Mando Picnic

[Yasha Cadera]

“But mother!” Adara clenched her fists, clad as they were not in a proper Mandalorian’s crushgaunt, but fine blue lace gloves. The child stood in front of Yasha’s throne, her soft blue dress falling just below her knees. Yellow silk flowers perched astride a creamy white headband, holding her bouncing mahogany curls away from her pale face.

“Go dress properly. I won’t say it again.”

“Daddy wouldn’t make me! Neither would Ba’vodu Alex or... or Ba’vodu Noah!” Adara clenched her fists, pale cheeks rising in a rosy colour as she stamped her patent white shoes. Yasha yanked up from her throne and rushed to her daughter’s place, pointing at the door.

“We’re not flower picking on Alderaan, Adara! I am not taking you into the Mandalorian wilderness without armour! Change! Now!!”

Adara’s eyes shot wide open, looking up, up, up at her furious mother. She whimpered and turned on her heels, the petticoats of her dress bouncing about her knees.

“E-elek, Buir.” The girl scampered into Tamar’s arms, whisked away to get appropriately attired.

“Something wrong with that school...” Yasha groaned, slumping back into her throne, to hold her head with one calloused hand. Rubbing her temple, Yasha’s amber eyes cast up to [member="Noah Corek"], newly arrived and a sight most welcome to the Mand’alor.

“Noa’ik... sorry you had to see that... did you... see it? Do the twins give you that much trouble yet? Never matter. Have you come to whisk us away?” Rising once more off her throne, Yasha trotted to Noah and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to see you.”

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah had decided that Alex was due was much needed alone time and so a week ago he had started planning a two week vacation to Mandalore for the twins and himself to visit Mandalore. The visit was two-fold, to give Morgan and Junior time on Mandalore and with their clan and for Noah to have time with [member="Yasha Cadera"] at the same time. So yesterday he had gotten the twins packed, made sure their special audio dampeners were working and they set towards his ancestral homeworld.

Popping the joints in his neck and back as the shuttle landed Noah walked out, dressed in his armor, with Morgan cradled in his arms and Junior strapped into a special harness on his back. Both of the twins had fallen asleep on the shuttle ride thankfully. He watched as servants came and dragged all the luggage they had brought with them, that included some of his weapons and even a small gift for Yasha.

Noah heard the argument between mother and daughter long before he entered the throne room, causing a frown to mar his face. He adored both Yasha and Adara and he understood where both of them were coming from he still was dismayed that the argument had gotten this far. He arrived in the throne room just as Adara was leaving and threw a small smile at her.

Nodding his head towards Yasha he had a small frown. "I saw Yash'ika. It is fine." Looking down at Morgan to planted a small kiss on her nose which caused her to crinkle her nose and roll and squirm in his arms. "Thankfully a child's ability to argue tends to be current with their ability to speak and while the twins have a good vocabulary their not to that level yet, thankfully. That being said I've experienced what your experiencing with Adara with my first daughter." Smiling he reached up and clasped her hand on his shoulder. "It'll pass. Just support her and try and be patient and she'll be fine."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Alex needed a break. Between twins and the Jedi, her responsibilities ran deep. When [member="Noah Corek"] sent a communication that he was coming to Mandalore with Morgan and Junior, Yasha cleared as much of her schedule as Epicanthixally possible.

It wasn’t often she got to see Morgan, the half of Alex and Noah’s Twins, which received Yasha’s genome to bring into the galaxy. A child she did not bear, it was hard to see Morgan as hers... in a small way Yasha was no different than Noah. Gene-parent to one of Alexandra’s children. They both loved her, yet Noah was her husband.

The compass point for Alex’s vector. Even magnetism needed a break, and thus Noah and Yasha planned to take the children into the terraformed countryside. Ambrose and the Gurlanin wrangled Magnus and Girak in the speeder, while Yasha’s Sabre toothed war mount awaited her. For Noah, Solus Rekr, Yasha’s bes’uliik sat preening it’s front claws in patient wait.

“There you are, my beauties. Still asleep?” Yasha walked over to Noah, bending down to place her forehead against his, then further to kiss Morgan’s hair. She ensured Morgan’s jacket was snuggled up the girl’s neck, before running her hand along Junior’s cheek. A soft sordid smile lingered on Yasha’s cheeks.

“That Aruetiise school is... marring her perspective, I fear there won’t be much Mando left in my firstborn... she had her first training session not two days ago... hard to see how much my own daughter hated every second of it. But not you two, eh? You two will be proper Mandos, like your Buir.” Placing another kiss on Morgan’s cheek, Yasha’s amber eyes settled on Noah’s face. “You look perturbed, or tired. Or perhaps I’m projecting my own fatigue. I hope you’re right. Adara’s the best of me, but dash if she isn’t better suited for a dress than ‘gam.”

“I’m back, mother.” She touched the hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze as Adara came back in dressed in Clan Raxis clanskin, the helmet under her arm.

“There’s my beauty. Alright Adara, come here.” Yasha gave her daughter a smile and pulled her in, lifting Adara up and propping her on the arm of Yasha’s throne. “Sit still, c’yare.”

Adara did as she was told, giving Noah a timid wave, pressing her lip gloss covered lips together to hide the make up from her mother. Standing behind her, Yasha began to braid Adara’s mahogany curls up in a tight crown braid, hair away from nape and face.

“You looked pretty in the dress, Dar’ika. I only worried for your safety, as we rushed into the wilds.” Yasha sighed. Perhaps Noah was right, and Yasha needed to support Adara regardless. “Do you think you can hold on to Mia long enough for us to get where we’re going? And do you think Noa’ik will like riding my bes’uliik?”

Winking at Noah, Yasha waited for the assent, then smiled, tucking in the last strand and kissing Adara’s hair.

“I hope you don’t mind Solus Rekr. It’s a bit eccentric for a bes’uliik, but it’s been longing to go for a long run. Same as Kad’ik. Adara and Reyn can ride together on Mia, Ambrose’s daughter in lupine form, and I’ve got a speeder for the smaller children and Tamar. Tuulu, Ambrose and Vano will be flanking us, a bit of security for the kids. Did you want to carry them on your birikad, or set the two in the speeder?”

 

[Noah Corek]

Leaning his his up against Yasha's forehead before placing a hand patting her on the cheek. "I went to a aruetiise school and my perspective is just fine. Just give her time and she'll grow and learn just like any other child." He smiled as Yasha made sure that Morgan's jacket was covering her. People thought many things about [member="Yasha Cadera"], that she was a great warrior, a great leader, etc. One thing that probably didn't come to mind was the fact that Yasha was an extremely great mother as well, being as doting on her child as every other parent in the galaxy. It was a side of Yasha that few ever got to see and Noah counted himself lucky that he was one who got to see it.

Noah chuckled and shook his head when Yasha asked if he was tired. "You're not projecting anything on me Yash'ika. I had to wrangle these two up and out of bed earlier than their use to waking up. It was a.....struggle to say the least. Moe was a bit more agitated than Junior to be honest. She gets her stubbornness from her mother I think." Noah shot a wink up at Yasha, letting her to decided in her own mind which mother he was talking about.

Still smiling Noah untangled himself from Yasha and his smile grew when Adara enter and Yasha squeezed his hand. Still smiling he watched mother braid her daughters as the two of them conversed. Shaking his head he looked at her with excitement in his eyes. "It's been awhile since I've rode a bes'uliik so it'll be an interesting experience." Looking down at one of his sleeping children he kissed her forehead before looking up at Yasha again. "I think it'd be best for them to ride in the speeder with Tamar and the rest of the children. That being said, would you mind helping Junior off my back? I can't think of a way to get him down without waking him."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Yes, but you had your mother.” Looking beyond to where Adara had been, Yasha shook her head. “I wish I could… she hated it. Hated every second. She’s nothing like her mother.”

[member="Noah Corek"] would understand the tempest, which was a parent and their daughter. He’d been through it before, which no doubt helped Alex through their journey with their own twins. Once Morgan’s jacket was better situated, and Junior was kissed, Yasha rolled her neck from side to side in preparation for the ride ahead.

“There’s stim-caf. C’mere.” Nodding behind her, Yasha took Noah to a place less than a handful of people even knew existed: The ward room behind the throne. Small by any standard, and bearing two chairs and an armour stand, the ward room was more of a safe-zone than a proper office. Along one wall was a bank of screens, which displayed an ever changing collection of feeds across Mandalore. With a wave of her hand, she banished the screens to research she conducted on plant hybridization. Standing to the side, Yasha poured Noah a cup of stim-caf, which appeared from the scant coils of heat, to be nearly lukewarm. Pouring herself another cup, Yasha leaned against the wall and sipped it, screwed up her face, put some flavoured syrup in it, and stirred it with her finger.

The finger went into her mouth, licked clean with a slight pop as she pulled it out.

“To kids, and wrangling their little backsides.” Yasha tipped back her stim-caf in silence, catching glances along Noah’s body and cheek. His chin. The way he moved carefully with both toddlers in their birikad’e.

“From only one of her mothers? Moe can tell when things’re different. I should have a care package for you to take home, Moe’s of the age where Epicanthix children get their first growth spurt. It can be… chaotic. Mama used to say the best part of being in the Netherworld was how much easier it was to handle than me in a spurt.” A single chuckle peppered out of her, as Yasha sipped her stim-caf and let this one small moment in her intimate, private space linger. “She should be getting her canines in soon… that won’t be pleasant either, but it gets easier to handle, when you give them jerky to chew. Stops them from biting their lips. Gosh, you should have seen Magnus… I thought his fat lip would never go down. Almost think the kid liked biting himself.”

The picnic would be amazing, but every parent could tell another that quiet moments before such travels were worth their weight in beskar. Adara hung at the periphery, teasing forward as Yasha nodded her over and got another mug. She poured chocolate milk in Adara’s, and added a splash of stim-caf on top. The girl gasped with a smile!

“Was it like that for me, Mama?” Look how grown up she was, drinking stim-caf with Buir and Ba’vodu! Look at how much closer to adulthood Adara could be, with the bitter liquid in her milk. She nestled beside her mother, and Yasha set her arm over Adara’s shoulders.

“No, Adara. Your human genes marred your growth factor. You were too sick. It’s why you’re still my tiny ad’ika. Don’t worry, Ba’vodu Cassie and Glomkhoduil fixed it. You’ll catch up and then you can be a grand pain in my neck!” Ruffling Adara’s braided hair, Yasha let her arm hang over her daughter.

“Oh, Solus will make it interesting. Just don’t get into danger, or it’s likely to try and remove you from battle. Dang thing’s protection matrices are overwhelming. But! I refuse to defrag it, and lose it’s unique…personality.” Sipping down the rest of her stim-caf, Yasha padded over surprisingly quietly in her beskar boots. She moved to Noah’s back, and cradled Junior in an arm before pulling the toddler out of his birikad and cuddled him to her body.

“I’ve got him. Oh, look how well he sleeps, eh? Noah’ika… our Noah’ika. Hush now, Noah'ika, we're going on a cloud.” Yasha’s voice became a sing-song lullaby to soothe the cranky child, as she paced the small ward room and rocked him gently.

“Shall we? Adara, can you lead the way, please?” Yasha fell in beside Noah, as Adara, twice the almost-adult with being able to lead TWO of them, bounded off toward the disembarkation point a few levels below. There, the skiff was ready, as were Solus Rekr and Kad'ika, Yasha's feline war mount.

“How are things, Noah? How’s Ale’ika?” Was there more to why Noah came to Mandalore… alone?

 

[Noah Corek]

Chuckling at the words [member="Yasha Cadera"] spoke he shook his head. "I barely had my mother. She was away on bounty hunts and mercenary missions I'd say a good seventy percent of the time." When Yasha talked about Adara not being like her he shook his head. "Trust me Yasha, sometimes its better that our children are less like us." Smiling at her his eyes widen when she mentioned stimcaf. "Manda please. Like I said it was difficult wrangling these two outta bed this morning and I didn't have enough time to grab a cup from home. Mmmmmm Ale'ika makes the best stim-caf...." As he drooled at his aforementioned wife's caf making ability he followed Yasha.

Following Yasha into her ward room he nodded his head and looked the room over. Noah had a similar room in his old office on Carida and in his and Alex's home on Alderaan. His was slightly larger to fit himself, Alex, the twins and Daeda. His eyes were drawn to the screens as they displayed Yasha's botany experiments. Though he didn't understand any of them he decided to feign interest. "Your botany experiments are very interesting Yasha." Smiling he took the proffered cup and began to sip on it.

His eyes watched Yasha as she flavored her stim-caf. He raised an eyebrow when she used a finger to stir her stim-caf. His one raised eyebrow turned to two when she licked the finger clean. He gulped and averted his eyes. 'Keep your mind outta the gutter old man. She's married and so are you.......but she does have relations with your wife so it'd only be fair.....No! Keep your mind on track.' Noah quickly shotgunned the lukewarm stim-caf before looking back to Yasha with a smile.

When the talk shifted to Morgan his smile only grew. "She is extremely smart for her age. A lot of her teachers praise the hell outta her. She often helps Junior out. Not to say Junior isn't smart himself but Moe is a bit smarter. As for her stubborness she does get it from both you and Alex." When Yasha began talking about a care package Noah chuckled and nodded. "A care package would be great. A few days ago I caught her gnawing on a bone from dinner. I had to get it from her before she choked on it....."

Noah chuckled when Adara asked if she was similar, it was a normal for a child to ask such questions but Noah still found it somewhat amusing. Turning he allowed Yasha to take Junior from his back and his smile grew when she began to speak to him in a sing-song voice. Reaching down he lightly ruffled his sons hair. "You hear that buddy? Auntie Yasha loves you so very much." Once Yasha left the ward room Noah followed behind to their destination. "Alex is fine, she's just been stressed out lately and I thought giving her some time alone might help."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Never thought of that.” She couldn’t help the chuckle, when Noah pleaded for stim-caf. Alex’s stim-caf really was epic… she had game. Amazing stim-caf game.

“Hah! Liar.” Yasha scanned from the screens to [member="Noah Corek"], knowing [member="Alexandra Feanor"]’s husband was no botanist. History man, yes. Weapons manufacturer, one hundred percent. Tactics, strategy, child rearing… But botany? “You’re being good to me… thanks. I know my Vode are getting a bit tired of their Mand’alor ducking under rocks for exotic moss, but… it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Be a botanist… ever since [member="Joanes Quez"] had me on his farm, weeding the flower beds, when I was eight. He… he was the one Mama threw me to, when… well, I lived on the farm for honestly, I was almost too young to remember how long. Mama was dead, and Daddy stopped looking… there were these sunflowers Lyanie helped me grow. Said someday I’d see them get bigger than I was, and when they did? I’d never seen something so pretty. So many colours… huh. Don’t know why I told you that… I don’t talk about it.”

Unaware of any salacious sensations coming from [member="Noah Corek"]’s mind, Yasha sipped her stim-caf and leaned down to kiss Adara’s hair. The girl stood cuddled into her mother’s side, glad most of all to be privy to such a big, and private moment. When one was a single child among many, receiving quality time with her parents was dreadful.

“That’s our girl. I’m proud of her, she’s like Adara. Smart as a planet.” Adara looked up at her mother with a meek smile, when she was praised, setting her cocoa-and-stim-caf mug down to wrap her arms around Yasha’s waist. Rubbing Adara’s back, Yasha smiled down at her first born.

“Oh gosh, toddlers are the worst for it. Mama used to say I bit clean through the bones we had. It’s alright, though. Tamar’s set up the care package already, and it’s in the skiff. Few things. Teething aides, supplements, lip ointment, things people don’t think about if they didn’t go through it.” Checking on Junior’s state of wakefulness, Yasha continued rocking and making soothing clucks with her tongue. He was light, and a joy to hold. She remembered when Reyn was that age, how he’d fidget and squirm.

Nothing made up for his father’s touch, and the boy gravitated to Kaine with a ferocious will.

“Yes, I do love you, Noah’ika. You’re our little buddy.” The walk to the docking bay was not a long one, navigated well by Adara’s chattering of every corridor telling Noah where they led, and all about the best places to play hide and seek. Eventually finding their way, Yasha handed the slumbering Junior to Tamar, who cooed and bundled him up on the skiff beside a waiting Magnus and Girak-Kaine. Reyn sat on Mia, as the gurlanin pack rustled around Yasha for a moment, sniffing and reacquainting with their fellow member.

“We all need some us time. Kain’ik and Caz’ika are taking some together right now, on Myrkr. Ale’ika will come back to us, right as rain.” As she helped Noah set Morgan in the skiff with the others, Solus Rekr the bes’uliik rushed up to Noah, ‘sitting’ in a patient pose awaiting its’ chance to bear a rider once again. Yasha laughed, tapping on the metal beast’s front claw and turned to set Adara on Mia before climbing into Kad’ik’s saddle.

“When you’ve docked and made ready, we’ll go. Our picnic awaits!”

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah snorted when [member="Yasha Cadera"] playfully called him a liar. Taking a sip of stimcaf he shot a grin towards her. "I'm trying to learn if that helps? I've sat through a few of Alex's experiments and such. She usually kicks me out halfway through. She says she finds my leg tapping extremely distracting, whatever that means." Quickly shotgunning his stimcaf he tossed it into a nearby trash receptacle. When she talked about her interest in botany and where it came from he smiled and began to recall his own interests. "History has always a important part to my clan, whether it be our own or the galaxy's. I felt like it was only natural to further this. So during my down time I took classes and even though it took a decade I finally attained my degree and am proud of it.....no matter how much my darling wife pokes fun at me."

He smiled at the interaction between mother and daughter, reminding him of his own interactions with his own first born. Melissa was now a pilot in the growing Clan Corek fleet and had responsibility of training the fledgling naval forces pilots. Thankfully she took to this like a fish to water with her former training and experience from the Galactic Alliance and New Republic helping her to train the pilots better than most.

Noah's focus was drawn back to Yasha speaking about her mother and her own experiences as a small child. "Somehow I can imagine a small Yasha chewing on the bones of her enemies and that amuses me very much." Letting out a small chuckle he nodded when she spoke of the care package. "Thanks Yasha, I'm sure Alex will appreciate it as well. I think me being away from home has been bothering her more than she's let on."

He smiled as Yasha cooed at and rocked Junior. He had never said it but he considered Yasha as another mother to the children even more so because of the fact that Morgan was her child. Rubbing the back of his head he glanced toward her and chuckled. "You know Yasha, Alex and I were talking last week and we wanted to know if you'd consider being Junior's godmother. We didn't think it would be required for Morgan because well you know."

As they reached the hangar after Yasha would give her answer Noah gazed towards the bes'uliik. To be completely honest Noah didn't have much experience riding a bes'uliik. Unlike the other members of his clan who had grown up on Saluecami, he had grown up on Coruscant and as such had little space to ride one. That would do little to deter him now, mostly to keep from embarrassing himself in front of someone he was attracted to.

Noah slowly approached the bes'uliik, hand raised to show he wasn't a threat. Once he got close enough he reached out and stroked her side. "There we go girl. No threat here, just a friend looking for a ride."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“It helps.” Yasha smirked and looked down [member="Noah Corek"]’s legs to his feet. “Yes, the rhythmic tapping is intensely distracting. I play music to drown Reyn’s out, he’s obsessed with being there to help his mother.”

There went her mug, flying into the trash. Yasha winced and watched Adara scoop it out, and set the mug on the sideboard so one of the attendants could wash it out.

“Hey, I did the same with botany. I get it, even if I was teased and still am, as the plant brained Mand’alor.” A soft chuckle peppered the air, as Yasha refused to wake the slumbering toddler in her arms. They walked on, and Yasha looked down to Moe’s nuzzling head, warm against her father’s chest. The child was far too precocious and sweet, yet it was often hard for Yasha to remember whose mothers Morgan really did have. “Heh, well we were in the Netherworld, so yes, I did. Mama would give me fresh bones from the fire, after we stripped the meat. I gnawed on them until there was not a speck of marrow left.”

Noah’s tenure as Ambassador to Mandalore was a way for him to be part of his culture, yet Yasha could see how Alex would hate seeing him gone. If only for the law…

“We do what we must, sometimes that means doing less than we’d like for our loved ones, other times more.” The boy was so light, barely a weight to him at all. While she carried and rocked him, her eyes glanced to Noah’s reaching for his own neck. Her breath heaved in her lungs.

Godmother?

“Noah, I… you want me to… yes. Yes, of course I’ll be their godmother! You have my word, they’re family. You hear that, Noah’ika? You’re family. My precious, beautiful family.” Yasha hugged the child, a brilliant grin spread on her face as she carefully took an arm and side-hugged Noah, so as to not wake Moe or Junior. She laughed then, placing her forehead against Noah’s for a helmet-less Keldabe Kiss. Shared breath with him, chaste and affectionate.

Solus Rekr vibrated as Noah came close, the surly bes’uliik a pill for most to even think of handling. Yasha cleared her throat, and Solus craned down to behave and let Noah climb aboard. It chittered, several lines of droid-speak flooding to Yasha’s helm and the display aboard.

Yasha laughed and urged Kad’ik on, through the gate into the Mandalorian desert sun. “We’ve got desert to cross before we hit the oasis, it’s not more than an hour’s ride, but it should be easy road. Ambrose will take point, Tuulu rear, and the others are around in case we hit vipers or hawks. C’mon, aliit! Oya!”

Powering through the desert on her battle cat, Yasha couldn’t help the grin under her helm, or the sight of her daughter and son on Mia, the others in the skiff. Of Noah with Solus.

Hopefully Solus didn’t decide on mischief, while Noah was aboard.

 

[Noah Corek]

Noah rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he watched Adara scoop out the mug he had thrown into the trash. "Heh. Sorry. Force of habit. A few decades drinking crappy stim-caf outta disposable cups will do that to a person. Alex tried to break me of the habit when we first got married but she ended up stopping by I think it was our second anniversary. I think we new mugs like every month at this point."

Smiling when she mentioned that it helped he chuckled. "Can you tell Alex that?" Still chuckling he shook his head and offered Yasha a playful grin. "I'm kidding, she appreciates me trying as well, even if my foot tapping drives her mad sometimes." When Yasha mentioned music he raised an eyebrow. "Music huh? I'll have to float that idea to Alex." He chuckled again when the mighty [member="Yasha Cadera"] called herself 'the plant Mand'alor'. "Ah the plant Mand'alor, a name truly worthy of fear."

Noah deliberately avoided bringing up Yasha's childhood again, having forgot momentarily that she didn't have a normal, well relatively normal, childhood like him. He instead decided to piggyback off her comment made about the things they did for their loved ones. "Honestly for the longest time the only person I had to worry about was myself. It was an adjustment when me and Alex first starting dating and even more so when we married and the twins were born. It was a good adjustment though."

Noah's grin turned into a full on smile when Yasha became elated when she was asked to be the twins' godmother. When Yasha hugged him and then pressed her forehead against his Noah's heartbeat spiked. 'She's right there you fucking idiot, her lips are right there! KISS HER!' His internal musings unknown to Yasha he debated his options and decided to go for it. It was all for naught as Yasha untangled herself from him and walked away mere seconds before his move was made.

Sighing and deflating Noah looked down at Morgan and frowned. "Daddy needs to grow a pair doesn't he ad'ika?" Morgan, still snoozing, let out a tiny burble and snuggled closer to her fathers chest. Chuckling at his daughters unintended answer he put her in the skiff before moving on towards Solus and mounted the bes'uliik. As Yasha explained the route to him he nodded, giving her a non verbal answer. As Solus took of it gave Noah a thrill as he followed behind Yasha, a grin plastered on his face.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Don’t worry yourself about it, Noa’ik.” Yasha and Adara both laughed, the child even trotting over to pat Noah on the back. “Oh yes, they’re all desperately afraid… of me finding more pyrotechnic moss.”

“It’s alright, Ba’vodu. I always got Reyn to stop by threatening to lob his foot off. Maybe you can threaten yourself?” Little [member="Adara Raxis"] was convinced she was ‘helping’.

Running across the land was as close to freedom as Mandalore’s Captive could get. Speed was their ally, the sands rushing by. These were the sands of her home, or as close as she felt to a home in this place.

“I’ve never known what it was like to take care of only myself. Long as I’ve been alive, it was either Mama, Daddy, Kaden… Ra… I was always taking care of someone. Ambrose and the Pack never let me forget that I owed my life to Manda’yaim, and that debt meant I needed to work as hard as Epicanthixally possible to pay it back. Being selfish? Living for me? Never done it.” While [member="Noah Corek"] struggled with his attraction, Yasha was as blissfully unaware of it, as the moon was unaware of what teaspoons were for. Complete oblivion rested behind the comforts of her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like.”

Twice so, with the swell of the Mandalorian desert breaking way after a hard but relatively easy ride from Sundari City to the Oasis. While some of the Oasis was natural, the majority of the place was terraformed or designed by the Infernal in an attempt to bring arid land to botanical and agricultural use.

Grass wouldn’t grow, it was too resource heavy. A thick blue moss covered part of the warm sand, combined with palm shrubs, wide leaf fruit trees, and a babbling fountain gushing up from the soil. Rocks were placed haphazardly around the fountain to contain the water, where testing equipment bobbed in the cool liquid and Kad’ik came to lap up a long, thirsty drink. Sliding off her war cat’s back, Yasha patted his flank and set her feet to the soil.

“Aaaahhhhh.” Stretching her arms high above her head, Yasha padded over to the arriving skiff. Ambrose panted beside her, trotting off only to take a drink himself.

“Why su cuy’gar my loves! Daddy’s boys are awake.” Yasha, with her helm still covering her face, ducked down to lift Girak-Kaine and Magnus out, carrying one twin on each arm. “Shall we play, or are you still sleepy gusses?”

Magnus yawned, attempting to stretch but managed only to curl up tighter in his mother’s embrace. Yasha giggled and watched Girak-Kaine suck his thumb, before carefully removing her son’s digit from between his lips.

Nasty habit.

“Boys, we’re here. It’s picnic time.” The twins gurgled and nuzzled into their mother. Reyn on the other foot, raced off Mia and hurtled himself at Noah.

“Sneak attack!! Raaaawrrr! I am a dragoooon!” Eight year old Reyn yelped boisterously, running none-too-quietly toward Noah’s legs.

“Oh brooother.” Adara whined. “I’ll get the bacta patches.”

 

[Noah Corek]

Chuckling as [member="Yasha Cadera"] and her first born forgave him for the small transgression he raised an eyebrow Adara's 'help'. Still chuckling to himself he gave the child a small pat on the head. "I'll be sure to remember that advice and take it in good time Adara."

As Yasha talked Noah nodded his head to her sentiment. "It's a bit....freeing to say the least. Having to only care about your own needs. Now I have to manage not only my needs but the needs of three others as well. I mean Alex helps me with the kids and herself so it's more like I only have to look after the needs of two others but I still wouldn't trade it for anything in the galaxy. I missed the chance to be a father to my first child and I'm not going to lose that again."

While Noah was still kicking himself mentally for not taking the chance when he could, he had to admit the ride in the desert on Solus slightly made up for it but only slightly. Slowing along with Yasha as they finally came upon the oasis Noah swung himself off of Solus, reaching to give the bes'uliik a affectionate pat on the flank as he stepped towards Yasha, his eyes watching her stretch and again he kicked himself for not taking initiative.

Chuckling to himself as he watched her remove Girak-Kaine's thumb from his mouth. He would admit it was a nasty habit, having done it himself as a child well if you believed his mother anyway. He chuckled as he saw that Morgan and Junior still looked sleepy on the blanket that Tamar had spread. And that's when he heard it. Reyn. Rolling his eyes beneath his helmet he waited until Reyn was no more than a meter away before taking a quick step backing and reaching to grab the child by his collar.

Raising him to visor level Noah let a chuckle out through his helmet's speakers. "You do know that a successful sneak attack means your enemy doesn't sense your approach, right Reyn?"

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Good! I’m glad I helped.” Adara skipped to her spot, humming a happy little tune.

“Someday I’ll get to be selfish. Even for a week. Do nothing but take care of myself, eat what I want, wear what I want… fill my days with nothing but a few plants, and… and dresses.” Yasha smiled beneath her helm, an act evident in the timbre of her voice. She hopped a double-step from her mount, letting Kad’ik trod around the oasis to hunt as the beast saw fit. “I’ll wear dresses, and sleep in a soft bed, until I wake up without a single alarm. I’ll eat… sensen berries and mott bacon, and instead of dispatches, I’ll listen to… to Panathan orchestral music. Lounge in the sun with my visor on my face. I’ll care about nothing except enjoying my day. Nobody will fault me for being lazy, because I’ll answer to none of them… someday. Someday I’ll know what it’s like to have a life of my own. Or! I’ll die in battle, and finally get some rest!”

Yasha remained terminally unaware of [member="Noah Corek"]’s ulterior motives. To her, he was her lover [member="Alexandra Feanor"]’s husband. An accommodating and welcome man. Honourable to the nth. He wore his position in Clan Corek proudly, tended his children, even when one was not genetically his. It took a man of Mandalorian grace to raise a child of another as his own. Yasha looked at Morgan, and saw a girl with a handsome father. Her genetic material was well taken and well raised by the man, who once hadn’t done as shining as now. While the children nestled in various states of wakefulness and play, Yasha dipped away to let her wolf-helm down. She set the multichrome visor upon her eyes, which blocked half of her face from view and filtered her away from the light.

“Oy! That’s not fair, you’re supposed to fall down!” Reyn kicked and struggled against Noah’s grasp, proclaiming loudly how unfair it was that he was caught. Yasha burst out laughing, shaking her head.

“My son. My own son can’t do a silent sneak-maneuver. Where have I erred?” Yasha bent down to eye level with Reyn and tapped his head. “Ram’ika? By your age, I was ambushing Mandalorians Noah’s size and killing them from the HVAC conduits. Move silent as the wind at peace, and violent as the wind full gale. Next time, stab first. Say later.”

Reyn’s eyes went wide. He looked up at [member="Noah Corek"] for help in deciphering his mother’s words.

“Uuummm Buir? We were only playing… I don’t wanna stab anybody.”

His mother’s lips took on a sad upturn. “Yes, I know. The human in you is gentle, like your father. Maybe we’ll make a warrior of you, maybe not. You don't have the same lethal edge as your brothers.” To that, little Magnus crept along the sand, attempting to lash out at Noah's ankles from the side.