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You were practically vibrating with nerves. The council had finally decided to allow you to take a padawan under your wing. Metaphorical wings, of course. You’re not a crazy bird-human hybrid or some shit. That would be fuckin’ creepy. Could you imagine trying to spar? There would be singed feathers and bird-human hybrid shit everywhere. The custodians would hate you. You’d get kicked out of the order just to make cleanup easier in the training rooms.
Hell, are you ready for this? A padawan is a big responsibility. But you helped raise Dirk, didn’t you? If checking in on him every day and sparring with him when he was old enough counts as raising. That was sort of the same concept, you thought. He turned out pretty well, right?
This process would be so much easier if they would just let you officially train Dirk as your padawan, but the council refused to allow you to do so. According to them, your emotional attachment would get in the way (you think this is complete bullshit, since masters and their padawans will have an attachment no matter what). You can’t help it. The first time you learned that you had a brother, and that he had been taken into the order, your stomach did a backflip. Dirk was a toddler when they finally allowed you to interact with him. Watching him grow into the little man he is now was life changing (but damn, did it make you feel old). Because of all this, the council deemed your relationship too close.
So if it won’t be Dirk, then who the hell will you be training?
The potential apprentices are all teenagers now, only a few years younger than your generation is. John had a padawan now, that little Roxy Lalonde. From what he had told you, she’s a handful. Part of you hoped that you wouldn’t get a troublemaker, but another part of you wanted to have a challenge.
Well, you already knew that this would be a challenge.
You sure hope that you don’t mess this kid up.
God, why won’t the doors just open already?
A hand presses down on your bouncing knee (a habit you thought you had broken already), breaking you from your ridiculous thoughts. Terezi squeezed on your knee again, raising her eyebrow at you. You swallow awkwardly, uttering a quiet ‘sup’ in her direction.
“Dave, you’re getting antsy,” she stated, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. “Do you really want your padawan to see you lose your cool facade on the first day?”
“Sorry to burst you bubble, Master, but there is no way they’ll ever see through the cold mask of irony I possess.”
Terezi snorts at you, her grin now wide enough for you to see her sharp teeth. “That’s what you said on our first day, too. But I can see just how dorky you really are, dear apprentice.”
“You can’t see anything,” you retort, earning you a smack on the knee. Her grin is contagious, and you can’t help the smirk that appeared on your face. You continue to banter for a while longer, her laughter ringing through the hallway until they were interrupted by the creak of the council room’s doors being opened up a creak, as if Master Vantas were afraid of eavesdropping on their super important council conversations.
Said jedi master poked his head out of the open door, glancing at you before pointing at Master Pyrope and then pointing inside the council room. Terezi sniggered.
“What was that? I didn’t see it.”
God damn Terezi and her blind jokes. Master Vantas growled a little. You raised an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t know what you were expecting, Master Vantas.”
“Yes, I know. But that doesn’t make it any less irritating,” he groused, shaking his head. “Master Pyrope, you presence is requested within the Council Meeting. Don’t make me walk over there and take you there myself.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Terezi stood up. “Don’t worry, Dave, you’ll be a wonderful master. And…” she looked at you, her grin returning. “...I most definitely can’t wait to tell your padawan stories from when you were one yourself.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would and I will, coolkid!” she cackled, making her way to the door where Master Vantas watched their exchange pointedly. With a great amount of drama from both parties, the jedi masters disappeared into the council room.
Your knee began to bounce again as you were left with your thoughts. The silence in the halls was eerie, only interrupted by the staccato beat of your tapping heel. You tried not to let this get to you, you really did. Unfortunately, you were anxious, afraid, and you felt like vomiting. You wondered what you looked like, sitting here like you were still a teenager.
Speaking of young and boisterous youth, the door opened right at that moment, revealing Master Pyrope with your new padawan in tow. The girl looked to be no more than 15 years old, her face still round with the remains of baby fat. Her eyes strangely reminded you of John, except his were darker than the bright cyan irises you were looking at now. The dark hair atop her head was short and curled around the ends, save for a single sleek braid that trailed behind her right ear and to her shoulder. Height-wise, she and Terezi were similarly statured. Which meant that she was a little less than a head shorter than you. Besides this fact, she did not look tiny. In the best of ways, you swear. She was soft and curved all around, whilst people like Terezi and Dirk were all edges and angles. It was a nice change to what you were used to seeing every day. She’d be a looker once she passed the trial of puberty completely.
Oh shit. You’re going to have to protect her from rascally teenagers now.
Oh. Shit. She’s your responsibility, now. You are the caretaker. It is you.
“Jedi Knight Dave Strider, I would like to introduce you to your new padawan, Jane Crocker.”
Terezi nudged Jane towards you as you stood from the bench, drawing up to your full height. Jane looked just as nervous as you did. Shit, what should you say to her? The first thing Terezi ever did was sniff your hair, and there’s no way in hell you’re doing that to poor Jane over here. Terezi has probably already done that to her, anyway.
Like always, you decide to play it cool. You look down at her, your face showing none of the emotions you were feeling. “Well sup, little lady, ” you drawl, putting your hands in your pockets (bless Kanaya and her sewing capabilities, a world without pockets is a world you don’t want to live in). “Looks like we’re gonna be working together for a while. But no worries. We’re going to make a duo so great that other masters and padawans will be jealous. Master Vantas will shout atop the highest tower of our greatness. He’ll go at it until he can’t speak for weeks. We’ll have to get him a datapad to write his everyday obscenities on. The entire temple will praise us for the silence, saying, ‘at last I can go about my business without the constant hum of Master Vantas debriefing on the other side of the temple. You two have saved me the nastiest of migraines. Bless your souls!’ We’ll be heroes, Jane. It’ll be fucking incredible.” You ended with a smirk, awaiting her response.
Jane’s eyebrow immediately shot upward, creating a look of disbelief on her face. “You don’t always speak like this, do you, Mister Strider?” Then, turning to Terezi, she whispered, “I thought you were joking about the metaphors, Master Pyrope...”
Terezi laughed as you deflated. That was the exact opposite of what you were expecting. She can already see right through you. You sighed, smacking yourself in the face.
“Alright, let’s try that again. Hello, Jane. I am your new master, Dave Strider. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” you offered her your hand, your face burning with embarrassment.
Jane looked up to you again, her expression much softer. She could probably feel your embarrassment coming off in waves. Fuck, she must think you’re a dork. You better leave the order now before you screw up again.
“The pleasure is all mine, Master Strider,” she smiled, her buck teeth showing. Good god, those teeth were adorable. Jane took your hand and shook it firmly. “I look forward to making Master Vantas shout about our greatness.”
In that moment, your heart fucking melted. Your smirk became a full-out grin as you let go of her hand crossed your arms.
“I like you, Jane. What do you say we get acquainted? Care to join me for some food?”
Her eyes lit up like a life day tree. “Golly, would I! They kept me cooped up in that council room all day.”
Fucking hell, she even said things like golly. This is great.
The two of you spent the rest of the day walking around the temple and getting to know each other. You learned that Jane loved to bake, and even volunteered in the kitchens every now and then. Your favorite muffins were coincidentally her creation, and when you learned of that you hugged her and spun her around, earning you a few sideways glances. You discovered that her feet were incredibly ticklish, and that her favorite colors were turquoise and red. No wonder she and Terezi got along. Even her laughter was adorable; the hearty hoo hoo hoo’s echoed through the halls whenever you cracked a joke or did something ridiculous.
By the end of the day, your nerves were nothing at all. Part of you still feared that you would fail her, yes, but you knew that she was going to turn out wonderfully, whether the development was your doing or not.
She was perfect.
You were so pumped.
The next morning, you were startled to be drenched by an ice cold bucket of water falling on your head when you opened your door. All you could hear after the surprise attack was the muffled hoo’s in the neighboring room.
Ah, so the little squirt had a prankster’s gambit. Magnificent. A smile crept onto your face as you strode to your padawan’s door.
“You better be decent in there, ‘cause I’m gonna get you for that!”
This resulted in a game of tag throughout your shared living room.
She only laughed louder when you finally caught her, bringing her foot to the air and tickling her senseless.
This was only the beginning, and you were already damn well excited for the rest of this adventure.