Private Paint Strokes

[Iris Arani]

Oh.

He was annoying her again. Ah, lecturing. That's what bothered her. Iris frowned further, but ironically did as he suggested to take a breath. Calm herself. He was right. She just.. Didn't want to hear it from a stranger. Yeah, that's what it was. She rubbed at her forehead, turning her gaze around. Trying to find something else to focus on than her growing annoyance.

"Do you have a master?"

Silas Westgard

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"No, not yet. There hasn't been many Jedi that I've connected with so far, other than one..."

The Jedi he thought highly of was Valery Noble who helped get him through a rough time on Ilum. She went out of her way to look after him when she didn't need to and even gave him the experience of a patrol. That was something he'd always appreciate, no matter the result of his opportunity.

"I believe her name was Noble, Master Noble. She's probably one of the most caring people I've met and one heck of a leader too" The boy remarked in praise, reminiscing on the time they had together.

"I haven't fully made up my mind on her yet, but I've still got time to evaluate if she's the one. Training with a master I don't click with will damage my progression, as well as waste the valuable time of the master herself. It's a privilege after all, not a pick and choose."

 

[Iris Arani]

Valery? Her master? Iris blinked slowly, then immediately frowned. Pouted, even. Valery Noble was training someone like him? He was already so infuriating! And now he was talking about Master Noble like she was some kind of speeder he needed to take on a test run to see if she was a good fit? Grant it, Iris was just annoyed with Silas Westgard so her opinion was heavily, heavily, skewed. He was right, it was important to make sure a Master clicked.

But this was too much for her.

"Master Noble is the best master you can have. You'd be lucky if she took you on."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"Iris, she may be perfect for you but it doesn't mean she'll be a right fit for me. Everyone is different in their own right, correct?"

Behind his tone were some stern words, one that indicated that he truly stood behind his statement. He wasn't trying to mess the master around, Silas had every right to take as long as he wanted to evaluate a Jedi no matter if they were considered "the best".

"I know I'd be lucky to be taken on by her, the same goes for any other Jedi in this order. I mean no disrespect, but there's still much to learn from Valery Noble that I don't know about"

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris just squinted. The annoyance she felt was as clear as day on her face now. This, Silas Westgard 's personality, it was something she never dealt with before. Or perhaps she just never noticed a personality like it before? Or maybe she was just too annoyed at him for everything before. She let out a breath, a deep one. Trying to calm herself before she got actually angry. He wasn't wrong. Just, she didn't like how he talked. Yeah, that was it. The message was correct, he just..

"You speak like a very condescending person." Oh. Well, she blurted that out. She blinked, but didn't take it back.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"Well I'm sorry that it sounds like that miss, but I'm saying it how it is..."

Choosing to reply in a calm manner was best in these type of situations, especially when the other person was speaking nonsense. being straightforward was something Silas always did, not everyone seemed to like his honesty though, Especially Iris. She seemed to think that his attitude was condescending when in reality it was not. Silas wasn't forcing her to listen to every word he said, she was the one that was keeping her ears open to him.

"I don't see a problem in being honest, do you? or would you rather have me lie straight to your face of what I think?"

 

[Iris Arani]

"There's a difference between being honest and being arrogant." Iris huffed before turning away from Silas Westgard , arms crossed over her chest. He was just the type of person she couldn't get along with, it seemed.

"I hope which ever master you end up with helps you see that. .. Thanks for the spar." Her thanks was genuine, all things considered. A frown settled on her lips as she stayed staring off in the distance, distracting herself with the colors. He'd helped more than he probably realized.

".. Um. You hungry?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"If that's what you think, then so be it" he replied, his gaze looking to the ground slightly when she turned her back on him. He hated it when someone branded him something he wasn't, but now wasn't the time and place to argue about such things.

For the first time since their meeting, Iris seemed to be thankful for their time together, even if it was mixed in with a quick dig. Nonetheless, he still gave her a respectful bow for the lesson and offered a warm smile "Anytime Iris. Your master would be pleased with your progress" the boy said gratefully, choosing to ignore the dig and replace it with a positive comment of his own instead.

"You know, I could use something to eat. That spar has made me craving for some soup for once" Silas said jokingly, his arm extending out to let Iris go first

"After you..."

 

[Iris Arani]

Now he was being nice. Or had he always been? Iris frowned further. People were hard enough to deal with already. Silas Westgard just seemed to be the harder type of personality. But lunch, that she could focus on. The smile returned as the option was left to her. She knew just the place to go. With that bright smile she nodded once, seeming to forget her earlier frustration as she lead them from the temple.

"There's a local place close by. They have all sorts of stuff, like soup. I like to get the spicy stuff though."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

Seeing her smile back, he was happy that they were beginning to get some sort of understanding for each other. Watching her leave first he soon followed, trailing alongside her as they traveled to a food store that Iris seemed to know well. For most of his life, he didn't have much of a chance to try spicy food. Who knew, maybe it was better than the soup he always had.

"Sounds good to me miss, I wouldn't mind trying some myself," he said to her, a hand scratching his chin in thought "But I'm not really too sure what any of the good ones are. I think I'll just have what you're having..."

 

[Iris Arani]

"Iris." Why did he keep calling her miss? That wasn't her name. She frowned momentarily before shrugging it off. No, she needed to stop clinging to her annoyance. Give him a chance without her blinders on. She nodded once, proud of her choice and looking quite proud for seemingly no reason. Then lead them to the nearby shop. Small Cafe, inviting atmosphere. Plenty of drinks to be had, but also plenty of food.

Not that she looked through the menu. The owner, a single horned Devaronian, just smiled and nodded Iris's way. She was a regular here. Close enough to the hospital and home.

"I'll take two today." He snorted, glancing towards Silas Westgard with a raised brow. But he didn't question it. Just went to the kitchen to put the order in. Iris on the other hand lead them to a nearby booth to plop down. Much to her visible relief. Her leg had started to throb again just on the way here.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"Hm, as you wish Iris" he said without a hitch. In all honesty, Silas was only trying to be respectful, but if she didn't want to be called that anymore then he would have no complaints in the slightest. Giving the girl a smile to reassure he wasn't annoyed by the correction, he followed her into a small yet comfy cafe. The atmosphere was nice and calm, perfect for chilling and reminiscing on what they did earlier.

When they went up to the counter Iris ordered their food to the Devaronian, who simply sent the order through to the kitchen. The way Iris looked at him with a raised brow seemed to suggest there was more to this food than initially thought, yet that could only be determined when he tried some.

Both Jedi began walking to the booth in silence, up until he saw a strange expression cross her face. Placing himself down in the chair, he took a quick glance out the window before questioning her emotions.

"Everything alright Iris? it seemed like something bothered you for a few moments" he asked in a caring tone, curious as to what was on her mind.

 

[Iris Arani]

As much as she wanted to take offense to Silas Westgard asking if she was alright, she couldn't. The colors, his expression, his voice. He did actually care. Part of her was really starting to regret writing him off as an annoyance so early on. She closed her eyes, rubbing over the sore muscle, letting the Force soothe it as best she could. "The scars, they still hurt here and there. It's.. Nothing bad, just need a moment."

No reason to lie, but she still did brush it off. A month of dealing with this had gotten her plenty used to the ache.

"Do you like spicy food?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

Silently staring at her rub the aching muscle, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Iris in a way. Just from the scars on her body, it seemed like she had been through a lot from a young age. The same could be said for himself too "No problem, take all the time you need" he said warmly, looking up to her with a calm smile.

"I've only had spicy food once or twice, but it was so long ago I've kind of forgotten what it's like," he said with a scratch of his head. Unsure of if he will like it or not. Either way, he was going to find out in a few minutes.

"My homeworld was quite baron in ways, we didn't have huge cities or countless restaurants. There were towns where we could buy food of course, but we mainly lived off the land so there wasn't really much chance to try spicy food"

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't remember my home world. I didn't have spicy food till I came around here, though." Her gaze shifted, glancing through the colors. Silas Westgard 's colors. Did he miss home like the others tended to? Did he not care? The ache faded to a more quiet pulse of numbness. Uncomfortable, but no longer painful. She smiled, obviously more relaxed now. "I hope you can handle it. Whatever you do, don't drink water if it's too much. You'll make it way worse."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"Have you ever been tempted to find out more from where you came from?" he asked curiously while thinking about his own. In truth, he absolutely missed Azbrian with all his heart. Although, right now it offered him no benefit going back at this current time in his life. Ever since the death of his parents, there was nothing to go back to, nor did he have any reason to visit anymore. However, things changed. If he had an opportunity to settle down on the green planet at the right time he'd have no hesitation in jumping at the chance.

"No water? okay noted. Either way, I'm confident I'll be able to fight through the pain if needs be" he said with a slight grin to the padawan, feeling as if they were starting to warm up to each now compared to their earlier tense confrontation.

 

[Iris Arani]

"No, but you're not the first to suggest I do. I guess it's like um.. If you never saw the color red, would you know it was missing? Would you miss it?" That was the only way she could explain it. Her gaze drifted off from Silas Westgard , now watching the cook as they set up all the delicious food that was to come. Ah, spicy food. For a moment she was gone, near drooling at the thought of their incoming lunch.

".. Oh, yeah. It will hurt, somewhat, I guess. If it's too much don't make yourself eat it."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"Well, I probably wouldn't notice to be quite honest. That's a unique way of thinking about it, I'll have to remember that..." he said with a slight smile before the staff came over and began setting up things such as cutlery on the table, awaiting the cook to be finished with their tasty looking spicy food.

"Oh no, Don't worry about that. I've consumed some pretty crap food in my time, so I'm sure spice won't be much of a problem for me at all..." Silas replied with a momentary frown, almost like he had just remembered a bad thought which had been locked away for a very long time.

 

[Iris Arani]

"Crap food? I promise this is anything but." The wonderful aroma of spice and herbs filled Iris's nose, earning a happy sigh of delight. Then, she was right into the food. There was little more distracting to Iris than good food. She dug right in, seeming unphased by the heat. And boy there was heat. It was the hottest food on the menu, immediately assaulting her tastebuds.

"Ha.. Spice really helps bring out the flavor.." She chewed with absolute joy on her face.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Iris Arani

"I hope so, either way, I'm going to finish it all" he proclaimed, clearly confident about his eating abilities right now. When the food was put before him a strong scent of spice instantly invaded his nose, giving him a prelude of what was to come. To his surprise, tears began to form in the corner of his eyes just from the smell alone. Silas tilted his head from the reaction and didn't hesitate to dig in, quickly scoffing down two pieces in quick succession.

At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds the spice hit him like a hover truck straight in the chest. Within moments his face went a light red color, leaving him to cough a few times when he finally swallowed the food.

"I-Iris... you weren't wrong about it hurting... damn," he said with a pained smirk, still more determined than ever to finish off his plate of food that tortured his very heart.