It's What We Do That Defines Us

[Ayden Draclau]

Ayden nodded his head at his mother when she told him she was proud of him for standing up for his sister. It wasn't even a question in his mind that he would protect his sister, even if it was pretty clear that he would lose... horribly. As much as his father had taught him, he was still a twelve year old that was undersized for his age. He really hated that.. he wanted to be taller.. stronger.. yet nature seemed to have fun laughing at him. "It's okay, Isis took care of them.. I don't think they will make fun of us again," the little boy said thinking back to the injuries.. they weren't pretty.

The young Draclau watched his father and sister for a moment as his mother hugged him once more, something told him his sister was not okay and Dad would be able to tell. It wasn't fair to them that they should be hurt so badly just because they looked a little different. There was practically no difference between them and normal humans yet the slightest difference made people make fun of them and try to make them feel bad. Hearing his Mom say they were taking care of the girls made him wonder what they planned to do but he wasn't that curious.

"They should apologize to Isis too."

 

[Seth Draclau]

Seth held his daughter close and let out a sigh. He knew she wasn't okay, she was physically hurt, mentally she was probably wounded even more so. The shape-shifter knelt down to one knee, to put himself down on his daughter's level. "I know it hurts honey. I know all too well. Remember though, thick skin, right?" he told her as his hand rose up and slid against her cheek. A long time ago he had told her that she needed to have thick skin, to take what people said in a mocking tone as their own insecurities. It was hard to do he knew but his daughter was strong, he had helped her be so.

"They can't hurt you unless you let them," he told her as he pressed a gently kiss against her cheek. She may have been sixteen, all grown up in the eyes of many but he took this very serious. It had effected him as a child and now that he had the strength, the power to protect his own children, he would do so.. he supposed in that way he had failed them because he couldn't protect them as well as he hoped he could.

 

[Isis Draclau]

He said that they couldn't hurt her unless she let them, something he had been saying a lot when she was growing up. "I know, but it's hard." She admitted to him, and she felt herself getting heated just talking about it. "Who pushes around a little kid like that? I can't believe they hurt him. They're so much older, and still they pushed him around. It's like I couldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried to hold back and I ..lashed out. I couldn't stop myself. I guess I kinda didn't want to, either."

Isis looked from her mom when she talked about the girls not being back. Isis' face scrunched up and she looked from her dad, back to her mom, and then her brown eyes landed on her dad again. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if they're gone or not because someone else is just going to come in and make fun of us again. It's never going to stop. I don't have a lot of time left in this school, but Ayden does. That's not fair to him." She looked back up to her dad, and she was just thinking of how angry she was at the time, and the flow of it continued to rise up in her.

"They talked about expelling me. I want to be expelled. I don't want to come back here. Ayden shouldn't have to, either."

 

[Kassey Draclau]

Kassey moved some more hair out of his face, and she couldn't help but look at him, and think about how angry Isis must have been to hurt these girls like that. She had a feeling that Ayden was going to be a great little brother, already he was showing of protecting Isis when she needed it, no matter what the threat was. That would bode well in the future, having them all protect one another like that. No matter how childish their fights were, or the arguments they had with one another at home and growing up, in dire situations they would protect each other. That made her feel good to know her children were like that.

That's when Isis talked about not stopping, or wanting to stop. While her hands were still on Ayden's shoulders, she looked over to her daughter. That might need to be discussed more in depth to get a grip on how she responded to such a thing, but then she had mentioned about not coming back to school. "Isis, honey, we're doing everything we can to make sure that you'll be safe, and not teased. Making sure this girl removed is the best option, I can promise you that. We promised to protect both of you if this situation every came about, and we're doing that."

 

[Seth Draclau]

"It's like I couldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried to hold back and I ..lashed out. I couldn't stop myself. I guess I kinda didn't want to, either."

Seth found himself frozen when he heard his daughter say this. The way she described it, the way it sounded took him right back to the day that Seth's life had changed forever. Being laughed at.. mocked.. with no one there to protect him. His eyes closed and his head looked down at the floor beneath them. His daughter had a moment that was eerily similar to the horror he had endure only this time her little brother had saved her from having a break. Instead her anger had come from the treatment of her brother not how upset she was over her appearance.

Seth let out a sigh of relief and looked up. "I'm proud of both of you.. so proud. You saved one another. I want you both to know that what you've both done today is something very, very important." He would explain it to them more but not here, when they got home he would have a chance to let them know just what he could see that they couldn't see. When he heard what Isis had to say, he turned his head towards his wife and son, studying the look on his little boys face before he looked back up at Kassey.

"Maybe we should take them out. We could pay tutors to teach them at home."

 

[Kassey Draclau]

Kassey wasn't going to deny her children, or Seth, of what they wanted in the best interest. Kassey would never say or do something that they didn't want to do, unless it was for their own good. But maybe this was something that would be better for them in the long run. She wanted to sit down and talk with Seth about this, though. And right here and now was not the time for a lengthy discussion.

She stood up, and she kissed Ayden's head, and looked at him. "Is this what you want?" Kassey looked back over to her daughter. "Isis, do you really want that? To get out of this school and finish up your semester by tutors?" Kassey returned her glance over to her son, and she let out a sigh. "You want that? To stay home and away from school? Or do you want to stay in? Either way, we're all going to go home and talk about the pros and cons."

If this is what they wanted to do, and as long as Seth and Kassey found it sound to do so, then she would definitely do it. She just had a feeling that here and now wasn't the right place to talk in a deep discussion about their time in the school.

 

[Isis Draclau]

Isis slowly got out of Seth's arms, so that she could talk to both of her parents. "You guys know how much this place sucks. Everyone is stuck up and they have their own cliques. It's...kinda gross. It's frustrating. I've been sent home so much, and I don't want to come back here. At all." She said with a nod of her head and then she would put her hands on her hips, but they hurt too much.

"I don't like it here, I don't mind finishing up my semester at home or whatever, maybe be done altogether. I just don't want to be here and..." She looked over to Ayden and then she realized just how much he protected her, especially after what her dad had said about them. "Like dad said, we saved each other today, and...if I can do that for him again, I would, and suggest we get out of this school. But only if he wants to." Her eyes looked back over to her dad. "I don't want him to get hurt."

 

[Ayden Draclau]

Ayden did his best to remain quiet, he let Isis and their parents speak and discuss what had happened and what they should do. In many ways his mind was set with Isis, she had the right of it. Most of the people he had come across acted like they were better than others and while he did have a few friends. He wondered to himself if they would still be as such when he got older. Would he want to take that chance? More importantly did he want to stay in this school if his sister wasn't going to be in it? That was the real question that he asked himself even when asked by his mother his thoughts.

"I don't want to stay here if Isis won't be here," he told his mother. In all honestly he could probably deal with the place if his big sister was there with him.. however if she didn't want to be there, neither did he. As much as Isis was looking out for him and wanted to protect him, he didn't much care for his own safety which much of the time was why he always seemed to be hurt. It was her he cared for more than himself.

 

[Seth Draclau]

Seth watched as his two children spoke, Kassey asking them if this course of action was really what they wanted to take. Personally for him if this was what they wanted then he had no problem giving it to them. He could understand from a teenager's point of view why this place would seem so terrible and if Isis wasn't dealing with it, Ayden soon would in her place and even then his daughter would graduate a long time before Ayden and the young boy would be left by himself. Seth didn't like that because now that Ayden was making enemies it would only be worse for him when he had no one to protect him.

"We need to have a talk, I agree. Regardless of what's decided upon, you two are going to finish school. Whether it's here, at a different school or at home, you guys are going to finish. I promise though that you will have a good environment to do so in," the father said putting his foot down. He himself had not attended formal schooling and he would not wish the same for his children. They would grow up with an education to match the politicians of the galaxy.

"Agreed?" he asked looking at his children.

 

[Isis Draclau]

Isis wasn't sure how to feel about this. School was almost done for her anyway, so she guessed it really didn't matter. She just found herself so close to an edge, so close that she felt as though if she didn't get pulled off by the security, she would have kept going. The girl showed no signs of stopping whatsoever, and just like she had told her dad, she didn't feel as though she should have. They deserved it, that's what she kept telling herself over and over again. But she longed for the time to get out of this school and to be out in the public where she didn't have to deal with these people all of the time. Make new friends based more on her personality, and not on her looks. Even though she thought she was very pretty, it was her skin tone that she was teased about, even when she wore the make up.

When her dad asked her if she agreed to those terms, she let out a small sigh and she nodded her head. "Agreed." She told him, and looked over to Ayden to see if he agreed. A sense of importance ran through her when he said that if she wasn't going to be here, than he wasn't. She didn't want to influence his decision based off of hers, but when he did he proved how much he actually cared about her, and it made her feel good. "Can we go home now?"

 

[Kassey Draclau]

Kassey took a few deep breaths, and she was in the same place that Seth was. She wanted her children to have the education that she never had. Kassey traveled all of her young and young adult life, and even after her parents were gone she kept on traveling. She never, ever had proper education. She was very fortunate that her mother was a teacher, herself, and taught Kassey how to read and write while her dad taught her to survive. But Kassey wanted her children to finish up school.

Isis had agreed to abide by Seth's law, which is something that Kassey would stick by the whole time. When Ayden said that he didn't want to go to school if his sister wasn't going, Kassey gave him a small smile, and she kissed him on the top of the head again, and rubbed her hand up and down his arm encouragingly. If he didn't want to go to this school Kassey wouldn't make him, but tonight would be a talk about where they would go, and how they would go about it.

Her daughter had asked if they could go home, and Kassey nodded. "Yes, let's get going home. I think we all need to relax a little bit."

 

[Ayden Draclau]

The young boy nodded his head at his father's words. "Agreed." He found no reason not to go to school, in fact he rather liked it for what it was. Whether it was at home or at some school that was okay with him but he knew how his sister felt and how his parent's hearts broke when they were picked on for what they looked like. It wasn't fair to them, it wasn't fair to his mother and father who's ultimate sign of love and compassion was what brought he and his big sister into the world. Ayden only looked down to the floor sadly and then wrapped his arms around his mother.

They could go home and forget that this day had happened to them and begin the healing process. He didn't say much more and simply chose to remain silent. Not a unusual thing for him to do in these sorts of situations where Isis could probably speak for him in a better capacity than he could.

 

[Seth Draclau]

"Good. Now let's go home," he said with a smile as he rose up off the ground and let his arm slid over his daughter's back and the man let her take the lead out of the room first. His gaze matching Kassey's for the briefest moments that told of the love he had for her. With a gentle smile that passed over his lips right before he mouthed the words I love you. Marching along with his little family the group moved through the school out the front door until the four of them were walking through the parking lot towards there speeder. He let the children settle in first before taking the seat behind the wheel.

"Remind me later tonight to deal with all of the paperwork to get these two out of the school and began finding tutors in our area, We shouldn't wait too long," the man said before he turned the power on in the speeder and saw them moving along until he pulled out of the parking lot and set them on the path.

 

[Isis Draclau]

Isis wanted get out of here, as soon as she possibly could, and then she had frowned a little at the thought of this place. In a way, she was so happy to get out of here, and get on with her life. She wanted her hands to heal, her eye to heal, and she wanted to talk to her dad most of all. After all was said and done, she loved her mom to death, but she didn't quite understand what was going on with her. Kassey's encouraging words and sweet talks were nice and all, but when it came to actually living though something like this, her dad always told them that he lived through this kind of thing. She felt more connected to him in that way.

She had leaned on him as they walked out of the place, and Isis took her proper space in the back seat behind the driver's side. Once she was strapped in, she shut the door and then she had looked out the window as they started to go on. "I'm not very hungry for dinner tonight, I don't think." She said, almost out of the blue, but she knew that's what was going to happen once they got home. "I just kinda want to go home and sleep."

 

[Kassey Draclau]

She noticed him saying that he loved her, and she smiled at that, even given all of the situation, he made her feel better just with that mouthing of those words. Kassey had led Ayden out, making sure to hold on to him tightly until they got out to the speeder. She reluctantly let him go, but she had gotten into the passenger's side, opened the door, and let out a deep and heavy sigh once she got inside of the speeder. She had looked over to Seth, and then put her hand on his knee affectionately.

"Don't worry, it'll be the first thing we do once we get inside. Isis, honey, you don't need to worry about dinner tonight. It'll be ready if you want to eat anything, but guys, you just both need to relax tonight. We still have a lot to talk about, but I want all of the stress and the tension down tonight, alright? No running around, holonet up loud, nothing like that. We'll going to chill out tonight."

 

[Ayden Draclau]

"Yes Mom," Ayden said understanding quite well what she hoped for them when they got home. Unlike Isis he actually was kind of hungry since he had not eaten at lunch. As for relaxing that he could do, he was starting to feel tired anyway and when he was sitting securely in the backseat behind his mother and when the speeder began to move his head leaned against the window. His eyes began to grow heavy after a few minutes, his hand stretched over the center seat and his fingers wrapped gently around hers and and held on to them as long as he was able to before his eyes closed.

Moments later the young boy was fast asleep.

 

[Seth Draclau]

The ride home didn't take too long thankfully, his young son having fallen asleep had not gone unaware for him. The poor boy had been through so much and now he would be able to rest and let his injuries heal. He wasn't certain what Isis would do, she mentioned sleeping when they got home but he could never really tell with his little girl. Maybe she would, maybe she was hoping to speak to him and her mother about all of this so that her mind and heart would know peace. It was sad to him.. he promised he would protect his little girl and it seemed that he had failed her.

Sooner their speeder pulled up into their drive way, the shape-shifter cut the engine and slid out of the vehicle, moving around the back to his son's door and opened it up. Freeing him from the belt, he picked Ayden up out of the speeder and carried him up the path into their home. It didn't take Seth long to find his way to the little ones bedroom and see him laid down for the rest of his nap. "Sleep well, little one and dream of better days," he said before kissing his boy on the forehead.

 

[Isis Draclau]

Isis stayed quiet, and she looked over to Ayden as he started to fall asleep. She couldn't really thank him enough for what he did. She didn't blame him a bit for what happened, and she was happy that her parents didn't, either. She wanted to let them know what had happened, and more importantly, how she felt. She didn't feel bad for the girls in the hospital, or anything like that. They deserved it...

They had arrived at their house, and Isis gave Ayden's hand a small squeeze, but not enough to wake him up. She stayed in the speeder for a minute, and she saw her dad pick Ayden up with ease and she pressed her lips together. She could already hear her mom asking if she was alright, and if she was going to come out, and Isis popped the door open.

"I'm coming." She said, and then she had gotten out of the speeder, and headed back towards the house. As soon as she walked in, she found the couch and plopped herself onto it, one leg sprawled out on the top of the couch, and over the edge. She let her hands hang, making sure they didn't touch anything. "When dad comes out, can you tell him I want to talk to him?" She called out to her mom, unsure of what she was doing.

 

[Kassey Draclau]

Kassey opened her door to walk out of the speeder, and she saw that Seth had taken Ayden into the house. As they passed, Kassey watched them, and in passing she rubbed Seth's back gently. She remembered the day where she could carry her little boy inside of the house when he fell asleep, but even she couldn't do that anymore. He may have been small for his age, but he was still bigger than she should carry, unless of course, she needed to.

Kassey looked back to see Isis still in the car, and Kassey tapped on the window. "Honey, are you alright? You coming in?" She had responded, and then Kassey just nodded, and walked into the house. She took her coat and scarf off, and hung it on the rack, and then she walked over to Isis and tapped her shoes lightly that were on the couch. "You should take those off. If you need help with your shoes, just let me know." Kassey said, knowing her hands must have been pretty beat up after all of that, and she could only imagine. She made her way into the kitchen, and started to get some pots and pans for something to eat.

"When dad comes out, can you tell him I want to talk to him?"

Kassey blinked a few times, and popped her head back in the living room for a second. She was unsure why she just wanted to talk to Seth, and not her, but she wasn't going to question it. Slowly, Kassey nodded and she gave her daughter an almost sad smile. "Of course, hang tight." Kassey made her way towards Seth, and waited outside Ayden's room where he had just laid him to sleep. Once he got out, Kassey whispered to him. "Isis wants to talk to you. I suppose only you." She jerked her head to the side. "She's waiting in the living room for you."

 

[Seth Draclau]

He had not expected to see Kassey when he exited Ayden's room. Hearing her tell him that Isis wanted to speak to him and only him made him nod. "She's really been wounded by this Kassey. She's not showing it, but our little girl is hurting inside more than on the outside," he said sliding his hands around her waist and pulling her closer to him. It was heartbreaking that this sort of thing had to happen to her. "The way she described it what happened.. it was like back when I was a boy. This could have been much worse if Ayden wasn't there for her."

In that, Ayden's existence was truly a blessing. He had been the one that had kept her from truly snapping. Seth leaned his head against his wife's head, he looked defeated in a way but within seconds he looked into her eyes. "We always feared this.. we'll take care of them though.. like we promised so many years ago." With that he pressed a kiss to her lips, "Make sure to check on Ayden every couple of minutes, please?" he told her before he let her go and moved back out into the living room. He moved over to the couch where Isis laid and the father took a seat near her feet.

"Hello honey. Let's talk," he said as his fingers unlaced her shoes and pulled them off one at a time.