The Pink & the Gold [Nida Perl]

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

Nida's request was pretty much anything but what he expected to come out of her mouth next, and he even turned to her and leaned back a bit as if judging whether she was completely serious or not. It just seemed so out of the blue that she, out of all people he knew, would like sparring lessons with him. Everything about her so far had seemed so tender and innocent. "I'm... sorry, I just did not expect you to say that," he finally smiled, and even let out a giggle over how silly it all was. His arm around her came up to her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I would be happy to help you. It sure beats being around all these dullards!"

Thirdas slid off the side of the rampart and down onto his feet before holding out a hand to help her back down. "I could teach you how to use sword and spear, the way us Valkyri fight," he said with a bit of a triumphant flair. "They should have training equipment your size," he added, sizing her up with a smirk. Once they were both on their feet he again took her by the hand and led her down the steps until back on solid ground.

"Only... shouldn't you be asking your Jedi trainers for sparring lessons? I know nothing of how to fight like a Jedi, using lightsabers and stuff. Why come to me?" Not that he wasn't flattered or wouldn't do it.

"By the way, I think you're already braver than you know," he then told her with a kind smile. "Gods know I would never choose to devote myself to being a Jedi the way the rest of my family all have. I don't have the temperament or patience for it. But you clearly do, and I think you're brave to commit your life to their cause." He paused, thinking about what he'd just said. "Unless you didn't choose, that is..." Now he felt awkward again.

[member="Nida Perl"]​

 

[Nida Heavenshield]

Nida was both elated and horrified that he had agreed to teach her. Why had she even asked? On the surface, she knew that she wanted to get stronger. Still, was there something in her that was trying to appeal to Thirdas?

She felt almost silly while gingerly climbing down from the ramparts, largely due to her companion’s help. “O-oh…I do have some training from the Jedi. They teach all initiates the same basic lessons, regardless of our strengths and weaknesses.” Even though she was a healer, Nida had been taught the fundamentals of wielding a saber and physical combat. This was not an area she excelled in—similarly, those more combat oriented also had to take general healing lessons.

Swallowing thickly, the Padawan continued as she walked alongside Thirdas. “To be honest…I don’t want to learn how to just be a Jedi.” Was she allowed to say that? Still, something was compelling her to speak her mind. Unbeknownst to Nida, there was a lot of debate in the galaxy over what constitutes a Jedi. “And well, this is one way to soak up the local culture, right?” By sword fighting, apparently. She gave him a big, nervous smile, wondering what she had just gotten herself into. He wouldn’t be too rough with her, right?

Shaking her head, Nida tried to clear the awkwardness from the air. “My mother was anointed as a Master in the Silver Jedi, and I’ve always loved her stories about traveling to new lands and even fighting in wars. I want to walk a similar path as she did. I chose this myself.” Though she smiled at the thought, Nida didn’t take into account that Joza’s stories may have been embellished somewhat—or that she’d left out some of the more gruesome details. “I may not be the most outgoing, but I still like the idea of adventure!”

Inspired by delving into her own reasoning for becoming a Jedi, she turned the question on him. “What about you, Thirdas? Is there a path that you want to walk? Or are walking?” Coming from a family of Jedi that are held in high esteem not only on Midvinter, but in the wider galaxy, she had to wonder how that played into his personal aspirations.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

"Actually, might be the best way of going about it," Thirdas commented on her wishing to soak up the local culture. "Bashing each other's brains out followed by sharing a horn of mead is pretty much how we operate on a daily basis!" There was a strong hint of sarcasm in his words, and yet funnily enough it wasn't far from the truth. "Someone once told me Valkyri excel at three things: How to fight, feast, and--" he suddenly rubbed the back of his neck with blushed cheeks, now that he recalled the full expression. "Erm, there's a third F-word, after that..." He wasn't quite ready to be so crude around Nida, having only met her an hour ago and not to mention he felt her ears were too delicate for such "colourful" language.

"I am glad you chose Midvinter, then," he said in regards to her wishing for adventures similar to her mother's tales.

When asked about his own aspirations, Thirdas became quiet as he thought of an answer. His father was a renowned Jedi Master and a Lord of Midvinter, a hero to his people. His mother, also a Jedi Master of just as much renown, was the founder and first Grandmaster of the Dawnguard - and a former assassin before any of that! They were truly remarkable people, worthy of looking up to and aspire to be. But the notion of ruling never interested him and, frankly, seemed quite tedious, and as already mentioned he did not have the will nor patience to become a Jedi. So what, then?

"I want to be a soldier," he finally said, turning to her and her magenta eyes looking back at him. "Much like you, I too grew up on stories told by my parents. They told me of the Silver Jedi, how they fought great battles against the Sith and other forces of darkness. But there weren't just Jedi in their stories; they often mentioned regular men and women picking up arms and fighting alongside them to free anyone living under oppression. They called them 'Antarian Rangers'. That's what I want to be, something I can strive for. I want to help people in the way I know how, and I would get to see new worlds." His mother had just begun teaching him how to wield a rifle after all, so he figured he was already on the right track.

"Hey! You're bound to return to... wherever the Silvers are based at some point or another, right? Take me with you!" His excitement grew with every moment, even more so at the thought of travelling the stars with Nida of all people.

[member="Nida Perl"]​

 

[Nida Heavenshield]

“O-oh, that all sounds, er…very lively.” From what she’d seen just of this afternoon, the Valkyri were indeed a very energetic people. Still, part of Nida was flustered at the thought—would she and Thirdas be bashing each other’s brains out? Given her small frame and lack of ability, that would be quite one sided. And she’d never even had mead before! Only sips of wine at dinner from her mother’s glass, with permission of course.

At the mention of Thirdas wanting to be a soldier, Nida couldn’t help but smile at his passion. Though raised worlds apart, it appeared that the two had some things in common after all, including a need to spread their proverbial wings and grow into people that their respective families could be proud of. “I’ve met a few of the Antarian Rangers.” They seemed to be everywhere among the Silver Jedi, wove into nearly every facet of the Order.

As they walked along, Thirdas tossed out a request seemingly out of nowhere, a decision that would have taken Nida days. “You want to come to Kashyyyk?” The surprise in her tone was quickly retconned, for she did not mean to make it sound as if she did not want to travel with him. “Oh, of course! But, are you sure? It is quite different than Midvinter, a bit warmer with lots of jungle and forests…” Now that she said it out loud, at least some of the terrain would be familiar to him. But for Nida, leaving home had been the cause of much anxiety. Would it be that was for Thirdas, with his seemingly insurmountable confidence? Probably not, she imagined. "...which I'm sure you'll take to wonderfully." She beamed at him, beginning to catch his excitement as well.

A sudden thought of their earlier conversation struck her. “Hey, what was that third ‘F-word’ you mentioned? Fighting, feasting, and…” She trailed, legitimately curious as to how the saying ended.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

"Cash-ewk? Yeah, I suppose," he shrugged, trying out the name of the world for the first time. Seemed like a mouthful to say - not simple like 'Midvinter'! Nida's brief description of the place had him give it another thought, only to reaffirm his convictions. "If that's where I need to go to become a Ranger, then a little warmth isn't gonna stop me. Besides, I can just sleep in the freezer so keep cool at night!" The more he thought about it, the more excited he got that finally he would be able to do something with his life that had purpose, if not to others than at the very least to himself. He wanted to prove himself, to himself.

And, as a bonus, he would still get to see Nida each day. Though he did not feel confident enough to tell her that.

Then out of the blue she returned to the saying he'd touched upon earlier, and he immediately froze. How to get out of this one? She had him trapped! He couldn't just lie to her and make something up, could he? His cheeks burned red with embarrassment as he fumbled to say something.

"It's, uh... Fighting, Feasting, and..." He could scarcely look her way as he mentally slapped himself into telling her. It was just a word, right? "...Fornicating." Not the word commonly used, but he felt safer using it in her presence. Part of him even hoped to the Gods that she didn't even know its meaning, however unlikely. Immediately he attempted to change the subject.

"H-hey, w-when do you, uh... think you'll be returning to Cash-ewk? Or however it's pronounced..."

Now he knew exactly how she felt when they first met earlier, falling face-down into manure. Right now he wished he'd taken her place.

[member="Nida Perl"]​

 

[Nida Heavenshield]

Nida was impressed with his dedication to becoming a ranger, so much that she wondered about any foresight—or lack thereof—to his plan. It had taken her years to come to this decision, and months to finally leave home on her own. Not to mention the anxiety attacks, the over thinking, making herself sick…and yet, she figured that this was what happened to everyone. Maybe Thirdas had been chomping at the bit to leave, and this was a golden opportunity?

His enthusiasm was endearing, even somewhat intoxicating, as evidenced by the big, dopey grin on her face. “The freezer, hmm?” There’s a solution she never would have thought of.

Her follow-up question caused Thirdas to become unsettled, but Nida couldn’t imagine as to why. Once he’d explained, however, she joined him in being red faced and flustered. “O-o…oh…” Clearing her throat, Nida attempted to awkwardly salvage the situation. “They, uh, they same the same thing about Zeltrons, you know.” As soon as the words left her lips, a thousand implications hung in the air and she could do nothing more than hide her face in her hands.

“Um, forget I said that, okay?” She was two seconds away from scooping up some snow and slapping it onto her cheeks in order to cool down. Fortunately, Thirdas swiftly changed the subject.

“Cash-eek” She corrected gently, though to her it didn’t matter if he got the pronunciation spot on or not. “Two…” She paused to clear her throat again, voice cracking. “About two weeks, I think. So, a week after your brother’s wedding. Is…is that enough time for you to prepare?”

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

She surprised him again with her commenting that her people had a similar reputation regarding... intimate relations. Yet it also made him feel less terrible for having told her in the first place; his knowledge of Zeltons was very limited, and had assumed she'd take offense to his crude nature. After all, she was part of a space-faring race of people known across the stars, and Thirdas had simply assumed they were above that sort of thing. Apparently, that wasn't the case, and because of this he only felt more comfortable around her. Growing up with only Valkyri around, he figured up there among the stars people were nothing like his kind.

The thought that they were not so different after all made him smile, however lewd their similarities.

"Cash-eek," he repeated her correction, trying it out a couple times. "Can't say I've ever heard a name like that before."

It only now occurred to him that they had been wandering about all this time without any sort of destination in mind, having all but circled the entire courtyard. "Two weeks? Should be fine, I think. I'll have to ask--" He paused, looking towards the temple itself where his mother's office was located. He wasn't sure whether she was actually present, but that was beside the point. "No, two weeks will be fine. I will let my family know the time of our leaving, they'll want to see me off." He decided he'd become too old to ask for permission. This had always been his dream, to see the stars. One he had long shared with his cousin Thrand.

They walked a bit further, until he felt brave enough, or perhaps mischievous enough, to grab a handful of fresh snow when she wasn't looking. "Hey, check it out," he sought her attention just to make her turn her head, and when she did she would be met with a spray of snow aimed straight at her face. He didn't try and run away, but rather waited to see what her reaction would be. Had she ever been in a snowball fight, he wondered?

[member="Nida Perl"]​

 

[Nida Heavenshield]

As someone who agonized over the smallest decisions, Nida admired people with impulsive behavior, for better or worse. Her sister had established herself as the ‘rule-breaker’ of the siblings early on, often getting herself into trouble in the process. But all Nida saw was someone she admired, fearlessly having grand adventures in the great galaxy. Something in her was almost proud that she seemingly helped to influence Thirdas.

“I’m sure they’d want to say good-bye to you.” Her mother had difficulty letting her go, but Nida hadn’t exactly been chomping at the bit to leave home. “It, um…it might be a little scary leaving home at first, but it’ll get better. I promise.” She gave him a small smile meant to be comforting, but really she felt silly for even mentioning it. Would Thirdas even have the same worries that she did?

The next thing she knew, Thirdas was calling for her attention, which was met with an unexpected snowball to the face. In true Nida fashion, everything halted for several moments as she took in the actuality of all that had just happened. The distraction, the stinging of her cheek, the melted snow dribbling down the side of her chin. Then she turned away, shoulders heaving with a shaky exhale. “Y…you….” Her voice went soft but suddenly she bent down, scooped up a wad of snow and turned on her heel.

“You don’t know who you’re messing with!” She declared cheerfully with a large grin before launching a half-formed ball of snow back at him.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]