Hi, Mum. Nice Meeting Ya! (Coryth)

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

((Continued from Rhen Var dom))


[member="Coryth Elaris"]


Elpsis seemed to be suffering from what appeared to be sensory overload. The power that had engulfed the cave hit her like a brick wall and sent her head spinning. Then came the ear-splitting painful vision that the Force deigned to give her this moment. As it turned out, it was most inopportune, for she was not alone. As it turned out she ended up missing the fact that several scavengers had the same idea and were now converging upon her. Precog shot into action just at the right moment to make her dive for cover and hit the dirt when blaster bolts came raining towards her. Rolling across the ground she crawled, trying to reach cover as she grabbed her bolter, firing into the darkness. BAAAM BAAAM BAAAM two rogues wound up dead, but then the scum began lobbing in grenades.


She just managed to reach cover before an explosion but the blast showered her with shrapnel. Gritting her feeth she felt a strong pain surge through her body. Coat ripped apart, armour badly dented, shoulder felt dislocated and numb from the distant blast. Well, now she was pissed. She did not need the Force to know that the scum were closing in on her, or to know that a blaster rifle was aimed at her head.


As it happened her rage found an outlet when suddenly small balls of fire began manifesting in her hands, intensifying in heat. As a matter of fact, her entire body temperature was becoming dangerously elevated, heartbeat racing, to a point where it felt like she was literally boiling up alive from the inside out as sheer heat surged through her body. For one, the Force was wonky and, moreover, her control at this point was terrible...or rather nonexistent. However, she did not particularly care at this point and so all of a sudden searing streams of flame leapt from her hands and surged towards the scum, engulfing them in flames of boiling, redhead rage.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth could hear whispering now, and footfalls in the passages. She most certainly was not alone. While she expected one to be here, the rest ... not so much. It was then she felt it and spun on her heels, and grab the hand that looked to strike her. In a quick motion she twisted the man's arm and pinned him against the cavern wall. "Didn't your mother tell you? It's not nice to sneak up on people." With a free hand she grabbed the blaster he was reaching for. In a single motion she dumped the power pack, and then toss the weapon into the air, cutting it in half with her saber as she let him go with a push. "Leave, this is your first and final warning. Come back, and you won't like the results." She said boldly with a fire in her voice.

It was then that Coryth felt the pain and agony of those scavengers that were dying in the fires from Elpsis. This day just keeps getting better. Said as she tried to push the pain from her mind, not as able to keep her guards and defenses against such things up with how strange the force behaved. As she took a turn in the passages she saw the light flickering from the fire, and knew this was where the agony had come from. And the familiarity ... She's here. Her heart skiped a beat, almost in shock. Coryth had imagined this day, but not like this. Finally the redhead stepped into the space with Elpsis batting a blaster bolt back to the wall to keep it away from her.

Elpsis Kallikora

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Scavengers were quite literally set ablaze as her boiling rage brought forth flames that consumed them. Soon enough several were burning, whilst the others took to flight, especially after having seen the light of Coryth's lightsabre. Elpsis was assaulted by a wave of pain and agony from those scavengers who were dying in her fire. Unfortunately for her, she had inherited her mother's empathic gifts and given how wonky the Force was, it was pretty much impossible to blot it out. Never mind the fact that she was barely trained in the first place and thus much that related to her use of the Force was instinctual. However, at present she simply did not care about their pain. They had attacked her and were now facing the consequences.


With pain surging through her from the wonky fire magic, Elpsis collapsed to the ground, spent for the moment and deeply in pain. It was as she fall that she saw her, just as Coryth had stepped into the space with her, having batted a blaster bolt aside before it could inflict presumably lethal harm upon the little firemane, who ironically was a good deal taller than her mother. Presumably this was not the sort of family reunion either of them had imagined.


[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

As for family reunions Coryth knew one thing, this sucked. Feeling the much taller firemane's pain she raced to her side putting herself between any of the scavengers and her daughter. Hell and high water they were not touching her. With them on the run, Coryth didn't give chase. No. For a moment she just waited, standing ready and making sure they really were gone.

Once she felt them retreating into the distance, and were away from the both of them .. Only then did she kneel down beside Elpsis. "You'll be okay." Spoken softly as she reached into her bag pulling out a syringe and a vial of pain medication. "Will sting a bit." She said as she reached for the girl's arm to administer the medication. "Will tend to everything else this first." One way or another she would care for the girl's wounds.

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Elpsis was shaking and coughing badly when the woman who could only be her mother caught her. Well, squeezed a syringe into her arms to administer a medication against the pain, whatever, semantics. The scavengers had all scattered to the winds, but right now Elpsis had all but forgotten about them.


Her focus was upon the fact that she was in a hell of a lot of pain and at present facing a very awkward family reunion. Coryth did not need to introduce herself, the young firemane simply knew who she was. "Feth, so now you show up. You're my mother? Figures you had to be a forcie. Thanks but no thanks for the visions and the headaches from hell," Elpsis spoke between coughs, though she failed and only got a pained groan when she tried to get up. "Feth, you look familiar...," Like the angry redhead whose ship Elpsis had once boarded. Darn, this was sort of awkward.


[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth breathed in deeply trying to keep the tears at bay. This was her kid. Her daughter. The tiny Jedi nodded, "Yes ... I am. I'm Coryth, Coryth Elaris." The one she had let go of so long ago, left with the adoption agency and she had not seen her in eighteen years. "So I was uh .. a little late to the party but I'm here now. Lucky I'm a healer or things might be a little ... more painful than they have to be." A small chuckle escaped her lips, "Yeah I blame my mum for those too. They suck no matter which way you put it." The redhead laid a hand on the girls chest, "Don't get up. You are too injured. Let me at least tend to the wounds a little before we move you, okay? Cause I will pin your ass down if I have to."

Coryth's brow furrowed together. "Familiar? Seen me in visions maybe? Or you recalling something else?" She asked as she pulled some bacta from her bag along with some bandages. It paid to be prepared for anything, and the redheaded Jedi Master was a healer by nature, having such supplies was just expected of her.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

This was her. Her mother. Her true one. The one she had never seen before, ever since she had been given up. Conflicting emotions surged up inside Elpsis at the sight. This was...not the way she had expected things to go. For just a moment she wanted to reach out to her...but then her mind hardened and she turned colder, stopping the motion before it had begun and so she tried to withdraw from her touch.


Coryth, or whatever her name was, had given her up and never once tried to look for her. Images flashed through Elpsis' mind, of the torture she had endured at the hands of Xerexes. Though she had beaten him to a bloody pulp in the netherworld, his whispers were not so easily banished, nor the torture forgotten. The fact that Coryth could have been hardly expected to raise a child, that she had probably endured a good deal more, did not enter her mind at this point. Self-centred? Very much so, but perhaps understandably so to a degree. "I boarded your ship once, Mother. I got lots of jewellry out of it. Sold it for a profit," she responded. "So what brings you here? Had a vision? Or do you need a shiny crystal for that overglorified glowstick?"

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth glared at the mention of that. "So you were with them when they boarded my ship." Spoken a little angrily. "The government bribe the Republic was sending must have been nice for you I imagine." Not that she cared, at least she got to keep the medical supplies and the bribe went to people that could use it more than the corrupt politicians on the rim.

"You." Coryth said softly. "I came here for you." The redhead said with a sigh. "While I wouldn't mind a crystal if I happened upon a Solari crystal. However, that is not why I came." A shrug followed as she carefully treated the girls wounds. "Because I had a vision of you, here. Seen a lot of you in visions lately. Also I don't even know your name." They'd never told her and the adoption had been closed. It wasn't her right to go looking, or even have Elpsis' name.

"Go ahead. Ask the question that I know good and well you want to." Knowing the girl probably wondered why Coryth had given her up. The answer was complicated and excruciatingly painful.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Coryth's glare seemed to amuse Elpsis...just a bit. "Yeah, those bribes were very useful. Repaired my ship, had a nice couple days. All sorts of fun things without fancy space magic," she replied. She seemed to scrutinise Coryth as the redhead - no, she would not think of her as her mother - spoke. There was a long pause before she finally responded to her question about her name. "Elpsis Kallikora," she said curtly. That was the name her adoptive parents had given her. But then they had given her up as well because they could not cope with her powers.


"Oh, questions and answers time in a sodding cave, that's sweet! Might as well start now then, why did you give me up? And did you kill that monster that spawned me?" she asked or rather demanded. "Yes, I know all about him. Met him twice. Second time I shot him in hell." That implied that their first meeting had taken place in the real world. One could easily infer that it had not been pleasant.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth shook her head and sighed. "Figured." What else could she really say to that? Nothing.

"Elpsis." The name spoken so quietly as her eyes dropped to the wounds on the girl.

A shrug came as she leaned forward, bacta in hand to try and tend to the young woman's wounds. "Told you I wasn't moving you just yet. Too hurt for that." The tiny Jedi healer said softly. "So might as well get it started." The redhead sighed again, far too painful. "I gave you up .. to protect you. From him, from me." Tears were already welling up in her eyes though she tried to ignore it. "Was so damned angry when you were born. At him ... and you .. Angry at an innocent life that did not ask to be brought into this Universe. That wasn't fair to you. My anger unjustified in every way. I'm sorry."

The redhead breathing in deeply trying to compose herself as she wrapped bandages around Elpsis' wounds. "I couldn't take care of you. I couldn't be a mother then. I couldn't even get out of bed on my own I was still so wounded and sick from the poison in my skin. Took nearly two years before I healed from what he did to me. Sliced me up like a piece of meat, intent to make me ... Unwanted by anyone and poisoned me through those wounds." One more sigh, "He's dead. And while I imagine it was horrible what he did to you, he nearly killed twice over now. Siobhan cut him apart, piece by piece ... Ripped his spine out in the end while I was busy trying not to die. No biggie." Said with a bit of sarcasm at the end.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Hearing these words seemed to cause Elpsis to soften...just a bit. She was still terribly pissed about being abandoned, as she saw it, and Coryth's words about being angry at her hurt the girl more than she would like to admit. Still, she understood...to an extent at least. Her own anger at her mother did not completely melt away, but it was difficult to keep up the boiling rage after hearing what she had went through, though they were by no means alright. Not by a long shot, but she felt far less of a desire to be confrontational or difficult for the sake of it.


"Well, he find me in the end, so the protecting me part didn't work out that well. But I...uh...understand. I'm...sorry you had to go through that. Didn't know it had been that bad. He hurt me a lot, said...so many nasty things about you," she said awkwardly, visibly shivering at the memory despite her best efforts to shake it off. With some effort she reached out to gently touch Coryth's hand. "I beat the crap out of him in the underworld, or whatever the hell that place was. Bastard squealed like a pig."


There was a pause before she spoke up again, clearly trying to gather her thoughts. "So you still with the hippies in robes or what? And who's this Siobhan chick? Are you two, like, dating? Guess I should go thank her tearing the arsehole's spine out."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth stopped, "Then I failed you. Failed to protect you and keep him from you." That had been her greatest fear that she had failed her child. The little girl she gave up so long ago. "I thought that if I gave you up, to a family that ... he'd never find you. That it would have been that much harder to get to you. I'm so sorry. I only wanted to protect you, when I was in no shape to do it myself. I am so sorry." The Jedi blamed herself more than anything else. She should have been there. Should have done something else. At the same time, knew in those years she wasn't capable of being a mother in anyway.

A nod of her head as she reached down and gently laid her hand upon Elpsis'. "I can't say for a second that he didn't deserve what he got in the end. It that makes me a bad Jedi, I really don't karking care." Nope, not at all. She definitely felt the man deserved the end he received. "We should get you out of here. I've done what I can to help but without a medical bay I can't really help you further." With that she slowly rose to her feet, intent to help Elpsis do the same.

The tiny woman gave a shrug, "Not really. I'm on my own for the most part when it comes to Jedi affairs. A wanderer, caring for anyone that needs help where I can help there. If they council was to call, I might answer. But that really depends entirely on what their grand little plans would be." Her thoughts moved on to Sio. "Siobhan if my best friend. I care for her a great deal. As for dating ... I'm not sure it can be called that. It's ... complicated."

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

Elpsis did sort of feel bad about causing Coryth pain. To a degree at least. "Hey, chit happens. Arsehole's dead now. Hopefully burning in hell." Assuming the underworld contained a place that was all fire and brimstone. She had never gotten around to finding it.


With some effort and after a degree of hesitation, she slowly got to her feet, though she felt very wobbly on her legs. "Complicated, huh?" she raised an eyebrow at that, seeming almost amused. '"Was a Jedi for a while. Then I ditched them. Bunch of holier than thou, elitist tossers acting like they're higher beings because of fething space magic, if you ask me."


This was true, but not the whole truth. Elpsis left out the fact that she had never reached Padawan. Rather what was supposed to be a routine mission had led to an...unpleasant encounter with Xerexes. She had never been the same afterwards, been assigned to AgriCorps and washed out. Yet she said nothing of this. Perhaps because she did not trust her mother that much yet...or perhaps because she did not want Coryth to think of her as a screw-up. Maybe a bit of both. She shook these thoughts aside as she looked around. "Got to grab a couple crystals before leaving. You can make lots of credits with them!"

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth nodded. Personally she hoped he was as well. "Indeed, it does."

Stepping forward she reached to offer support for her daughter. "Lean on me, Elpsis. Will be easier if you let me support you." Another nod followed, "Yeah, complicated. I mean, she's one of my closest friends. It just, yeah I'm not sure what exactly you call the relationship between the both of us."

"I understand that, a little too well these days." Spoken quietly.

She couldn't help but lift an eyebrow. "You want to grab crystals, in the state you are in? You have to be kidding me." Coryth said bit a bit of exasperation in her tone. The idea did boggle the redhead's mind that Elpsis could possibly want to do that in her current condition.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

"Yes, exactly!" Elpsis exclaimed. "I got shot at and burnt myself, so I might as well get some profit out of it. And it's not like I'm an invalid." It was just Coryth's luck that her daughter was just as stubborn as she was. And perhaps a tad crazy...pardon, eccentric! And so, despite feeling terrible and barely able to stand, Elpsis attempted to limp over to one of the crystal formations.


Breathing very heavily, she raised an eyebrow when she looked back at Coryth, noting the obvious height difference. "Gods, you're tiny. I'm towering over you." A very shaky hand managed to grip the lightsabre she had taken from a Sith cultist on Ossus. With a snap-hiss the crimson blade ignited and she swung the weapon, very clumsily, to break up the formation. There, crystals!

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth shook her head slowly, a little shocked that her daughter had seemed to pick up her own incredible stubbornness. It seemed odd to her, having never raised her, never been with her... gave her nothing but her own DNA and the hope of a better life. The redheaded Jedi just nodded as she followed along beside her daughter. "No, you are not an invalid but severely hurt and I'd at least like to help you with that."

The Master shot Elpsis a look, annoyed by her height and being told about it. "I'm not tiny, just vertically challenged thank you very much." Ah, there was the redheaded snarl that Coryth was known for. And it seemed another trait that her daughter had picked up.

Her eyes locked on the weapon, "Where did you get that?" Wanting to know how Elpsis had come across a Sith blade.

"Here, let me help." Reaching down she started to collect the crystals, handing them up to Elpsis one by one. Though she finally came to one that seemed to hum in harmony to her being. It was an odd feeling and for a moment Coryth just stopped and stared at the crystal. A bright orange crystal, with a feeling of pure light within it. This one, it just seemed to be perfect for her, in absolute accord with her soul. It was, what she had hoped to collect. A Solari crystal. "I think ... I'll keep this one." A soft sigh fell from her lips as she slipped it into her own bag.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

In response Elpsis shrugged. "What's in a colour? Was on Ossus after gettin' out of hell. Took it off a Sith. Idiot got fried by his own lightning," she said nonchalantly. Anyhow, it seemed that Coryth was already mothering over her and collecting crystals. Naturally she just had to stumble upon the bright orange crystal that was filled with light and goodness.


As a matter of fact there was so much light in it that Elpsis felt the way you did when you spent too much time staring at a computer screen or looking into a lamp. "Shiny," she commented simply before taking two lightsabre crystals herself, after having checked them thoroughly. One them was fairly standard and conventional, the other was bright and beamed with the light side, a Solari crystal.

​

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth nodded, the kid had a point. "Suppose that is fair enough." She shook her head with a sigh. So much she had wanted for her daughter, things that she never wanted her to deal with, like the sith. But unfortunately when Coryth gave up her legal rights to Elpsis, she had no say in her life, in what happened to her. She'd done the best she could have at the time.

"Now can we go?" The Jedi Healer asked with worry clear in her tone. "Have a fully stocked med bay on my ship. Can take care of you there, and after that it is up to you what you want to do." Another sigh, "Just don't want you leaving here, until you have at least had some decent medical treatment." Even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming I'm going to do it. You are going to get some medical treatment and then, then you can do what you want ... She thought to herself, not letting Elpsis know what she was thinking exactly.

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"]

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

Elpsis gave Coryth a look, as if mulling over options. Common sense seemed to be at war with pride, before she finally relented. "Alright, I'll come with, but no Force stuff. After that I'll be leaving on my own ship. I've got my own life. You may not like it, but that's the way it is," she said very firmly.


There was a sigh as she tried to walk. It seemed she was trying to cross the gulf that separated them, but so much had happened and, moreover, she was a stubborn Elaris girl. "Look, I appreciate what you're doing, but we can't start playing happy family because that's not what we are. You can get my comm number if you want."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth nodded, "Didn't expect to do that. Using only normal medical tech to deal with your wounds, as the force is wonky as hell and I can't say if it's stable enough to heal you. I'd rather not take that chance." She gave a small shrug, "That's fine. You've managed eighteen years without me. I'm not about to force myself into your life, unless you ask me there."

The tiny Jedi Master glanced up to Elpsis. "No, we are no happy family. I don't expect that. Not with all that you feel about me, about the situation. It was a closed adoption, and my legal rights to a family ended there. It was never my right to come looking, never my right to know where you were. My only hope was that you were safe." The sadness quite clear in her tone, feeling she'd made a terrible mistake all those years ago. "My comm number you may have as well. And day or night, no matter the reason, if you need help call. I'll come and do what I can. May not ever make up for what I did so long ago, but yeah ... maybe it can be something of a start." A start to what, she wasn't sure.

[member="Elpsis Kallikora"]