Exploring New Choices in Life

[Neyana]

Once more, Nicole finds herself on a planet she doesn't understand, yet she was invited to come by none other then [member="Yasha Cadera"] for reasons she does not yet know of. Though, the planet of Erebos is quite nice, at least on this half the girl was travelling on. The scenery from her small vessel does look rather nice, but she did not want to go exploring. All that is on Nicole's mind though is, "Am I going the right way? This better be it or I swear I'm going to punch the man who gave me the wrong directions."

Within moments, she spots her target and slowly descends onto the landing pad with her vessel. It wouldn't take too long for her to situate herself on the pad and she simply heads over to leave her ship. "Hmh. Now where would she be at..." She spoke aloud, and then exited her small transport.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"] was Alex’s sister, and when the family came together for the Housewarming party, Yasha got the idea that Nicole wanted to talk. Yet as things usually did in a Mandalorian household, life exploded. There were surprise appearances, returned lovers, cut feet.

She never got the chance to have that minute with Nicole. By the time she landed, Yasha’s permanent security teams had alerted the Mand’alor to the younger woman’s presence. Yasha grabbed her five year old Girak-Kaine off the fresher counter, and stroked the boy’s back as he cuddled into his unarmoured mother’s arms.

“Come along, Gigi. Let’s go see Nicole, eh?” Yasha petted her son’s head, as he whimpered and snuggled deeper, stuffy nose sniffling louder than a five year old ought. Making her way out to the landing pad, Yasha waved at the door.

“Nicole! You made it!”

 

[Neyana]

Nicole stood on the landing pad and simply awaited for [member="Yasha Cadera"] to come greet her. She dind't have to wait too long though, as she her the giant woman speak to her from across the pad at the door way. "Hmh? Oh. And here I thought I was at the wrong area." She muttered towards herself, and she casually walked further towards Yasha and her child. Seeing Yasha with a rather small child was a bit amusing for some reason, and Nicole couldn't help but get a smile on her face.

That smile faded away though, as Nicole quickly remembered how tall Yasha was compared to herself. "I'm, I'm probably not going to ever get used to how tall you are compared to me." She bluntly stated. "But ehm, whose the baby? He looks oddly funny being held in your arms." A smile appeared on her face just after that comment. In truth, Nicole loved being around children. Something about them just made her smile.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

It was good to see the momentarily lost Nicole drift over to the house, about right on time.

"Think of how strange it is for me to see such human-sized little ones running around." Yasha laughed, seeing one the height of [member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"] always did put a smile on the Epicanthix's face.

"This is my youngest son Girak-Kaine. Gigi for short. He's got a case of Pacanth Pox, and needed some Mommy time. It's only contagious to Epicanthix, so I wouldn't worry. Hey, Gigi? You still with us, little one?" Yasha tucked Girak-Kaine's blanket around his chin and watched the raven haired boy sniffle and nod, one tiny hand snaking up to take hold of his mother's long, black hair.

"Oh the poor thing. He's really not as sick as all this, I think I've just been away so much lately, that the second he realized I'd be home to take care of him he got clingy. His brother Magnus is running around out back. C'mon! Tea? Stim-caf? What would you like to drink?"

 

[Neyana]

Nicole didn't really know what to say really. As she got closer towards Yasha, her attention moved towards her child. "Well. Is uhh, 'Gigi' going to be as tall as you one day?" She had asked her, her voice this time sounded a bit concerning. After hearing about the disease, Nicole's expression moved to sadness. "Well, if you need any help while I'm here, I'd be glad to help out." Though Nicole did try to find her way inside the building.

"Oh! Uhh, Tea would be nice. Yeah."

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Oh Manda, no!” Yasha laughed, shaking her head as she walked back inside the spacious and well situated home. “Gigi will be much taller than his mother. I’m relatively average for my People. With how Gigi and Maggi are growing, I’d expect them to be at least a foot taller than me.”

Truth was, the epicanthix genes were strong in her youngest twins. Yasha brushes Girak-Kaine’s hair from
His forehead and stopped momentarily.

“You... think you can hold him while I make us some tea?” If possible, Yasha would hand the child off to [member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"], so she could set about with the kettle and an Atrisian tea set she kept from her deceased step-mother.

“With so many little ones running through the house, I’m glad Kain’ik took Reyn, our 8 year old, for some much needed father son time. Adara’s off at school, it’s just us and the twins. Although I don’t know if you’ll see Maggi. He’s avoiding his brother well, like the plague... sweetener? Or plain? How’s Alex? Noah doing alright with Moe and Junior?”

 

[Neyana]

She was shocked to hear such news from Yasha. A much taller being? Oh. That made her heart sank. Why must everyone she meet be taller then her?! Its quite terrifying as he thinks more and more about such. Why was she cursed to be a small child? "Ah-Eh. Wh, A. A foot taller?!" Her voice exclaimed. "I, I, I, Ah. Ehm. Wh. Ah." She is momentarily confused at such.

Her confusion didn't last long though, as she snapped back to reality. "Oh! Uhh, Yeah sure. I'll hold him." And that worried look soon turned to a hopeful smile. Once he is in her arms, the woman stares into his eyes for a moment before holding him by her shoulder. "How many children do you even have?" She bluntly asked her. "And I don't really know what to say about that. Never had children of my own and my childhood was a bit, actually I don't want to talk about it." And she went silent for a brief moment.

"As for my sister and Noah's kids? I think they're doing alright. I haven't really had any girl talk with her in some time. Maybe she's just busy. Oh! And uhh, sweetener would be fine."

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

A bellowing laugh echoed out of Yasha’s lungs, as [member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"] floundered. The poor woman, all these tall relatives and acquaintances around. Yasha often wondered how smaller species survived with their diminutive statures.

“Sorry, but that’s the trick of being Epicanthix. One of Gigi’s ancestors reached 12 feet tall. He won’t start growing in earnest until he’s eight. Maybe ten.” Yasha watched as Girak-Kaine sunk into Nicole’s arms, sniffling and smiling sadly up at Alex’s sister. The child tried to put up a brave face on feeling yucky, sniffling and rubbing his nose as Yasha boiled water.

“I wouldn’t want to think about my childhood, either. Gosh. If you’re talking how many children I’ve birthed, it’s four. Adara, Reyn, Magnus and Girak-Kaine. Genetically, though, I’ve got five others. Morgan is your sister’s and mine, and there’s four others Kaine and I made. Jean, Cerani, Sigurd-Adolfo and Cuyan. I adopted Kaine’s biological daughter Beth... gosh. One, two, three... nine. Plenty, eh? I don’t plan on having any more, much as Ale’ika would like.” Yasha put loose leaf tea in the warmed pot, before pouring in the boiling water. Taking out some mugs and honey, Yasha prepared the cups.

“I’m glad they’re okay. Not seeing Alex as much sucks, you know? But I’m sure she’ll come around. Here. Your tea.” Yasha pushed the mug to Nicole and sipped her own. “Aaaahhh yeeessss. So. What’s up?”

 

[Neyana]

Imagining anyone taller then [member="Yasha Cadera"] made the woman's thoughts wander. The laughter made her even further embarrassed and confused. "H-hey Hey hey! D-Don't laugh at me!" She managed to sputter out. "I, I uhh, I'm... okay yeah I'm.. I'm not blessed with height." As the child sunk deeper into her arms, Nicole made sure to hold him properly. A hand reached out to calmly pet and caress his head and a smile returned on the woman's face.

"So four children, Morgan-Wait, How-Ehm. You know what, never mind. I'm confused enough as is." Yes, Nicole is a bit confused about that one. Perhaps she'll ask later when she isn't heavily confused and holding a child in her arms. "I think I met Beth before, and you.. Nine? Ehm. That is a lot to handle. How, how can you manage this much and be the Mandalore?" Sh asked her curiously. Though her 'petting' hand moved over to poke the child's nose, and she giggled. "Ale'ika? Is that some sort of nickname?"

Once her tea was done, Nicole looked around for a brief moment or two. "It does bother me that I can't see Alex very often. Somedays I just want to talk to her and she doesn't pick up or claims she's busy. And can you place that on the nearest table? I think I got my hands full right now caring him." Yet, her smile never seemed to fade away, and she continued to either boop his nose, or attempt at tickling his chest.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“You’re blessed with the height you have. I just find it funny how people react to someone double their height.” Yasha giggled, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. Oh, she needed that moment of humour. Life was tough enough for the young ruler. Girak looked to be comfortable in [member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"]’s arms, so Yasha left the child there.

It helped the child, to be cuddled.

“It’s a perfectly normal splice, to merge two eggs together, then implant the embryo into one of the mothers. So, Morgan Feanor is my genetic daughter. But Alex bore her.” It was complicated, but nothing in Yasha’s life could ever be simple.

“I hired nannies, and married two people. Caz’ika and Kain’ik are wonderful parents. And my nanny Tamar is loyal and patient. It’s the only way…. oh, yeah, Ale’ika is my Mando’a diminutive name for Alexandra. The suffix ‘ika is our word for little, small, or darling.” Sipping more of her tea, Yasha walked around to place Nicole’s tea on a table overlooking the jungle beyond them, and sat down in one of the comfortable upholstered chairs.

“She claims she’s busy a lot, but I’m sure she’ll come around. Alex always does. So, you didn’t come here to talk about Alex or the height of my children. What’s on your mind?”

 

[Neyana]

"Yeah, I guess I am." She continued to boop and play with the child in her arms, smiling and giggling at him. "I just don't like being confused as being a child. I'm not." Her gaze moved back to Yasha now, and she merely pats the head of Gigi. "So you are telling me, one of my nieces is yours, while her twin is Noah's? I'm Yeah No I'm confused. Best to ah, explain that in detail much later." She sounded almost annoyed in her confusion. She hears the rest of what [member="Yasha Cadera"] spoke out and merely nodded her head. All of this information was starting to get a bit too much for her to bare.

"Ah. Yes, the eh, reason I'm here. As you don't know. I, ah, need to find my place here in the Galaxy. I heard the mandalorians tend to find themselves all around it. I guess, long story short, I would like to know more about them and I thought it might be a good idea to ask my questions to you, since you are the ah, leader."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“You do look like a teenager, to me… but I’ll adjust.” Yasha smirked and kicked her feet up on the ottoman by her chair. Girak sniffled and giggled, squirming happily as he snuggled in and played with [member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"].

“Heh. The moment Alex and Noah found out they were pregnant with Junior, she asked me to help them have twins. Being a… good friend, I complied. Nothing more to it than that.” Shrugging her shoulders, Yasha didn’t consider the matter complicated as much as unorthodox. Then again, nothing in Yasha’s life followed orthodoxy.

“You want to learn about Mandalorians?” Blinking, Yasha sipped her tea and smirked. “We’re a culture. Multiple races coming together in the bonds of family units called Aliits. Adoption is common, and simple. We make no distinction between biological and adopted children, and we defend ourselves and our Vode, our People, with our lives. Aruetiise, or, Outsiders, often misunderstand us as nothing but mercenary warmongers, but that’s because we tend to be insular. Stick to ourselves. Speak our own language, Mando’a. Our Aliit, family, is usually part of a greater collective called a Clan, which is led by an Alor, a Chieftain selected by the rules of that Clan. We tend to be self-determinate, and come together only when necessary. Otherwise we govern ourselves.

My role as Mand’alor is more religious and functionally distant than say, an Empress. It relies on being accepted. Thus, there are Mandalorians who do not accept me as Leader. That’s fine, not everybody has to. I’m not here for them, I’m here for the People within our territories. The others can do what they like in their own space… is any of this helping?”

 

[Neyana]

Nicole continued to calmly play with the child, but soon enough she moved to place him on the nearest counter and hold him steady. With one of her hands now free, she moved over to finally get her tea and gently sips it. Though, she keeps an eye on the child to make sure he isn't slumping over or falling off of the counter. "I, Its, Its malnutrition. I did not get what I needed when I was growing up." She frowned. Though the giggling made her feel a bit happier inside. "So ah, Right. Good friends."

Nicole stopped talking for a bit and let the Mandalor explain about her culture and this group. "Ah, ehm. It... sort of is. I just thought you were a band of mercenaries falling under one banner." Yes, she might have believed the stereotype. "But if there really is more to that, I would enjoy being apart of it. It ah, would give me some sense of purpose."

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“I was the same. It wasn’t until adulthood that I was healed. The serum which retroactively grew my tissues cost a planet. Didn’t know that until afterward... a rare sacrifice from... an old friend.” What would Jaster think of her now, in alliance with the Sith? There were far worse evils than the Empire to their Northeast, far worse sins being committed. “Before the serum, I was barely 5’5”. A life in the Netherworld will do that. There’s no shame in being short. Took a good year for me to get used to being tall.”

The lives Alexandra and her sister lived were as unkind as the Hell Yasha endured. A different but honest punishment from the Force everyone seemed so enamoured with. Yasha didn’t understand the love.

“You... want to become a Mandalorian? That’s... Nicole that’s great. When someone becomes a Mandalorian, they receive Cin Vhetin. Virgin snow, a complete cleansing of anything in their lives. We accept them as new creations, Mandalorians, vode, siblings. Your brother-in-law is Clan Corek. That would be the natural progression I’d think.

Our old lives before we were Mandalorian are done. We remember the good and depart with the bad. It can never chase us again, for we all stand together. United under one language and one culture. We wear armour as a symbol for always being prepared to defend ourselves and our vode. And no, not all armour is heavy or bulky like mine. A lot of Mandos wear armourweave jumpsuits with some thin plates on top. Tailored for the individual. We have free education for all, free health care, any of your needs is to be provided by the community. We’re a... well, we’re the best. But I’m biased!” Yasha chuckled and set down her tea, scooping Girak up and setting his tired head on her shoulder. Rocking her son to another illness induced sleep, Yasha nodded Nicole through the house to the living room, with its well appointed furnishings. She laid Girak-Kaine on a comfortable armchair, setting a pillow under his head and tucking a blanket around his tiny, feverish body. The child whimpered and reached for his mother, grasping at the fabric of her linen trousers. Yasha knelt on the floor beside him, running her hand repeatedly and softly over his hair, until with a thumb in his mouth, the boy slumbered.

“Mandalorians fight for this, Nicole. To protect our children and our future. It’s the only reason worth bloodshed. Giving whatever we can to help them grow. It’s an integral tenet of the Resol’nare, our Six Actions. Wear the armour. Speak the language. Defend the Clans. Contribute to the wellbeing of the Clans. Raise your children to be Mandalorians. Answer the Mand’alor’s call. That’s it. That’s who and what we are. You sure you want to follow that?”

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"]

 

[Neyana]

Well, it seems Yasha had it far worse then Nicole did, or perhaps both of them had equally worse. "Perhaps we have more in common then I realize. But, I don't want to get further into detail." She simply goes over to enjoy her tea and sips it rather slowly.

Hearing [member="Yasha Cadera"] exclaim that this decision is a rather good one, Nicole gave her a nice warming smile. All of these terms are rather foreign to her, but she might understand them better in due time. "So what I'm understanding is that, you undergo some ritual or ceremony in some attempt to, ah, forget about the past and move on? That sounds a bit odd, but I can try to manage it. However, ghosts of the past do tend to return from time to time." The girl watches as Yasha picks up her child and follows her towards the living rooms, where she too, picked a spot to sit at and stares at the Mandalor. "Noah has a Clan?" This is news to her!

"I, I uhh. I can try it. Yeah." She sips from her tea once more, and places it down somewhere nearby her. "I. Ehm, might need time to get used to wearing armor, the language, and the others you said. This is a large leap for me and I think I'll be fine with it." Though she soon gasps a bit, almost forgetting something. "Oh! And I do use the force and was trained in its ways. Will that be a problem?"

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“The best part is that our pasts are over. We don’t belong there, and the past doesn’t belong in our headspaces anymore. We both have too much to live for.” Yasha smiled a bit softer, leaning on her desire for a better, and newer life.

[member="Nicole Sarah Feanor"] wanted to be a Mandalorian? Finally! With one of the Feanor sisters in the thick, Alex would be soon to follow. She did marry a Mandalorian, after all.

“It’s no more ceremony than what we just discussed. We’re not much for pomp in the Mandalorian reaches. You becoming a Mandalorian means whatever you were or did before is a moot point. What you do from now on is what matters. There’s no more procedure than that. And if your past does rear itself up, you have millions of brothers and sisters to help you through it.” Sitting there with her son, Yasha grinned and nodded. “Aye, he does! Clan Corek, they have holdings in a few places, but their main settlement is on Mandalore. I think his mother runs it. The old battle axe.”

Sipping her tea, Yasha pondered how Nicole spoke of the Force, before setting the tea cup down after a minute of relative silence.

“Armour can be adjusted to, as can learning the language. You’ll have plenty of help to acclimatize to each, no worries there. All we ask about the Force is that you avoid actively using the Force on the planet of Mandalore. Anywhere else, you are free to do what you like. Study it, use it, combat with it, we have both Light and Dark siders in the Empire, but they’re all Mandalorians first, force users second. Basically just a viewpoint thing. The Force is a tool, and a useful one, but not the only one in our reservoirs. Otherwise, why would I have married two Force Users? Both my spouses, Caz and Kaine are of it. As are some of the kids.”