Private Paint Strokes

[Iris Arani]

Iris was all smiles. At first. Then panic. The colors alone showed the torment Silas Westgard was subjected to. For her, who was used to this heat, well. She'd severely underestimated just how hot this might be to someone who'd never actually had spicy food before. She set down her fork, nearly jumping out of her seat as she shook her head. "It's.. Yeah! It's very hot. Um, uh." She rushed off. Behind the counter no less, where the owner just chuckled. She seemed to be quite the regular here. The Padawan would return moments later with a large cup of blue milk, setting it out for Silas. And a lemon.

"Use these! Dairy helps to clear out the spices and acid changes hot to sweet."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas waved a hand in front of his face and scrunched his hands on the table, trying his best to withstand the hot barrage that was attacking his throat. Bravely placing another piece into his mouth, he quickly chewed on it as Iris got out of her seat and went to find I'm some respite. However, when Iris Arani came back with the blue milk Silas slowly raised a hand up to stop her. He wanted to finish this food without cutting corners, and compared to everything else it actually tasted decent through the pain.

"I-I'm fine Iris, give me a few minutes to clean this up" He replied, bravely shoving another piece into his mouth even though his face was getting redder by the second.

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris was in a full on panic at this point. The colors from Silas Westgard were too in pain for her to just let him keep shoveling the food in. But he also told her he was fine? He wasn't fine! It was obvious he wasn't fine! She set down the milk, reluctantly slipping into her chair as she just.. Watched. She wasn't sure what else to do, and well, she wasn't hungry anymore. "You don't have to eat all of it. If it burns too much just stop.."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas who was complaining about the heat seemed to calm down a bit more as he dug into the food without any hesitation anymore. Iris Arani was right about the heat, it was torture but not to the point where it was killing him. Looking back to her with eyes full of tears he supplied a suffering smile and a thumbs up, letting her know he was fine to continue.

"N-no Iris, it's actually alright. The-... the food is delicious, it's j-just the heat doing what it's supposed to do" he reassured her, but if he was stressing Iris out too much he wouldn't have any problems in taking a gulp of the milk. He hated seeing other people distressed, especially over his safety.

 

[Iris Arani]

"I.. You're not gonna die or anything but still." She sighed, leaning back in her seat. Crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't the stubborn type of person to try and make Silas Westgard drink the damn milk and stop himself from hurting. Not if he was so adamant about being okay. Despite obviously not being alright. Iris turned her gaze off, staring out the window. Hoping to not notice the pain he was in. Though the colors wouldn't let her ignore it at all.

"It is good food though.."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas glared at Iris Arani with a frown and glared over to the cold milk. She clearly wasn't enjoying what he was doing, and by the way, Iris was looking out the window he couldn't help but feel she was trying to ignore his pain. With his face bright red and his eyes on the verge of crying, he hesitantly took the glass and gulped down the refreshing beverage. He hated seeing anyone unhappy from his actions, so it was only right to knock off his stubborn attempt and actually have something to help him.

The teen slowly leaned back in his chair and sighed, choosing to take a break and let the food go down before even thinking of trying again "Trust me Iris, the food is great. You should try some you know, it would be a shame to leave it" Silas urged, looking to redeem himself from his expense.

 

[Iris Arani]

She grumbled somewhat as Silas Westgard of the two of them told her to eat. But, still. She ate. The fact he at least tried to stop the pain to himself was enough for her to take her own bite. One that came with a sigh. Yeah, the food was really the best, spice and all. Iris let out a happy hum as she took another bite, turning her gaze back to him. His red face and teary eyed face.

And tried to fight back a laugh.

"You really don't have to put yourself through that you know."

 

[Silas Westgard]

The fact she listened to him and seemed to calm down was a welcome relief. He didn't want to ruin anything for the girl, especially when she had allowed him to train with her. Smiling from the happy hum Silas slowly wiped away any loose tears and took a deep breath, doing his best to cool down from the punishing yet delicious food.

"Really, I'm fine. The food is actually really nice and from the look on your face, you really seem to have great pleasure in my suffering" the boy giggled, taking another gulp of the milk to clench his throat from intense heat.

"I'll definitely have some more in the future..."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't like it when people are in pain. It darkens the colors. A little bit of spice is okay, though." She took another bite, closing her eyes to enjoy chewing the food. Relaxing. She really did love food. Iris paused after a second though, opening her eyes to again watch Silas Westgard . Tilting her head. "What are your plans for the future? As a Jedi?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable Iris, sometimes I can be more determined for my own good" He explained with a shy smile, deciding to take a more reasonable smaller bite of his food now. Looking back up Iris Arani asked him what his plans were as a jedi. Silas couldn't help but ponder in thought for a few moments, only then did he answer the question "Find myself a suitable master first that will bring the most out of me first. That in itself will help me achieve my lifelong goal of providing peace to the galaxy" he said softly, wiping his mouth with a clean cloth which removed any of the mess that had stuck to his mouth.

"Then, when things calm down I guess I can settle somewhere and have a few more special people in my life"

 

[Iris Arani]

"Special people?" Iris tilted her head curiously. Everything Silas Westgard said before was what she expected from him. They were Jedi, that was always their goal. To help people and find someone to help them help even more people. But settle? Special people? The Padawan wasn't sure what exactly he meant, and it was obvious in how she spoke and looked. "I don't think I understand. What is settling?"

 

[Silas Westgard]

"Not entirely settling, they'll always be evil for us Jedi to chase away. I'm talking about having my own family, like how Valery Noble has done with Kahlil. That's a good few years away yet though, I still have my own personal goals to complete before I even think of that" he replied, noticing the confused looked etched across the girls face. The Jedi order was everything to Iris Arani and he didn't blame her, it was almost the same story for Silas too. Although, even though he devoted most of his life to the force he at least wanted part of it to live his own. In his eyes, it was not healthy thinking about his duties as a Jedi all the time, not choosing to cool down was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy the times where you can be free for a short time, you know? have fun while you still have the chance"

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris peered at Silas this time around. Making a family? Well, sure. Some people wanted that, and that made sense. But.. "Aren't you a little young to be thinking like that? I mean, I know you said you weren't, but thinking that's something you want is.." She hummed, thinking through her words in a moment of silence. She wasn't the best at talking, even now. She knew better than most she doesn't even know what she wants with.. Anything.

But that was what growing up was, right?

" It's like you're in a hurry to grow up. Why are you in a hurry?" She glossed over everything he'd said. Have fun while they had the chance. Yeah. That's usually what she did. Painting with her friends, meeting new people that hopefully didn't want her dead.

 

[Silas Westgard]

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of future preparation, sometimes they may not even happen" he said with a shrug before leaning back in his chair, respectfully listening to what Iris Arani was saying to him. Silas didn't think he was trying to grow up fast, that was the last thing he wanted to do. What he said was something possibly decades away, a time which would be way past his youthful days.

"If I was in a hurry, I'd be openly looking for a girlfriend Iris. And that right now, is the least important thing in my mind as I focus on my training" The teen replied truthfully, drinking the last remnants of his spicy food on the plate.

"Sometimes plans for the future can keep you going, giving you the drive to get through even the toughest of challenges. Yes, they may not come true in the end, but its better than having nothing to work towards at all" he said with a small smile, looking straight at the other padawan in a calm nature. Slowly, he'd begin to shift himself to the end of the seat and stand himself up, stretching his body off slightly.

"Say, we should probably move out of here. You got much planned for the rest of the day?"

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris stayed in quiet contemplation as Silas Westgard explained his thought process. Maybe that's what it was, then? He was more methodical with his thoughts where she was more.. Well. She didn't exactly know what her thought process was, given it'd taken her a long time to reach the point she could really think about things more than colors. Before she knew it though he was up. Standing. Asking if she had plans?

Ah, yeah. That really was the difference between them.

"Mmnope. Maybe paint? But that's really it."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas tilted his head curiously to the answer he gave, a small interested nod soon following his previous motion "Well, if you have time I'd be intrigued to see some of your paintings" he said with a light shrug "Maybe you could give me a crash course too. I've never really painted before, so I'm always willing to try new things that interest me." The boy smiled down to her, his arm motioning Iris Arani to the door and allowing the fellow padawan to go first.

"I dread to think what beautiful disaster I could make"

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked once. Stopping in the doorway as she listened to Silas Westgard explain that he'd never painted before. All at once she turned, a wide grin on her face as he reached out to snatch his hand and drag him along. "Come on!" Whatever plans he might've had for the day, well. Iris was hijacking them. It wasn't a far run, but she didn't slow or let him slow. Well no. She did pause for a moment to snatch up a pack she'd left behind during their spar.

Then it was into the garden. She'd let him go finally, so she could start to rummage through her pack. Finally, she'd pull out a canvas and paint supplies, grinning wider as she offered them out.

"Here."

 

[Silas Westgard]

"Whoa, hey now!" he said with a slightly surprised tone before rushing out the shop and belting it back to the sparing area to pick up and extra pack for himself " Iris Arani you seem very eager to show off your talent!" he said with an impressed smile as they finally went out into the gardens, where she finally let him go. Rubbing his hand slightly, he respectfully took the paint brush and looked at the blank canvas, unsure to where to even start.

"So, where do I begin Iris? what do you even start off with?" he asked curiously, genuinely interested with what she was showing him.

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't like showing off." Iris tilted her head, glancing back to Silas Westgard . She'd already started to paint herself, laying out swirls of greens on her canvas the moment Silas took the supplies. Though when he didn't just start she smiled faintly. Stood to sit next to him, nodding at the canvas. "Don't think. It's not a set.. There's no real instructions to it. Just go with what you feel. Let your heart take over." She nodded once, as if what she said was some revelation.

"Find a color that speaks to you, and put it on the canvas. There's no wrong answers."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas looked to Iris Arani as she approached and looked back to his white canvas, one of which had yet to be touched by a single drop of paint yet. In all honesty, he didn't know what to paint until Iris came over and gave him some good advice. She told him to let his heart take over and provide him an image he'd be more than satisfied to draw.

Sighing slightly, he picked up a paint brush and light dabbed it onto the green paint. With care, he began to lightly brush it across the canvas with a happy thought in his mind.

"Can I ask how long you've been painting Iris?"