Before the Saga The Reluctant Padawan - OCs (Kirsh and Heilan) - One Shot Series

Welcome all!

This is a thread for a bunch of stories about my Jedi Healer Kirsh and his padawan Heilan. The stories will all be posted out of order (because responding to Challenges has a tendency to do that) but each story should be readable all on its own. Kirsh and Heilan come from the Kit'verse and are part of the 2nd round USJS series. They also make an appearance in Snips and Snails. I'm putting an index below which I'll add to slowly so that if you want to you can read the stories in order.

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I've enjoy writing about these two.

Index-

54 BBY - Tidepool - Heilan and Kirsh - Challenge Response - Haiku, Dead Poet's Society, Reddit OCtember image

 

Title: Tidepool
Timeframe: 54BBY
Characters: Initiate Heilan Coo, Jedi Healer Kirsh'of Aleski
Genre: drama, action
Challenge Response:
Haiku

Spoiler

"Emerald ocean, Absorbing warmth of the sun, Invigorating."

Dead Poet's Society

Spoiler

"They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones. Just like you. Invincible. Just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe their destined for great things. Just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope. Just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make of their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see, gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. You hear it? Carpe--hear it?--carpe, carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

Reddit OCtember image

Summary: Heilan has plans to go the agricorps. That's where he wants to be. Plants, after all, are the things that he understand, but fate, the Force and a rather large Jedi Healer have other plans...

Notes: This is a massive challenge response. They all dove-tailed so nicely together in this that it was too hard to resist. A massive thanks to Lith and Cal from the Discord boards for the beta read. Also a huge shout out to @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha and @devilinthedetails for their awesome prompts!

**


This was not going according to plan.

The waves smashed over them as they clung tightly to the rock. Heilan could hear Healer Aleski’s colourful string of curse words and wondered, briefly, if the last thing he’d ever learn was how to swear in six different languages.

He felt his stomach clench as a wave crashed over their heads, soaking them with cold sea water. With his lungs bursting and muscles screaming in protest at the weight of the water, his fingers clung desperately to the rocks. Heilan had little doubt that if he let go he'd drown.

The wave washed over them and then, as fast as it had come, it was gone. As soon as the water drained away, Heilan collapsed on one of the boulders and struggled to catch his breath. Above them the sky crackled green with lightning, promising rain to wash away the salt and sand that coated them. He licked his lips, tasting the salt on them as the water dripped from his unruly, loose curls and trickled down his back.

It took several moments to gather himself before he could find the strength to sit up and look around. His stomach dropped at the sight of the tall, treacherous black rocks that surrounded them. He’d thought they’d been lucky that Master Aleski had piloted the little escape pod well enough through the storm that it had crashed into a tide pool rather than the open water. Now he wasn’t sure.

Heilan's heart sank. There was no path leading back to civilization. They were stuck here until they drowned, were eaten, or someone came along and found them.

There was a scrape further up the tide pool and he looked up to see Master Aleski searching desperately through the twisted metal that made up what was left of the escape pod.

Heilan stood up, his hand reflexively clutching at the rock for support and in case of another wave. A few feet away from Heilan, his friend and fellow initiate Kylan lay panting, clutching his arm. He seemed to sense Heilan’s gaze and managed to lift his head to meet Heilan’s eyes. Even in the gloom of the storm, Heilan could see the darker stain coming through the wet sleeve of his robes. The tiny tendrils of Force that surrounded Kylan were red and blossoming. He shuddered.

The other initiates huddled against the far wall, a couple of them were crying. The rest were whey faced and staring at the sea where another wave was building, the rising wall of water obscuring the crackle of lightning that branched across the clouds.

"We need to get out of here," Heilan murmured, looking around, desperate now. If only there was an easy way to climb up and away from the waves, but all Heilan saw was a sheer wall of rock on one side and the roiling, black ocean on the other. There was no way to escape without risking death, or injury, or both. The lightning crackled again and fat drops of rain splashed down beside them, throwing miniscule droplets of sand into the air.

The storm seemed to be gaining power now and the wind had picked up in intensity, whipping against the rocks and throwing up more sand and water. Out to sea the wave was growing taller, the top of it turning white and foamy as it folded in on itself.

He could hear his heart beating loudly, even over the roar of the ocean and the storm. It rushed through his ears and through the back of his skull, vibrating through the horns on his head, just as it had when the cruiser had started to break up. He felt adrenaline surging through his body.

The sound of thunder crashed above them and Heilan closed his eyes in the face of the approaching wave. He didn't want to see it. It was too much. He was supposed to be going to the agricorps. The only initiate ever to ask for that assignment. He’d hidden what he could do from the Masters, so there would be no opposition. He’d been so careful. He’d made sure that everyone would overlook him.

He was not doing to die on a stupid island surrounded by sand and seaweed.

He braced himself against the rock and waited for the impact.

There was no water. Instead the tendrils of the Force burnt bright and green around him. He opened his eyes again. There was a figure standing between Kylan and the cliff edge.

Master Aleski had somehow moved from the crashed ship to the seafront as if by magic. He was standing there, hands outstretched as if he could push back the wave. His huge shape was outlined black against the stormy sky. The wave was still heading towards them, white capped and towering high enough to block out the sky. It was as if it and the Jedi Master were battling for supremacy, the wave cresting higher and higher as more water piled in.

Without thinking, Heilan scuttled towards Kylan, whose head was lolling and pulled his friend backwards along the sand and rocks. He felt like shouting a warning as the wave crested above the Jedi Master. Heilan shut his eyes again, planting his feet hard into the sand as if he could root himself to the spot. He braced himself for the weight of the water and instead…

Instead there was nothing. No water pummelled his body. He wasn’t flug into the rocks. In his arms Kylan groaned, and Heilan opened his eyes to see the water bending around them, as if he and the rest of the initiates were surrounded by a giant bubble.

The wave crashed into the rocks above them and then disappeared as the water was dragged back into the sea. The bubble collapsed, light salt-spray joining the thick, heavy rain drops, the only reminder of the giant wave.

Heilan dragged Kylan further back, as if somehow moving him away from the water would stop the flow of blood, or the way the tendrils of Force that surrounded his friend from turning a deeper crimson, their blossoms withering and dying as their leaves shrivelled.

Master Aleski turned and made his way down towards the group of shivering initiates. Heilan laid Kylan down and pulled the roughly torn edges of his sleeve to find a deep and bloody cut. Behind him one of the other initiates made a little whimper of fear.

Heilan shook his head. This was not the time to be afraid. He was not going to die on this stupid rocky outcrop. He would make it to the agricorps or he would di-

He stopped mid-thought, trying instead to focus on the way the Force was dribbling out of the cut, like sap from a cut plant, instead of where his brain had been going.

“Padawan?” Master Aleski’s deep, sonorous voice cut through his concentration.

Heilan looked around before he realised that the Jedi Healer was speaking to him. He shook his head, his nose wrinkling slightly.

“Not a padawan,” he said stubbornly. “I’m going to the agricorps. We all are.”

The Healer’s own brow furrowed as if that declaration was a surprise. He knelt down beside Heilan on the rough stone and sand and reached for the wound. Heilan felt himself torn between watching the sea, where another wave was looming on the horizon and the Healer’s skilled fingers working over the wound.

In some ways it was like watching one of the Temple gardeners work with a plant, a touch here, a press there and the Force ceased its steady drip. The tendrils recoiled, their colour dampening back to a rich, earth brown.

Master Aleski turned to him, reaching out and grabbing one of his hands. For the first time Heilan really understood how large the Healer was. Once an Initiate Master had described Heilan as a gangly, nerf calf, all huge hands and feet and limbs that sometimes seemed to have a mind of their own. His hands, however, were dwarfed by the healer’s whose touch was surprisingly gentle as he pushed Heilan’s hand against Kyan’s arm and spread his fingers against the wound.

“Press firmly,” Master Aleski said as he smiled at him, his water-logged beard dripping with each word. “See how the Force shimmers here and here?”

Heilan nodded, although the Force wasn’t a shimmer. Instead the tendrils curled and waved in the light as if seeking new purchase, like tiny bean sprouts moving towards the sun.

“You want to make sure that the shimmers stay consistent. It shouldn’t be hard, even for an initiate.” Heilan saw Master Aleski frown again at the word. “Just breathe and keep your attention in the here and now and - uh.”

The Force flared around them and the giant Jedi Master turned suddenly, throwing his hands into the air. The was a whomph and Master Aleski grunted. Heilan glanced up slightly to see the bubbling sheet of water surrounding them. The other initiates huddled together as the water hammered again into the rock above their heads. There was a scream of tortured metal as the escape pod caught the brunt of the water. Heilan could hear Master Aleski muttering more curse words under his breath. Heilan coloured at the language and tried to focus back on Kyan, noting how the tendrils of the Force were shrinking. He moved his fingers and wrapped the tendrils together, just as he would an errant petiole of a growing vine to keep it against a trellis.

The tendrils meshed together and the colour flattened again. Heilan smiled to himself as he noticed Kyan’s breathing becoming more steady, and colour slowly returning to his face.

The Force shield dropped around them and the rain came back, heavier as if annoyed that it had been kept at bay. For a few moments Master Aleski didn’t move, and Heilan glanced up at him to see an odd look on the man’s face. His eyes glittered as the lightning flashed.

“How did you do that?” he asked so quietly Heilan had to strain to hear it over the roar of the thunder.

He shrugged. “It’s like a plant. You tie up a tendril when a petiole gets loose from a lattice so the plant will grow big and strong. The Force told me this was the same.” Inside he cursed himself for doing something so silly. The Jedi would ask questions now, they always did. Heilan didn’t want to answer them. He’d spent years avoiding their probing questions as part of his quest to get to the agricorps. He would not fall at the final hurdle.

But the big healer did not ask questions, instead he stood and half-turned back towards the craft, before stopping and looking down at where Heilan was still crouched in the sand.

“I want you to stay here and keep your friend steady. Treat him like one of the plants you know so much about. If the Force tells you to do something else, then I want you to follow it. Keep your attention focused on the Force and the Force only.”

Heilan nodded. Master Aleski headed back to the craft and rummaged around inside. There were another series of curses and then he came back, carrying a bundle of sticks.

Heilan frowned. This was no place to start a fire.

“Flares,” the Jedi Master said in a way of explanation. “Luckily waterproof ones so even though the sea water has ruined the Comm unit, these are still fine.” He glanced at the other initiates. “I want you to get the other initiates to climb as high as they can and set them. That way they’ll find us.”

Heilan wondered why the Jedi was suddenly taking him into his confidence, and treating him as an equal but Master Aleski had dropped them at his feet and was heading back towards the edge of the water as another wave, taller than the others headed towards them.

Heilan explained the plan to the others and then focused back on Kyan. His friend was pale but breathing normally again. Heilan sighed, letting his sense rove across the tide pool as the Force flared again and the water burst over the top of them. There was life here, fish that sparkled and shimmered and underneath that the slow growing seaweed. Heilan slowly let go of Kyan’s arm, watching as the tendrils quivered and then settled against each other again. Without thinking he stood and made his way across the tidepool, feeling the drag of the water against his legs and boots as Master Aleski let the bubble go again and the water rushed to rejoin the ocean.

“I thought I told you to stay with Kyan,” the voice rumbled behind him and Heilan jumped in alarm. He spun on one heel, grimacing as his sodden leggings slapped against bare skin.

“You said follow my intuition,” Heilan pointed out. “Kyan needs something to rest his head on. The seaweed down here will serve that purpose and may be strong enough to put his arm into a sling if needed.”

He paused, his face suddenly heating in the dark

“You could see the seaweed in the dark?” Master Aleski’s voice rung with curiosity.

“I could feel it.”

“Ah,” Master Aleski bent down as if to pull out a handful of seaweed. The Force blossomed crimson and yellow and Heilan let out an involuntary yelp at the implication.

“Not that stuff,” he said, slapping the Jedi Master’s arm before he could reach the offending plant matter. “That’s poisonous.”

“Ah.” Master Aleski straightened and looked at Heilan with that same puzzled look he’d given him earlier. “What else do you feel?”

Heilan shrugged, instantly wary. “Stuff.”

Master Aleski nodded, his mouth twisting. “Stuff,” he repeated. “Keep looking for your stuff pada-I mean initiate,” he corrected with a grin, “and I’ll go see to the next wave. Just don’t stray too far from the group. I’m getting tired and there’s a limit to how much I can do. Luckily the storm is breaking.”

The Master slowly walked away, casting a couple of curious glances over his shoulder. Heilan watched him go, frowning and then picked up the seaweed. He knew he shouldn’t be concerned, they’d been on the way to the Agricorps when the ship had encountered engine trouble, and so his fate was already set. The Temple would have been alerted about the crash, but he was sure that the moment they were rescued they’d be back on their way.

He glanced back at the Jedi Master who was watching the slowly settling waves and something inside his stomach twisted. For a brief moment the idea of being the man’s padawan flashed across his mind but he shook his head to dislodge it. The agricorps was what he’d dreamed of and nothing, not even a Master like Master Aleski would stand in his way.

Heilan trundled back with the arms full of seaweed and stuffed it under Kylan’s head. The other initiates had placed the flares as high as they would go, the red fizzing light casting a strange pall over the tide pool.

The other initiates had clustered together around Kyan and so he sat with them, watching the Master manipulate the storm and feeling the happy, content and exceedingly dull lives of the seaweed surrounding him in the Force and tried to keep his eyes open.

*

Heilan woke with a start. The sun was blindingly hot and bright and his face felt cracked and dry. He brushed his mouth with the back of his hand, and his lip cracked painfully.

He was suddenly desperately thirsty. Out of nowhere a bottle of water appeared and a shadow fell over him. He squinted upwards as Master Aleski towered above him, the Jedi Master nothing but a black shape against the blazing sun.

Somewhere in the distance, over the sound of crashing waves, Heilan could hear the distant hum of a transport.

“They should be here in a couple of minutes,” Master Aleski said, squatting down next to him. “But before they get here I wanted to talk to you.”

Heilan’s stomach lurched, but he didn’t know why. Master Aleski bit his bottom lip and Heilan noticed that the Jedi master was twisting the edge of his robe through his fingers.

“I was really impressed with what you did last night,” Master Aleski said, his voice husky. “You did something that most Apprentice healers don’t manage to do until their third year. You unconsciously understand biology, Initiate, and that’s a rare trait to find in anyone. To my mind, yours would be a talent wasted in the agricorps. You need to seize what you have, child. Not lock it away.”

There was a long pause as Master Aleski seemed to be gathering his words.

“That’s why I want to go to the agricorps,” Heilan interjected, feeling uncomfortable with the Master’s obvious discomfort. “I like plants. They make sense.”

Master Aleski nodded and then gave a wan smile. “And I think I understand that. I had to argue my way into the Healing corp when I was an initiate. I just...I just think you would be wasted in the agricorps.” The last words came out in a rush and Heilan watched with fascinated curiosity as the Force budded around the Jedi Master. The Jedi Master swallowed. “I would like you to become my apprentice.”

The Force bloomed, a cacophony of colour and flower types. Heilan sat mesmerised by the luminous, diaphanous display.

The sound of the transport became louder and Master Aleski glanced over his shoulder. Then turned and nodded at Heilan.

“I’m going to get the others ready. I understand your desire to do what the Force tells you. Your life is your own.”

He went to walk away and around him the blooms faded. Heilan reached out a hand, his throat suddenly closed tight.

“May I have plants?” His voice was tiny and the question simple, but he was suddenly terrified that Master Aleski would laugh. “May I have plants in my room,” he clarified. “If I’m your padawan that is.”

Master Aleski’s face broke into a broad smile. “Yes, padawan, you may.”

Heilan’s breath caught at the word padawan as the Force blossomed and bloomed again. Master Aleski was grinning so hard his face looked like it would break.

Behind them the other initiates whooped and cheered as the transporter came into view.

“May I ask one more question?” Heilan asked, suddenly nervous.

“You may,” Master Aleski said, still smiling.

“What is your first name?”

This time the Jedi Healer laughed.

“I’m Jedi Healer Kirsh’of Aleski,” he said quietly. “And you are?”

“Jedi Initiate...I mean Jedi Apprentice Healer Heilan Coo,” Heilan replied.

Kirsh’of bowed slightly and Heilan returned the gesture. Above them the seabirds circled calling to each other, the sun shone and the seaweed gently swirled in the calm ocean current.

 

Love that couple of healers; Heilan Coo and his master Kirsh'of Aleski and want to see more of them

 

I love Heilan's affinity for growing things, his instinctive knowledge of how to help his friend; how he senses things as flowers/blossoming things. Kirsh is endearing and resourceful.

 

They are definitely fun to write! A very different pairing to my usual rough and tumble duos. Thank you so much for reading too

Aww, thank you Heilan is a sweetheart, so it was nice to finally write something from his perspective.