O Mother, Where Art Thou

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden found himself outside the Sundari palace and main hall needing something to do in order to release his frustrations. While there were others who could wield an axe and chop wood for Mand’alor’s apartment in the palace, Kaden did it himself. He had [member="Yasha Mantis"] were not going to be waited on simply because of her new title, or his for that matter. There were parts of their life together Kaden wanted to be have some semblance of normalcy despite nothing being normal for them.

He was covered in sweat by the time he returned to the room. A hot shower was drawn, and Kaden washed himself quickly. Since returning from the Netherworld Kaden cleaned himself every chance he had. For seven years he’d lived without the convenience of a shower, and now that he had it again, he enjoyed it.

When Kaden exited the fresher he was dressed in a simple long sleeve Henley style shirt. His pants were a canvas work pant. The beskar’gam he usually wore was on the tree which [member="Baiko no Kaho"] had made for him. He sighed as he looked at it. The pitch covered plates reminded him of the seven years of hell he had lived through. It reminded him that he had chosen to coat his heart in the thick ore of his homeworld. He was a hard man, and he knew it. Somehow Yasha loved him despite all of it.

He was shocked to find tea set out for him in the sitting room. A soft smile escaped his otherwise expressionless face.

”Baiko?”

She was the only one who would do this. The tea was always hot, always steaming. Whenever there was something to talk about there was tea. Kaden was just happy she was there. Everything was unstable, her and Silas had been the only constant. Kaden needed her advice. He knew what she would say, or thought he did, but he needed her. She was his mother, despite how much he would never tell her that.

”Baiko, are you still here?”

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

As much as it was above her to admit it, [member="Kaden Mantis"] turned into a fine young man. But a servant of the house, it was above her to say, as open affection was above her. She was, after all, just a servant.

“Yes, Kaden, I hear you.” It had not always been her life path to serve, but be served. Yet humility was as much a weapon as beskads. Dressed simply as she always was when she cooked and cleaned, Baiko peeked around the corner and cleared her throat.

“What can I do for you, Kaden? Do you require more clean clothes? I purchased some under layers for you, they should arrive soon.” Baiko could not allow the twinge in her heart, that ache for children to call her own once more. It was above her.

It had to be above her.

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden didn’t like the fact Baiko took on the humble nature of a servant. She was more than that, and her interference in the party the nights before had proven it. Why she kept herself attached to a station the Mando’ade didn’t truly recognize was behind him. She was much a Mantis as any who bore the name. She’d been part of their lives longer than Kaden had, and yet here he stood as one of them, and married to the young woman Baiko had spent the better part of the last several years on.

”No, I don’t need clothes,” Kaden said taking the tea into his hand.

He couldn’t resist it. Baiko was skilled in the art of making tea. When she offered it, you didn’t refuse. To refuse was to miss out on an experience the tastebuds would never forget. Kaden sipped it to test the temperature before he set the cup back onto the saucer. A Mandalorian with a tea cup and saucer, proof that Baiko had made him more than what he appeared to be.

”A lot has happened over the past week. For you it’s been a week, for Yasha and I, seven years. I’ve spent the better part of my morning chopping wood because my mind won’t shut off. Yasha says I worry enough for the both of us, and she’s right. I can’t help but feel all these events the last couple of days are... they are not good, especially for her. She thinks of the people, as she should, but I can only think of her.”

Yes, Kaden was quick to get to the point, but Baiko would see through him regardless. She had the ability to discern what Kaden was thinking and feeling. He often times wondered if she could use the force, but his emotions had always been on the sleeve, at least until he returned from Dathomir, from Warlock Gate.

”I know that people are upset with me about how I put Kaine Zambrano on edge as well. How am I supposed to know all the things I know, observe what I do, and not leap in to protect my Yasha? How do you...”

Kaden looked Baiko in the eyes.

”How do you keep your wit and poise under all that pressure? I need your advice... your help...”

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

When it occurred to Baiko that [member="Kaden Mantis"] needed to talk, she set down the basket of washing and stood with her chin tilted down as was the Atrisian servant’s way.

“Yes, I am aware of the changes in you and Yasha, especially in you.”

He pushed, opening himself in a way which, on Atrisia would be akin to embarrassing oneself in public. Settling her shoulders, Baiko listened to the heartbreak of a young man who longed only for his wife, and simpler times.

“Kaden, how could Yasha have room to worry for your people if she was busy worrying for herself? She can rule, she can do mighty things, because you bear her fears for her. It is always the place of those of us behind and to the side of greatness to serve. For you? It is your wife. It is never good to seize power during a vacuum. This is a dangerous time, one I gladly would have rescued her from.”

Dragging her eyes down to the floor, Baiko shut her eyelids and breathed. He asked hard questions, would he like the answers she gave? “A lifetime of practice and experience keeps me firm of face and shrewd of mind. I assure you I was not always as poised. Kaden, sit down.”

For the first time, Baiko sat on the chair while she told Kaden to sit. “There are three kinds of energy in the universe. Aggression, or action, acceptance, and docility, or inaction. It is for us to keep our mouths closed, our senses keen and then to act in the best interest of our Yasha. You began a chain of events I cannot protect you from, by challenging Kaine Zambrano, but that is not why what you did was dangerous. If you had said so privately, in confidence, he would not have filled with doom. You outed him. Publicly. To any with a translator or an ear for Yasha’s mother tongue. That slight... it cannot be ignored. What you gained in pride, you lost in momentum. I suppose... I have lived my entire life torn between the culture in which I was raised and the genomes in my blood. I am Kiffar and Echani. My parents’ peoples differed night and day. I was not a peace offering but keenly award that only through silence and patience would I survive. It was a hard lesson, it took years to survive it. I appear to function within the third energy, inaction. Yet, what I truly do is funnel my energy into acceptance. I take what is given to me, I inspect and analyze it… Only then, once all analysis is complete can I shift to either ignoring the stimuli, or acting upon it. Acceptance must come first. Accept that there is danger to your wife at all times. Accept that there are many hundreds of Mandalorians who will protect her. Accept that you are only one of those. Accept that your relationship makes you unique. Accept that your voice is not the one others will desire to heed… am I making sense, or confusing you?”

 

[Kaden Farr]

”Changes... no... I just grew up. I’m still the same Kaden,” he lied and she knew it. What was he gong to say, yes I’ve changed, I’m not the naive boy that stepped into the warlock gate...he sighed and sat when Baiko told him to.

He listened to every word Baiko said. They were convicting, even with what she said about his words to Kaine. It had to be said though. Kaden was not like [member="Baiko no Kaho"]. He would not simply accept what the galaxy would demand of his wife, not when some things were not right. Yes there were demands he would have to allow, but to let anyone do as they wished, never.

”Kaine deserved it. Maybe it was brash, but he has manipulated us for far too long. He will not do that with Yasha. Yes... I know what you would say, that we could turn it around, but such a minor son, and him. I don’t know what Yasha told you of the Netherworld, Baiko, but I can tell you...”

He looked away. He was there for Yasha, but who was there for him. Kaden couldn’t tell anyone. It would make him look weak, and Silas... he wouldn’t understand. That left Baiko, the woman Kaden viewed as a mother. Gray had made Kaden day things, admit things he hadn’t shared. All the horrors of hell were still on Kaden’s shoulders, and Kaden carried it all. He had to.

”I can’t afford to be passive or accepting all the time,” he said changing the subject. ”And you are not accepting. You move about here and tbere in the shadows and influence what you will. I’ve been your ward for too long not to notince. You could whisper in Yasha’s ear and she would do it. When you put your hand on Kaine it calmed the situation I created. Ambrose obeys you as if you speak for the Hell Wolf herself... No you act with a grace and poise beyond your station, and I wish I could. You do it all to protect her, and you’ve done the same for me because I am connected to her....”

Kaden grinned...

”I understand what you’re saying... though I don’t fully buy it.”

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“Hah.” Baiko said, glaring at [member="Kaden Mantis"] from the corner of her eye. He was indeed changed, and she knew it.

“Many in this universe deserve far harsher lots than they are given. I could not let you start a war before the Mando’ade were prepared to fight it. I move from acceptance to action and back again. Yet, at some moments it is best to leave things be.” Baiko’s words died as Kaden appeared stricken by the impressions of the Netherworld which still remained upon him.

How could she tell him she saw it all? That by cleaning and touching his armour, and Yasha’s armour, she saw what was experienced within it? The cruelty of Aditya, the hard, yet kind words of Ember Rekali, the years of struggle and panic and helplessness and fear.

It was not her place. That was above her.

“Ambrose obeyed Ra. It is fondness of Ra which leads him to listen for Yasha’s sake, not fear of me. You can afford yourself some wisdom, young man.” Baiko said, her voice hard, but kind. She smacked her lips and went to reach for Kaden’s hand. Yet, the servant pulled her hand back, it was not her place.

“We must act secretly, quiet behind the curtain. It is to her to act loudly… oh my boy. So grown in a week and now at the cusp of all which Mando’ade love and fear to lose.” A wistful smile came to her face, she tugged her finger to his hair, brushing it aside from his brow.

“Already a husband, soon to be a father. Will you be as protective then to Yasha as you are now?”

 

[Kaden Farr]

”I wasn’t going to start a war...” Kaden said as he crossed his large arms across his more muscular chest. He certainly had not looked that way before stepping into the Warlock gate. Baiko knew he’d changed, his appearance gave it away. ”I simply wanted him to know he is more tansparent than he thinks. He just so...”

Kaden sipped the tea before he said something he was going to regret.

Baiko spoke, continuing to correct him with the the direct and gracious manner she had taken with him from the start. It was as close to a mother and son relationship they would allow themselves to have. He was her ward, and the adopted child of Silas Mantis. She served, and Kaden learned. So much of his formation beyond being a Mandalorian was because of her, and Kaden only appreciated it now.

”Yes, you do move between action and acceptance. It is your lot, and you manage it well. The shadow and secret will always be your friend and you must teach me how to make it my friend. There is influence I can have if I would learn it. I am not ready to be rid of you, [member="Baiko no Kaho"].”

”I love you...”

A simple thought, but powerful in its meaning. Kaden would never utter the words lest he drive her away because duty was more important to her. He would have sighed at her remarks, but she said he was going to be a father. The tea cup slipped from his hand and broke as it hit the floor.

Kaden cursed as he moved to clean up the mess.

”Baiko I’m... sorry...”

His mind was still catching up with what he had heard. The man had to let it sink in. Yasha was pregnant? How did Baiko know... why was he just hearing this...

”A father,” Kaden gulped. A look of terror filled his eyes, then peace, which gave way to something happy. ”I think I will manage to be more protective if that’s possible.”

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“You weren’t! I wonder if Carnifex believes you, or if he is now sending assassins toward the Palace? It is what I would do in his stead.” Baiko shook her head. There was still so much that was brash to the boy… and there always would be.

“Oh, no young man wants his old nanny rustling around while he’s making his way with his bride. I always knew my time with the Mandalorians was over once Yasha was situated and wed… at least I can teach you something before I go.” Baiko halted as [member="Kaden Mantis"] seemed to say something deeper, to delve into an arena which the elder Atrisian never knew.

The cup shattered, and Baiko immediately knelt on the floor to sop up the tea and pick up the pieces Kaden broke. She realized she liked being there to pick up those pieces… [member="Gray Raxis"] called her a mother to Yasha and Kaden, and how deeply Baiko wished such language could be true.

Yet it was above her.

“Tut, tut, as much as it irks my sensibilities to say, it’s just tea. Truth be, I was expecting far worse as a reaction.” Scrubbing at the floor with her handkerchief, Baiko cut her finger on a shard of pottery.

Her lips pressed together and she pinched the cut. “A father… you can’t be more protective than Preliat, but I would suggest using him as your inspiration for protecting Yasha while pregnant… oh, oh now, my boy. Easy. Allow that joy I see in your eyes to carry through the fear.”

Collecting the rest of the cup in her handkerchief, Baiko picked up the mess and set it on the table. “Yasha has yet to be told. I thought it best to approach you first, and you can consider this your first lesson in acceptance and action or inaction. We know she is pregnant. We shall be beside her to handle her needs. We shall not share the information, nor shall we mention the pregnancy until it is too large to ignore. We shall, together, council your wife who will no doubt be terrified. She will need you as her pillar. I know enough of what occurred for her in the Netherworld to know this will not be the joyful news any couple would hope. I also know how her mother carried her… emotions are her enemy… calm is her succour. Don’t fret, young one. I won’t take my leave of you until after you, Yasha and the baby are situated.”

Baiko’s lips twitched. She tipped down her chin and wrung her hands together. “I’ve… if its not rude of me to say I may have met someone…”

 

[Kaden Farr]

”And if he sends assassins then he will be the one starting a war Baiko. Brash I may be, dumb I am not. He shows his true colors, and while others may be more patient, I wanted to know them. Yasha would be told by many... including you, to accept, but no... this match, it is a way to control someone who knows what he did. That I will not allow.”

Kaden and Baiko would always disagree on this matter. He could learn to accept that Yasha would do what she must, and that he was the only one she would ever permit in her bed. Kaden also knew certain political marriages were too far, and such was one with Kaine Zambrano.

”She will not bind herself with death. You touched him, and I saw the look in your eye. Even you were afraid.”

Kaden didn’t think she scared easily.

Baiko moved quickly to the mess. She did so with care, in the same manner that she had wiped his hair off his forehead. Why wouldn’t she just admit that she loved them, loved to mother them. She did it constantly.

”It’s not just tea. The cup too. I was apologizing about the cup.”

She spoke of fear. Of course Kaden was afraid. What if they had a son? Would he remind Yasha of... Baiko knew... she had to. Kiffar could see things. Did she know? There was a happiness that could strangle his fear, and Baiko called to it. He would have to work at removing the layers of iron which he’d forged around his heart. Had Baiko seen that change? Was she aware of the iron which kept him from feeling as he had before.

Kaden stood.

”No there are those who would use the child, the pregnancy as a way to get to her. If I must emulate Preliat’s rage to protect them both I am more than capable. They shall be like the fire beasts I killed in hell, anyone that tries to harm them.”

He chuckled for a moment. His words replayed in his mind. The man was already speaking like a father. Once again Baiko changed the subject. He turned and looked at her.

”Gray...”

Kaden didn’t question. He stated.

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“You will not allow another man to spread her knees, [member="Kaden Mantis"]. If we’d waited and taken Ancius in, you could have bought me time to act. Now, we shall all scramble. Have you not noticed, Kaden, that there must be another who knew? And that person must be in the Dark Lord’s pocket?” Baiko huffed and rolled her eyes, slapping her hands on the waist of her traditional gown.

“Fear is beneath me.” Baiko muttered, pressing her lips together in a moment of ire… so he did see. That alone was dangerous and accurate. Baiko had been terrified.

“Just a relic of a bygone place.” Baiko would never admit the cups came with her from her home, precious as the tea she hoarded. Precious as the value she placed in Kaden and Yasha Mantis. “Your apology is accepted, young Master Kaden. It’s just a broken cup.”

Pressing another hankie on her finger, Baiko heaved a sigh and walked out to the window to look out across domed Sundari. “Good. She needs you, Kaden. She needs you… and I only wish I’d had more time with you both during your formative years. You make… any who know you proud.”

Pressing the back of her hand against her cheek, Baiko shrugged and nodded. “He is kind and gentle, yet there is a might I can respect… oh I know I am a fool for this slim hope of… of happiness… he probably does not feel similar, but we shall see how it goes, eh? A heart is easily broken, but it also repairs if this is just a servant’s fancy.”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden looked dumbfounded as though Baiko spoke something she should have known. She did know that Kaden would never allow another man close enough to breath on her let alone touch her. The would die before they got close.

”No one will do such a thing... ever... As for Anicus, perhaps, but while Kaine was threatening me Vilaz was telling Yasha that his son is married to Kaine’s daughter. Does he need a second marriage to secure his alliance? Doesn’t this knowledge make the Warmaster himself suspect? Is he duty bound to choose the Zambranos over his own people?”

His words were accusatory, but not because he was accusing Vilaz of anything. They simply were pointing out the fact Kaine’s fingers were already deep enough into the Mandalorian Empire. They didn’t need to be any deeper than what they were.

”To my credit I defended the Epicant when Yasha was ready to kill him....”

Kaden sighed.

”I’m sorry you lost your time. However, not him, never him.”

Baiko would be able to guess why.

She wanted to say more, but she stopped. For a moment Kaden felt as though she was going to tell him something of her own feelings, but she stopped close of saying anything. Was she actually proud of him? How much he wanted to hear those words. He could only have a simple reply.

”I know...”

Baiko spoke more of Gray, confiding her feelings. Kaden joined her at the window.

”Be careful with your heart, Baiko. There are those who want him cured, and Yasha is ina position where she will be painted a hypocrite if she does not make him take it. What if he refuses and leaves? If the man breaks your heart I will end him, but if he will not take the cure, for Yasha’s sake, I will force it on him myself. I can think only of her in this matter... Though, if he makes you happy, then for now I will be happy. Just... be cautious.”

Kaden couldn’t believe his own words. Baiko was the one speaking of caution constantly, now it was Kaden. Had they truly reversed roles in this matter.

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“Vilaz Munin is a survivor, yet a dedicated one. He will stick to his predilections as long as it takes until a stronger way presents itself. Yet, give no quarter to this, young one, Munin loves Mandalore. Munin loves and will always love the Mando’ade. We can only hope his love for his people outweighs the advantage of the Sith Empire at our backs. We are in a precarious position. The Empire wills to expand by its’ very nature, and we are between it and the Core worlds. As allies, the Sith can make concessions, move around us. As enemies… we are but chaff in their war machine’s cogs. Munin sees this. He knows a fight with the Sith is one we are incapable of winning.” Baiko absorbed the information Kaden bestowed, savouring it like sour wine. Her face hid from the light of the window, allowing [member="Kaden Mantis"] the space to rage and growl at visions which had long passed.

“I am sorry.” The truth was, Baiko could have deciphered the happenings of Ra Vizsla with anything he held which remained. If she’d realized how deep Yasha’s need to discover the truth was… “I apologize, Kaden, I’ve wronged you both… I… what’s done is done.”

Could she do more good by lingering there on Manda’yaim, undetected? Her shoulders descended further, and Baiko eyed the boy, no the man before her. “You are worthy of all good things, Kaden. As is Yasha… but you don’t need your old nanny telling you such things.”

She turned away as Kaden spoke of [member="Gray Raxis"] and the complication of his powers. Must she hide? No, she couldn’t put Kaden or Yasha in the position to know the truth. Even if it meant the inevitable sense of betrayal.

“And the cycle has spun anew. The son speaks to h- the sun… The sun speaks to the moon about light… telling an Atrisian to be cautious. Refuse and end him? It’s my fault he’s here in the first place. Hmm! The nerve. Stop it, Kaden, or I will come under the impression that you care of me… and that is a fiction I would very much like to keep close.” Swerving around, Baiko made to pick up her basket of laundry and dishes. It was time to return to work.

 

[Kaden Farr]

”He’s also got a fast temper. A mando with an itchy trigger finger that one.”

Kaden couldn’t help but chuckle. It was something they had all known about the man. His display every time the verde gathered was enough to show how easy it was to make the man mad. Someone had to die, there was always a list when it came to Munin. Kaden quickly abandoned the subject however. They could go in circles, and if seemed there were more pressing matters to attend to. Baiko has an opinion she didn’t need to have.

”You didn’t wrong us. Yasha made her choice, as did I. I was never going to break my promise. I’m too headstrong to do that. At least that’s the honorable part of my stubbornness. What would you have done to get those answers? Put your own life at risk? Aditya would have hunter you down and killed you again if you abandoned Yasha through death... Oh Aditya.... she told me to make her grandbabies with Yasha... I swear if she did.”

Kaden laughed. He was too happy with the news. Baiko seemed... Kaden couldn’t tell, but something was off about her. The more she talked the more she nearly slipped. Kaden heard it... the son to h... Sne was going to say mother, but quickly recovered. He noticed.

He smiled when she spoke of him caring. Kaden did care. It wasn’t a fiction. Baiko picked up her basket and started to leave. She couldn’t leave. Kaden wouldn’t let her. There was more to be said. He reached out for her, but she had already put too much space between them.

”But it isn’t fiction...” he said following after her. ”And kark protocol. I’ve never liked it anyway. You almost called me your son. I heard you slip. If you won’t say it then I will....”

Kaden pursued until his arms wrapped Baiko into a hug.

”Your as much a mother to me as I could ever want, and you are going to stay for the sake of your grandchild, even if the only way you’ll listen is if I make Yasha command it.”

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“One I would very much like to slap with my blade.” Baiko muttered. They might disagree on some things, but Baiko wished she could be as frivolous as Kaden in this respect.

“I’m Kiffar, Kaden… if Yasha had asked it of me, I could have psychometrically deciphered where Ra had been from the items around him… it may have given no leads, but it might have… perhaps I could have prevented the need to take Dathomir in the first place, to… oh Kaden. I do not think she could be happier if she knew you were having children so quickly… but I do worry for you both, even if it’s not my place.”

Kaden tried to push for something, yet Baiko knew she had to release herself or be charged with caring too much.

“Kaden, I don’t have time for-“ Baiko’s words ended, as [member="Kaden Mantis"] put his arms around her. The basket dropped to the ground. Baiko shut her eyes and slowly, ever slowly turned and wrapped her arms around the young man’s chest. Her heart tore at her ribcage, as Baiko pressed her forehead into his shoulder.

“Oh my boy… my boy!” Baiko clung to the man who was as much a child as her daughters had been, before they died. “My boy, I missed you… you came back and I missed all those years… please, let me go. I have no place here now with you grown… you cannot possibly want me to stay… it’s not right. I’m just… I’m just a servant of the house… unless you truly mean it? Don’t play with me so.”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Even Baiko couldn’t have guarenteed her abilities to keep Yasha home. It had been inevitable and so it was. They just hugged and it felt good. Both finally had admitted they filled a hole the other had, but Baiko still spoke of leaving. She wasn’t allowed to. All she could see was her role as a servant. The role she carried for so long had become her prison.

Kaden wanted to cry, but he couldn’t. The iron around his heart simply would not crack. His emotions were locked deep in a place only Yasha had been able to access them. With a long sigh he pulled Baiko tighter. It was the only way he could show her what he was feeling, though his face wore none of it.

”I was so scared... I faced my parents in the Rue. They tried keeping me away from Yasha, from going back to everyone. I should have wanted to be with them, but all I could think about were Silas, and Yasha, and you... the three of you were my a’liit. Don’t you see Baiko... your not a servant, not to me. You never will be.”

When Kaden let go of the hug he made Baiko look at him. She needed to hear this, and she needed to know he was telling the truth.

”You can’t leave. We need you for the child. I need you because I’ll never be the quiet accepting behind the scenes miracle worker you want me to be. Mostly you can’t leave because we are your family as much as you are ours, and for all Gray’s talk about A’liit if he let you leave then he’d be full of bantha poodoo. And if he thinks he’s gonna just waltz in and try and...”

Kaden stopped.

”Accepting... but you are not leaving. You’re not allowed.”

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“Kaden…” Stretching her arms around the young man felt like a form of paradise for the widow and mother, whose children had all been lost. He would never know the depth of it, the sorrow of being a woman without a family, after her early years were filled with children as her only joy. All that mattered was [member="Kaden Mantis"] was hurting and Baiko had him in her maternal arms.

“I know, my boy. I know, but it’s over now. You’re home and you’re married and… and you’re going to be a father…such a man you are.” Her hand wrapped up at the base of his neck, just for one moment thinking that this could be, she could be yet again, a mother.

“You brought Yasha home, Kaden. You defeated the Netherworld, survived Aditya and now Yasha is Mand’alor. My dear, you could not have made me more proud.” Taking a moment to collect herself, Baiko stepped away from Kaden and tilted her head away.

“I never thought you would want me to stay… I’d prepared to leave Mandalore, return to Atrisia, or to my people on Sabarene. I was going to go quietly, leave things to you and Yasha… you want me to stay.” The sensation began to sink in, the affection she wished for remained a reality. He was as emotionally available as beskar, yet for his Yasha Kaden gave the moon, sun and stars. Had he a modicum of heart left for a middle aged governess? By virtue of his threats to Gray alone, Baiko knew Kaden's heart was available for more than the girl who rescued it from Hell.

“On the contrary, Gray told me I was as much a mother to you as anything, and it made me realize that someone might get the wrong impression… but now… now you… you're a protective one. Funny how I never thought that protective edge would cover me. Or are you jealous of a man holding your mother?” She stopped and pressed her fingers to her cheek. Control, Baiko.

“Well! If I’m going to stay, then perhaps I could bother someone for a bigger room? And… if it’s terribly alright, if I did happen to slip and call you son, that… that I won’t feel terrible about it. On the contrary… may I call you son, just once without irony?”

 

[Kaden Farr]

"It was a lot... almost too much, but all I could think was that I needed to get to Yasha. Did she tell you I broke Sinner's Rue to save her. It caused issues the rest of the way through the Netherworld for us, but I cracked it... broke through to her version of hell."

He let Baiko hold him for a while. A long sigh escaped his mouth and weight dropped from his shoulders. In turth who was Kaden supposed to turn to when he carried his burden and Yasha's at the same time. It was truly his own doing, but Kaden would not be able to bear the burden alone without breaking. Eventually the beskar would put so much pressure around his heart it would simply stop working. What was Yasha to do then? He was not going to be another man, another person she loved, who left her. Kaden wouldn't let Baiko do that either. If it would kill Kaden what would it do to Yasha?

"You never thought... Baiko what would make you think that you would ever need to leave. I was orphaned at a young age, and Yasha... her parents haven't been there for her either. We don't know the first thing about being parents. I don't even know if I'm going to be good at this. I'm freaking out... If I'm freaking out think about Yasha... she's really gonna flip."

Kaden still couldn't believe Baiko told him before telling Yasha. This was so backwards. He understood it once Baiko had explained, but still.

The conversation quickly went back to Gray. Was Kaden jealous? No. He was cautious. It was as he mentioned already if Gray would not accept the cure, if he would not submit to what Yasha would decide, the man would have to leave or be forced to accept. Baiko having feelings for the force sensitive Mandalorian was nothing but a path to heart break. Kaden did not want to see Baiko with a broken heart. He would not bear it.

He shook his head.

"I am not jealous... and after having sex... I don't want to picture anyone doing that with you... no offense. I am cautious for all of the reasons I have already stated. If he did leave... would go with him, would you abandon us to be with him? I love you too much to see you hurt. You of all people know I protect the ones I love with a ferocity no one can tame."

He smiled. She wanted to call him son.

"Then do it... call me your son... mother."

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“She did not need to tell me, I could see it… you share her burdens, yet someone must share in yours. Let me carry some of this for you, Kaden, before it tears your heart to pieces.” She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, slipping to cup it as he sighed. “I know what you saw. Your time there is no mystery to me.”

The complicated nature of her now-kiboshed desertion laid at the feet of the Cure. How could she tell Kaden she was leaving out of self-preservation as much as out of the wrongful thought that he no longer needed her? “All new parents ‘freak out’ as it were. You are loving and protective. You work hard to provide for those who are yours and you are not alone. You will be a diligent and noble father… it is Yasha I worry on. She will need to lean on us for most of everything for quite some time. The instincts of a parent will not be as quick to ascend upon her as they are with you.”

Baiko chuckled and shook her head. “Oh Kaden, I’ve never had love. Only the duty of an arranged marriage, which ended with my husband and daughters’ deaths… I’ve never told you of my past, and I plan to let it lie where it is buried… but I would like to think there is a person in this universe to be a love and comfort to me… An Echanar, as is the way with my father’s people.” Her chin tilted away, cheeks coloured and bashful. For her father’s kind she was still young enough to have a family, still within the limits of her years. Of course Kaden would protect her. The air had cleared and the fog was gone. Just one more string of it remained.

“I can do one better.” Baiko took Kaden’s hands in hers. His hands dwarfed hers, they were far more worn. Rising on her tip-toes, Baiko kissed Kaden’s cheek. “Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Kaden Mantis. You are my son and I am your mother… and as your mother I must be open and honest… The Cure will not save Mandalore. What will save Mandalore is respect for the Force, which defined in Mandalorian terms, is part of the Manda. Would I go with Gray if he left?”

Baiko longed to assuage Kaden’s fears, to promise in her heart and soul to stay. She stepped away from him, hugging her own chest. “Kaden… oh Kaden I wasn’t going to leave only because I thought you no longer needed me… the White Current flows through and around me. I am a servant to its’ way. Psychometry is a birthright of the Kiffar… yet it is still a connection to the Force which allows it. I cannot allow Yasha to know. I am more useful to her and you and the baby as a Master of the Fallanassi Tradition than as a cured and neutered parent… I have hidden it all my life, and will continue to do so, until the day you put that needle to my neck. I was leaving Mandalore before I too was hunted. Before a Force Tradition of which I am its’ last remaining true Master, dies out… yet if you ask it of me… I will submit to your cure… I hope you do not ask it of me and am now sorely afraid.”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden froze.

Baiko knew Mando’a.

What she said was not just anything in the language, but it was the adoption rite. One sentence and it was done. There were many Mandalorians who joined the culture because of that one sentence. Kaden knew Baiko was not Mando’ad, but it didn’t matter to him. She was his mother in every sense as far as he was concerned, and he would be a son to her. Silas had all but done the same. He would have officially if not for the writing on the wall even at such a young age between Yasha and Kaden.

Kaden was speechless.

Baiko kept speaking and what she said next took the wind out of him.

His right hand reached for his heart. It felt as if it might burst. He shook his head.

”No... you’re lying... this is some cruel trick to make me let you leave.”

Kaden turned his back on Baiko. He knew the truth, but he wanted to ignore it. He started to walk out of the room, what was he going to do. She would take the cure, but her ability to protect would be gone. He wanted to cry, but his heart was so cold.

Another layer of beskar formed around his heart.

Kaden turned back to Baiko.

”Yasha cannot know, you’re right, but you’ve given me a burden that you cannot help me carry. Gray cannot. I’ve watched as people, my people, were drug into the TSACs kicking and screaming, avoiding the cure. Now you’re telling me you’re one of them? Ra... he had the force it was part of his ability to change. Yours is genetic like his,” Kaden was trying to justify it. ”Even if it isn’t true lie to me and tell it is so. Tell me that if you were not Kiffar in part of you, you wouldn’t be able to do what you do.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do.

”Lie to me, then never speak of it again. Tell me this will all be okay. Then let’s find you a larger room.”

[member="Baiko no Kaho"]

 

[Baiko no Kaho]

“I was going to leave, Kaden… once my task with you and Yasha were done. I will take the cure in a second if it means being with you and Yasha… you mean more to me than myself. You are my son and I love you.” Baiko’s heart shattered. She shut her eyes and felt the emptiness of [member="Kaden Mantis"] walking away. The beskar lining his heart was a physical presence in the room, regardless of how sensible he was in the Force.

“I survived the Atrisian Empire, Kaden. On Atrisia they did not cure Force Users… they eliminated them. All of them.” Reaching for Kaden, Baiko stopped halfway. He wanted the succour of lies, a relief of this new burden.

“The Fallanassi are not warriors. We have no violent techniques, we are illusionists… people who can whisper on the wind and turn invisible, I have no power as Sith or Jedi have power. It is… a spirituality, not a physical presence like Zambrano or Rekali or Monroe. Other Force Users can’t even sense me. In that I do not have to lie. I am not Sith or Jedi or some mixture of each. I am the Master of a philosophy extolling the goodness in this universe, not some person who desires or works with power. You again are right, my psychometry is genetic, like Ra and the gurlanin ability to shift form, or Malika and her shapeshifting. I have used my psychometric abilities for the Mandalorians in battle, and they have not harmed me. Aryn Spar himself saw me do it and said nothing… but I cannot remain on Mandalore without telling you, Kaden… it would be a worse betrayal if you found out some other way. I am sorry, but my love for you outweighed my fear of Ra’s treacherous cure.”

In bravery, Baiko walked to Kaden and put her hand on his arm, attempting to turn him to look at her. “I promise you this will be okay. The Sith, the Jedi, those of their ilk… they are as dissimilar to me as a Nemoidian is to an Ewok. They have powers which can create or destroy. I am but a worshipper of the light which created the universe. A philosopher, Kaden. I am nothing like them. I promise you.”