Evergreen (Josh)

[Coryth Elaris]

What was the saying? Once you leave you can never come home again? Or was it coming home was the hardest part? Either way returning to Naboo had been in the plans since the disappearance of the tiny Jedi Master. It had been a long couple of years for sure, getting drawn to unknown space again, becoming trapped out there in the abyss for far too long. There are reasons one should never let Coryth pilot a thing. Whether that be a speeder, a bike, or well, anything that hovers or has wheels. It will always end horribly, for everyone involved. Nonetheless coming home after being gone for so long, had been quite the task. To be perfectly honest there was a small part of her that believed it was almost better to remain out there in the regions of unknown space where things seemed so much simpler than they did here.

As the small transport, she was in floated towards the spaceport, all did not feel well and right with the world. Something was off that she couldn't place just yet. Picking up a small worn bag from the floor beside her feet, the redhead stood slowly and wandered through the transportation authority before moving onwards to a small shuttle that would take her towards her small cabin along the shores of Lake Country.

After the walk to her cabin, she had just been fishing the keys out of her pocket when she finally placed that strange feeling she had before. Something certainly was off, wrong with Josh. Who she knew happened to live nearby. What were the odds that they would both be heading to their own respective retreats here in the lush forests and glimmering lakes\

What were the odds that he would be here, exactly when she was arriving to head to her respective retreat in the lush forests and glimmering lakes? She knew he wasn't often there. And it had been just a chance, or what seemed like a chance meeting at the time they had last run into one another. Her lips twisted into a frown as she tried to further suss out the feeling within the force to try and get a vague idea of what was going on. With the softest of sighs, Coryth tucked her keys back into her bag and started the journey through the woods towards the DragonFlames compound.

After a decent walk, she spied the outer fences of the compound, a tall greenhouse just coming into view. A short distance further and she finally arrived at the two-story home. Reaching up slowly, she gently knocked and patiently waited for an answer, hoping he was in the house and she wouldn't have to walk the whole farm, and gardens to find him. With all luck, he'd be relatively in one piece since the last time the two had laid eyes upon one another.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The last few months had been up and down for Josh, but in regards to Coryth it had been years since he had seen the Jedi Master last. But today, Josh was home. Every few missions, he would take Jason and they would leave Kashyyyk to spend time at their compound on Naboo. It was Jason's birthday week and Josh had every intention of using it to give Jason the best time he could. It had been a little harder to get the time off this time, as Jyoti was still settling in as Grandmaster and Josh had been taking a larger role, but Josh was adamant that it had to be this week since he couldn't come out here for Jason's birthday itself.

But they were here now, and that was all that mattered.

A sea of long, blonde hair was stretched across the bed as the alarm would sound to wake up the Jedi Master. With him not being at the Rest, he could sleep the way he wanted, a mess and all without risk of someone walking in on him. He wore a pair of pajamas instead of being armored at all, which meant for once he was more or less comfortable. The Jedi would let out a groan as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Feeling a pressure against him, he would look down to see a child with short blonde hair curled up against him. It seemed that Jason had moved from his own room to Josh's while he was asleep. Which had become a common occurrence as of late when Josh was at the temple. Jason missed his father when he was away and it was made clear as he made every attempt possible to stay near him when he was around. Not that Josh minded. He was playing the two-parent role at this point, it was to be expected. Ruffling the child's hair, Josh would try to quietly get to his feet and walk to the washroom to shower while Jason was still asleep.

The hot water on his head and face was refreshing, and woke him up properly. Letting out a yawn as he would step out, dry off and dress, he would sit down in front of the mirror and begin to fix up his hair. Which was everywhere. Everywhere. He had a lot of hair.

Once he had it all fixed up, the Jedi considered wrapping it up with a braid. But seeing as nobody was going to notice, he didn't bother. For the most part, he was just fixing it up out of habit. He looked himself up and down. A blue t-shirt and black track pants. He wasn't wearing the Magnus Armor this go around, it was just nice to be able to walk in what felt like being virtually weightless for once. Josh would take a deep breath as he just stared at himself for a moment. He didn't look his best, he knew. His eyes looked tired, and the stress was clearly written across his face. This house didn't feel the same without Shmi. It didn't feel the same without his wife, the woman that he loved more than anything. He didn't feel whole without her, he felt broken up, incomplete... Everything about this house felt wrong without her. Their little family was broken, and he could never fix it.

It was there that it hit him, really and truly that this was how things were always going to be.

Josh would close his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. He missed Shmi. He wanted Shmi back. He didn't want to move on from Shmi, he wanted to go back to the way that things were! He sorely missed the morning call of "Babe!" while he was working on breakfast as the Chalactan would walk down the steps and offer her help. All of the affection, all of the love, everything that had made him whole, Shmi and Jason... Together as a family...

It was gone. And it was never coming back.

He had dreamed of a scenario like that, before they would hear a knock on the door. Opening it, he would find his parents, and his brother, come to visit. And they'd spend the day together... His mother, his father, his brother, his wife, his son and him... That was a dream he had.

But that was just a fantasy now. That was something that would never happen. His parents? Dead. His brother? Dead. His wife? Gone. It was just him and Jason now, alone. And that fact hurt him more than one could imagine. This house... He was where he wanted to be, and yet he hated it at the same time.

Knock knock knock.

The sound caused his eyes to widen. That wasn't a knock on their door, was it? Jason was asleep, and nobody knew of the existence of this compound. But he could sense a life outside. And it was a Force User. Not one he recognized.

His brows furrowed as he would rise to his feet.

He would not lose Jason too.

Josh would storm toward the bedroom, frantic to find Jason. "Jason, you have to hide. I-"

Jason was gone.

"Jason?"

Where was he? Josh's thoughts drifted until he realized something that made his eyes widen in horror.

He remembered Jason starting to take a habit of rushing to the door and greeting the babysitter when they arrived to his quarters at the temple. Was he...

No.

There was no time to grab his armor, then. But he didn't care, as he would quickly begin making his way downstairs...

Meanwhile, the doorknob would begin to move wildly as Jason would leap up and grab it with both hands. The child had grown bold and curious as of late, as he would open the door, as if expecting to find someone he recognized. What stared up at Coryth was a small child, about three years of age. He had short blonde hair, and brown eyes. He was the spitting image of his father, to which Coryth would likely recognize instantly.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth cocked her head to the side as the door handle began to quiver and shake wildly. When it finally opened, the redhead stared first into a blank space, looking up expecting an adult to answer the door. Then her eyes turned down to the small boy. It took a moment before things began to register within her mind, and she began to process just what she was seeing.

A... child ...

You know that face ...

Is that...?

Mini Josh...

Her mind seemed to skip a beat or six at that point, allowing a few seconds to pass.

Hold up! Mini Josh!?! When did that ...

Her mind was still working on this fact as she tried to form words within her mind to attempt to speak. Anything at all, it just wasn't coming to her.

Oh boy ... Breathe Coryth. Breathe.

"I..." The redhead paused, awkwardly brushing her hair back from her face, vainly attempting to reconcile the facts that were staring right up at her.

"Uh...." Pursing her lips together, she still was working on that whole words thing. However, it appeared in this moment her brain had just ceased to function. Lifting a finger to point, she endeavored to find her ability to speak any coherent sentence at all.

Sure life continued on without her while she was stuck out in Unknown Space, but something she didn't expect. And while last she had heard Josh had married, him having a child seemed something that was in the distant future. Not something that would have happened in the space of a couple of years.

Facts of life, dear Coryth. Facts of life. You've been gone a long while. You know this. She tried to remind herself that such a thing was perfectly normal. It was just something she hadn't seen Josh doing. He had never seemed the type. Nevermind with the galaxy how it was, and with his hectic and dangerous life, it was just quite unexpected.

"Um... Son, is your father home?" She asked softly, as she leaned down towards the little one, finally coming around to the reality in front of her.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"He is."

A figure had appeared as if from thin air. Since the two had last met, there had been some changes. To try and explain the changes was your friendly narrator. So here we go!

The Jedi Master was clearly a little older, and yet despite that fact still looked like he could easily pass for his early to mid 20s. Though the thickness of facial hair and beard compared to the relatively more clean shaven Jedi she had known did add a few years on. Where he used to keep his short hair, the blonde locks had been largely grown out to where they fell beyond his shoulders. Normally, he kept them in a braid but he hadn't exactly been expecting company to say the least. His build had widened, while he kept lean, there was clearly more of a definition to his shoulders that generally wasn't present with Jedi robes in the equation. Here, he could pass as a regular human being, what with the t-shirt and the pants, though it was clear that he had made strides in the last few years to improve his physical shape. It told that he'd started taking his duties and responsibilities far more seriously and was taking better care of his body. Most of the time, anyway.

But there was a weariness to him as well that hadn't been there when he had first built this home here. It had been there in some sense when he had first gone to her concerning his brother, but... Nothing like this. His gaze as he stared at her was piercing, as if warning her to tread carefully with Jason near. It was clear that he was very, very protective of the boy. It was a piercing look that was not amongst his expressions the last time they had met. It was relatively new, only from the last few years. Experience had hardened him.

After a few moments, he seemed to finally recognize her, letting out an exhale in relief. "Coryth" He spoke, giving her a gentle smile as he would hold the door open a little more for her to come in. "You should have called. You're the only one aware of the existence of our home" Josh pointed out but otherwise didn't seem upset at her or anything. She'd just surprised him. "Come in, we're just making breakfast."

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth straightened up the moment she heard the voice, the tone, and took a half step back away from the little one. That temperament wasn't something she was used to hearing from him, but a part of her understood the protectiveness. She took a brief moment to look over Josh, taking note of the changes. He certainly wasn't the Jedi she remembered.

She nodded realizing that perhaps just dropping in out of nowhere, even on an old friend wasn't the best of ideas. However, she had been greatly worried with all that she had been able to glean from the force and wasn't going to wait long enough to put in a call first.

Somewhat relieved to find him in one piece, even with the changes, the surprises already, the slightest of smiles tugged at the corners of her lips. "Sorry," She said sheepishly. "I should have. Just, I ... felt," The redhead hesitated, trying to choose her next words carefully, "You know, not important right now. I'm just glad to see you." While what clues the force had given her were extremely important, Coryth knew in time it would all reveal itself.

Still a little hesitant she crossed the threshold and stepped into Josh's home. "I'd only just arrived personally, and could sense your presence nearby, figured I'd head this way before business pulled you away to the far reaches of the galaxy again."

Her smile brightened as he mentioned breakfast, "I only hope I'm not being an imposition in any way." She took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly as she allowed herself to relax further. "Can I help with breakfast?" She offered, "It's the least I can do for just dropping in on you out of nowhere."

The weariness in him was easy to see and sense, it was familiar to her, but it hadn't been anywhere near to this degree when they had last seen one another. Certainly a cause for concern, "If you don't mind me saying, things seemed to have changed a good deal in the galaxy since I've been away. May I ask what the little one's name is?" That seemed the easiest way to begin unraveling the reasons why the force had drawn her here at this moment, to discover what had happened to her old friend to cause the ripples she had felt in the force.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

If he had known it had been Coryth he wouldn't have tried to unnerve her as he did, but as he didn't recognize her at first, he did what he had to do in order to protect Jason. Once it was clear who was standing in front of him though, at the least he was a little bit warmer in his expression. Could have called, but... It was what it was, he supposed.

Coryth talked about feeling something but wasn't super clear about it. He nodded his head in turn. "It's fine" He spoke as he would open the door a bit more to let her in. "I'm happy to see you, was just a little surprised" He added, letting Jason step out of the way of the door as she came in.

When she asked if she was imposing in anyway, the Jedi shook his head. "No, no, you're fine" He promised. He'd already said she'd just given him a scare, anyway.

Though when she offered to help with breakfast, he gave a warm smile as he started to head toward the kitchen. "Of course, feel free. It'd be appreciated" Josh responded. It'd be nice to have help in the kitchen for once... Though he wasn't sure if he was ready to share it yet.

But he supposed he would get over it.

"Jason" Josh would answer when Coryth asked for his son's name. The son in particular who was now following Coryth around, just staring at her. It seemed she'd piqued his interest. "You seem to have made a friend" Josh remarked with light amusement as a porg would suddenly fly into the room and begin squawking loudly - which caused the three year old to start giggling.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth gave a tired but nonetheless genuine smile. The first true smile she'd given since arriving. "I understand entirely. It's not like tiny redheads drop from the sky and arrive on your doorstep every day." She paused, "If redheads are dropping from the sky frequently, I think there are bigger problems." The Jedi master attempted to lighten the mood, just a hair as she had started to feel as though things were a little too tense, too awkward.

"Occasionally I can be useful." Her voice was lighter, a little less strained as she pushed away some of her concerns from the forefront of her thoughts. As she spoke she followed into the kitchen, walking to the fridge seeking eggs to get a start on their breakfast. She took care as she rummaged through the fridge as to try not to disturb the order of things within too much. Finding a carton of them she turned to the counter, resting an elbow lightly on it for a moment. "Where are your pans?" She asked warmly eager to make herself useful.

Her attention had turned back to Josh and Jason both, "So ...How have things been in the last couple of months? With you, with the galaxy in general?" Her curiosity and desire to catch up with those friends she missed had been growing over recent weeks as she worked her way back home from the far reaches of unknown space, "I know I've missed far more than just a few months of time in this part of space nonetheless, I figure its best to start piecing together the pieces of the things I've missed. Kind of a long story as to where I've been, but we can always talk about that as we work on food, as we catch up a bit," She stopped, biting at her lip for just a second, "That is if you have the time, otherwise, of course, I can scamper off after breakfast. I just," Another pause, "Want to know how you are doing, how things are going." She was talking more than she usually did, and she knew it. It always had been something she tended to do when she was nervous or worried as a way to work through her concerns and keep her mind off what was really bothering her. "Its just been a long while. That's all."

"Jason," She grinned, as she had taken notice of her new little follower, reaching down to lightly ruffle the kiddo's hair playfully. "A pleasure to meet y-..." About the moment the last word left her lips the Porg made its entrance causing Coryth to jump slightly startled. "Ohh, oh, trouble. It always seems to follow me, I swear." She said with a bit of relief as she laid a hand over her heart taking a moment to catch her breath and collect her thoughts once more. "Should we... try to catch that? Wouldn't want it to get hurt."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I've met a few redheads since you were last here. Though one went from silver, to red, to green, and so on and so forth..." Josh would recount with a light, amused smile. "Redheads falling from the sky huh..." He trailed off. "Well, considering I'm into redheads, now I'm kind of disappointed they're not. Lucky me I have one right here then" He then joked. Now that he was a little more at ease, the Josh she remembered was starting to re-appear. The Jedi Master would head into the kitchen as he would start on breakfast, making motion to this and that when he would notice Coryth looking for these kinds of things. Such as the pan.

Coryth would give a speech on wanting to know what he had been up to, and then asked if he had the time. "I'll be here a few more days, possibly a week or two depending on if I'm called in. Feel free to stay as long as you like. Stay the rest of the week if that strikes your fancy" He spoke as he would stop, turn and gingerly bring a hand to Coryth's cheek. His eyes glinted of mischief. "No guest room though, Jason took it... We'd have to share. If that's alright with you" The blonde teased, shooting her a wolfish grin. With that though, he would bring his hand down and return to his task.

Josh considered how to sum up recent events when the porg would fly into the room. At Coryth's words, Josh laughed and shook his head. "That's just Porgbert. He's fine" Josh would respond. "He's Jason's."

Before long, the lot had prepared a spread. Eggs, bacon, buttered toast, you name it, it was there. With that, Josh would help hoist Jason onto his chair and sit down, stretching out and letting out a yawn. It was... Kind of nice to have adult company at home again, if he was being honest. But it was also kind of bittersweet. It made him feel less alone... And yet at the same time it made him feel even lonelier.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"Oh, you have now, have you?" Coryth inquired, as she raised an eyebrow with that oh so lively, effervescent tone that Josh might have remembered from a couple of years prior the last time they were together. A good chuckle escaped her lips, "Oh if you only knew how lucky..." She quipped as she turned just long enough to give him a playful wink.

She gave a nod as she worked around the kitchen helping where she could with breakfast. Trying not to burn things too much. Though a few pancakes fell to the Dark Side as she turned them into nice round pieces of carbon. "Whoops..." She whispered as she pursed her lips together and edged over to the waste bin to dispose of those two pancakes before Josh could notice.

Smiling so warmly, with a certain spark in her eyes all told the tale without her saying a word, that she was definitely trying to hide something. Even if this time it was just two burned pancakes. "A few more days?" Her voice was a few notes higher than what it usually was, just part of her mild embarrassment at her failed cooking skills. At least she tried, even if she wasn't the greatest in the kitchen. Still, it tended to embarrass her every once in a while when she was having to cook with someone else present in the home.

Turning towards him, she was momentarily caught off-guard by the touch against her cheek, however, she wasn't the one to pull away first. She was quick to try and mask just how much it had caught her off-guard. When he pulled away, her mind seemed to finally catch up and process all that he had said. With a grin she shook her head, recalling his boyish charm. Something that she had nearly forgotten about after all the years. Without further hesitation Coryth went right back to working on breakfast, making sure not to allow even a second of awkwardness to return to their conversations, "As nice as I'm certain your bed is, in all seriousness, I would be totally fine with the couch." It had been far too long since she had been around anyone that she trusted to touch her in even the most casual of ways, but recalling his nature, she wasn't about to let that get in the way right this second. Not to mention it was something she knew she still needed to adjust and adapt to, as it was simply part of life no matter where she was in the galaxy.

The redhead cautiously moved to set plates down at the table, uncertain of the household pet. "Ah, I see." She said quickly, "I had wondered for a moment if it was something wild that had accidentally wandered into your home. Porgbert, a pet, I think I can handle." A slight pinkish hue might have spread across the woman's cheeks before she could gain her composure once more.

"Now where was I ..." She paused for a moment as she settled down into a chair one space away from Jason, doing her best to respect boundaries until she was certain Josh was alright with her being closer to the child and getting to know his son. That part of things she knew was entirely on his terms and she wasn't about to accidentally cross a line. "Ah, yeah the couch... You know I'm not that far from your home, a couple of miles walking..." The barefooted master just had to add, "Not a big deal." It was a big deal to most, but she was far from most folks. "But I wouldn't mind staying here, would be nice to have the company." Company was something she hadn't had in so long now. Far too long.

"It would certainly give us more time to catch up with everything." And give her time to figure out that sense of wrongness that had brought her here. "Now as to where I've been, it's a bit of a dark tale, are you sure you want to know about that this moment? Or should we perhaps stick to slightly happier news for the time being?" She asked, not entirely wanting to get into what had pulled her away for so long. It was painful, harsh and well something that was plaguing her still. In truth, she had hoped he had brighter news than she did, more joyous events in his life that she could enjoy sharing in for just a little while.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Coryth was more playful than he remembered, though he still caught her off-guard clearly when he pulled out the hat trick. She seemed to take it better than he had figured though. Either way, the question presented itself as to what to do with her deliberation on if she could stay. "I can't really let a guest in my home take the couch" Josh would answer. "I can take the couch, it's no big deal" He offered, giving a casual shrug in turn. "Suppose if you're not comfortable with that, you can always stay till night and return in the morning. Same deal, really. Totally up to you. Either way, we're going to be here for awhile longer, so... Stay if you like. I'd certainly appreciate the company" He spoke with a bright smile in turn.

As Josh and Coryth would begin laying plates on the table, he nodded his head. "Porgbert hasn't been with us long, but Jason loves him. And it's kind of nice to have a creature in the house that isn't trying to kill me" Josh joked in turn. When Coryth would ask if the topic should be kept more PG though, he shook his head. "Nah, I'm definitely curious as to what you've been up to as of late" Josh answered as he would make sure that Jason was snug in his seat before sitting down at his own side of the table. Josh would wait for Coryth to sit down and get comfortable before speaking again.

"I have good and bad to share, but I can't really just share all myself" Josh remarked with a light smirk. "Gotta give and take. Gotta let everyone have a turn. So go on, go ahead. I can wait. Like I said... I'm curious as to what you've been up to as of late. It's been a few years, after all."

[member="Coryth Elaris"]