Finding Common Ground

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh sat in her transport anxiously awaiting to drop out of hyperspace. [member="Darlyn Excron"] had invited her to Commenor shortly after Domhanda was welcomed into the Clans of Mandalore. The ship her son had sent to pick her up was quite nice, and she sat mostly undisturbed for most of the trip, save for being offered refreshments by a protocol droid. If she were being honest, Niamh was surprised her son had invited her to his planet so soon after reconnecting. Her only wish was that she could have brought his sister, Aine, with her. Unfortunately, her eldest child was still off somewhere in the Galaxy, unable to be contacted.

Once they had landed, Niamh stood and straightened out her dress, before walking out onto the landing pad, and gazing up in shock at the palace in front of her. She had known her son was in change of a planet, though the Palace was unexpected. She had only heard of Commenor in passing, in those few years she had not been on Domhanda, so she was quite excited to see her son's home with him.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn sighed and downed his third glass of whiskey for the morning, a record. Since having met his Mother, and confirmed with [member="Yasha Cadera"] that she was, in fact, his mother, he found more comfort than usual in alcoholic beverages lately. He'd never believed in all his time that he'd be able to even try to reconnect with her. He'd hoped and wished he could but, the reality always felt as though it were hopeless. And yet, here he was inviting her over to the Palace, [member="Niamh Jones"]. His 20 something year lost mother.

He poured and downed his fourth glass, careful not to get it on his purple suit. Yes there was.. quite the day ahead. He'd been working tirelessly to make sure today was more or less free of duties, even being sure to delegate what he could to others to lighten the load. With all that, maybe he could... he glanced up when an alert went off. The ship was here.

He holstered his blaster and saber, and made his way eagerly over, like a child really. He was anxious and uncomfortable, as much out of habit as any real sense of discomfort with her in particular, and it was turning him into this bundle of energy that needed to be sent out. By the time he got to the landing pad, flanked by a set of guards in uniform, he was practically bouncing on his feet. When he caught sight of Niamh, he managed to calm down enough that he was standing still, and stood up as straight as he could. "Welcome to Commenor... Mum."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh did not have to wait very long for [member="Darlyn Excron"] to arrive at the landing pad, and smiled as he approached. Oh he looked so handsome in purple, and Niamh felt a mother's pride at how well her son seemed to be doing, even if she had no part in it. "Oh my little Darlin', look at you... You've grown so much." Niamh smiled down at her son as she walked closer to him, and spread her arms out to hug him. If he accepted it, she'd squeeze him a little bit, before pulling away.

"I wish I had been here to watch you grow... But for now, why don't you show me Commenor?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

He did step in for a hug, and was thankful when it was brief. Of all the things, that was probably the hardest to get used to, he'd never felt fully comfortable hugging anyone for all that long. Auburn aside, of course, maybe Yasha. Then again he'd bonded with his niece through good old fashioned violence so, pretty easy to change from punches to hugs honestly. He cleared his throat a bit to keep from any awkward noises, and nodded at his mother's suggestion.

"Right well, I was thinking we could start with a bit of the Palace. It's more or less restored to how it had been, so there shouldn't be any real problems going through the halls. Mostly I think I want to show my office and maybe catch Shoden around somewhere, if she comes to visit." He smiled and motioned for his mom to follow as he began walking, though a thought ocured. Had he told her about Shoden?

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh was pleased when [member="Darlyn Excron"] returned the hug, internally frowning at the smell of alcohol from him. After their initial meeting on Domhanda, Niamh was concerned he'd hate her for invading his space like she did. She hummed along as Darlyn spoke of his plan for the day. Not even five minutes in, and already Niamh had a hundred questions. She looked at Darlyn curiously as she walked beside him.

"That sounds pleasant. Did something happen to the palace to make it unsafe? And, who is this Shoden you speak of?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Oh nothing too major, just an occupation by the Sith and partially being destroyed when they were removed after being impolite guests, lets say. Really nothing too major at all, just a few angry boys and some hissy fits. Granted super powered fits but..." He shrugged his shoulders a bit. He wasn't making a concerted effort to hide his aura or presence to his Mother, or anyone, simply limiting the scale a bit for comfort's sake more than anything. "But gave them a good kick in the rear, haven't been back since."

He was obviously avoiding answering the question about Shoden a bit though, when he started playing tour guide about rooms they were passing, meeting halls, trivia about the building, long as he could. 'Bout halfway to the end though and he couldn't avoid it. Still moving towards his Office... "And ah, Shoden's my adopted daughter. She's full grown now... still makes her your granddaughter I guess." And more questions, probably, for [member="Niamh Jones"] to ask. Might as well answer one. "And no, I never had a wife. I just adopted her on my own."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh flinched back in surprise when [member="Darlyn Excron"] briefly described a Sith occupation. "By the gods... I'm glad you and the rest of Commenor came out... okay, I'm assuming? The planet looks none the worse for wear." Niamh smiled at her son, hiding her disappointment in herself for not being there for her son. She could tell he was holding his Dark presence back, though she couldn't tell if it was to make her comfortable or not.

Niamh listened with rapt attention as Darlyn played tour guide. The palace was truly beautiful, and a nice change from Domhanda. It wasn't until he mentioned Shoden that Niamh paused. Well, that was two questions down on her list. "You were longing for family, weren't you? ... Will I get to meet her, today?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Ah well, we aren't in the place the Sith bombed a planet from orbit so, there's that I guess. Or where V's star destroyer crashed. So there is that too. But we rebuilt quickly, made it good as new, minus a few paint jobs here or there." He laughed a little bit and rubbed his neck subtly as he could. He'd clearly rather not talk about back then, at least with her, so he was almost happy when she called him out and asked about meeting Shoden. Purposely ignoring the first bit he responded.

"Maybe, I can't tie her down anywhere after all. She's a full grown adult, and got her own things to worry about. Besides, I sort of forgot to tell her she had a grandma who's alive. And not dead. I ah, you know. Thought..." HE let it trail off a bit as they got up to the office. He cleared his throat and opened the door for [member="Niamh Jones"], motioning her to enter. "Tea?"

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh looked at [member="Darlyn Excron"] in surprise and concern as he casually mentioned the Sith bombing a city. "Well then... At... least you were able to rebuild. I can only imagine the amount of sadness that ordeal must have caused." She hummed quietly, and nodded along as he discussed his daughter. A frown stretched across her face as her son trailed off when they entered his office. Of course, she understood his thought process.

"I, too, thought you might be dead. I hoped for the best and... Well, my hopes and prayers were answered. Tea would be lovely."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Sore subject for some I guess, but we've gotten past it for the most part." He frowned when his mother couldn't see, before making his way over to his tea cabinet. A great deal of his supplies were gone and his tea set wasn't quite the same as Kay's had been, but it was still a nice little set. He got a pot going, quietly humming as he did just as he'd been taught by his friend, working to make the perfect cups of tea for both himself and [member="Niamh Jones"].

Eventually, he gave his mother a cup, and motioned to a couple of seats a little ways from his desk. He'd rather not have that between them, as he sat down quietly. A sip of tea later and he spoke a little more clearly than before. "I uhm, I'm not good at talking Mum, so I'm sorry about that. The ah, the staircase there leads to the second level, which is actually the bedroom."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh watched her son quietly, as he worked to make tea for the two of them. She took the cup with a smile, and sat in the chair, before laughing quietly at [member="Darlyn Excron"]'s apology. "No need to apologize for that darlin', any words you're able to speak to me I treasure... You're my youngest, and will always be my baby boy, even when you're getting into your hundreds. Though, why don't you catch me up on your adventures, hm?"

Niamh smiled as she took a sip of her tea, leaning back in her chair, and waiting.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

He'd be sure to ask her about the hundreds comment later. For now she'd asked him to do something relatively simple. He nodded, and was about to get started before pausing a moment. "..When do you want me to start recalling everything? I remember bits from much more than a couple years ago..." He wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hear everything he could remember. There was a lot of information that he could give her that she might not want to hear, and if he was really supposed to get along with her again he didn't want to distance them by telling her something she wasn't ready for. "I can start, eh, ten or more years ago, depending on what you feel up for listening to."

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh hummed in thought at [member="Darlyn Excron"]'s question. So, her son's memory was spotty in his younger years? Well, that did make sense. Trauma of being abandoned could do that to a child, especially one who mentally matured slower than most species. "The earliest thing you remember would be a good starting point, I suppose... And, don't hold anything back for my sake. I didn't spend all my life on Domhanda, and I married a smuggler. I can handle most anything you can throw at me."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn nodded and set the teacup down, sitting back a bit. "Well.. the oldest i remember clearly was back.. I think I was eight. Couple years after everyone left, and I needed more than I was getting off the streets you know? Arkania was cold. So I tried to get home, and managed to get in finally. The ah, the silent alarm was still up, so the police were coming while I was in Dad's study. He left the safe unlocked, and I grabbed his little crystal and blaster from it. Dad was as bad at remembering to lock things as he was everything else."

"I accidentally shot the door controls when the police arrived, and panicked. I could only manage to get out on one of the upper windows and," He trailed off a bit. ".. And then I remember waking up in a medical bed with a Sith watching me."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh sipped her tea quietly as [member="Darlyn Excron"] spoke. She recalled Arkania, their home, how full of life it always was, despite the life they led. Such warmth inside, despite the cold outside those four walls. She was torn between smiling from the memories, and frowning at what came next. HE son had been picked up by a Sith. No wonder he was so bathed in the Dark Side.

I was wondering how one with Anam blood could be... influenced by the Dark Side of the Force. Now I know why... What happened next?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

He shrugged a bit at this. "What you'd expect. GO here, hunt this, kill them. Almost no training outside the bare basics and the threat of death over my head just for good measure. There was one guy who tended to come along who taught me everything about making stuff explode, great guy really. Learned about hunting and killing a lot back then. Then one day it goes sour and I have to end it early." He showed her the scar on his neck, faint as it now was, from shrapnel that ran up it. "So I stowed away and tried my hand at bounty hunting. I loved it but, the public transit fees really cut into my bottom line."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh quirked a brow as she took another drink of her tea. Explosives? She frowned at the scar on [member="Darlyn Excron"]'s neck, and hummed in thought. She couldn't help but let out a quiet snort. "What was that saying? Sith are always destined to be killed by their apprentices? I'm glad to see you survived that ordeal, though. You know, your sister is a bounty hunter now, if only to find you someday."

Niamh smiled at her son, and set her cup in her lap. "Is this the point in your life where you find Commenor?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Maybe, but he's still alive. Just didn't care enough to chase a failure. Gotta fix that some day before it becomes worthwhile to him to fix that." The teacup floated up to him, and he took hold, taking another few sips. It made life so easy having the Force, little things like bending over to pick up teacups didn't even matter any longer. Minor inconveniences. Silence as he sipped a few more times, and shrugged. "A bit. I met Kay, sort of like a sister to me, when I was looking for work as a hunter. Decided a little mercenary styled work was fine, wasn't quite what I expected. She saved my life and I found a way to repay that. Got work as her head of security, then minister of justice."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh scowled when [member="Darlyn Excron"] mentioned his former master was still alive. "I'd offer to help, but the most I could do is teach you pyromancy like you were meant to learn. Though, Auburn would be better suited to that." Niamh hummed as her son spoke of this Kay woman. "A bounty hunter turned head of security turned minister of justice... My what an exciting life you've lived... Tell me more about this Kay person, would you?

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Kind and forgiving of me, never judged me and convinced me I was better suited here than out on the hunt. Her kids are basically my niece and nephew from how close to her I grew. I'm quite hard pressed to find more to say than that if I'm being honest. She valued me and treated me like a person, then a friend." He really wasn't sure what more he had to say. Much more and if @Lady Kay heard any of it she'd be convinced he'd pined for her from afar. Lies and slander but the lack of much fault finding... "She was maybe a bit naive. But aside from that... she was a bit of a strange employer. Let me do more or less whatever I wanted aside from breaking the law itself."

"You know, I don't really know if I can learn pyromancy. I've had trouble learning anything that wasn't... well..." He held up his left palm and let the blue lightning arc around his hand a bit. "Granted, I did do a lot of work to get it working."