When Aranmir withdrew his hand, Ashen opened his eyes and attentively listened as the padawan shared a bit more about his own past. As always, amidst the conversation, Aranmir found an opportunity to playfully tease Ashen. At this point, the Kage merely gave an exasperated look and rolled his eyes, though he still found it amusing and flattering.

"No, it's okay." For just a moment he was unsure of what answer to give Aranmir before speaking up. "I do," he smiled faintly. "I have two mums," Ashen stopped briefly, his smile replaced by a stoic expression. "I was adopted after my parents were killed. I was very little; only 18 months old but I still remember the day." A blessing or a curse depending on who you ask; having the memory of a Kage. For him, it was hardly a blessing to remember such a moment. "But I do love my mums, they tried their best to raise me after they found me. Even if some of it was a... little questionable." He said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on 'little', yet he still cracked a brief smile before his expression turned stoic once again. "I haven't seen them since I-" he paused, still feeling pained— and even a little embarrassed by that particular event. "Erm, well, since I joined the Order," he clarified, dodging the actual reason.

Ashen would listen to Aranmir's response to him opening up before returning the question; "And what about you? You mentioned growing up on the streets and the circus but not much about your parents."

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir paid close attention to what Ashen was saying, not wanting to miss any bit of information. The Tiefling wanted to know more about the Kage since they had arrived in G’wenee, but he had feared that asking him would be invasive. Due to that, this moment could be the best opportunity that he had to understand why the other Jedi seemed to be so reserved about his past.

When Ashen talked about his mothers, the Padawan noticed that there was something more about the time that he left them. The Tiefling decided to not press it, believing that the Kage would tell him more about it when he felt more comfortable.

After Ashen returned to his stoic face, Aranmir held his hand and transmitted comforting feelings through the Force. “They seem to be incredible women. I would like to meet them someday.” he said, while smiling at the Knight. “Thank you for opening up to me. I appreciate it.” the Tiefling said, happy with the fact that the other Jedi had trusted him with it.

Then, it was his time to talk about family. Aranmir paused, unsure of how Ashen would react about what he was going to say. He turned to look at the fire, but still stayed holding the Kage’s hand. “Well, I don’t remember them.” he said and shrugged. It was true, after all. “As far as I can remember, I was already out in the streets. My parents are Lyssa and Neyan, two Zeltrons that work in the circus. They were the ones that took care of me after I joined it. I still talk with them.” he smiled, remembering the conversation that they had last week.

“The last time that we talked, the circus was visiting Naboo. Maybe we can go see it someday!” he smiled, while turning to look at Ashen’s golden eyes. Only now he noticed how the fire made it shine like a pair of gemstones. Two topazes. Aranmir thought, while his face got a bit closer to that of the Kage.

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen's smile held a hint of warmth as Aranmir expressed his desire to meet his parents someday and thanked him for opening up. Though, he knew it wouldn't be that simple for them to visit Quarzite. Being one of the rare few Kage who could leave, returning would definitely be tricky.

With a saddened look, Ashen squeezed Aranmir's hand slightly. He figured it must've been difficult to grow up on the streets all by himself. Though it was nice to hear that the Tiefling still kept in contact with his adoptive parents.

"Thanks for sharing that with me, and I'd love that", Ashen responded with a smile when Aranmir proposed the idea of going to the circus together at some point, locking eyes with the Tiefling as he spoke.

He couldn't resist being captivated by the striking redness of Aranmir's eyes. Lost in thought, he gazed into them, while the fire cast an enchanting glow on the darkness of their surroundings. He never understood the stigma Devaronians and Tieflings received for their looks. To him, everything about Aranmir was beautiful, oblivious to the fact that he subconsciously leaned closer as he got lost in his admiration.

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir didn’t know who started it, but at some point while they looked at each other's eyes the two Jedi kissed. When their lips touched, the Tiefling immediately closed his eyes. He would savor the moment, feeling the Kage through the Force. At this moment, there were only the two of them. Even the sounds of the forest had disappeared.

The Tiefling would maintain the kiss gently, but his hands would move to hold Ashen’s head. He would slowly move his fingers through the strands of blonde hair, feeling how they were silky. During the entire time, Aranmir could only think that he didn’t want this moment to ever end.

Unfortunately, the two would end needing to break the kiss to breathe. Aranmir would finally open his eyes, once again looking at the pair of precious topazes. “Well, it was amazing.” he said, smiling at the Kage. He waited for the Kage to react, while a small party of him hoped that there could be an encore.

@Scrumppe

 

[Ashen Kade]

It was all a blur as their lips touched; Ashen closed his eyes and followed Aranmir's lead as the two kissed. Everything came to a halt around him, lost in the moment. He felt a faint caress as Aranmir gently brushed his fingers through Ashen's hair. It was an enchanting moment he had never experienced before, one that soon came to a end.

Ashen opened his eyes as their lips parted, once again gazing into the tiefling's eyes, before averting his look towards the fire. A rush of confusion overcame him as realisation hit him. They really did just kiss.

The Kage swiftly stood up in a mild state of panic, unsure of what to make of what just happened. It was nice. Great even. Yet he'd never felt this way before and was completely at a loss on how to process it all.

After a brief moment of internal panic, he quickly turned his attention to Aranmir in an attempt to express himself. "Sorry, erm," he muttered with hesitation, only to fall silent. Despite his desire to speak further, no additional words escaped his lips. "Yeah... It was amazing." A faint smile materialized on the edge of his mouth as he gradually regained composure and sat down once again.

@LouJoVi

 

[Aranmir]

Aranmir jumped out of the bank when Ashen stood up. He didn’t expect that the Kage was going to have a panic attack and started to feel concerned about him. The Padawan immediately thought that the other man’s reaction was because they were still in different ranks. Even if they were nearly the same age and were adults, their kiss could get both of them in trouble.

“Hey! Calm down, please!” the Tiefling said, but himself was also starting to get in panic, being hard for him to breath. He felt terrible, believing that the other would soon start screaming how that was an error. The Padawan only calmed down when the Kage said that their kiss had been amazing. Aranmir’s mouth opened in a perfect O, but he immediately smiled.

However, the fact that their position still remained between them was real and they needed to talk about it.

“I’m happy that you liked it like I did, but...” Aranmir paused, his face getting serious. “Maybe we should not do it again, only after I become a Knight. I don’t want to have you getting in trouble because of it.” the Padawan was sure that he already had a crush on the other, so a bit of patience wouldn’t be bad. He was going to be Knighted soon, anyway.

“I also think that you need some time to process what has happened.” now the smile was back on his face, it was obvious that Ashen was confused with what had happened. “I hope that by the time that I’m a Knight, you would have sorted it out and we could kiss again without panic attacks. Hopefully several other times.” the Padawan winked, joking to lift the tension of the conversation. “I’m happy that you liked it.”

Then he remembered something important. “Oh, shit! I forgot about the marshmallows!” Aranmir screamed, before rushing to pick the sweets. It wasn’t going to be a nice camping trip without those. Smiling, the Padawan returned next to the Kage. At this moment, he heard the most terrible sound that he ever heard, making him immediately drop the sweets.

The dark presence appeared again and this time it was stronger.

@Scrumppe