Private Into the Woods

[Thelma Goth]

If there was any assignment Thelma truly dreaded, it was the annual camping trip.

Padawans from the NJO were required to prove their survival skills in the wild. Crammed together into a windowless shuttle, none of them knew where they were going or what to expect at their mysterious rendezvous. All that they knew was that they would be constantly monitored from afar by their instructors, and graded according to how well they handled the unpredictability of nature.

What was Thelma so afraid of? Well, she had managed to keep her nature a secret thus far, but the camping trip, which required her to spend a long period of time under surveillance, would prevent her from feeding. While she could subsist on regular food—and had been doing so for much of her time with the NJO, barring a few isolated incidents—she had to eat almost constantly to stave off starvation. Regular food would likely prove hard to come by out in the wilderness.

In short, going on this trip meant that she would have to choose between either suffering malnourishment, or exposing her true nature. Neither option was good, but she couldn’t just refuse to attend. Not without drawing suspicion.

Of course, there was a third option, but that involved talking to people and relying on them for help. Part of her would almost rather starve, but she saw little other choice.

And so Thelma found herself stumbling out of a transport and into the middle of a lush alien forest. The trees and plants came in hues of blue, pink, and purple, and the sky overhead was orange. It was chilly. A cold wind seemed to cut straight through her jumpsuit, making her shiver.

While her fellow Padawans staggered about, trying to get their bearings, she moved to the far edge of the clearing. Panic and uncertainty radiated off of her, despite her best attempts not to show it. Her eyes scanned the crowds, trying to at least find a familiar face… and eventually landed on Silas.

Cautiously she approached him, preparing the words she wanted to say in her head beforehand. Yet when she finally reached him, she couldn’t seem to get a word out. So she just stood there staring at him in silence while the other Padawans headed off into the woods.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

Camping trips? to some it was going to be a horrible few days, but to Silas it was going to be a treat to go out into the wild and camp out with his fellow padawan. Clad in more casual clothes of shorts and a short sleeve shirt he chose to get into more comfy clothing for this assignment. There was dangerous wildlife in these woods, yet it didn't require him to get into his standard gear of a jumpsuit. If he had the opportunity to wear something new, Silas was going to take it.

Slinging his tent and supplies over his back in the form of a backpack he was about to begin his journey when he noticed a set of eyes resting on him. Silas turned his head and blinked a few times at Thelma who was now standing next to him silently "Oh... fancy seeing you hear Thelma!" he said with a shy smile "It seems like we've got here at the same time" the teen continued, his cheeks slowly turning a shade of red.

"Uh... you know... I still don't have a partner if you want to tag along with me? I could use the company in all honesty" Silas said in a lowered tone, uncharacteristically nervous for a kid who was quite calm in stressful situations. ​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"Oh... fancy seeing you here Thelma!"

"Uh."

Thelma continued to stare, unsure of what to say. Her eyes were drawn to his, yet she found it difficult to maintain eye contact.

"Hi."

"It seems like we've got here at the same time."

"Yeah."

"Uh... you know... I still don't have a partner if you want to tag along with me? I could use the company in all honesty."

She did need a partner. That was why she had approached Silas, wasn't it?

"If you don't mind… I mean, I don't really know what to do," she said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Her gaze dropped to the ground, her cheeks aflame. "Wilderness survival wasn't something my old Order covered."

Or rather, they saw no reason to teach her those skills. But that was another story.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

"If you don't mind… I mean, I don't really know what to do,"

"Oh? then by all means join me. I've got some good ideas we can do, as long as you've got a tent you'll be set" he said with a reassuring smile, taking a few steps forwards to only be a few feet from each other "Everyone has to start somewhere, the only difference being I had good knowledge before I even joined the order" in between his work on the farm his dad showed him a thing or two in keeping alive alone. That was only boosted when he was a captive for a few years.

"Follow me, the first thing we've got to do is find a well covered spot with a pool of some kind," he remarked walking forwards, his eyes keeping a close eye on their surroundings "Just be careful of the local wildlife around here, it may be a camping trip but it doesn't mean we'll be in some kind of danger."​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Silas seemed enthusiastic about partnering with her. Thelma couldn't help brightening at being so readily accepted, though she had some lingering doubts.

"I have a tent but, I also eat a lot. If you're okay with that," she mumbled. "And I stay up late. But I can be quiet."

He alluded to having survival skills from before he joined the Order. She recalled what little he had told her about his past, and assumed he didn't want to talk about it. Or maybe he did—but if he wanted to talk about the past, she figured he'd do it.

"Well-covered with a pool, right." Nodding her head, she stuck close to Silas as he took the lead. "Does it have to be a pool of running water? Like a river or a stream, so we can drink from it?" Did rivers count as pools?

"I can handle animals," she said. "I know I don't look like much, but I can fight pretty good." He had seen her move fast and carry things many times her size, but she didn't think he had seen her fight yet. Maybe that was why he still liked her. People tended to stay away after witnessing her kills.

"Is that good?" She pointed to a small lake visible through a tall thicket of thorny briars. A small bird reminiscent of a duck was stepping out of the water, fluffing its wet feathers.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

"I'll be fine, I've dealt with worse sleeping partners" some of which tried to kill him when they had the chance. A girl who stayed up late and ate a lot wouldn't be so bad in his books, just as long as she got some sleep at some point. As they continued walking along Thelma seemed to be getting more into the task at hand "Not exactly, just an isolated pool which may contain some fish. We can get drinking water from the fresh water streams in the woods, they shouldn't be too hard to find"

Silas looked to Thelma and gave a confident nod "I never doubted it, considering you're standing with me now then it's pretty clear you can handle yourself. If you couldn't, I'm afraid you probably would be dead by now" if a Jedi didn't know what he was doing in danger, they definitely wouldn't last long in the order let alone staying alive.

Soon enough, Thelma pointed to a small lake through an assortment of thorns. The bank was well covered and wildlife seemed to be thriving within its waters "I'd say that's a good spot. I hope you're peckish for some fish later" the boy foreshadowed for later. Fish and some meat will fill them up nicely for the night.

Silas came up close to the water and stopped, his cold eyes looking across the far reach of the water "Here will do" the teen said as he dropped his bag to the floor and lightly stretched off

"First order of business is to set up our tents, then we can gather some firewood for a fire"​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"I'll be fine, I've dealt with worse sleeping partners."

Thelma gave Silas a sidelong glance, but evidently decided not to touch that subject.

What he said next made her think. She had ironically come to the Jedi believing they would be a safe haven. Compared to the alternative, the NJO was sanctuary, a place where she would be protected. She hadn't considered that many Padawans didn't survive to reach knighthood, and the general lifespan for a Jedi wasn't very long anyway. It was a sobering thought.

"I've never been fishing," she murmured. "I have been hunting, though. Don't fish have really short memories?" Or was that just goldfish?

As instructed, she began setting up her tent. Or tried to—within a few minutes she found herself entangled in a mire of canvas cloth and tent poles, the structure having fallen apart on top of her.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

"I have been hunting, though. Don't fish have really short memories?"

"In all honesty, I don't know myself. They could remember even the littlest of things for all we know" he said with a shrug back to the girl before kneeling down to begin the process of setting up his own tent. It was good to know Thelma had at least done some hunting, that would only make things easier for the both of them when it came to gathering some food for later.

After a few minutes, Silas got back up to look down at his tent with a brief nod of satisfaction. It didn't really cause him any trouble considering he had done it hundreds of times before. On the other hand, Thelma was struggling to get a grip on how to set it all up. Chuckling to himself quietly from the tent falling on top of her, he walked over and began pulling the tent off her body "Come on Goth, let me help you out with this" the teen said, his hand lightly brushing her off when he pulled her back up.

Before he focused on setting up his tent, Silas seemed to glare at her a little longer than first planned. Providing a shy smile, he moved past her just when his cheeks blushed and started to carefully set up her shelter for the night "This shouldn't take long, but while you're here you may as well watch to see how you set it up for later down the line" he explained, his hands gentle messing with some poles.

Soon enough, Silas had finished setting up her tent neatly "Okay, I think that's it. All you need to do is throw in your sleeping bag and mat" he said with a smile "What would you do without me?" the boy joked, nudging her on the arm as he took a few steps to the bank to see if he could spot any fish in the clear water.

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Huh.” Maybe she should try feeding from a fish. She could do it to land creatures, but the experience of consuming animal memories in general was pretty… weird. Not to mention impractical, given how little energy they provided per feeding. The memories of sentients were more nourishing.

Distracted by all these thoughts, it was no wonder why she wound up making a mess. Silas came to the rescue, disentangling her from her tent. Of course she was embarrassed, her cheeks burning red and her hair falling in her face as she ducked her head in shame.

On the other hand, it was sort of funny. She must’ve looked ridiculous, all caught up in the canvas, with tent poles falling down on top of her…

As he brushed her off, their eyes locked. Her irises were green, but there was something else noticeable in this light—her pupils, while dark, had a slightly purplish tint. It made her gaze seem hypnotic.

"What would you do without me?"

Looking away again, Thelma shrugged, but couldn’t help but smile. “Die, I guess.”

She followed him toward the water. “Do you have a fishing rod, or should we just wade in and start grabbing fish with our bare hands?” She could very easily do the latter, but wasn't sure if he could. It would certainly be entertaining to watch him try.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas couldn't help but smirk at her reply, She did somewhat rely on him getting her through this, but Silas didn't see any problem teaching a newcomer a thing or two about survival. After all, the padawan's needed to stick together to get through things like this "Die? pffft, I wouldn't let you" the teen chuckled with a playful nudge on her arm.

Sitting down by the water, he could now and then see the outlines of fish swimming around by the bank. By the look of things, it looked like a deep pool with a sense of unknown radiating from its depths. For all he knew, there was probably a monster fish waiting down below for an unsuspecting victim "Use our hands? I doubt that would work in an environment like this" although, a makeshift pole? perfect "I don't have a proper fishing rod, I doubt Master Valery would let me have one. Instead, we'll just have to settle with a makeshift pole" he stated as he looked around the wooded area thoughtfully.

"If you can gather some dry pieces of wood and sticks for the fire, I'll make you a pole for when you get back. We better be quick though, I doubt there's much daylight left" Silas stated as he got up, extending a hand down to help her to her feet too.

"If you find anything or in trouble, don't hesitate to signal me. We both have each other's backs, don't we?" Silas smiled, his head motioning towards some trees "Go on, we'll be feasting soon enough" ​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“I wouldn’t let you die either,” Thelma said with a firm nod.

After Silas dismissed the notion of using their hands, Thelma still made an attempt. She spied a shadow just below the surface of the water, and with incredible speed she plunged her arm into the depths. Retrieving a large blue fish, the creature thrashed wildly, its slimy scaled body eventually wriggling its way out of her grip. She caught it again in her other hand, but it bounced off her palm and into the water with a loud splash.

“Fiddlesticks,” she muttered. They would need fishing rods after all.

“Why won’t Master Noble let you have one?” she asked, puzzled. Was Valery Noble anti-fishing, or something?

I should get him a proper fishing rod as a gift, to say thank you. But not long after she came up with the idea, she began to waver. What if he didn’t see it as just another way of saying thank you? What if he thought it meant something else, or something more? And what if she wanted him to?...

Silas’ request for firewood snapped her out of these thoughts. “Okay,” she mumbled, rising to her feet and heading deeper into the woods. While she was alone out there, perhaps she should find something to eat in the meantime…

A few minutes later, Thelma returned to camp carrying a large bundle of firewood over one shoulder. “Here’s a bunch of dry sticks,” she said, setting the bundle down. It was faint in her voice, but she sounded a bit bummed. Her attempt at finding an animal to feed upon had proven fruitless, and she had eventually given up. If she took too long and Silas got worried, he’d set out to find her, and then she’d have to explain herself—all the worse if he caught her in the middle of feeding.

Approaching Silas, she observed his progress making the fishing rod. Hunger coiled in her gut, making her anxious and impatient, though she tried to hide it. It wasn’t often that she was forced to think this much about how she was going to eat, and when, or how much she dared ration at a time. Hopefully the fish would be enough.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

"That's rea-" but before he could say what he wanted Thelma had already reached in to grab a fish out of the water "Heyyy! put it back!" he said with a grin in the corner of his lips just before the fish managed to slip away from her grasp "Jedi don't cut corners. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it the proper way," he said, brushing away any water muck on his clothes that had been splashed onto him "We're not meant to have much as it is, I just don't want to push my luck"

In truth, he had yet to really ask his master about having one. After all, there were actually quite a few benefits to having one. It allowed him to wind down and work on his patience, two things that were needed for a Jedi from time to time. Soon after, Thelma went out to find some sticks for the fire, leaving Silas to focus on his fishing poles.

The first thing he did was find two long and flexible branches for the two of them. If they were to hook some fish, they didn't want the branch to break from the weight. Then, after searching through his bag he brought out some thin wire and two small hooks he had managed to get for cheap at one of the coruscant markets. Using that, he tied the wire at the end of the branches and tied the hooks onto the hanging wire to secure them for use. Another thing that was in his bag was a small tub of sweetcorn, something which he got from one of his launches in the mess hall.

"Ah perfect, that will be more than enough," he said with a thankful nod, placing the sweetcorn between them and handing her a pole "Here, all you need to do is place the sweetcorn on the hook and place it in the water. When you feel a tug on the pole, that's when you have a fish," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bank to plop his hook into the pool.

"How are you feeling so far? I know it seems hard but you'll get used to it eventually" Silas reassured the girl, a hand hesitantly going over to squeeze hers lightly "Trust me, I was like you when I first started"​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Sorry fish,” she apologized in the direction of the water. “Clearly I should have lured you with bait and then stabbed you in the mouth with a hook on a line. That is the more respectful way to kill and eat you.”

Silas offered an explanation for why Master Noble might not want to let him have a fishing rod. “She probably wouldn’t like me very much, then,” Thelma said. “I have way more clothes than I need. Although, a fishing rod is still useful…”

Upon returning, she listened to Silas’ instructions and tossed her hook out into the water. Silas’ warm hand covered hers, prompting her to look over at him. They were sitting awfully close together. “I’m just hungry, that’s all,” she assured him. Glancing briefly at the bare skin of his throat peeking through his collar, she bit her lip.

Her eyes quickly flicked back up to his face, mere inches from hers. “It seems like fishing is mainly a lot of waiting around to feel a tug on the line. What do you do to pass the time?”

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

“She probably wouldn’t like me very much, then,”

"Master Valery? oh, that's untrue. A little thing like that won't make her hate you at all" he said reassuringly with another squeeze of her hand "The difference is you actually make them and supply them to the Jedi. If that isn't a good cause, I don't know what is" Silas said proudly, adjusting his pole slightly to make sure it wasn't touching the bottom of the pool.

"Don't worry, I'm hungry too. I'm sure we'll get something soon, it just takes patience" Silas said in a hopeful tone before looking back to Thelma when she asked what they did as they waited. His cheeks were still red, especially when he saw her bite her lip "We talk about something, like what our deepest and most wanted desires are" he said back in a more lowered tone, his face leaning forwards towards her slightly.

"Tell me Goth, what is the thing you're most desperate for right now..." Silas said again, their faces only inches apart right now.​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“If you say so,” Thelma mumbled. She still wasn’t fully convinced—based on the things she had heard thus far, Valery Noble sounded utterly terrifying, an imposing figure who was to be avoided at all costs. Thelma had no idea how Silas was able to survive having her as a master.

“Our deepest and most wanted…?” she started to echo his words, trailing off abruptly as he began to move toward her. They were so close now, she could feel the warmth of his breath against her face. Her cheeks flamed.

“Um… I, uh…” She made the mistake of glancing toward his throat again and felt faint with hunger. “It’s a secret,” she said, licking her lips. “I’d have to whisper it in your ear…”

A sudden tugging on the fishing rod in her hand made her snap out of it. She jerked back, yanking the line out of the water with such force that the fish on the hook was flung right at Silas’ head.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas was so close to Thelma he could feel her breath on his skin. His eyes rested on her bright red cheeks, something that made him smile thoughtfully "It's a secret huh?" he chuckled lightly "Fine..." Silas conceded softly as he began leaning closer to Thelma to see what she had to say. For a few moments, he could feel her mouth get closer to his neck instead of his ear, but that was only interrupted when there was a tug on Thelma's line.

Seeing that something large was at the other end, he quickly turned to try and see if he could help her. However, as soon as he caught sight of the fish it was already inches away from his face. A loud smack soon followed as Silas fell backwards with the fish flailing around on top of him. Silas groaned loudly and put a hand to his red cheek which had been hit directly the water born creature. Groaning, the padawan reached up to the fish's head and grasped it with both hands, slowly but surely leaving it motionless after using the force to put it into a coma like state.

"Stars..." Silas grunted to himself while he leaned upwards to look at Thelma with a hand still on his face "At least we got the biggest fish in the pond" he said lightheartedly with a pained smile. The big fish would be more than enough to feed them both, all they needed was to get a fire going to make the most out of a good catch.

"Does my face still look good?"
​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Dropping her fishing rod, Thelma pressed her hands to her cheeks in horror. “Oh no!” she exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

The fish finally stopped flopping around, and Silas sat up. “You have a big red welt on your face,” she admitted. “That fish nearly slapped the soul out of you. I’m so sorry. I’ll carry the fish…”

By now she was beginning to feel weak and lightheaded, but guilt kept her from making him carry her catch back to camp. She also started a fire, but let Silas handle the business of actually preparing the fish for eating. That was his area of expertise, after all.

Thelma sat by the fire while he worked, her knees tucked against her chest. To keep her mind off the gnawing hunger, she tried to start up a conversation—but of course, the only topic she could think about was food. “What do you think the fish on this planet taste like?” she asked. “From here it smells sort of… spicy. Unless you put something on it to make it taste spicy?”

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

“Are you okay?”

"I'm alright, don't worry about it" he groaned with a light rub of his cheek. A comment she said soon after made him smile again, she was most certainly right about the fish nearly knocking the soul out of him "It wasn't your fault Thelma, that fish had been waiting for its moment ever since he got here" the boy joked, nodding to her in thanks after she had picked up the fish. To say the least, Silas didn't think Thelma knew how strong she really was.

Slinging a fish out at that power was quite impressive.

It didn't take long for them to get back to camp and for Thelma to start the fire, for now she could rest while Silas worked his magic on the cooking "Spicy?!" he said a bit too loudly "Something must be up with your sense of smell Thelma" he grinned back to her just as he was retrieving a small knife from his bag "I prefer to keep away from all those foods, especially after Iris Arani almost killed me with it" even if that was the case, he still remembered that memory fondly.

Carefully, sticking the knife into the fish he began to gut and take off the bones inside of the fish so it could be cooked properly "What do you like eating anyway? You tried much fish at all?"​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“You mean the fish was destined to meet your face?” she asked, smirking. Hey, they say that the Force works in mysterious ways…

Her eyes widened at his strong reaction to her saying the fish smelled spicy. “Iris almost killed you?!” she blurted. “With spicy food?... Oh.” Now she understood. Iris was sort of strange, at least from the limited interactions Thelma had had with her, but she hadn’t heard about her preference for spicy food yet—nor her tendency to inflict it on others without warning. “Spicy food isn’t that bad. What is bad is when it, uh… comes out.”

"What do you like eating anyway?"

Uhhhhhh…

“I dunno,” Thelma mumbled, still trying very hard not to stare at Silas’ throat. “I mean, I like… meat? And sweets. I probably eat too many sweets nowadays.”

Her tone grew sober as she remembered the past. “On Dahrtag, we didn’t have much choice of what we ate. It was whatever the elders caught and brought back. They went out hunting every couple of weeks or so, and the children weren’t allowed to come… But there was one man named Max, who would sneak ‘forbidden goods’ into the Citadel. Candy and cookies and junk food, stuff that the other elders had declared was of no nutritional value. We all loved him for it, and since nobody ever ratted him out, he never got caught.”

She smiled a little, then shook her head. “He never brought back fish, so I guess I’ve never tried it. Unless you count those fish sticks they serve in the mess hall at the Temple… but I don’t know how much actual fish is in those.” Most food on Coruscant seemed to be highly processed.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: The woods
Objective: Survive the camping trip
Tag: Thelma Goth

“Iris almost killed you?!” she blurted. “With spicy food?... Oh.”

"Ha! of course not in that way. She just put me in front of some spicy food and I paid the price for it" he said light heartedly, a hand embarrassingly running through his hair after thinking of the funny memory "You can say that again, afterward the toilets were my temporary home for the day" Silas mumbled before looking back to Thelma with another warm smile.

"Sweets? luck you. Master Valery would probably go berserk if she found out I have sweets every day. Now and then is fine, but all the time would really mess up my strict diet" Silas also had a sweet tooth, the only reason he stopped having them regularly was down to life changes before and after becoming a Jedi.

Silas leaned forward and listened to her story, his face untelling of what he thought about it all. He also had a story to tell regarding his time before the order, but he didn't want to dampen the mood even further "Well, now is the time to finally give it a try" he said with a smile, keeping in mind what she had just told him "And from the sounds of it you seemed to be living wild before coming here, one way or another I was doing the same with my parents" Silas revealed before he placed some of the pieces into a small pot that was also in his backpack. After he managed to scavage as much as possible, he placed it on top of two flexible sticks and let it cook in front of them.

The teen took a deep breath and looked up into the sky, staring at the galaxy shown above them "It's a clear sky tonight, the stars seem to be out in full force" he said thoughtfully, taking the moment to scoot up beside Thelma "They'll still be around long after we've gone, it's just the matter of what we do with it" Silas explained, drawing his knees close to his chest

"And to be quite honest with you Thelma, I don't even know where the force will lead me"​