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[Makai Dashiell]

Dac (Mon Cal) | Sirene Islands | Dashiell Vacation Home

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Never really thought we would make it​

We be thinking about we could have been​

But we've had a record summer, can't turn it down, oh​

Now I don't wanna see the end begin. ​

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Pink tongue stuck slightly out of this mouth, focusing on the task in front of him. Long, shaggy curls brushed over his eyebrows, making for a free hand to move to brush his hair out of the way. Pencil in scale speckled hand, Makai put the graphite against the long metal square, pulling the pencil back towards his body. A line appeared against the fine, pale wood he was working with. His free hand moved the metal square back to see if the line was straight, his body crouching slightly to bring his eye level with the wood, wondering if his line was straight.


Straightening up, iced azure eyes immediately went to his father.


"Look okay Dad?"


Arm still in his sling, recovering from the Genersis incident, Judah hunched over on his sons level to check the pencil line.


"Couldn't have done it better myself. Now, pick up the saw and line it up against the pencil line. Right in that groove? Yep...there you go. Go ahead and let 'er rip."


Nervously, Makai started up the circular saw under the gaze of his father. Judah's good arm remained close to the saw, just in case there was a need to step in. Very slowly, the young half-Galan continued along his pencil line, the other half of the pale wood clattering onto the stone patio below.


Makai stopped the saw and set it down on their workbench, picking up the piece of wood from the patio. Hand came to brush the burs off the cut piece and look it over. After promising for so long, his Dad was finally teaching him how to build those shelves for his room at their grand vacation home on Mon Cal.


"Set that there, on top of the next piece. Use it as your template so you don't have to use the square so much. Just drag the pencil to your cut mark for your next piece. "


Moving in with his good arm, Judah helped position the next piece correctly. It was firmly held in place as Makai stuck out his tongue once more,pencil sliding down the template onto the next piece. Slowly progressing, Makai watched as his father slid the template down further, preventing them from stopping later.


"Pretty smart Dad."


Finished, he clung close to his father, uncharacteristically clingy. Logically nothing could happen. His Dad owned the island chain. There was a small landing pad on the next island over, with a little boat to cross the small distance to the house. Dad couldn't even row with such a bad arm....but his Dad wouldn't leave. Or at least, thats what he kept telling him. Still, he was keeping close just in case.


"Now I cut them again. Just like before. Then you hafta carry the pieces upstairs for me"


"Sorry, your old man is getting just that, old. I'll let you young kids take over."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Having his right arm in a sling was annoying. While being left handed, Judah was coming to realized he relied just as much on the less dominate appendage as he did the other. Makai had been doing most of the heavy lifting for him. It served two purposes. One to keep his arm from re-injuring. Two to keep the young Galan's mind off the recent events. Judah still hadn't heard from [member="Thessa Kai"] since her message. It was hard to believe she would walk away and not confront him face to face. It wasn't in her nature.


His wife had been slowly pushing him away ever since her return. Did he miss some signs? Was there someone else in the picture? His emotions were clouding his judgement, the wounds still fresh and raw. It took a great deal of willpower not to rack his brain searching for answers on a constant basis.


Makai was his main focus and distraction from the answer searching. The boy was just as distraught, curling himself up in an ancient flight jacket of Thessa's every night. He barely left Judah's side now and had taken to sleeping next to his side. Just as if he was going to vanish out of thin air as well.


Mon Cal vacation seemed the best option. They were in the middle of nowhere, located on a three piece island chain owned by himself. Enough groceries and supplies had been packed for at least a month, meaning they were free to merely isolate themselves. Judah requested a break from school for Makai, a private tutor holoconferencing in at the end of every week to check on his progress of home assigned work.


Being out alone, Judah had put his boy to work. Makai had always wanted shelves in his room at the vacation house. Today they were learning some finer parts of woodworking.


"Okay, get the nail gun over there." Judah used his good hand to hold a piece of the precut shelving in place, squatting in Makai's room. "Right, now nail that down like so...just don't drive a nail through my hand. I've really only got one good one at this point."


The hiss of a nail gun and Makai stops to check his work.


"You're going to be okay, right Dad?"


"Yep. Dr.Yund says I'll be back to normal soon enough."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] and [member="Makai Dashiell"] wouldn't have to wait too long for their guest to arrive. Things had been pretty hectic with Myra, so much that she hadn't really had a chance to relay the why and the wherefore at her delay. At the very least, she also knew that Judah likely wanted to spend some quality time with his son. After the events on Generis, it was no wonder that the two would want to spend some family time together.

Well, one wondered what was going on with his wife, but that was neither here nor there. After the argument between Judah and she over the state Makai was due to all that piled up, his own bad state of health, and the way things were devolving, he made it clear that while he appreciated her concern, his family and whatever occurred therein was his own concern.

Danger, as much as that made her feathers ruffle all the more, could only nod and respect his decision.

Her shuttle would hum as it flew over head. Rather than taking a boat, a small skiff did the trick. At least, that also meant the less likely chance of getting sea sick. There was, however, another reason. Said reason being the tiny little brown haired girl that quietly stared out the viewport in wideeyed wonder. She was still working her way through the trauma of it all, but Myra Elspeth was doing better. At least, enough to meet others. Granted this meant that she stuck like glue to Alric and Danger still; and with Alric going on to visit Lily, it meant that the six year old youngling would be taking a trip ton Mon Cal with the Queen of Trade.

"Like it, darlin'?" Danger's honeyed drawl would float over with comfort and an intrigued query. As big as those grey eyes were, Danger figured that Myra had never seen as much water as she did then.

"This whole world is full of water. Blue and clear as the sky." she gave an encouraging pat to the young girl's arm. "You'll see..."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

It had been weeks since Makai had made his tear stained call to [member="Danger Arceneau"] .With the issues centered around his life, Makai had forgotten to check up on the Trade Queen. To thank her for helping him find his Dad. Dad had been joking that Miss Ar-cen-eau plucked him out of the jungle single handedly, swinging a machete and leading a rescue party.


There was some suspicion to that.


Time drug on as the pair worked on the wall shelving unit. The project had grown in size, now spanning floor to ceiling of a small wall that had been deemed useless to begin with. Dad was even teaching him to measure for a custom holovision insert. His own holovision?! In the room?! Makai didn't even have one of those back home. There would be nothing stopping him from lounging around after bedtime and watching back to back reruns of Captain Atlantis.


Their surroundings quiet, it was easy to pick up on different sounds. Foreign ones like motors or ship engines. Every so often a yacht would troll by with its own distinct sound. The shelves were coming along at a brisk pace, the snap-hiss of the nail gun going in a rhythm as his Dad held everything in place. Beyond the nail gun...there was something else...


"I think someone is coming Dad. It sounds like....it doesn't sound like a yacht at all. Or a fishing boat."


"Let's go take a look, come on."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Slowly ambling out of their island hideaway, Judah had his good arm around Makai's shoulders, playfully leaning on the boy. He was getting taller and Judah was taking fair advantage of the boys growing height. Fake leaning on his son, ocean-blue eyes caught the glint of a shuttle. It seemed to be headed their way. Very few folks knew about his personal refuge, needing to draw back and be alone with his son for some time. He was praying it wasn't business. His mind wasn't up to going over facts and figures quite yet.


"Did you order pizza? I hope you're paying that delivery charge."


"We can order pizza?!....No. Maybe its Grandma and Grandpa Kai?"


"Could be. I did tell them where we'd be for awhile in case they needed us. Maybe they want on vacation too."


Meandering on the path towards the second island's shuttle pad, Judah watched as Makai skipped ahead, excited to see their visitor. It was nice to see him excited and happy. His boy was certainly down in the dumps ever since Thessa stepped out of their lives. He couldn't blame Makai. The vacation was meant to be a distraction, to give his son time to process the fact his mother wasn't returning. No one knew when she would come back.


"Easy, space pirates might be afoot."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

“Looks like we are here, baby girl.” Danger’s soft coo would drift over the little girl’s dark head, following the gentle cafune of the Queen of Trade’s fingers through that silk soft hair. Myra Elspeth Korden Arcenau Kuhn ( a mouthful for the seemingly mute girl ) was rather quiet like at the notice, but her grey eyes were as big as saucers peering through that viewport. Everything was just so - blue.

Like it was all that she could see. That’s what MzArr-cen-nuu said. That it was the sea. So she reckoned that made sense, to be called the ‘see’ cause it was all she could ‘see.’ Were she to tell Mistah Alric about that, she’d find that he would be hard pressed to hide the chuckle. Or maybe just happy she was talking at all.

“Come on, honey,” a soft warm hand would soothingly rub up and down Myra’s back. Those big, grey eyes went swiveling at the Queen of Trade’s direction, a bit hesitant and uncertain, but combating a fierce curiosity like no other.

“Gonna meet up with another whose real nice. Just like Alric now. His name is Judah Dashiell, and he has a little boy a little older than you. He’s real nice too and he likes swimmin’ in that sea out there. Wouldn’t you like to go swimmin?” honestly Danger was trying to talk it up for the little girl. Personally, she still had a few issues when it came to any sort of water above knee length, but she wasn’t about to lay that trouble upon Myra. This was done to check up on the Dashiell boys and to perhaps get Myra to ease out of her shell. She had hopes that perhaps that out here, isolated with only Judah and Makai might be able to help with that.

Danger would extend her hand over to the little girl, who was nervously clutching a tiny little stuffed Tuggle that Alric had given her. It was as big as her head and just as white as the snow on Dromund Kaas -- well what she remembered of it. Nibbling on her lower lip, Myra hesitated ‘fore she would slip that tiny hand into Danger’s own.

The smile of relief and joy that tugged across Danger’s face was pure radiance. Encouraging her, but walking at the little girl’s pace, Danger kept on talking, hoping that the conversation would distract Myra from getting even more nervous.

“Makai is one of the best swimmers I know!” she’d praise, her full hipped saunter taking the two down towards the exit ramp. Bright white sunlight and the scent of salt and sea blew right in. It made Myra squint, the thick fringe of impossibly long, dark lashes shielding her eyes. On instinct, she darted herself behind Danger’s hip, clinging to her hand with one, while the other clutched at the stuffed animal.

Danger on the other hand, had caught sight of the giddy boy running down sandy slopes. That mop of dark hair bouncing as his face erupted in joy once he recognized that bright red hair of the inhabitant that had come to visit.

With her free hand she gave a wave, noticing behind the boy the slow, steady saunter of and elder version of the boy. Arm still in a cast and looking a mite bit thinner than she’d seen him last.

Judah Dashiell.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

"Miss Arc-cen-now!"


Makai bounded towards the red haired Trade Queen. Excitement was clear over his features, pure joy at the arrival of his friend on the island. Scale speckled arms flung themselves around her body, squeezing tight. He let himself linger, enjoying the feeling of her arms coming to hug him just as tight. Curly head rested against her for a long moment, before sharp iced azure eyes caught the girl with Miss Arceneau. It was curious to see the Trade Queen with someone so young.


Especially a kid he had never seen before.


Makai stepped back and peered at her for a moment, half hiding behind [member="Danger Arceneau"] . She looked a little smaller than him but maybe roughly the same age. Stupid grin plastered on his face at the thought of a playmate. The girl had to be really cool if she was with Miss Ar-cen-now.


"Hi! I'm Makai" Scale-speckled hand reached out towards her for a handshake. "Are you Miss Ar-cen-now's daughter? I didn't know she had one. Have you been at boarding school or something? With security 'cause sometime it gets dangerous...well, thats what Dad says anyways."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Amusement colored his tone as Makai ran up to [member="Danger Arceneau"] and flung his arms around her, hugging tight. His keen eyes had already caught the little girl in tow, causing him to stand back and take a more calm approach to the entire arrival. Poor waft of a girl already looked entirely scared and confused by the entire situation. Judah supposed if he were in the situation of the brown-haired girls his reaction would be much the same. Especially with a rambunctious, currently over talkative strange boy bounding into one's personal space.


Judah slowly wandered up when Makai turned his focus onto the little girl. He leaned in and kissed the Trade Queen on her cheek in greeting. There was the temptation to pull her into a half-hug, despite the difficulty it would cause his shoulder. However, it seemed Makai had done enough hugging for the both of them today.


He reached out with his good hand, grabbing onto Makai's shoulder and pulling him back from the girl.


"Let her breathe son."


A small smile to the little girl before his eyes traced back up to the Trade Queen.


"Its a pleasure to see you both. I hope you're planning to stay awhile? Guest house is completely done, I think you'll enjoy the views. "

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

Danger caught Makai with both of her arms, letting the fingers of her right hand run through those dark loose curls on top of his head. Her shoulders shook in a small chuckle, pleasure and joy washing her face.

“Well look at you!” she beamed, feeling the slight shift and tug of Myra at her back as she hid behind the Queen of Trade. She had half of her face against her leg, avoiding the other youngling as he waved in greeting at the little girl.

“You’ve must have grown a few inches at least!” Danger continued, smiling at how genuine and pleasent Makai was in his greeting to Myra. There was a brief glance up as she caught sight of the elder Dashiell walking down the steps to meet them. She gave his cheek a kiss of her own, staring up at him. He had a smile upon his face, but there was a melancholy there that Danger knew all too well. She matched his smile with one of her own.

“Myra honey, it’s alright... “ Danger swiveled her attention back to the little girl, bringing a hand to rest against her back in a small rub. “These are the two friends I was talkin’ to you about.” she coo’d, encouraging the little girl to peek out.

Danger slowly came crouching down to eye level of the younglings, a pleasant warm smile on her face. Myra was still a bit shy and hesitant, her head dipped down with the long length of her brown hair veiling her face.

“Now this is Makai,” Danger reiterated what the younger Dasheil had introduced himself as. A small finger then pointed over towards Judah. “And that’s his pa, Mistah Judah Dashiell.”
Green met the blue of Judah’s own, “This here is their home. Just here to visit for a bit.” she didn’t answer if Myra was her daughter or not. Those things could wait. For now, Danger just wanted Myra to be able to mingle with others and say hi.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Makai did his best to reign in his excitement over meeting [member="Myra Elspeth"] .He didn't expect to meet a Arceneau kid ever. Well, he knew about Lily and Rose and the long-past Fiona. Myra represented the chance at an instant friend, especially if she was like [member="Danger Arceneau"] in any way,shape or form. Iced azure eyes looked the girl over, still beaming from ear-to-ear.


"Hi. You wanna come and check out some cool stuff at the house? Me an' Dad are building these shelves, I did it mainly all by myself."


Yes, even at a young age Makai was already trying to impress a girl.


"Dad and Miss Arceneau are just goin' to talk about boring stuff anyways. I promise it will be fun."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Meeting [member="Danger Arceneau"] 's gaze, he gave a small smile before turning his attention to the child. She was slight, nothing more than skin and bones. A petite thing with a mop of brown hair and curious eyes. It was difficult to kneel down with everyone else, his damaged shoulder throwing off his balance a bit. Judah kept the slinged arm close to his body as he settled down, offering a bright smile towards the girl.


"A pleasure to meet you Miss Myra. I couldn't think of a better first visitor to have on the island, I'm truly honored. I want you to treat this like your home. Run around and explore. Ain't no one here but us four. Promise."


Eyes flicked to Danger's for a moment before continuing on.


"Makai have some ice pops in the fridge back at the house. Why don't you run down there and have some fun? Your Ma and I will be right behind. Boring grown up talk."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

Myra was visibly still hesitant. Everything was so new for her. The sand. The Ocean. Another little kid and an older version of him. Peeking out from behind Danger’s skirt, those large grey eyes would peer hesitantly at the overly friendly Makai, and then at the man with the same pretty blue eyes.

Something shiny caught her attention. Shiny and blue. There was something stuck on the little kid’s cheek. It looked like blue flat disks. Did he not feel that he had stuff stuck to his face? It was weird, perking at her curiousity. Although nothing as much as hearing them offer ice pops.

Danger’s hand came up and rubbed at Myra’s back. “You want an ice pop, honey?” The little girl shyly hid back behind Danger, but the soft nodding motion against her thigh said she did.

A chuckle bubbled in Danger’s throat.

“Come on, Makai can show you where they are at. I’ll be right behind you.”

It was obvious that the little girl seemed to be at a crossroads. She really wanted an ice pop.. but she also didn’t want to be too far from Danger.

“Really really. We’ll walk right behind you.” Danger said again, encouraging her softly.

Slowly, the little girl disentangled herself from Danger’s side. With a hesitant step, she moved forward towards Makai.

Well, it was a start.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Wizard! Come on, Myra. It ain't far." Makai was in the lead, doing his best to encourage the girl to come along. The looming beach house could be seen in the distance, off on a hill invone corner, staring off into the sea that crashed below.


Judah watched the exchange carefully, concern reflecting in his eyes. It was obvious some great trauma had happened to the girl, that she had been through much in her short life. Numerous questions circled in his head yet he kept them to himself. He didn't want to pry about the girl, especially a short few feet behind her.


"It was nice of you and Miss Myra to come out and visit us. You didn't have to but I appreciate it."


His eyes fell back on the kids, watching once more. It was safer to look at the pair, Makai encouraging Myra all the way to the beach house then to keep his eyes on [member="Danger Arceneau"] . The woman had a way of piercing his soul, to stare past the barriers others couldn't peek behind. It was slightly unnerving, there weren't many around who could do such a thing.


"How was your trip? Not too tiring? Hows the newest kid? She looks a little....She's got a bit a ways to go, I suspect?"

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

[member="Makai Dashiell"]

Wiz-zard?

Whaat was a wiz-zzard?

The little girls face scrunched up, confused. The nervous tick of biting her lower lip manifested itself again. Another hesitant step and Myra swiveled her head back to Danger, as if to make sure she was right behind her as she promised. Satisfied that she wasn’t out of sight, the little girl took another step behind the little boy.

He was SOOO full of energy. It was so odd. He kept talking lots too, it was hard to understand half of the things he was saying.

But he did mention icepops…

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

“Wasn’t too bad.” Danger admitted, her voice a soft drawl as it floated along in the air. The woman never took her protective gaze off that little girl, but Judah would be able to see that she was still paying attention to him. Mother henning had always been her nature. Had done so with her girls as well as Makai. It only escalated more with Myra. So this was how a parent fretted.

“Myra’s still gettin’ used to things.” she’d explain, giving a slight grimace. Not because she was uncomfortable talking about the youngling, but more knowing that indeed, Myra had a ways to go. After what had happened on Dromund Kaas…

“Lost her parents to that horde that got done brought up on Kaas.” she said quietly, “ They died protectin’ her. Alric barely managed to get here from under them…”

A pause and a hitched breath. Danger then cast a quick glance to Judah. While brief, it managed to appraise him in a manner few coould.

“How you and Makai doin?”

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Eyes kept darting back towards [member="Myra Elspeth"] . She seemed cautious, always looking back towards Miss Arceneau. Maybe the girl was worried about Miss Arceneau leaving her behind on the island. Maybe the girl was worried the redhead wouldn't get any icepops. Sand was kicked up around them as they moved to the expansive beach house. The exterior was finished, with Makai and Judah taking on minor interior projects as a bit of a bonding and teaching experience.


"Where did you come from? Like, what planet? Have you been around this part of the galaxy long? What grade are you in? Do you like the ocean? Can you swim, we can go swimming later on. Did Miss Arceneau pack you a swim suit? If not, you can borrow one of mine. I got a whole bunch. Do you watch Captain Atlantis? Well....maybe non-fish kids don't watch that show..."


Clearly, Makai didn't care about the fact his new friend wasn't talking back.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


Judah listened quietly as Danger briefly touched on the horrors young Myra had seen recently. It was already clear she as an orphan. The glances back towards the Trade Queen said it all. Myra's last little thread of hope was wrapped up in the woman who walked at his side. It was quite tragic but Judah was thankful his friend was taking care of the girl. With a bit of time and effort, Judah hoped the girl would blossom into a burst of potential and would become more comfortable with her surroundings.


"Thats....horrible. I couldn't imagine being that age and going through something of that magnitude. I can tell Makai later to take it easy. He won't understand but I'll keep it in broad, simple terms so he won't overwhelm the girl....like he's doing now..."


There was a very long pause at the mention of her next question.


"As well as anyone can be. Makai's been sleeping with her flight jacket....he's....been taking it very hard. Any child would, especially since he was the last to see her."


He shook his head slightly.


"I hope he doesn't blame himself.....Its hard, watching him suffer. I'm a grown man, its different....but my son? Its gut wrenching."

 

[Myra Arceneau Dashiell]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

Tentative steps went following the kid with the mop of dark hair. Every time he would stop to look back at her, the sunlight would glint against the odd flat spots on his skin.

Was he playing with buttons? Myra had no reference in regards to scales or even shells. For the youngling, it seemed as if Makai had been playing with shiny buttons and sticking them to his skin.

Why would he do that?

Biting her lower lip, Myra kept glancing back at Danger and then back at the youngling. He was asking all sorts of things, some that didn't make sense and confused her.

A few of those managed to get the little girl to stare at Makai blankly. Other questions made her shake her head, the thick mane of brunette hair swaying back and forth.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"] [member="Makai Dashiell"]

Just being around Judah seemed to lessen the tension from Danger. The man always had a manner to him that was rather forthright. At first, it had troubled her, for he seemed to be able to see right through the artifice. As the time passed, it became more and more clear that it was a refreshing change.

Danger didn't need to play a role with Judah. She could simply be herself.

"Reckon just letting him know that would be fine... she ain't talked at all since it happened," she explained.

"I'm sure Makai would understand."

Now as for Judah's wife. Truth be told, it was hard to keep the rolling boil of emotions under wraps when it came to the woman who Judah had married. He had requested a long while ago that she keep out of his business when it came to that, but it didn't halt the manner by which the thought of how Thessa Kai had come to treat her husband and her child.

No woman in her right mind would or should ever do that.

Her jaw gave a flex, a tightening and jump of a nerve along its line. "I'll see to it that he don't go thinkin' such things," she promised. And she would. She'd been more of a mother to the youngling than anyone else, and just as fiercely protective as any mother Bha'lair.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"] | [member="Myra Elspeth"]



"I don't think her lack of communication is going to stop him at this point."


Judah nodded, watching the two interact up ahead. Myra seemed unsure and he couldn't blame the girl. Some insights into her previous world were starting to peek through their conversation. Apparently the girl had it rough, this was all foreign to her.


In some ways, he could understand.


His concern slowly turned back to Makai.


"I appreciate it. I now he confides in you often.....which I understand. Its someone besides me, just thankful he feels welcome enough to get it off his chest with you. "


Silence for a moment.


"Makai and I got the guest house set up for you and Myra, gives you a bit of privacy if you want it without being too far away."