One Little Speckled Frog

[Hal Terrano]

Fully expecting a yes or no answer Hal was completely taken aback when he was prodded further.

Did he even know what answer he was looking for? Did [member="Avalore Eden"] like what? Healing him? Stripping tattered and bloody flesh from his back? Cleaning up his mess? Spending time with him? One of those answers were unlike the others, and also far more difficult to actually say out loud.

“Being...”

He had to shut his eyes, gritting together his teeth as if pretending that he was enduring great pain would ease the words out of his mouth. Shrapnel wounds had been more pleasant than this.

“...here...”

It was almost painful to watch, the one man speeder crash of conversation.

“...with...me.”

 

[Avalore Eden]

A painful sort of sad expression crossed Avalore's face as the question slowly made it's way out of Hal's mouth. Painful in just what he was asking her. The Healer couldn't believe he'd even ask such a thing.

"Hal," exasperated, "what...why would you even..." it was almost a gift that she didn't have to look at the man's face. Something told Avalore she wouldn't have liked what she saw. He was, hands down, the most deplorably guilty Jedi she'd ever met.

"Of course. Of course I do, Hal. Do you think I would have asked you to live here at the Temple with me if I didn't like you?" she choked on a laugh of disbelief, "You're my friend. You got me off Coruscant. You saved me. The least I can do is help you in return ... not that I like why I have to help you, but you know...it's...it's not your fault."

She cleared away the last of the shredded flesh, now leaving a very bloody but clean surface. There were still remnants of the Mark there, but it was really hard to tell just yet. Avalore hoped it would heal over.

"Alright, just stay still while I get the bacta patches."

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Of course, to one who possessed social skills, who was capable of being amicable rather than insufferable it was a rather tragic question, but when you were a man who led a friendless existence, who chased away every possible ally or acquaintance it was a different story.

Could his peers be blamed? He was insufferable, with a tendency to shun any form of fun or enjoyment and a very bad habit of scolding. It bred a dislike, people spoke about Hal, 'oh he thinks he's so much better'. They were younger, teens gossip and from face value that's certainly what it looked like.

But he just wanted to be the best Jedi that he could be, and he wanted fellow Padawans to be the same.

Thankfully his soul was soothed somewhat by Avalore's answer, he didn't believe that the woman would lie to him. She was his friend. He had a friend. What an embarrassing concept to mull over, thankfully his duty relegated friendship to a very low rung of importance. Or was that something to be thankful for?

He didn't respond verbally, mulling over Eden's words with a furrowed brow and hard stare, not moving until she mentioned bacta patches.

“Wait, Avalore,” Terrano said, voice completely starched, “do you have kolto? I am allergic to bacta.”

There was a pause, and both his face and voice softened slightly, “I should have mentioned it earlier, it is an inconvenience,” he mumbled, icy eyes flitting from the wall to the floor, “I am sorry.”

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore was already on her way back towards the patient, patch packets in hand, when he spoke.

Lips drawing thin, the Healer looked down to the patches in her hands and promptly tossed them over her shoulder. Nope. No Bacta Patches here.

"Ahm-" she turned and began rifling through her stores. No. No. Nope. No. No kolto anything.

"No."

"...but...I have something else. Holistic medicines from the locals."

She didn't know much about how they worked, but she did know that they were all-natural. Picking through a cabinet she pulled out a jar of grey-colored poultice clay. Setting up once more, Avalore began dressing the wound with the thick salve, "Guess I'll have to make sure we have a good stock of Kolto then. Not common, Bacta allergy." Moistened gauze followed by a cover and a bit of tape. She eyed the finished product with a tired sigh. It was an awkward place for a wound patch and likely would be very sore to sleep on until she could get ahold of some kolto. Even then, there was no telling how well it would heal given the nature of its origins.

"I don't want to try Healing it until I see how it reacts to normal medicines. Darkside wounds don't react to Healing the same way normal wounds do," stepping around the bed, Avalore moved back into the man's line of sight to stand before him, leaning to gently take hold of his right hand in order to place two pills into his palm, "take these, they're for the pain when the numbing agent wears off. Gonna be a rough few nights for you until I can get some kolto in here."

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Most children were simply born slippy, Hal Terrano was born awkward, could even offer him healing in a conventional manner. It didn't help his increasing awareness that he was somewhat difficult to deal with, his allergy just another in this long line of a demanding nature.

“I do not mean to be difficult, Avalore,” he mumbled as the woman began to go to work with her more natural medicine. Out on the field his allergy had been an issue. Kolto was not so readily available in most areas of the galaxy. He couldn't just spend his entire time being sent out to Manaan. Combined with a quiet and stubborn nature it led to issues, like lingering old injuries that would have been relatively simply to deal with. Old knee brace over here, but that's another problem for another day.

When she had finished up and rounded the table, his head titled upwards, frigid eyes searching those warmer browns. Terrano at least managed to repress the urge to flinch as she took his hand. Why would you flinch? She's been working on your back for the last while. Hey, it's different when there's eye contact, and you know, without numbing agent.

“Thank you, Avalore,” the man said with a brusque nod, although it was rather unlikely that Hal would indulge in pain relief, not that he'd let her know.

Pause. Look away. Furrow brow. Look back.

“....I would still...”

You can do it.

“...like to try tea.”

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore smiled, a mixture of relief and amusement. Finally, we're getting somewhere.

"Alright Hal," the woman nodded, "let's go get some tea."

Even though I'm still really tee'd off at you for doing something so dumb. Boys are stupid. I'm a mature adult.

Tea, Avalore.

~~~

The dining hall. An area that had seen more use by Avalore than nearly any other room in the Temple. Though it had originally been restructured as a large dining hall by Diana, Avalore had opted to create a small lounge area. This was where the Healer lead her patient, leaving him to find a seat either at the large dining table or on one of the couches in the lounge. She then disappeared into the adjoining kitchen to get the tea going, returning a short while later with two steaming mugs.

She set one down before Hal, warning to let it cool, and took a seat beside him.

"Try not to make up your mind about tea with just this cup. There's so many kinds of tea and different sorts of flavors and tastes. This is just one of my favorites, with a bit of honey and cream. Helps soothe the soul and settle the stomach."

If Hal could use a bit of soul soothing, Avalore was happy to help.

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Funnily enough the dining hall was a lesser used area by Hal, who could have predicted that great plot twist? Not you, not I, not even M. Night Shyamalan. No, Knight Terrano's chosen room so far had been the training chamber, slowly getting back into his rigorous program of strength training.

His time with the One Sith had left him to lose sight of discipline and let himself go, moping around cantinas drinking instead of steeping himself in harsh exercise regimes like he used to. This was in the process of being rectified. A good Jedi is a strong Jedi.

Of course, there was a slight discrepancy in what the world thought that strong men looked like and what they actually looked like. He was no oiled, bronze Adonis with a clinched waist and hard muscle definition with that V seducing downwards from the pelvis to other regions. No. Thick shouldered, thick waisted, actually made for strength, not just for posing.

So he sat there upon the couch, still shirtless with his hands upon his knees patiently waiting for Avalore to return with the fabled tea, that was if it wasn't all a ruse and she had actually ran away.

Turns out that she hadn't. That's a plus. When she came back from the kitchen and he laid eyes upon her once more Hal experienced a brief moment of chest tightening and spreading feeling of warmth, his face however remained static and he pushed the sensation aside as one of the body's natural aches and groans.

“Thank you, Avalore,” he said, contemplating the steaming mug with his frigid gaze, as if that could cool the hot beverage within. He waited as advised, listening to her ramble on about the different flavours and the benefits of tea, like a friend trying to convince you that their favourite movie is good, even if it does start slowly.

Finally the moment of truth. He lifted the mug to his lips, and took a generous drink. Cheap bar swill had sent a disgusting fire down his throat, tea however sat upon the opposite end of the warmth spectrum, being pleasant in the mouth and on the way down. He actually...well...he liked it, it was sweet, warm and mild. Nothing too overpowering or outrageous.

“This is....nice,” he conceded, a slight curve at the edge of his mouth almost indicating a smile, but it might as well have been an illusion for how swiftly it faded as he turned the corner with a loaded question.

“Does your soul need soothing, Avalore?”

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Ava smiled warmly over the rim of her mug, "Good. That will give me a reason to get more."

She moved then to take a seat by Hal on the couch, eyeing his bare upper body on the way. She could not deny the curiously compelling nature of bare skin, especially when it came to the company of Jedi. Especially, she noted, when it came to the company of [member="Hal Terrano"]. Such a stickler for tradition, seeing him even somewhat exposed was like spying a unicorn in the woods.

An absent sip of her tea drew in the warmth, and it wasn't until he spoke again that she realized she was staring, "What? Oh...maybe it does. I'm not a very good judge of that. But I drink tea and it helps sometimes."

 

[Hal Terrano]

Yes, good. Get more tea. Spend more time with [member="Avalore Eden"]. Yes. You like that, Hal, you won't say it out loud but you do. Ever since the dungeons, getting your feelings out. That kiss. Is this what it's like to have a friend?

Unfortunately for Avalore, our dearest blunt and blonde Jedi caught the tail end of her wandering gaze, he himself looking down at his torso immediately after, as if there were a fly on him, or a smudge. As she spoke he continued to further inspect himself, a mild confused expression fixed upon his features. What was she looking at?

Her answer wasn't quite what he was expecting. With all the tragedy and mild self-harm that surrounded them there was an exception for hearts on sleeves, but I mean, what would Hal Terrano say if Avalore bared her soul to him? Read the code? Train the pain away? Say sorry? Likely the last one.

Still looking down he unknowingly moved to plunge this moment of tea time into cringe-worthy territories.

“What were you looking at, Avalore? Is something wrong?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore blinked. Caught.

Well, she thought to herself, gently clearing her throat and taking another sip of tea, that doesn't happen very often.

She smiled again, good-humored-like, "No, nothing's wrong. Just, uh, looking at you," she shrugged impishly, "guess I've never really seen you without your Jedi robes. I wondered if maybe you slept in them, too."

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

As she took another sip, so did he. There was a mild musing that perhaps next time he would request the tea without the honey, it wasn't that he had a problem with the sweetness but rather he preferred a mellow and plain affair. Of course, he was into water and bread, so his exploration into the world of flavour really needed to take a step forward rather than back.

Just looking?

Hal Terrano blinked, and then he blinked once more for good measure. Did she not know what the male body looked underneath robes? Wait, slept in them? No, that was more than silly.

“No, I sleep in my underwear, Avalore,” he said with a completely straight face, and then....and then he continued onward, not realising what he was about to say:

“Why? What do you sleep in?”

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Mhmm.

Avalore pushed her mug to her lips to cover the amused smirk forming there at the man's response. It was all she could do to look wonderingly at him, puzzling over things.

What sort of underwear does [member="Hal Terrano"] wear?

Then came his question - so sudden and out of left field she nearly snorted her tea. Coughing into the mug, she eyed the man coyly.

Boxers or briefs?

"In the nude," Avalore Eden replied smugly.

 

[Hal Terrano]

His question although framed in innocence from a man simply wanting to make conversation with a girl that he liked only sounded innocent to his ears. Asking somebody what they wear when they sleep is usually reserved for creeps on the holonet or serial panty-sniffers profiling their next victim.

As established, it's boxers by the way.

Her answer, instead of coming out of the right or left field swooped down from outer space with a crochet mallet in hand, hitting him right in the chaste consciousness with a mighty wallop. As soon as [member="Avalore Eden"] conceded that she slept in the nude a very peculiar snort erupted from Hal, who from that moment on had stopped breathing.

Lewd images flashed up in the man's mind, images that weren't at all chaste and not the least bit respectful towards Knight Eden.

He was still yet to take another breath, face growing more and more scarlet by the second. He was a gizka caught in headlights. Blue eyes becoming glazed and unfocused as he didn't dare look away from the mug of tea. Lower jaw became unhinged, mouth gaping.

“....aaa....aaaa....aaa....”

Croak went the froggy.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore watched with a very intense amount of interest at the man's reaction.

And then she burst out laughing, managing only not to spill her tea by sheer virtue of having drank half the mug already.

"Hal, Hal!" the Healer's voice cracked over a laugh, she leaned forward to lightly swat at his hanging chin, "drink your tea, ya loon. I sleep in a tank top and shorts, ha!"

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Poor Hal.

Slowly he turned his head like the most perturbed owl, eyes wide and half-terrified as [member="Avalore Eden"] suddenly burst into rather raucous laughter, as if she might just further his very awkward torment. With crimson features the Jedi found himself at least half relieved as the wicked healer revealed that she actually slept in a much more modest attire.

Still, with his mind's eyes he had pictured things, things that existed under the thankfully shapeless robes of a healer, and for that he needed instant repenting.

As instructed he lifted the mug to his mouth and took three rather forceful gulps, almost finishing the rest of the drink in one fell swoop before turning to look directly at her with concrete lines engraved across his forehead. With red still in his face his near-invisible eyebrows knitted, causing his face to be cast in the shadow of concern.

“Avalore, I must apologise. I had inappropriate thoughts. It...it is not right....”

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Force, would you calm down? You're human and none of us are perfect. Not even Grandmaster [member="Kiskla Grayson"]."

Avalore heard through the grapevine the GM might be kicking it with [member="Marcello Matteo"]. She had to tip her hat to that woman - what a hunk. A hunk that gave really good hugs. She could only imagine what else he was really good at.

"I've already birthed a child, Hal. Inappropriate thoughts are really not that big of a deal. They're completely normal, in fact, they're natural and healthy, and-" she smirked as she leaned forward to pick up the control for the nearby holoscreen, "I'm flattered."

Because after seeing herself get as round as she had for 9 months, Avalore was never certain anyone would find her appealing ever again. Turns out she had nothing to worry about, but those weren't things she was going to share with present company or, with anyone really. Taking a moment the Healer flipped through the channels and settled on an old, classic holofilm about some dashing, debonair explorer trekking his way through hostile territory.

"Andonera Tomes and the Dragon Key of Arkania, excellent, ever seen it?" No, of course he hadn't, "You're gonna love it," and then Ava did something that was as normal for her to do with friends as could be: she got comfortable by leaning against him and found that he was actually quite good for such a thing.

"How's your back? Did you take those pain killers?"

[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Hey. It wasn't as easy as just snapping your fingers and suddenly being at ease with the world of sexuality. That wasn't how things worked, well unless you had terrible characterisation with a dolt behind the wheel. Coruscant wasn't built in a day and Hal Terrano didn't come to terms with human attraction in a day either.

The intimate process of sex held horrific reminders of four white walls and would likely reduce him to a trembling pile of man giblets. It had to be handled with care.

So while not a big deal to her, they were a gargantuan crushing weight upon his mind.

However instead of trying to explain the feelings that constantly constricted his behaviour he opted to not be a bother and keep schtum. You're a twenty-nine year old man, it's far too late to have the talk. Besides, amorous feelings? Do you know that that leads to? Love. Attachments. If one studied all the tenets available to the Jedi then they would know that such a thing (while rarely followed) was very forbidden, and with good reason.

So as she turned on the holofilm and used him as her own human pillow he remained, ramrod stiff and unmoving, his steely gaze swiftly flickering to the top of the woman's head and then back to the screen. He'd never seen a holofilm before, the concept of procrastination being completely lost upon him, of course this fact would surprise exactly nobody.

“My back is fine, Avalore,” he said, failing to mention the fact that the numbness was wearing off and the discomfort was creeping in, “I will take them when I need them.” A small lie, but one that would hopefully prevent the healer from worrying about him.

Of course, this is the part where we relax and watch the film, except of course normal interaction couldn't happen, not with him. Instead of switching off and enjoying Andonera Tomes and the Dragon Key of Arkania his mind remained locked upon [member="Avalore Eden"]. He was very aware of the woman leaning upon him, painfully aware, so aware that he didn't want to breathe too hard lest she became uncomfortable.

Eventually however, despite his want not to disturb her he had to pipe up:

“Avalore, may I move my arm? I can no longer feel it.”

 

[Avalore Eden]

"You should take them now so they kick in before the pain does..." Avalore murmured but did not pursue it any further. Gosh, what was it with men and doing things to help themselves? It was almost as if senseless suffering was meant to prove something? Look at me! I'm strong and I can ... totally handle... this... pain! Cringe.

The Healer pursed her lips and drained her tea mug, leaning to set it on the table before making herself more comfortable against Hal's side. She wasn't exactly leaning much weight against him, ever aware of that nasty wound, but apparently enough so that his arm went numb.

"Yeah, Hal - sorry," scooching up, she moved to take up her mug again and stood with a stretch, "more tea? I'll go put another pot on."

Can't overwhelm the man with too many homey creature comforts in one night, after all.

[member="Hal Terrano"]