Coming Home

[Kaili Talith]

One couldn’t help grinning along with Kira Talith when she talked about her gardening. From her excitable nature, to the worried glances when you mentioned one of the basic tools a gardener would use. Which was if fertilizer was to be deemed a tool, of course. And while singing was likely to bring the same effect as talking, Kaili somewhat doubted either of them actually did anything. Imagining Kira singing to each and every plant around the garden was a pretty amusing mental image though, to that Kaili would snicker.

The kid craned her neck to look for the trellises but quickly gave up as the hat was planted on her head. A lopsided grin set itself upon her lips and she couldn’t help shrugging at her mother’s question. Not because the money that her mother and father had tossed in her lap hadn’t helped her, but because they had done just that. Kaili had come to value her independence, to accept that kind of money from her parents again was something she did with a sense of gratitude that was weighed down only by the slight sense of guilt for credits owed. She swore to herself that one day, when her business was stable, she would repay her mother and father in doubles. Until then she would just remain grateful for the opportunity they were providing.

“Yeah,” She whispered in response. “I still can’t believe you did that.”

“The store has been more filled with people lately, not by a lot more, but I get the feeling it’s only going to increase. People flocking to have small droids made. They see Henry and they want one of their own, that kind of deal, you know?” For a second she snickered. There were also a lot of crazy requests, but Kaili didn’t feel like those really had to be made mention of. “Most of it is easy work, and I think if I can just manage to establish myself a little more...” Optimistic headshake. “I might just be able to branch out a bit. I don’t know how or in what direction, but I should be able to start a second savings account and truly start investing in it.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

“Well that sounds like a plan,” Kira would tell her daughter, her hands and arms drawing away from the younger blonde so that she could move about. Freedom! Well, not really. It was very likely that Kaili’s mother would attempt another grab or a hug soon enough. Give her enough time, and she will.

A small scoot would move the older woman to the right of Nohei, and the straw hat would be set upon the cobbled ground. Moving forward in a half kneeling position, Kira continued the motions of clearing out a small hole on the plot she had Soliael shape for her.

One purple flowered plant would plop into its new home a few seconds later.
“Just don’t know where exactly to expand on?” She repeated, looking at her youngest. “Well you have droids so far… some drones right?”

 

[Kaili Talith]

Well, maybe a small measure of freedom. Kaili took the moment to straighten the last few remaining strands of hair that poked around from having been messed with. A small smirk forced the young blonde’s lips into a lopsided shape as she followed her mother’s work. It was weird perhaps that Kaili would know some of the basics of gardening without having ever held a single trowel in her hands. At least that she could remember.

Books were fun to read like that. Made you smart like Aela, most of the time.

“I’ve got a camera drone that I made for Miss Arceneau’s wedding, but that’s about as far as my extended production goes.” Kaili shrugged. “I mean, I could go into more drones, but I don’t see much room for expansion beyond cameras unless I want to venture into military tech, and you know how I feel about that.”

She was very much against it, an ironic fact that was not lost on her. The girl that loved to fight yet hated violence. Then again, there was quite a distinct difference between fighting a brother and fighting a war. Though not a lot.

“I definitely know where I want to end up some day though.” Kaili grinned and nodded her head as if what she was about to say next was superobvious. “Cybernetics.”

“Things that can really make a difference! Eye prosthetics, arm and leg replacements that’d be just as good -- if not better than -- an actual arm or leg.” The kid scooted on closer to her mother and the plants. “What’d you think of that? Talith Cybernetics -- A brighter future, and a better life.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

“I know you can sweetie,” typically, if one said such a thing, they’d likely be trying to humor the recipient. In Kira’s situation, she truly genuinely meant it. Believed it. There was nothing her daughter wouldn’t be able to do as long as she set her mind to it.

“Are you thinking of doing pure cybernetics or perhaps delving into bio-cybernetics?” Kira would ask her daughter, taking her small spade and digging another small hole. The warmth of the sun would shine down on them both, twin golden heads that Micah would be able to catch through one of the nearby windows. He gave a grin.

He caught the smiles and the casual conversation between his youngest sister and his mother. Seeing them both brought a genuine smile of affection and joy to his face. Dad should be here around somewhere, he mused, giving a half spin on the ball of his foot to survey the large living room and kitchen.

Theirs was always an open concept space, allowing one to make the most of the ocean breeze. His father wasn’t the sort to leave his mother’s side for long, so odds were…

A glance drew up towards the ceiling. That crooked grin grew wider.

Ah… is that where you are at?

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Mother, please, when have I found genuine interest in bio-anything?” Kaili let a gentle laughter part her lips. “No, I mean pure cybernetics. The kind that can short-circuit and explode.” Kaili let the silence hang. “... If made by an amateur.”

Yeah, the kid was cocky. Stubborn too, one of those things anyone was bound to become with the upbringing Kaili had. Nothing was impossible, and if an obstacle proved too hard to overcome at first, you just bashed your head even more ferociously against it until eventually it was done and over with. Might not have been a mindset that Kaili had a few weeks ago, but things changed for the better.

“I just really want to make a difference, you know?” Kaili shrugged and wrapped her arms around her mother in an awkwardly positioned hug. “I think that’s the next step for me. Do like Mara and use any potential wealth to help others.”

Obviously the distinct difference between the two youngsters was the fact that unlike Mara, Kaili’s wealth and balance was miniscule. Which was fine by her, Kaili never had any dreams of riches and renown. She just wanted to be. Explore space, build droids and spy on others. The third option wasn’t much of a secret to her family. Kaili had always had an interest in snooping. On Micah in particular, but with the responsibilities that came when you moved out, Kaili couldn’t help but work on small spy equipment concepts.

… Nobody that knew her would be all that surprised if Kaili told them her ‘camera drone’ was in fact one such thing, right? There were only so many sensors that could see through small personal cloaking devices after all.

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Kira would gently pat at her daughter's arm, smiling wide as she gave her a reverse hug by wrapping her own arms over Nohei's. "And you will kiddo," A kiss was pressed to her daughter's smooth cheek. Then came the small boop of the tip of her nose with Kira's finger.

"You should probably talk to your uncle Dissero. I hear he has all sorts of interesting things he's built." more alchemically but one never knew. Kira wasn't quite up to date.

A pause, then a thought. "Why don't you go visit him?" she suggested. It would be good for Nohei to travel again. Staying at home was nice, but working through the fact she could travel and be on a ship again could do wonders for her.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili enjoyed their hugs. They were like reminders of who she used to be, the unstoppable Kaili Talith who had explored the entire island with her brother before she turned seven. The Kaili Talith who had graduated the LAA top of her class. The Kaili Talith that ran a successful Droid Shop on a planet where nobody wanted them like she made them. She had made a life out of implausibility and she had let a single crash change that.

No. No more of that.

Kaili’s nose was bopped and all she could do was laugh.

“You know what? Maybe I should.” Kaili agreed rather excitedly. “I haven’t seen him in ages, it’s a good way to catch up on things and… Well, you know, see what he does these days.”

Even if he was alchemically inclined didn’t mean he was any less valuable of a source for inspiration and advice.

“... Do you guys still know where he lives?” She bowed her head in shame. “Henry had a mishap a few months back and I lost a whole bunch of data.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Well your father has been in contact with him recently." [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] and [member="Dissero"] had gone off to do some sort of work in the middle of the night. She recalled that a few weeks ago, she'd awoken to her husband murmuring that he'd be right back. It was only through his ring that she was able to keep track of him and know he was safe.

When he had returned, he had disclosed that he had spent his time with Disero. Happy news followed shortly after when he had revealed that Dissero was going to be a father.

"You can ask him to get in contact with your uncle. I know he's been traveling a bit, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing you again."

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was unspoken, but if Kaili had been told of [member="Dissero"] and his step towards fatherhood Kaili would have snapped her fingers and gone something along the style of ‘Oh right’ or ‘I know.’ The kids’ favorite aunt had told her that during the Arceneau wedding after all, but with the great many things surrounding that particular event it was something that had (unfortunately) gotten a place by the internal backburner of her mind. Not because she wanted it to, force know she would have gladly shared it, but the kid just didn’t outright remember it.

The paycheck from that particular event though. Oh how she remembered that, and how quick it burned at the store. Capitalism was hard.

“I’ll go rooting through the family archives in a bit then.” Kaili nodded in affirmation. “I might need to go soon, got a few things I need to take care of back home.” Like making sure it didn’t burn to the ground. “Are you guys going to be okay? Is everything alright with you, mother?”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira gave [member="Kaili Talith"] a wide, encouraging smile.

"We are doing great, kiddo." a grimy finger would reach out to gently boop the top if her daughter's nose. "Your dad has been mentioning about traveling a bit." She told her, moving down to scoop out another hole and plant another flower. She gave a few swipes of her spade to pat it down.

"So who knows, we might wander a bit." she shot her head up to smile at Nohei. "But it shouldn't be for long at all." a small shrug of her shoulder came next.

"You know how your father gets restless."

 

[Kaili Talith]

“He means well.” Kaili smiled back despite the slight annoyance from the bop on her nose. “And maybe he’s just anxious about the Sith breathing down our neck?” Kaili certainly was, to a degree. “Wouldn’t hurt to find backup plans. Just in case.”

The kid didn’t have her own plan, at least not one that went into great detail what she would do in case of waking up to the sight of a One Sith mothership one day. For some reason most of it involved her shop going up in flames, but even that felt rather… Drastic. Then again, it was either that or risk her creations falling into the hands of people whom she really didn’t want anywhere near them.

A moral dilemma for another day.

“Anyway, I should probably get going again.” Kaili smiled at her mother as she rose from the ground. “I’ll see you later, mom.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Okay kiddo." before Nohei could leave, Kira drew up and pressed an affectionate kiss upon the brow of her youngest. A wide smile shone across the elder woman's visage, revealing the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and the faint lines of age that gracefully decorated it.

"Be good and stay safe." a pause, then a wry grin.

"And tell your brother that he better not take all of the apples." there was a knowing gleam within the depths of those blue eyes. They were had! Clearly, they could not completely sneak off doing things right under their mother's nose.

"Your father should be back soon, but I'm sure he'll stop by later on."

 

[Kaili Talith]

The unknowing smile on Kaili’s lips as she turned around to walk up the stairs and into the house. Or rather, the complete halt as her mother made sure Kaili knew that she knew. An eyebrow perked and she turned around to raise her finger for a mere second before it was retracted. Kaili’s hand shook for a second as she swallowed her pride and the fact that she had gotten caught when she had thought it was all good and covered. A tsked snicker and a smile would be the last thing her mother heard and saw before the kid went inside the house again.

She traversed down the halls in which she grew up, opened the door she had passed through oh-so-many times and came to a stop by the speeder. Her finger traced along the faded red paint as her heartbeat started to kick up. She felt the shiver run down her spine, the goosebumps on her arm. A deep breath filled her lungs and a quick exhale emptied them. She swallowed saliva and pulled at the handle. It was a slow process for something so incredibly easy.

Micah was bound to be around any minute now. Hopefully.

She reached for the ignition. Fingers wrapped themselves around the lever but something caused her to recoil. She leaned back in her seat and put her hand across her face. This wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

“Micah…” Kaili whispered. “Any moment now. Would be great. Thank you.”

[member="Kira Talith"] // [member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"] would not be surprised to suddenly sense the the bounding body of her brother plop alongside her. A thick sack full of goodies would clink and shift as laughing orange eyes so much like hers would glint at her.

"Well, that wasn't hard at all!" he said, rather amused and very much the silly man-child he enjoyed giving the appearance of. A wag of thick brows and the Talith's expression would soften.

"You did great, Nohei." he told her, letting his hand cafune her hair. An act that only drew a bit of laughter at the noticeable grit that lingered in her half mused honey blonde hair.

 

[Kaili Talith]

She tried it again, her fingers wrapped around the ignition and she gave it a rough pull to turn the engine on in time for Micah to appear. A small grin set on her lips as she looked over at her brother who didn’t seem to know what she knew. The speeder began to float up into the air as she let out a short soft chuckle despite the fact that her hair was messed with, again.

“Yeah, about that…” Kaili smiled. “Mom told me to tell you to not eat all of the apples again.”

“The woman can see anything!” She laughed as she put the car in a course set for home again. Her heart pounded, but she couldn’t let Micah know that. She strained her eyes to keep the fear from showing, though it was fair to say that it would only serve to show the exact opposite. Still, she was at least trying to. And trying was half the battle, or something.

“So, what did you get?”

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

There was a slight grimace to the Talith's upper lip. In all honestly, he didn't expect to make a clean sweep. His mother had been the Master of Shadows for the Order for years, and motherhood only seemed to encourage the behavior, honing her skills with the likes of four children who were convinced to be underfoot. A rather smug grin crept its way over Micah's face, replacing the grimace.

"Well... still got what we wanted." he shrugged and still managed to retain that lackadaisical confidence Micah was never far without. "Cheese, fruit, honey." he brought the bag out, setting it upon his lap. He was well aware that Nohei was going through her nervous state again. It was in the slight tremble of her fingers and the touch of anxiety that lingered in the corners of her eyes. Talking to her and keeping her distracted was his main priority -- as well as making her laugh and smile of course.

"And the prize of it all," he'd say with devilry in his voice. His hand went about digging through the sack until he brought out a very familiar cookie jar. So maybe he hadn't quite managed to reign himself in. He brought the entire cookie jar.

"Cookies!" oh did those copper eyes gleam with impish delight. There were also the various other bits they had agreed to, so Nohei didn't have to worry on that.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Part of Kaili had to admit that she tended to give her mother far too little credit at times. To many she was the ‘Master of Shadows,’ but to Kaili she was just ‘Mother.’ An ever-constant presence and mentor in more things than just the force. Life, friendships, even love, as rarely as the subject was ever discussed around home from a Kaili-focused point of view. Perhaps she hadn’t considered herself all that interested in it until recently, yet even then mere observation of her parents and the way they acted towards each other had given Kaili what felt like a wealth of knowledge on the matter.

Another pair of apricot-colored eyes gleamed in joy as the boy spoke of today’s loot. Cheese, fruit, honey and even cookies. A lopsided grin spread across the girl’s features as she turned to look at the jar in her brother’s lap. Part of her wondered why the entire jar was there, but an even greater part didn’t give a single care in the world about it. They had it, that was all that mattered for now. Repercussions were to be expected anyway. Unless things had changed since they were younger. It certainly felt like it.

The speeder shivered in symbiosis with the girl’s arms. It was like a small tremor that spoke all too loudly about her current state.

“S-so uh, we- have a whole afternoon ahead of us, huh?” Kaili’s voice cracked before she let out a snicker. “Food, a-and dessert to go with it. It’s, u-uh…”

Her eyes remained frozen and set upon the road ahead. She swallowed her pride.

Deep breaths, focus. Remember what Micah said less than a few hours ago, Kaili. Control it, don't let it to control you.

“It sounds nice. I am looking forward to it.”

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

@Kaile Talith

“Well there is lots we can do.” he told her, keeping her talking along with him. The slight tremble of her fingers disappeared when she tightened her grip along the piloting yoke, but the knuckle white grip still relayed her nervousness. So Micah would continue to yabber.

“I don’t think you’ve given me the official walk around your shop on what are your current projects.” he would add, popping off the lid of the cookie jar to indulge. He took one round cookie in his grasp, then, leaning forward, went reaching out to offer the cookie to his younger sister by holding it just in front of her mouth.

“I’ve been working on Vexen’s armor -- which reminds me - I need to take your measurements for your own.” He figured that Nohei wouldn’t be changing much anytime soon. Both Esmae, Nohei and Khayrhi had slender figures and now that they were - relatively - grown up, odds were they weren’t going to change in musculature anytime soon.

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"]

“I haven’t?” Kaili’s attention broke away from the road ahead as she looked at the cookie hovering in front of her. Her mouth opened as her teeth gently dug into the crumbling buttery treat and with a gentle -- yet still very ungraceful -- tug of her jaw she got the rest of it into her mouth. “I thought I had.” Her voice muffled by the cookie.

She was calming down. Not by a lot, but it was happening. Her grip around the controls eased up. The pale white turned into soft pink and her fingers spraddled to get the blood circulating again. The uncomfortable rush and tickle made itself felt for a few seconds before it faded away, Kaili was back in control again. She took a deep breath and looked down at the waters down below. It shimmered, zoomed on by as the two made their way across beaches and cliffsides in their journey back home.

“I’ll have to get the measuring tape when we get back to my place then.” Kaili shrugged at her brother. “Think the pheasant is still good?”

“What’s the odds of seeing my home in flames when we get back?”

 

[Micah Talith]

@Kaile Talith

“Well maybe you have some sort of secret dungeon where you do all sorts of crazy experiments.” oh he went there. There was a devilry in his eyes that could not be denied. He even preemptively drew away, as if expecting a punch from his rather temperamental younger sibling.

Nohei, after all, could be rather vicious.

“You’re place is fine. Henry would have already screeched through the comm if it were anything different.” this was true. The blue of the water shone as they flew over the ocean.

“So what’s your most recent job?”