Private There's an obstacle, get over it

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas walked into the training and calmly stopped himself just outside the door. He looked up to the large control room on the there side of the testing area and gave a respectful bow to the knight that was carrying out their training. Today, Valery has assigned him to an obstacle course to boost his fitness and all round agility. Silas had done many before by himself, so it wouldn't be a hassle for the teen "What is my instruction, sir?" Silas asked, placing two hands behind his back to listen to his reply.

"Silas, on time as ususal. I'm sure you have been briefed by your master of what you're doing today, correct?" he said from the viewing room, looking down from high up "Yes, that's correct" he confirmed with a suspicious raise of his cheek "Well, I doubt she told you about having a partner for this activity?" he said to a brief frown from Silas. Not that he didn't like working as a team, it was just the fact some of the padawans were unmanageable from past experience "Correct again, sir..." he mumbled as he dreaded to see who was going to be his partner for this one.

"If that's all established, I may as well bring in your teammate. Thelma, if you could please join him"​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma had gotten there early. The instructor had likewise praised her (though she wasn't early on purpose—she just had nothing better to do) and informed her that she would be partnered with someone, much to her dismay. She hated partnering almost as much as she hated group projects. At least she wouldn't wind up doing all the work, hopefully…

When the instructor called her name, she was sitting on a bench against the wall, minding her own business. Her head shot up and her eyes widened when she saw Silas. Him? Why him? Her gaze flicked to the instructor, then back to Silas. Or rather, the sleeve of his jumpsuit. Was that… the one with the pink thread…?

Blood rushed to her face like mercury rising in a thermometer, coloring her cheeks bright red. Nonetheless, she rose to her feet and marched over to stand beside him. Much like Silas, she was clad in a standard issue NJO jumpsuit, though hers still looked relatively new and unworn.

The course ahead of them consisted of floating platforms, narrow ledges, and other obstacles. Some were stationary, while others were in constant motion, testing their reflexes. Thelma looked at the instructor for the signal to begin. She wasn't quite sure how she and Silas were going to do this together.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas's mouth seemed to open in surprise for a brief moment before looking back to Thelma. Upon seeing her his cheeks went a shade of red, forcing him to look to the floor to hide his feelings. After a few seconds of silence, he finally looked at her and raised the pink sown sleeve "I did say it needed a bit of color" he smiled shyly before looking back to the knight with a bit more seriousness to the task at hand.

"Okay you two, you may begin when the obstacles have appeared. There's only one rule, no use of the force!" the knight finally ended as he pressed the control to bring up the obstacles in front of them. It appeared to upwards to an open door of the control room, if they got there in one piece the task would be completed.

The teen cleared his throat and motioned his head towards the first test, which was a tall wall impossible for a single person to get over. However, with two people it could be easy to achieve "Come on, I'll give you a boost up" he said with a smile as he jogged and leaned forwards slightly to hold his hands out "Once you're up, give me a hand!" he said in preparation, a twinkle coming from his light blue eyes.

"We've got this Thelma..." ​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma gazed at the tall, flat wall just ahead of them. Too tall to climb over without using the Force, they would have to help each other up manually. Naturally Silas offered to boost her up first.

“Okay,” she said, using him more or less as a step stool. It was a little awkward, if only because he wouldn’t stop looking at her in that funny, distracting way, but that couldn’t be helped.

Once she had reached the top, she turned around to pull him up. Silas was bigger than her, and naturally weighed more, yet she was able to pick him up as if he were no heavier than a baby.

“I didn’t use the Force to augment my strength,” she said defensively, as if she was used to people accusing her of cheating and wanted to prevent Silas from saying anything. “I’m just… really strong. I work out. A lot. Yeah...”

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

It was awkward letting Thelma stand all over him as she used his face and shoulders as a stepping stool. He was hoping she'd at least take some kind of run up but instead he was just stepped on "H-hey careful now" he said just as a boot went down onto his lips to shut him up. Making a disgusted face at the same time he managed to get his counterpart up safely "Okay ready?" Silas asked just before doing a small jump for Thelma's strong hand to catch him.

To his surprise, she managed to get him up without much trouble and that made the boy curious even more "Damn, nice strength" he said respectfully as he waved a hand to say it was fine "I believe you Thelma, I'll keep it noted not to go against you when you're angry" he said with a slight smile as they swiftly jogged up to the next barrier.

Coincidently, their next test was also to do with strength. They both needed to carry a large boulder over to a formation in front of a locked stairwell, again impossible for one person. Even though it was across the way, it was quite heavy even with the two of them.

"What do you think? two hands on either side and heave it over?" he asked, intrigued to see more of that strength from the girl "Let's use your natural strength to good use shall we?" ​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Sorry,” she apologized for stepping on Silas.

He believed her excuse, and even complimented her on her strength. She flushed. “Heh, yeah,” she mumbled, before realizing she should probably stop holding onto him. Letting go, she turned her attention to the next part of the course.

They had to move a big boulder up a sloping formation. Silas suggested they work together to carry it. “I was gonna say we could just push it, but I guess that’ll work.”

Thelma went around to the other side of the boulder and helped Silas pick it up. It was certainly heavier than he was, and she didn’t appreciate the rough texture of the rock against her bare hands, but Thelma didn’t have too hard of a time heaving it across.

That strength of hers might just not be human. But hey, plenty of Jedi were non-human. There was nothing weird about it.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

"Pushing it would have been even worse. The material we're standing wouldn't do us any favors in the slightest, and probably take way longer than needed" he said calmly before both of them went to each side of the rock "Okay, 1, 2, 3!" he grunted before picking it up comfortably with the help of Thelma.

Carefully, they both took it over to the formation on the floor and slid it in. He brushed himself down and watched the door open to a stairwell, allowing them to go one step further to the control room which wasn't so far away now "How you holding up?" he asked caringly as they both scaled it "We're doing great so far, keep up the good work Goth" he smiled with a playful nudge to her arm as they came to a single rope going up a steep wall.

Going closer, Silas glared at the sign "Only one can climb..." he said with a scratch of his chin before looking back to Goth "I have an idea, but it requires you to get on my back and hold on tightly." ​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Fine,” she said, wiping her hands on her jumpsuit. When he nudged her with his arm, her cheeks flushed… but then she smiled a little and nudged him back.

“Why do you call me Goth? My name is Thelma. I don’t call you Westgard, Silas.”

As soon as he suggested that she hold onto him while he climbed the rope, her smile fell and her blush deepened. “O-Okay,” she mumbled, moving to stand behind him awkwardly.

If she wrapped her arms around his waist, she’d slip and fall off. So she’d have to go for his neck. Reaching up, she laid her hands first on his shoulders. Her touch was light and cautious at first, as if she were afraid to fully commit—but as soon as he started moving up the rope, her grip tightened until she was clinging fast to him out of necessity.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas warmly smiled when she returned the favor back to him, his cheeks red from how well they were starting to get along. He could feel there was something different between him and Thelma ever since he went to her that day, it was just the matter of if she felt it too "Well, Thelma. There's nothing stopping you" he said with a short chuckle as he went up to the rope in preparation of her climbing on him.

"I know it's strange, but it will be over before you know it" the teen reassured just when he felt her hands gently rest on his shoulders "When I start climbing, wrap your legs around my waist. It will be a whole lot easier bringing you up when you're not hanging off my back" Silas was quite sure he could handle Goth's weight. All she needed to do was not make it awkward for him or choke him out in the process.

Placing his hands on the rope he began to carefully use his strength to climb up the rope. With his feet against the wall, it did make things a whole lot easier "You alright back there?" he grunted, straining but coping from the girl on his back.​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“It’s not that strange,” she insisted, even as she somewhat reluctantly wrapped her legs around his waist. This close, she could smell his sweat and feel his muscles flexing through his clothes as he climbed the rope.

Once they started to ascend and she grew confident that she was in a good position, she began to relax somewhat. The rhythmic motions of the climb were oddly soothing, or at least mind-numbing. She wasn’t the one thinking about it, after all. All Thelma had to do was hold on.

"You alright back there?"

“Fine,” she mumbled. “You have a strong heartbeat.” She could feel his heart beating hard against her in a few spots where his pulse could be detected. Realizing that was a bit of a weird observation to make, she quickly added, “I mean, you’re pretty strong in general…”

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

"It's not really something we usually do" he grunted, his hands gripping the rope more tightly the further he went up. Behind him, he could also feel the distant rhythm of Thelma's heart against his back. It felt calm and at ease as he climbed, in ways reassuring him that Goth wasn't stressed with the situation right now.

"Huh?" was the only thing he could say from the initial comment, confusing him slightly from what she meant by that. Although, when she corrected herself it all seemed to make sense. That alone made his cheeks go bright red again, an indication that he took the compliment to heart "Oh uh... thank you..." the teen replied "You know, you're kinda str-" but before he could say what he wanted the lapse of concentration made his hands slip, forcing them both to fall down the rope.

Silas shot his hands forwards and gripped the rope the best he could until they finally came to a stop. At the time, they were pretty far up. If they were left to fall they certainly were going to be feeling it in the morning. In return for their safety, Silas had to sacrifice the skin on his hands as it was dragged down the rope searching for a grip. The stinging pain in his hands was immense, but he had to keep going so they could pass this challange.

"I've got this... I've got this..." he said openly, gritting his teeth and looking up from how far they had fallen. They had lost a lot of ground, but with determination and belief, they were both going to get up there in no time.

"My hands are shot, but we'll still get up there. You have my word..." he said sternly as he took a deep breath and began the steady climb up again.

"I'd love to have some of your strength right now Thelma" he said sarcastically with a smile, trying to make light of a bad situation.​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Well, maybe we should do it more often. Maybe then people wouldn’t fight or get bullied as much,” Thelma said. She hadn’t experienced too much of either herself, but she had witnessed some pretty nasty stuff between other Padawans. Because they were no longer taught to repress their emotions like older generations of Jedi, any negative feelings the average teen or young adult felt were more likely to fester unchecked until they exploded during sparring matches and training duels, with Padawans taking out their anger and frustration on their peers.

Whatever Silas had been intending to say next was cut off by him losing his grip on the rope. A stifled gasp could be heard from Thelma as they fell, cut off abruptly as Silas caught the rope again. His palms had a serious case of rope burn, and she felt sorry for him. It had to be pretty painful.

“Do you want me to climb, and you hold onto me?” she asked. It was not a joke; her tone was completely serious. Though he was bigger than her, she was evidently quite strong indeed.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

The thought of them doing this more often was something he'd love to do. She was right about the padawans fighting and sometimes bullying each other. Silas knew full well what she meant regarding the fight, after all, he had done it himself. That was needed sometimes to squash tensions, but bullying? that was not needed by any means. He was going to say something on that matter, yet the slip managed to derail a lot of his thoughts at the time.

While he was still painfully climbing back up at the same speed, Thelma offered to carry him up to the top. He was hesitant to say yes at first, but it was clear why he couldn't disagree. She had already proven herself to be strong in the other obstacles, and it would stop him from getting more hurt than he was "Hm... fine. If you think I'm too much don't be afraid to say so. We can switch back around and try again" he said encouragingly as he came to a stop and held on tightly.

As long as one of them was still during the switch they wouldn't be breaking any rules. All Thelma had to do was climb above him so he could get on her back instead "Okay, I'm ready. Be careful" Silas said softly, waiting patiently for her to get into position.
​

 

[Thelma Goth]

As far as being physically capable, Thelma was perfectly able to withstand Silas’ weight. She switched positions with him on the rope as easily as a monkey climbing a tree—and she was careful not to accidentally step on him this time. It occurred to her only when he began to attach himself to her back that he would be holding onto her the same way she had been holding onto him—arms around her neck, legs around her waist.

This time, though, it wasn’t as awkward. They had built up enough of a rapport that she was comfortable with him there. Clinging firmly to the rope by her legs and one hand, she reached up and gently touched Silas’ arm, as if to make sure he was secure.

“You’re not too much,” she said.

At his urging, she began to ascend the rope. Her pace was slower than Silas’ had been, but steady.

Eventually they reached the top. “Well, here we are,” she said, stretching a bit. “I'd offer to carry you around on my back for the rest of the course, but I don't know if that's against the rules..."

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

This time Thelma was more careful not to stamp on his face when she climbed up his body. Eventually, she managed to keep firm above him and indicate that he was ready to move. Slowly, he gently climbed rung by rung up until his chest was pressed against her back. Silas placed his arms around her neck and wrapped his legs around his waist to lock himself in securely. Hopefully, it wasn't too uncomfortable for her.

"Good to hear, let's try and do this nice and steady now," he said just as they began to move. She was slower than him, but it still didn't take long to get up the rope. Silas dusted himself off and came face to face with Thelma again, he smiled thoughtfully while looking back into her eyes "You did well, Goth" the teen teased, a hand hesitantly coming up to her hair to move it away from her face.

"Ahem..." the knight in the control room said down the comms, eyebrow raised in disapproval of their distraction.

"Oh uh... sorry sir," he said with red cheeks. He gave another smile to the girl and motioned his head to the right "Come on, let's move to the last obstacle" shifting his feet along he did just that, up until they stood in front of the last challenge. On the walls, either side of them were blasters, all set to nonlethal. To get to the other side and force jump into the control room, they'd have to dodge and weave around the incoming fire at random intervals.

Silas couldn't help but look down at his shredded palms and look back at Thelma with a reassuring smile. He hurt so badly, but it didn't seem to give the young padawan any trouble.

"Ready?"
​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma’s eyes drifted closed as Silas tucked her hair behind her ear, leaning into the touch. His palms were raw. That pulled her out of the moment, and she blinked. “You hurt your hand,” she murmured, gingerly cupping his wrist.

The Jedi Knight overseeing them cleared his throat, reminding the two distracted teens what they were there for. Thelma glanced toward the next obstacle in the course. Dodging the lasers wouldn’t require them to use their hands, but still. The rope burn must’ve been painful.

She couldn’t do anything about it. Not without revealing what she was. Silas didn’t expect anything of her, so she let go of his wrist and faced the lasers.

“...Race you!” She took off, weaving between the laser blasts almost too fast for the eye to see. Upon reaching the other side, however, she failed to make the jump into the control room.

She kept dodging the laser blasts shooting at her, waiting until there was a break in the firing to jump again. But it was no use. Apparently she didn’t realize that she was allowed to use the Force now, and was trying to make the jump using only her natural strength and agility.

“It’s too high!” she exclaimed frantically. A bolt struck her shoulder and she hissed in pain, cursing under her breath. The Knight watching their progress facepalmed.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

The world seemed to fall silent around them as they shared a moment of intimacy. Silas calmly looked into her curious gaze which studied his injured hand, a weary smile appearing across his features. It was only when the knight brought them back into reality did they only break away from their close encounter.

Looking back to the obstacle at the same time she did, Thelma finally let go of his wrist as they prepared for what was ahead. He couldn't do much for his hands right now, Silas would have to suffer through the stinging pain for a little while longer "I think we should- hey wait!" Thelma rushed ahead in a bit to beat him to the top. Yet, she failed to remember the aim of the course itself. They needed to work as a team in order to be successful.

Before she knew it, the girl had been caught in the trap. A blaster had already hit her, and she was confused about what she should do. Thelma was right, the wall was too high. Although, if something was so impossible why was it there?

"Thelma! stay there!" after waiting for a few moments to see a break in the blasting, he suddenly rushed forward with a burst of speed. His eyes looked to the weapons when they blasted again, giving him time to dodge and weave around them as he reached the troubled girl "It's a trick..." he grunted out between the pattern briefly looking up at the facepalming knight "He wants to test our initiative. If we can't get over it by natural means and we have our powers, he wants us to use them instead of following the rules.

Snapping his head to the walls, another burst was about to volley at them this time. They needed to get out of there quick, it wasn't going to take long for them to get overwhelmed "Hold my hand, we're going to jump together alright?" he said urgently, opening his hand out for her to grasp it "Quickly, we have no time to waste!"
​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma looked sheepishly at Silas as he ran toward her. In her haste to outrun… whatever was developing between the two of them, she had forgotten all about the intended goal of the obstacle course. They needed to work together, not compete with each other. Right.

Silas suggested they use the Force anyway. “I’m not sure we should do that—but I don’t have any better ideas!” she said, still dodging laser blasts.

He held out his hand. His rope-burned, raw palm leered at her once more. She winced as if she were the one in pain as she took his hand. “On three, we jump. One… two… three!”

She leaped up, hopefully in sync with Silas. The Force surged around her, lifting her higher than even her superhuman agility would allow. All the way up to the platform, so long as nothing went wrong.

Silas Westgard​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Complete the obstacle course
Tag: Thelma Goth

The pair took each other's hand and waited until her count reached three to jump up high into the air. Just about missing the next wave of fire, they both landed inside the control room with their two feet planted on the ground firmly. Silas looked back to Thelma with a smile across his face and nodded, proud that they had managed to get through this together.

"Phew... we got there in the end didn't we?" Silas said, his eyes looking down to the injured hand that was still gripping hers. Blushing red, he gently unraveled his hand with hers and looked to the knight who was approaching with a raised brow "I'm hoping I didn't ruin anything between you two..." he said sternly, in turn making Silas stand up a bit straighter "Either way, you two did well. There were some obvious mistakes, but in the end, you managed to figure out that sometimes your initiative can save your life. If you have the means to achieve such a feat, use it. Breaking the mold sometimes is not a bad thing" the knight explained as he looked between the two.

"Well done, but next time I expect to see a perfect run. Padawan of your caliber need to be pushing yourselves more, understood?" the man finally ended "Understood sir" Silas replied, the side of his eye looking to Thelma "Good, now dismissed. Get your hand checked out before you send your report to Master Valery" with that the knight left them with a bow, leaving the tow alone in the quiet control room.

"I knew we could do it" the teen strained a smile to the girl and turned to face her "You alright by the way? you had a nasty hit to the shoulder back there."
​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma carefully released Silas’ hand, once again flinching at the painful-looking rope burns. She stood at attention as the Knight spoke to them, chewing her lip and staring at the floor when he ordered Silas to report back to Master Noble. Thelma had no master to report to. Not anymore.

"You alright by the way? You had a nasty hit to the shoulder back there."

“Huh?” Thelma looked up at Silas, then toward her shoulder. The jumpsuit was burned through, the fabric hanging in charred scraps. Her skin was blistered underneath it. “It’s going to be a pain to fix that hole,” she muttered. “But I’m okay. Or I will be after a good night’s sleep.”

She bounced nervously on the balls of her feet. “I hope your hands will be okay. That looks really painful. And, um… Thanks for trusting me. Most people don’t do that. You’re… really nice.”

Thelma then bolted from the training room without another word, as if she had suddenly remembered that she had someplace to be.

Silas Westgard​