A Vision from the Past

[Lief]

In the Wilds of Fridheim​

Midvinter​

​

She had felt it, the agony which accompanied the ending of two more lives. Two more kin'. Like a serpent's grip it trailed around her throat and threatened to suffocate the very life from her, the last reminders of a life of true happiness, of the one named Animus. He who had taught her to walk, to talk, instructed her in more martial pursuits despite her age, who had never once judged her for the oddity of her forms.

They were gone, the Lady Serena and young Adas, their very presence in the Force snuffed out. There was a passion behind their murders, something her mind could not fully comprehend, a familiarity to the one whom carried it out... But nothing she could place her finger on. Gone, the family which had been gifted to her all those countless years ago, and in its place only the void of ice and snow remained to comfort her.

Groom had joined in her lamentations. The pair had made it through so much at this point... Atrisia, Naboo, Dagobah, Midvinter, the Metal Lords... They had felt their losses, they had mourned, and they had moved on. But this felt different. It truly felt like an end, a close. Her funny silver friend, the guardian who had watched over her from the shadows since her days back on Endor, had been nowhere to be seen. Her attempts at finding her way through the snows of Midvinter back to an area of certainty had also failed. So much had changed.

So much was always changing.

Overhead, the ageing form of Ariel squawked. She watched as he circled a spot in the not too far distance, and in a heartbeat her child-form broke before the behemoth she had become; while her child state may not have been growing, she had definitely put on weight as a Daux, though by this point it was almost pure muscle. With a small growl she led the way, Groom hot on her heels as ever, the thick snow crumpling beneath their heavy pads.

What had their avian friend discovered? Food? Their Destination? Something else entirely? Even in the mind of an animal, her curiosity was palpable.

 

[Mythos]

In Mythos' mind coming tk Midvinter was a time of training and physical improvement. The food and the people, the hunt and the fighting... it made him more of a warrior than the galaxy had expected. He was alone... yet he was not. Inside the ship that dropped him in the familiar area he normally arrived in he brought inside of a well designed cage a pup, a Tuk'ata pup that was different from any other pup in the galaxy that shared the same race. It was a Sithspawn he had birthed and brought to life in Korriban and using the power of sith magic and the raw power of alchemy Mythos had fused three pups while in the belly of the mother to form one. Three distinct barks, distorted and freightening to those not attuned with the dark side of the force echoed inside the ship. As he landed and the same locals gathered around the ship to help 'Durin' unpack and walk to his cabin.

What a cabin it was...

Mythos had a a massive wooden house in the mountain near The Wilds of Frindheim, hidde from the public and everyone who did not follow a very dangerous path that passed through more than one cliff and scaled more than one mountain side but it was glorious. Build on a hot spring and towering a whopping three stories Mythos had built a masion in the wilds. The bottom floor was the area of cooking and the living area filled with paintings and Midvinterian artifacts from his Archeological digs i the planet. The second floor was the training area and the living quarters of the Valkyr who guarded the estate in his abscence as well as a very well supplied arms room. The third floor was an Arboreum sealed with ambient control sl that the fawna of Midvinter from all his explorations could live there and survive, much like the one on the Cortan Blade but on a much larger scale. Finally his quarters was in the final room and there two Valkirian maidens guarded his personal belongings and awaited his return with the greatest mead.

As Mythos stepped out he was clad in leather from top to bottom and the creature in his care was in a big red cage keeping it warm and comfy... it was still very fragile.

"Good to see ya boys!" He said in their dialect, after much toil to learn. They greeted him warmly as they unloaded his belongings and prepared for their jorney. These men and women had no trouble lifting things several times the weight of Mythos and hauled it off like a small bag. They knew the trail they wete compensated well and the road to the mountain side began. Mythos taking his time and watching the back but he could sense something this time...

Something familiar... Nostalgic... as they walked into tbe wilderness he realized it was headed straight for them. His hand instinctivley clutched his lightsaber and his eyes shot from left to right, his head on a swivel. It was getting closer.

[member="Kida"]

 

[Lief]

Panting, that was all that filled her hearing; that and the stinging wind which whizzed by her ears with each new step she took. Groom whined, not quite the snarl she had become accustomed to when they neared a quarry or the land of the Uprights, no... His ears went back against his head when she turned her maw in his direction, and she scampered to a swift halt. Further panting, as she fought to get her breath back. The cold was especially cold here, but she figured the mountains had something to do with it. Higher elevation, and all that.

She padded toward the hound where he had stopped, and nuzzled against his neck in a comforting fashion. Something was wrong, he seemed almost spooked which was something she had never seen in him before. He was a formidable creature, the Galaxy bent before his form. Another whine. Another caw from overhead. Kida turned, and pressed on, though her pace was somewhat slower... Cautious. Whatever lay beyond this next rise was likely hostile, moreso than anything they had seen in some time. She could only hope that the pup' would keep his head on his shoulders long enough to see them through any fight which might occur.

And yet... The closer she got, the more familiar the presence beyond became. She lowered her form to the ground, upon reaching the rise, and stared down into the snowy landscape beyond. A snarl left her then, at the sight of a great metal beast, she had no plans of entering its behemoth belly. Not today. Their time with the funny silver creature had brought about too much of that! She heard the shuffle of snow at her back and knew that Groom was alongside her again. Good...

Her face turned his way, and an almost nod-like gesture could be seen before she pushed off the embankment and leaped to the craggy landscape below. Foolish, perhaps, more foolish than she ever usually was around the Uprights, yet something felt right about it. She could sense a spirit she had been crying out for, a kindred soul, though it felt.. different. Could it be?

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

The march went on for a few miles and Mythos was jumpy, the presence that headed right for him now approached slower and more deliberate. It had not crossed his mind that his daughter still wonderes this world yet Mythos would never hunt for her... his heart ached for her companionship but to be near him was to be in danger. Groom on the other hand well, he could use the power of his hound but it was her companion not his. He would never take Groom from her...

None of these things crossed his mind at the moment and his pace became slower and slower as the march went on until finally he told the men to go on ahead and that he woupd meet them in the mountainside. The wind was harsh, the light dimmed by the trees above and the snow covering every inch of the landscape. When the pressence got so close that Mythos could not hide anylonger he turned to face it lightsaber ignited. His cloak covered his face and the cage of his sithspawn ploped on the floor gently.

He saw an image and his jaw dropped, his thumb released from his saber, the darkside of the force still strong in him yet here was the last bastion of his heart that still bled, the only thing in the galaxy that he still loved... His only weakness.

"Kida?..." He muttered under his breath, dropping to one knee as his eyes caught sight of his most faithful companion and worthy beast Groom. Of course... how could he have been so foolish? A caw overhead was heard and with a smile he extended his arm. Ariel as always was the first to come to him, the might winged beast cawing powerfully in victory once more in his arm.

[member="Kida"]

 

[Lief]

She landed in the snow with a heavy thud; the fall had been larger than anticipated, and it knocked a little of the air from her feline lungs. Her form had adjusted over the years, during his absence, her coat had turned snowy, thick, yet the body beneath was well toned with muscles, losing all of the puppy fat it had once retained.

She was in her element here, among the snow, even moreso than she had been roaming the swamps of Dagobah. She sniffed the air, growling in a low, threatening manner, toward the ignited lightsaber. She had felt the burn of such things before, and had no intentions of facing it again.

It seemed her fears were misplaced, however, for an instance later the unholy light spluttered out, casting them back into the odd hue of day presented by Midvinter. She prowled closer, one paw after the other, with Groom remaining close at hand. And then it happened, this figure before her spoke and she looked to him - truly looked to him - in amazement.

Her ears pressed back, Kida whined, yet Groom rushed forward, no longer concerned with the wellbeing of the child in his care the Hound leaped at the man with jovial intent. How long had passed? How many decades had it been since they had last truly seen one another?

Ariel was already upon him, settling against the reborn man's wrist with head held aloft. There was a glimmer in his eye that Kida noticed, as though the bird had purposely led them this way. Perhaps he had, he was more perceptive than the two beasts after all.

By comparison to the others, the girl was surprisingly... slow to approach. She lingered back, sniffing the air, staring at him, encircling him to see every side of his being without getting too close. Wary wasn't even the word. Then she snarled, gaining her a look of pure confusion from the Hound.

Something wasn't right.

She had felt him die.

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Mythos smiled at his hound and immediatley braced for impact. Mythos was strong now, bulked up with his training here in Midvinter as well as in Ankhypt, Commenor and Korriban but that was four hundred plus pounds of toned beast coming down on him and he needed to angle and Ariel was smart enough tp fly away. The impact was a thud of power, Mythos shoulder checking groom in the chest and the beast coming down on his back with all his power and might. He missed Groom a lot and his eyes scanned as he petted his back for his daughter and was he caught made his eyebrow raise in confusion....

He did not know what had happened. Was she angry? Did she resent him for leaving, for failing her in Lujo and in Atrisia? Did she forget him? He would not blame her if she did. Then came the snarl and that did throw him off a lot, she never once in her life snarled at him, not even when she had to take rides in ships... she hated those he remembered.

Something in Mythos' stomach turned... The galaxy would not take this too. Groom was equally confused and Mythos sensed it, he could talk with Groom using the force as easily as he could talk with an organic sometimes even better. He dropped his lightsaber, took off his cloak exposing his body to the harsh temperature but he did not care.

"I have lost everything... My son" He began as he stepped towoards the massive cat one step at a time. Boots cruched snow slowly but he had no fear. "My people and my friends..." When he arrived at arms length he took a knee and looked at her right in the eyes. "The Galaxy wont take you too... A galaxy without you is a Galaxy i will se burn to the last moon in the last system"

Fearlessly his hand made its way to her jaws and then to her cheek. He just wanted his daughter back and if that meant loosing a hand so be it.

[member="Kida"]

 

[Lief]

The man stepped forward, and despite her animal companion's apparent adoration for him she took a very slight step back, lowering herself closer to the ground with another threatening growl, her ears pulling back against her head until they lay flat. Her very core rumbled with the sound, before it broke into a subtle whimper that could not be suppressed.

She sniffed the air, and found that it smelled just like him. Looked like him. Walked like him. Sounded like him. For all intents and purposes, it was him. And yet, in her heart of hearts, she knew she had felt him pass. There was no way such a feeling could be mistaken or faked.

He was speaking to her, upright words that she had once known yet in the time since they were parted had been lost to her more feral, isolated mind, and slowly she met his gaze. She did not have to know the words to feel the grief, the true grief, behind them.

Before her he knelt, until they were almost of a height if she hadn't been so bent-backed and close to the ground, and she found there was no escaping his gaze. It bore into her, broke through all of those defenses she had built up. The touch of his hand was the final straw, and she melted into his touch with an unconstrained purr which emanated from her throat. She rubbed against his touch, and rose up from where she had been cowering.

The sound of bones snapping, and a very real cry of pain, escaped her then as her form began to shrink and change. Many presumed such transformations were easy, and while she had a more natural knack for turning to the feline state, reverting back into her true child form was an arduous journey. Eventually, after what to her felt like hours but in truth was just a few moments, she fell against him, panting and cold yet vulnerable. Purposely so.

No hide or rolling muscle to protect her; she was putting all of her trust out there to him.

Was it really him? She would find out.

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Finally he felt in his arms what he thought he would never feel again... his daughter. The only part of him that still lived as the daux cat figurine was evidence for still dangling in his neck. He did not know just how long she had remained in her feral form but in this moment he vowed that he would never lose sight of her again... he would never let her go. With a telekinetic blast he brough his coat back into his back as it wrapped around them both sheilding them from the cold of the mountain. Groom... just became busy. He prodded around the box as three barks sounded inside of it and echoed. He was curious and confused, they sounded like Tuk'ata pups but they did not at the same time. Suddenly a blast of fire popped off the cage and supprised groom as he stepped back, not afraid or angry but curious and bewildered. He asked Mythos through the force what is was and He returned the question with the image of the beast. Groom's eyes opened wide and he tilted his head, then his eyes trained on the box with curiosiry and Ariel landed on the back of the hound screeching loudly... That bird was always impatient. Ariel wanted to leave... boredom stricking the avian creature.

Mythos was not done however... he wrapped kida in his arms and nuzzled his hair around her. "I am never going away again... we will have to kill stuff together now..." He said as he kissed her cheeck and turned around, giving his back to the wind and heading back through the trail.

It was going to be a long walk to the cabin. He picked up the box and started to walk beside Groom as Ariel rested on his shoulder. "Don't worry my old friend, you will get to meet the beast soon enough."

Before them was the mountain... Imposing and powerful. To get to his house Mythos was about to fight Mother Nature in Midvinter who had a reputation for being absolutley mercyless.

[member="Kida"]

 

[Lief]

A warmth embraced her alongside the man's arms, and she nestled against him as he lifted her up away from the snowy ground. She had always loved a higher vantage, whether stood atop a cliff, or peering through the eyes of the bird companion she had come to see as an extension of herself, knowing what was happening was important to her. Yet surprisingly enough she did not try to watch in that moment, she did not care where they were headed. She knew, the moment she saw the small trinket around his neck, that it was Him. Truly Him.

She closed her eyes, turned her cheek to his chest, and simply rested there. Ariel remained atop the shoulder of the great tuk'ata, yet she could feel his longing to spread his wings. Perhaps.. That would be for the best? These lands were not ones either of them were particularly familiar with, although perhaps her Papa knew the way. Papa... Her heart both swelled and broke all at once, with the reminder of all that had happened, all that had been felt.

Was he going to leave again? Was this to be like Dagobah, where she had been left to her own devices, or Midvinter where she had been wholly abandoned? Would she feel his presence dwindle, cut short in one fell swoop? Her heart began to race then, and another whimper left the girl. No, she could not think about that. She had to be strong. She was strong. She had survived all of this, whatever came next was nothing in comparison.

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

The walk felt like an eternity. Over cliffs and mountainsides Mythos found dead bodies along the way decomposed only slightly due to the cold preserving them where they were. It did not phase him and Groom only found them amusing. Finally after much toil and hardship the image of the cabin and men outside it drinking could be seen in the horizon. "We are home My heart..." He whispered into her ear as without missing a beat he began to dash, Groom happily dashed beside him. It was a road met by two mountainsides to both sides and in the middle a massive ice rock that was seemingly carved. He used the force to augment his speed, striding a full sprint directly into the ice stone before him. With one massive leap he landed on the storm and called forth the full might of his telekinetic strength to blast in the direction of his home. His concentration was in the force but his eyes were on his daughter in his hand... Mythos was flying. Force flight was an ability he had come to master and Ariel joined in his ascent into the icy sky. Groom was not far behind, in fact he was actually a leap or two ahead planing to meet his owner in his home before he landed... it was a race to the Tuk'ata and he planned to win.

Mythos refused to make that easy for Groom. He breathed in hard and channeled the dark side of the force in a potent yet malicious way. Kida would feel the change... instead of feeding on combat and competition Mythos was now fully fed by hate and anger. Like a meteor he fell down, ice breaking and parting in his fall and taking over Groom's lead by a few feet before blasting the ice below him as he landed, a tremor around him. The house was surrounded on all sides by a mountain several stories high, hidden in the small crater inside the mountain itself. Ariel was last to arrive, circling the trio and flying off through a window. "Welcome home Darling"

The Valkyri around the entrance raised their horns of mead to Mythos and he nodded in thanks. All had arrived safe and sound as he had no doubt they would. It was just a simple hike, a stroll through the forest for a Valkyri native, it was nothing hard at all for them. He invited them in and lead the way inside the house. |

[member="Kida"]​

 

[Lief]

She did not know how long their journeyed. Every so often Ariel would squawk and leap into the air, soaring overhead as he watched the pass for any sign of hostility, or avalanche, any blockage in the road. Impatient, he was, but also invaluable to the girl and her companion. Did her Papa see him in the same way? She did not know.

At some point she had drifted to sleep, lulled by the rocking of his arms, and a very quiet snore escaped her due to the way in which she was lay. Another rare nod to the child she truly was, as opposed to the feral creature she often came across as.

When words were spoken, however, the girl perked up. Home... That was a word she knew! One of the few she did... She nestled against him, and opened her eyes to find the ground far beneath them. Had she somehow warged into Ariel again? Was she soaring on his wings? Only... It did not seem that way. Her confusion rose when they began to descend, toward a lodge. What was happening?

Where were they?

She shivered against him, bare save for the cloak which had been wrapped around her, as the mountain breeze ran over them. As such, when they entered the swiftly warming lodge which no doubt had just had the hearths lit, she let out the tiniest of sighs and set about looking around herself. This way and that, her focus shifted, as she marked out each exit point, each corner to nestle in.

Home?

Could it truly be so?

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Aa Mythos walked in through the door the warmess of the hearth instantly beat upon his chest. He sighed and adjusted his sight to the dimness of the house and dropped the cage. Groom sped inside and shook the snow off his body, eyes snapping to the box as it opened. The pup lept out and with a quick speed began running around Groom, curious and playful at the same time. Groom was stupified, he followed the pup as the small three headed creature began barking and running around him. He looked at Mythos with a confused expression and said to him through the force one question. "What is this? What did you do?"

No judgment and no anger in his tone just curiosity. "He's your responsibility now, i created him." He answered in the same tone back provoking a bark from the hound in disbeleif. "He is not my blood." The hound said, a bit annoyed at the job. "He is now old friend, you will teach him to hunt tonight... together with me and Ariel... if Kida will come then". He looked down into his daughter and olaced a kiss in her forhead before continiuing. "Then her too"

The proposition of hunting alongside Mythos made Groom happy and excited, their hunts were fun and vicious. They were a well oiled machine as they killed and hunted together... Groom even had Republic kills...

A vicious bark left the jaws of the massive hound, he stood on his hind legs and showed Mythos his full height. A challenge to other Tuk'ata and to Mythos a boast as to say: 'I'm going to kill more than you.'

Mythos met his stance and held Kida in one hand standing defiantly before the hound. Outloud with words he said one simple sentence. "We shall see about that old friend"

He walked past Groom with confidence and gave him a pat om his back before heading off to the top room. Mythos flew up those stairs as his men in the second floor greeted him with mead and weapons held high, the shine of Valkyri steel clear in his eyes. He gave them a greeting and kept flying up the stairs untill he was met with a massive red door to which only he had the key. He fumbled a bit, but he found the golden key and the door turned to find inside his personal chambers filled with treasures, crystals and books as well as two beautiful Valkyri females awaiting him with two large horns of mead and only coats to cover their bodies.

"Thank you" He said in their tounge, as he took one of the horns and downed it all in a single gulp. The greatest tasting alcholic beverage in the galaxy washed down his throat before he took the other one and took a large gulp that halved the horn. "Wait for me below with the men, I have to put the little one to sleep"

The females looked at Kida with motherly eyes and comented on how adorable she was. "We can make her clothes in a bit with the leather and fur" Ereida said, the one with the black hair. "Please and thank you, i'll be down in a while"

[member="Kida"]

 

[Lief]

At the end of the day, the only place she wished to nestle was exactly where she was. She lowered her head down, no longer looking for exits, and snuggled into his embrace as he walked her through the Hall. She heard the three pronged yaps of the puppy, but did not look its way even when she could sense the confusion of her companions. Ariel, it seemed, was unimpressed. Then again, when wasn't he?

When the word hunt began to linger on the air, she peeked up at her Papa's face and was treated to a small kiss on the head. How had she existed without? How had she managed to survive after feeling his presence fade so abruptly? She was made to want for nothing in his presence, how had things gone so south? How had they been parted for so long?

That forced a small whimper from her, and she buried her face against his arm with a sleepy murmur.

So many strangers lingered around, faces and smells and presences she did not understand, people who towered overhead and made her feel threatened, defensive, yet the arm of her Father which held her tight seemed to never sway, and that was all the protection she needed.

"Papa..." she breathed, audibly quiet and sleepy-sounding, when they stepped into his chambers and he began to drink. She did not look up, she did not see the ladies though she heard them, their voices were so different - Kida was used to the voices of men, Serena was one of the few women she could remember, and that woman was gone. It had been what felt like an eternity since she had last seen her, here on Midvinter. The pair of them had shared a moment of pure lamentation.

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

The words of his daughter calling his papa was something he thought he would never hear again yet it was something he thought would never truly last. If she was to stay with him she would need to kill, if she was to be with hims he would have to learn to fight and hunt down Galactic Alliance jedi and soldiers like they were no more than food... that is what he was here for. His soul could not rest if the Flag of the Galactic Alliance swung in the air of even a single planet. That was for another time... now he simply tucked her into bed and sat beside the large and furry bed passing his fingers through her hair. He loved her, it fueled him to fight, his love for her and the fact she was taken away from him fueled his unbridled hatred for the Galactic Alliance and everything that they stood for. His entire existence was devoted to seeing them all die, burn their worlds as his had burned and slaughter their sons as his was slaughtered.

"Don't worry Kida... everything will be alright... " he whispered under his breath. Both calming himself and his daughter hopefully. He already thought of spells and magik he would teach her, of ways to kill and to stalk and to hunt that would work perfectly against the scum of the alliance. By his hand the putrid offspring of Luke Skywalker would die. "When we kill them all, when they all die my one love" he said, a smile curving his lips as he pressed them against her forehead again and again. "We will never be apart from each other again, nothing will separate us... nothing"

He chuckled a soft laugh as he thought about killing next to her and Groom. "When Sullust Burns... I will never, ever leave your side again"
@Kida
​