Private Catching Up

[Kalie Alverez]

Valery Noble Lyrrin

The door swung open and Kalie was a bit startled to see a young woman standing before her. She quickly offered a warm smile.

"Um… Hi!" She couldn't believe how much of Valery she saw in the young woman. She couldn't fathom that it had really been that long? If this was really Vera, the last time she had seen her she had been just a little baby.

"Vera? Is that you?" Kalie, although warm, seemed a bit nervous as she shifted back and forth on her feet a bit. "Wow! The last time I saw you, you were just a baby in my arms!" She finally stuck out her hand abruptly to officially greet the girl, "… and now you're a young woman! I wouldn't expect you to remember me, but I'm Aunty Kalie! I'm good friends with your mom..."

Kalie was still in shock that it had actually been that many years since she had seen Valery. So much life had happened, and she couldn't help but feel that she had missed so much of her friend's lives. But she had to focus on the happiness of getting to meet Vera and Valery again. And who knows, maybe they had even more kids! And who knew who else might be home…

 

[Lyrrin]

Valery Noble Kalie Alverez

---

Lyrrin smiled as Valery seemed amenable to his suggestion "Trust me Valery, I'm really good at what I do." he paused and gave her a mischievous smirk "Which is pretty much everything that's awesome. We'll have her blasting holes in combat droids in no-time at all!" there was going to be a lot for young Aurra to overcome. But nothing so tough as a good bit of skill and technology couldn't manage.

When Valery she said she wasn't expecting any friends or visitors, Lyrrin looked rather bemused. Well that was awfully odd considering one was at the door. Lyrrin stood up and smoothed out his pants as Valery commanded her triplets to stay-put "Oh don't worry so much its probably just-" he stopped speaking as he heard Vera's voice and something that sounded like a ghost of the past. The Farghul's head tilted towards the sound, disbelieving what he had though he heard a moment earlier. Wordlessly he walked out of the family room towards the front door.

". . ." Lyrrin stared at Kalie with wide eyes. There couldn't be any mistaking it, this was Kalie - at least one of them. Lyrrin closed the distance between Vera and Kalie until he was behind Vera, Lyrrin gently placed his hand on her shoulder and moved her aside. Once she was out of the way that same hand lifted from Vera's shoulder to Kalie's as he pulled her into a hug. Even as Lyrrin held her the moment felt surreal. Lyrrin's eyes only saw the outdoors but they flicked back and forth as his mind was a mess of memories and questions "Where did you go?" he asked in a pained tone.

This visit was turning out to be a wild rollercoaster for poor Lyrrin. At this rate he was going to become sentimental or something.

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Lyrrin Kalie Alverez

"Vera? Is that you?"

Vera blinked, and tilted her head while she stared at the woman in front of her. She didn't look too familiar, but she felt familiar. Then, memories returned, and she reminded herself of stories her Mom had told. Stories she had often seen unfold in her dreams, or rather visions of the Force.

Yeah, she knew this woman.

"You're the woman who helped Mom and Lyrrin retrieve the Wayfinder!" Vera exclaimed excitedly. "The device that helped Mom end the war." There was a sparkle in her eyes now, but before Vera could say anything more, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Instantly, Vera could pick up on Lyrrin's emotions, and stepped aside to let him hug his friend. Vera hadn't seen Kalie in forever, so she had a feeling that nobody had.

At this point, Valery had also picked up on things, and left behind the triplets for a moment to head over to the door. The moment she saw Kalie, wrapped up in Lyrrin's arms, she froze.

"Kalie?" Valery felt her lower lip tremble, and rushed over to pull both of her friends into a tight hug. She let Lyrrin ask the question that had been on both of their minds, and just held on for now.

This was this year's Life Day miracle.

 

[Kalie Alverez]

Valery Noble Lyrrin


Kalie's eyes danced at the knowledge that Vera actually remembered her! Or perhaps it was just the stories that momma had told her, but still, she had put the pieces together so quickly. She was defiantly a sharp one.

And then, in the next moment, Kalie's eyes shifted upward as there was movement behind the girl. Her heart immediately leapt up into her throat as Kalie's breathing stopped. A look of shock covered her face as she found herself looking into the eyes of someone she had not expected to see just quite yet.

Lyrrin.

Kalie felt as though she couldn't move. Her tongue seemed stuck to the roof of her mouth, and no words would come out. All she could do was watch him approach, and then respond as he brought her into an embrace.

Finally she bought herself to whisper a single word.

"Lyrrin."

Kalie's eyes then shifted upward to see Valery as she spoke her name. This was all too much to take in. Tears started to water her eyes as Valery joined them and hugged her tightly as well. She buried her face into both of them, sighing loudly and finally letting some of the held air escape from her lungs.

"Val."

Her two closest friends in the whole world. She couldn't believe she was actually here, after so many years. She was with them again.

And in the midst of the joy she felt, a tremendous weight of guilt and sadness also enveloped her in a complex swirl of a hundred different emotions. She had her reasons for doing what she did, and it was easier to feel justified when she was by herself, but there was a part of her that also felt as though she had betrayed her friends. Maybe she had. And now, holding the two of them closely, her own justifications seemed so fragile and weak.

She couldn't find any words that felt right as a response to Lyric's question. Everything felt inadequate… underwhelming. After a moment, she cleared her throat and, despite the heavy weight she felt, pressed on to provide some kind of answer that she knew they deserved.

"What I did was selfish. I know that now. But… I did it for me." She furrowed her brow, blinking as if trying to clear her physical vision would also help mentally.

"I know you guys have always been there for me, and you accepted me... but the truth is… I felt like an imposter. No matter what you said or did, I felt like I had stepped into someone else's life that was never suppose to be mine."

Kalie was going to continue, but then she decided she needed to look at them again, just to make sure they were really real. she pulled herself back a bit so she could look into their eyes. This caused her to break for a moment as a tear trickled down her cheek and her voice cracked slightly for the first time, and she blurted out a happy laugh at the simple truth that she was with her friends again…

"I missed you guys!" She exclaimed, squeezing them tightly and shoving her face into them once again. It was as if she couldn't get enough of their presence.

 

[Lyrrin]

Valery Noble Kalie Alverez

---

Lyrrin silently kept in the embrace of his friends for a few moments then he began to wiggle his way out from between Kalie and Valery "Alright... alright that's enough of that." he made a quick motion across his face with his hand as if wiping something away then looked down towards Vera "Get your aunt her something to drink" he wasn't going to keep this sappy stuff up forever, it wasn't him! Or more precisely he didn't like being sappy for too long. It ruined his persona.

"You've missed a lot, Val has like a dozen kids now." Lyrrin kept looking towards Kalie then away from her again unsure of what to do in this oddly sweet moment "Well... when you two are done hugging I'll be in the family room with the two dozen other children." he gave a curt nod and went back towards the triplets. He sat on the couch and looked at the three then folded his legs up criss-cross style while folded his arms in a similar manner.

"It wasn't a saleswoman. We didn't buy anything" Lyrrin informed the children

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Lyrrin Kalie Alverez

"We missed you too, Kalie," Valery said, definitely a little high on emotion herself. But after pulling back and looking Kalie in the eyes, she preferred to be happy and smile, rather than cry over just how long it had been. What mattered most was that her dear friend was here again, and she wanted to focus on that. Lyrrin meanwhile had his own way of handling the way he felt, and once he returned into the house, Valery chuckled and looked at Kalie.

"You know him," she said with a smirk — it was no secret to the two that he wasn't one to show emotion all too much. Which was fine, because both Kalie and Valery both knew how much he really cared.

"He's somewhat right, though. The family is very big now. After Vera, Kahlil and I got triplets, and we adopted two as well, though those two aren't here at the moment." She smiled and held up a hand to invite Kalie into her home, "Please don't worry about what happened, or why you had to be away. What we care about is how you feel, and we're just happy to have you back." With that said, Valery followed after Lyrrin and waited for Kalie to follow.

The triplets were all there, too — Aurra the little blonde, Adam with silver hair like his father, and Aeryn, the carbon copy of her Mom.

 

[Kalie Alverez]

Lyrrin Valery Noble

She couldn't help but smile at seeing a bit of Lyrrin's emotion leaking out. She knew he was glad to see her, and knew that it hadn't been fair the way she had left him. But he was handling it very graciously. The two of them had made significant headway in her learning how to embrace the strengths and limitations of her replicant body. If it hadn't been for Lyrrin, she would have never been able to survive on her own. She was grateful in so many ways for him… perhaps some day she would find the words and way to express that to him.

She turned back to Valery as she spoke... Val said they had missed her. The greatest pain she felt was hearing how much life had really happened in her absence. So many new kids! There was so much to catch up on. She gave a look of gratitude towards Valery as she encouraged her to move on from the past and just embrace the present moment. She was back. That all that mattered now. Kalie nodded.

"Thanks Val... For understanding."

Kalie followed them into the living room and her eyes grew big as she saw all the kiddos.

"Hiiiii!" She exclaimed excitedly, jumping onto the couch herself as if she was a kid, her legs criss-crossed underneath her as she looked back and forth between them.

"Tell me your names, your favorite food, and your favorite color!" She was positively beaming with delight.

 

[Lyrrin]

Valery Noble Kalie Alverez

---

Lyrrin put his arms out a little as Kalie jumped onto the couch causing the whole thing to shake "Hey!" Lyrrin protested in mild annoyance at the antic. It didn't take him more than a second to get over it though as he watched the interaction between her and the numerous Noble spawn. Lyrrin folded his arms "You're a bad influence. Children-" Lyrrin snapped his fingers to get their attention then motioned towards Kalie "Aunt Kalie is a bad influence. Kalie bad. Lyrrin is good. Lyrrin good." he instructed "Got it?" Lyrrin gave a firm nod then looked smuggly towards Kalie

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Lyrrin Kalie Alverez

"Always," Valery assured Kalie with a smile before they headed inside.

With Lyrrin back on the couch, the triplets were swarming all around him. He was funny and had shown a willingness to play with them, too. But when Kalie entered and plopped down to squeal her greeting, all of them surged in energy. The three little ones giggled, climbed up, and crawled their way over to meet this stranger who seemed so much fun!

Then, Lyrrin spoke up and they all looked at him.

Kalie bad, Lyrrin good?

"Lyrrin," Valery warned him with a roll of her eyes. "Kids are quicker to take your word for it, so don't be mean." She shook her head, and the triplets resumed their curious glances.

"I'm Aeryn!" The little brunette with orange eyes exclaimed.

"I'm Adam!" her youngest son was quick to point out after his sister.

"Hewwo, I'm Aurra," the little blonde with blue eyes said, a little more timidly than her siblings. She was the only one without the Force in this family, and while she was too young to really understand that, she was already a lot quieter.

"Pancakes are the best!" Adam then said, and all triplets nodded in agreement. "Purple is the best color!" She added, but now both of her siblings glared at her.

 

[Kalie Alverez]

Kalie glared for a moment at Lyrrin, then broke out in a short laugh. She had missed him and his banter. “No no no.” She corrected, waving her finger in his face before bringing it in for a quick boop of his nose. “Kalie good.”

She then turned her gaze back to the little ones as they shared their names, her attention fully given to each of them as they spoke, and hints of surprised delight popping up as if everything they revealed was the biggest revelation she had ever heard.

“Pancakes!!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth with pretend surprise. “I love pancakes!”

“And my favorite color it purple to!!” She giggled at the reaction of the boys, who obviously disagreed. “It’s ok, you can have different favorites.”

Kalie looked over at Valery, a warm smile on her face, “you make the best looking kids Val. They are adorable!”

She looked back at Lyrrin for a moment, a question bubbling up within her that she had been curious of ever since she had disappeared.

“So are you still with the SIA?” She said it innocently enough, but there was an underlying current of seriousness. There was another reason she had disappeared. A big reason. And if Lyrrin was still with the SIA, then there would be much she would need to tell him.

Valery Noble Lyrrin

 

[Lyrrin]

Valery Noble Kalie Alverez

---

Lyrrin looked towards Valery and gave her a shrug when she said that the children would heed his words "Its not my fault I'm so convincing." though he'd attempt to be more mindful in the future of what he said around them. When Kalie waved her finger before his face, his eyes followed the movement instinctively "Kalie.." he said in a warning voice as he knew what was coming "Don-" then his nose was booped.

His expression was complete disdain as he touched his nose to try and rid himself of the feeling of the interaction. Lyrrin switched gears to plotting his vengeance for this injustice, this unprovoked aggression.

Then when Kalie brought up his employment status with the Agency, Lyrrin gave her an uncomfortable look "Well, until very recently the answer was yes." he tapped his thumbs together as held his hands in his lap "As in like maybe ten or so minutes ago." it was safe to assume that the SIA didn't know that Lyrrin had quit "We'll talk more about it later. Oh and" he motioned towards the children "You should tell them about how Valery on Gigaboo, a planet near the Jigglewatt sector, snored so loud that she woke up a Rancor. She keeps saying that isn't real, but you were there, you remember do you?" Lyrrin glanced towards Valery then away from her and pursed his lips together bracing himself for a Force Push

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Lyrrin Kalie Alverez

Valery felt just a little nervous.

Not because Lyrrin was trying to convince her little ones that she snored, but because of Kalie. Because of the redhead's energy. The Nobles were notorious gremlins, full of energy and mischief. The way Kalie excitedly talked about pancakes and her favorite color had the triplets bouncing around, and she knew what that'd bring.

Trouble.

"They are very cute, but don't get them too excited. They might not leave you alone anymore," Valery said with a chuckle before she scooped up Aurra and placed her down into her lap. "Don't listen to Lyrrin, sweetie. He wasn't there when I was handling the Rancor. One of the mean people had a laser pointer, and he decided to chase it."

She looked at Lyrrin with a grin, and teasingly waggled her eyebrows at him.

Two could play this game.

 

[Kalie Alverez]

Valery Noble Lyrrin

Kalie couldn't help but let a broad smile cross her face at Lyrrin's reaction. She knew he hated such things. She didn't care. It was one of her many weapons to use against his snarky remarks.

As Lyrrin attempted to rally her into his mischief against Val, she joined instead with Val's teasing look at him, narrowing her eyes. It was never good to accuse girls of releasing anything except for pure perfection, and snoring was surely NOT on that list.

"Hmm?" She purred innocently, "I must not be familiar with that mission…" She twirled a finger into her red hair with a slight smile on her lips. She leaned her head towards Val and gave her a quick wink.

At Val's warning of the eternal attention from the little ones, she giggled. "I've already missed so much, I might just be ok with that!" She teased. But she took the hint. Don't get them too riled up.

And then the comment about Lyrrin being distracted by a laser pointer landed, which caused Kalie to giggle and quickly fling up her finger in front of Lyrrin's face once again. It slowly moved from side to side, seeing if Lyrrin wouldn't be able to help but follow it with his eyes.

 

[Lyrrin]

Valery Noble Kalie Alverez

---

Lyrrin couldn't believe the betrayal and put a hand to his chest "After all we've been through you'd lie to these poor orphans . Shame." at Valery's comments about a laser pointer he'd shrug "Rumors travel quickly. I've caught every point that was ever lasered, children. Don't believe anything else, your favorite uncle Lyrrin is the fastest there ever was and will be. Simple as. If something looks faster than me its because I let it be faster." he'd not be the one to rob the children of their joy unlike the two wicked witches.

At Kalie's finger being before his eyes, they did follow it for a brief moment but only so long as for Lyrrin to nimbly snap at her finger trying to bite it firmly between his teeth. If she was going to play childlish games with him he'd give her a childish response! These were sandbox rules now. Biting was legal.

The way the trio were paling around it was hard to believe that just moments ago they hadn't been in contact in months, maybe even years. True friendships could last the span of time. Though Valery's house may not survive that long with Kalie & Lyrrin riling themselves up in their expected escalations.

 

[Valery Noble]

Niv Hani

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Lyrrin Kalie Alverez

"Ahhh!" Aurra yelled, while the other two triplets just giggled when Lyrrin suddenly lunged forward to bite Kalie's finger. Valery had felt it coming through the Force, but also because she knew Lyrrin longer than today. She had intentionally not warned the redhead, knowing just how funny it would be for herself and the little ones.

Well, except for Aurra maybe — she looked at Lyrrin like he was a bad kitty now.

Either way, Valery had thoroughly missed all of this. Just being goofy with her friends — two of the closest friends she had ever made. In a way, some of the first friends she made after coming out of stasis, too. They had been there during tough missions and supported her when Kahlil had proposed to her.

They were an irreplaceable part of her life.

"Oh gosh, you two..." Valery said with a smirk, "Please don't hurt each other too much."

 

[Kalie Alverez]

Lyrrin Valery Noble

"Ow!" Kalie squealed as she yanked her finger from Lyrrin's teeth, offering him a deathly glare as she sucked on it gingerly.

She had missed this. She had missed them. It felt just like when they were all in the SIA together. Kalie couldn't help but let her own giggles join in with the kids.

It was still amusing how much she felt like a human. Did the nip at the tip of her finger actually cause her any pain? No. But she felt it, just like she would if she were a human. Her makers definitely had known what they were doing.

Kalie leaned back a bit more into the cushions of the couch and let her eyes linger on both of her dear friends for a moment. She did it casually, with a soft smirk on her lips.

"What time is it?" She suddenly questioned, her eyes glancing around the room for some kind of timekeeper device to inform her, "Too early for drinks?"