Finding Common Ground

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh smiled happily to hear that [member="Darlyn Excron"] was treated well by his found family. This Kay woman was someone Niamh would love to meet one day, and Niamh leaned back in her chair. She watched as her son displayed his lightning abilities, and couldn't help but laugh when he thought he, an Anam, wouldn't be able to learn pyromancy. Oh the mere thought of it just tickled Niamh to the core!

"Oh my little darlin' boy, you're an Anam! Pyromancy may as well be written in our DNA. If you had shown early signs of force sensitivity, you would have learned it at age 3! Though, I suppose you and your sister share being late bloomers... She didn't know any signs of being Force sensitive until we arrived on Domhanda."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Mother, I had problems doing anything normal. Lightsaber throwing, telekenisis, lightning being the exception. I really don't think it'll be as simple as you think." He chuckled a bit, thinking it amusing she didn't believe him. He really did have trouble with everything, his power now not withstanding. Just as he was about to continue, he heard fluttering upstairs and sighed quietly. "Hold on a moment Mum." He put his tea down and went upstairs, returning a minute later with a white dove resting on his shoulder.

"Sorry about that. Mom this is my little buddy. I picked him up when I shot myself onto the planet during the liberation efforts... he was getting a bit antsy without me." He cooed a bit at the bird and stroked its head as he sat down, the bird seeming pretty receptive of this. How Darlyn got a bird as a pet like this might come as a shock to [member="Niamh Jones"], considering the darkness in him.

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh gave [member="Darlyn Excron"] a knowing look only a mother could give. "Just try it, you'll be surprised. Your sister picked it up faster than I did, and she's half Anam like you. Though, I suppose she does take after me more... Hm? Is that a bird?" Niamh took pause at the fluttering, before watching [member="Darlyn Excron"] walk upstairs.

To say she was surprised to see a dove of all bird on his shoulder when he came back down would be an understatement. She smiled and laughed a bit as her son cooed at the bird. IT was just so adorable watching her son be affectionate with his pet. "Does he have a name?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"I was thinking something cute but I never got around to it. I just always call him my lil buddy anyways." He never really lost the cute little voice he tried to make when speaking to the bird, but it was less when not directed at the bird itself. He also didn't really stop stroking the bird's head, making sure he was comfortable and felt safe on his shoulder. "If he calms down I can see if he'd let you pet his head. He likes it, just antsy with new people and all the noise. I need to get him new feed too, he's getting picky these days."

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

"If he responds to it, I wouldn't change it on him. You don't want to confuse the poor thing." Niamh laughed lightly at the cutesy voice [member="Darlyn Excron"] used with the bird. It was just so adorable watching him, and gave her a sort of calmness know her son was able to be so happy despite what he had gone through. It wouldn't stop her from worrying about him, however.

"Perhaps. I wouldn't want to startle him. If you like, you could try the feed we use on Domhanda for tamed Éan Dóiteáin? I'm sure Auburn would be happy to give you some of hers."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Long as it isn't too unlike what I've got to feed him now. Gotta be sure it's still good for the lil' guy." He hummed distractedly, still soothing the bird. After a bit he managed to come back to reality, and slowly got up, moving over to her. He eased the dove onto his hand, and gently held it out towards [member="Niamh Jones"]. The bird seemed confused a minute, looking at Nimah, before deciding the best option was to jump off, fly over, and land itself on top of her head. IT was a gentle enough bird so it wasn't digging in or anything, but it was still a bird so Darlyn didn't know if it would hurt his mother at all..

"I can take him back to his cage if you need me to, just say the word alright?" He, clearly wasn't sure what to do. What did mothers and sons do?

 

[Niamh Jones]

"I don't believe it would be, besides being a different plant. Although, the Éan Dóiteáin are Force Sensitive birds... But I don't believe that would change the nutritional needs?" Niamh hummed in thought as [member="Darlyn Excron"] handled the bird, and smiled as he held it out to her. She reached out to hold the little thing, and laughed in surprise when it landed on her head of all places! She leaned back in her chair gently, and relaxed so as not to startle the poor thing.

"Oh he's just fine darlin' don't you worry... Now, do you want to tell me more about your life, or would you like to learn about your heritage?"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Well don't just drop me in the deep end for the most part and I think it'll be fine. I've talked most of the time already, so it's only fair you get to talk ya?" He scooted his chair just a bit closer and sat down, leaning forward a bit. So far his idolized version of her from his childhood limited memories seemed to be accurate enough, she was quite nice... sweet. Felt like she hadn't even really been gone so long from his life, you know despite being gone mostly from his life.

The dove meanwhile settled itself down on top of her head, seeming quite satisfied with himself as he made [member="Niamh Jones"]'s head his new perch.

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh hummed in thought, and wondered where to begin with [member="Darlyn Excron"]. Auburn had given a history lesson that fateful night, so he knew the Anam's history, but what else? She set her empty cup down, and tilted her head slightly to the side. She could start with their religion, give a more detailed explanation of it than what he knew of. But as he interested in that? He was a Dark Sider, one that most Anam would fear for him going insane.

"Well, let's start with what you already know, and we'll go from there? Though, you'll need to tell me what you know of already."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Fire, arts and crafts, dragons. That about sums it all up for me. Well that and everyone would hate me if they knew I was a darksider, but thats par for the course." He finished his tea as well, and poured himself a glass. Taking a sip of his hot, new tea, it occured to him he never figured out how his mother felt. He had just assumed it was all fine, as she never brought it up or flinched from him. Was she afraid?

"More tea?"

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh smiled bitterly as [member="Darlyn Excron"] spoke. "Yes... Auburn gave you and the other Mandalorians a rather good history lesson." Humming in thought, Nia offered her cup for a refill quietly. "Why don't we pick something to expand upon then? There's many intricacies to our religion, and bits of history left out by Auburn because they did not pertain to how the priesthood failed the Anam people. And then there's the history of our pyromancy."

Niamh looked up at her son, a bittersweet smile on her face as she deliberately avoided discussing her son's Dark alignment.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"The Pyromancy then. Might as well go for the most entertaining right?" He tried to give a bit of a goofy grin to cheer her up, but truth be told the bitter-sweetness hurt him a bit from her smile. He wasn't the best at picking up on social cues but [member="Niamh Jones"] was terrible at hiding how desperately she didn't want to approach the topic. Gods she must hate him for that, or at least fear him greatly. That stung, not in a way that made him want to change but in that she seemed to be heartbroken about who her son really was. That was what stung... even if he was actively hiding it with the same practiced charm he learned to hide everything with.

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh's smile turned happier after [member="Darlyn Excron"] asked about the Anam's pyromancy. Oh where to begin with it? There was millennia of history involved in how the Anam's style of pyromancy emerged and was refined. She hummed in thought, and idly drummed her fingers on the armrest. After a moment of thinking, Niamh opened her mouth to speak.

"Well, we were first taught of the Force through the Beannacht. When it was discovered that many of us were sensitive to it, the Beannacht taught us to create fire using the Force. For a time, it was our only source of warmth and light, and over time became one of the sacred symbols of our people. Fire, is life, and life is a blessing not to be thrown away or destroyed."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

MEanwhile Darlyn used lightning, and would kill quite on the regular. He really must be an abomination to them. He smiled though, because clearly his mother was more than delighted to talk about this subject in general, considering how happy the choice of topic had made her. So he just listened quietly, and rubbed his chin in thought. Running his thumb down the side of his jaw, he hummed a bit. IT made some sense, to him at least. But separated from the culture he didn't, feel much the same as her. "So far it all seems to make sense."

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

"Of course, there are... exceptions, to this rule. Hunting animals, comes to mind first. I... also suppose self defense off-world would be... acceptable, if there were no other way. Anam martial arts is very focused on incapacitating." Niamh hummed in thought, tilting her head carefully so as not to disturb the bird atop her head. [member="Darlyn Excron"] seemed to be understanding it so far. Truthfully, Niamh was ecstatic her son even had an interest in his heritage.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Makes sense to me. I mean, clearly I differ a bit but, it still makes sense. I had to learn to hold back myself, since everything is pretty prone to dying when electrocuted. Changing the output to safe levels works fine for the most part though.." He hoped by confirming he did know how to incapacitate someone would ease [member="Niamh Jones"]'s mind a bit on the subject of, well him. It was way less fun admittedly than going all out, but she likely didn't have the ability to empathize with that part of him. The part that wanted to just see how far he could push his abilities. "So at what point does it become so second nature you think even I should be able to perform it? Genetics are pretty weird, and so far it seems more cultural than anything else."

 

[Niamh Jones]

Niamh smiled at [member="Darlyn Excron"] as he discussed controlling his lightning. It was comforting to know her son didn't try to kill every enemy he came to fight, at least to her knowledge. When he asked where his Anam genetics would come into play, she hummed in thought. "Well, as far as we can tell, we have what seems to be a natural affinity for it. Whether that's over ten thousand years of practicing it religiously, or we just evolved that way, we don't know."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"So the short answer is you don't know then? Fair enough I guess." He sounded, a little disappointed that she didn't know. "Mmm... I suppose you haven't figured out the extent Anam can use fire to fight then have you? I mean, if I'm understanding right that isn't something ya'll go around doing. I'd be pretty curious to know how strong it'd be in a no holds barred fight, would probably be a pretty big show." He couldn't really hide the tinge of excitement in his voice. Fire had so many more possibilities than lightning if you asked him, so the idea of seeing lightning go all out..

[member="Niamh Jones"]

 

[Niamh Jones]

"Any combat the Anam participate in with our pyromancy is usually ceremonial. I'll admit, I did have a few bouts with some... unsavory people before I had your sister. I wasn't very good at it though." Niamh laughed quietly, before humming in amusement. "I would suggest you challenge Auburn, but I don't know if she'd be able to hurt you. She's very attached, you know."

[member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Attached is putting it lightly I'd think. That said I hope you don't mean she wouldn't spar me seriously, that would be dangerous." He gave a very confident looking grin at his Mother, even if she probably wasn't one who'd fully appreciate his rather lofty boast. "I'm quite strong, and if I spar I try to push the limits of my partner. If she held back, it would be bad for both of us. Though, do you mean to imply Auburn is somehow more capable than anyone else you can think of?"

Clearly [member="Niamh Jones"] was already ruling out her daughter, as she was rather quick to exclude her from the suggestion list. Probably had to do with how somehow his sister hadn't managed to find the least incognito individual on Commenor.