Return to Yourself [Invited; PM for Invite]

[Coryth Elaris]

"No, we certainly don't." Her own path had been rather twisted and rough but in no way was it the path of her mother or father. "It's not that I am not proud of her... She's been through hell and back already a few times. It's just, I do not know her." Admittedly it was a bit more complicated than that.

Coryth sighed heavily, running a slow hand through her hair as her gaze fell to the ground. "While she is my daughter, my blood.... the circumstances are a bit complex. I gave her up for adoption at a time in my life when I couldn't care for anyone, not even myself. Too badly injured, inside and out." She gave a shrug and left it at that, some stories the redhead didn't care to relive, and that one most definitely not a story she shared. "I've only recently been reunited with her. I just don't know her, and Elpsis does surprise me frequently, and often."

Coryth smiled softly, "I'm incredibly glad that she's found your little one and is bringing her home." She shook her head, for a moment. Her mind wandering to what brought her back to the Mandos to begin with. Cory had just been trying to repay a debt, for the help she'd received not so long ago from the Mandos when she met Anija and Arrbi.

"Thank you, Arrbi." The Jedi Master said quietly.

Then her attention turned to Siobhan for a moment, "I suppose there is no time like the present to get to know her. Though I expect more awkwardness, than charm." As for the light bending, I don't see why not.... Coryth replied via telepathy.

[member="Arrbi Betna"] | [member="Anija Betna"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Mirshko Betna"] [member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Elpsis Kallikora"]

It wasn't long before Anija could heard the distinct sound of ship engines over the various voices that surrounded her. She found herself smiling at the exchange between Sio and Coryth. It lifted her mood slightly. Even more so than what was about to happen. She had to chuckle at Arrbi's comment towards Muad. And, it loosened the tension in her chest a bit. Her daughter was coming home.

That thought alone caused a slow smile to spread across her face, and she hesitated a moment before stepped away from Arrbi and laying a hand on Sio's and Coryth's shoulders, and held Muad's brilliant blue gaze with her own. "I cannot thank any of you enough for what you have done to help bring my daughter back. I know what you did might not seem like much... but the fact you have stood by us and offered us help and support even in the smallest way, means so much to me."

As she finished speaking, the sound of repulsors grew louder. A few seconds later, the bulky shadow of the tramp freighter rounded the curve of the hill which guarded the western edge of the Betna homestead. There was hardly any light now, except for that provided by the ship herself and what light spilled from the windows of the Betna home. Anija's gaze drifted towards the ship, and she found she couldn't tear her gaze away from it.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Anija Betna"], [member="Arrbi Betna"]


Siobhan gently patted Coryth's tiny shoulders. "It'll be super awkward and you'll hit plenty of stumbling blocks, but she'll come to love you. You're hard not to love." Of course, Siobhan was probably a wee bit biased about things. Regardless she gave the little redhead a loose hug and a kiss.


She gave Anija's hand a gentle squeeze. "I understand, dear. Glad we could help." And then the tramp freighter was already approaching them, its coming heralded by the roar of engines and a bulky shadow that passed over the ground. Soon the freighter was descending and then touched down onto the ground.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Arrbi Betna"], [member="Anija Betna"], [member="Mirshko Betna"]


And so after some searching the tramp freighter finally landed at the Betna homestead. It had not been easy to find the place, but fortunately she had been provided with coordinates. As Elpsis unstrapped her seatbelt she was hit by a sensation of the Force as she felt a presence that, well, saying she had not felt in a long time would be a moot point since the first time she had met her mother had been a couple months ago on Rhen Var.


Elpsis had been treasure hunting there since lightsabre crystals made a lot of money on the black market. Immediately she tensed, running a hand through her firemane. Great. Just when I thought this day would not be awkward. Mum just has to show up, she thought just a bit sulkily. Ah, well, all she was going to do was deliver the girl, hopefully get rewarded. Maybe there would be dinner. Perhaps.


She was so not in the mood for a mother-daughter moment. Anyhow, she finally got up and walked out of the cockpit, heading to the room where she had left Mirshko. "Hey, kid. We're at your home. Your folks are waiting outside," she said, raising her voice slightly to get her attention.

 

[Mirshko Betna]

[member="Arrbi Betna"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Muad Dib"] [member="Elpsis Kallikora"]

The older girl's voice jolted Mirshko from sleep, and she fumbled for a moment until she realized where she was. Her sleep-fogged brain finally registered what the girl had said. Groggily, she sat up on the edge of the bunk and ran a hand through her hair. it didn't do much good. She was still covered in grime and sweat from when they'd escaped the shadowport. And right now, she didn't much care. "Home...?" she whispered, her voice hesitant as she ran her fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to tame it's wildness.

She couldn't really believe it. From what little she could piece together, she'd been gone for months.. but not a year. She'd grown several inches in that time, and the coverall she'd been wearing with her armor when she'd been captured no longer fit. The one she wore now fit better. in the right hand pocket, she still kept the small polished stone Mom had given her, even after she'd had to pry it from her slave's cold fingers. She'd not liked having to do that... but she had to admit, that it felt ...satisfying. Especially after what the woman had subjected her to... all on Kuryr's orders. The thought made her shiver involuntarily and pull the cloak closer about her slender frame.

Her original armor had been taken from her when she had been captured. Eventually, she'd gotten it back - after she'd earned Kuryr's trust enough. But it too was eventually replaced as she grew... and as Kuryr had pulled her deeper into his world. She had been his Princess, and from what little she could piece together, he'd wanted her to one day take over his.. empire. At one time... she might have done so. But after the more recent events of the last couple months, she'd slowly begun to plan her escape. And now, here she was.. on the very ship which had brought her home.

For a moment, she stumbled from the sheer weight of the realization. But she quickly regained her footing and slipped past Elpsis to dash down the boarding ramp before it had finished lowering completely. When she did reach the bottom, she skidded to a stop in surprise. They'd landed fairly close to the house, and as she squinted from the wash of the tramp freighter's landing lights, she could make out figures gathered around and on the front porch of the Betna home.

Many of them, she recognized. Mom and Da. Sio.... and Muad. She liked him... even though she got the feeling her parents weren't entirely sure what to make of her fascination with learning from him. The other woman.... she didn't know. But she could tell that she hung close to Sio. Taking a moment to let all this sink in, she turned quickly and hugged Elpsis around the waist before dashing across the space separating her from her parents and burying her face in Anija's coverall.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAJ1orZ44f0​

It always happened in the fairy tales. The miraculous reunion of families torn apart by tragedy and strife. Separated by actions and reactions and distanced by time. It always happened in the books and the stories. Everyone happy and sharing tears of joy as each embraced the other after so long away, surviving the adversity and finding each other at last. It always happened in the bedtime stories. The happily ever after. Everything working out for the best. Everything ending joy.

He never thought, even once, that he'd ever see that sort of thing, much less experience it himself. It was a thing from fiction. Happily ever afters never happened in real life. He knew that. He'd seen mothers and wives and husbands and children never see their loved ones return home. He'd given the news to the families of the fallen, telling them what they'd never wanted or thought to hear. Happily ever afters didn't happen. Such was life. It was just a fact that was accepted at some point when youth gave way to adulthood and the adult moved on.

Yet, what could he possibly call this? Story book endings didn't happen. That was part of life. Every rational part of Betna's mind told him that things didn't end like this. Joy and tears and hugs and the rest. Survival instincts kicked in and told him, screamed at him, that this wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

But a small part of him said it was. A very small part that spoke in a whisper; a murmur. A quiet, feather soft voice telling him that it was. That it had happened. It grew stronger bit by bit, but never lost the whisper. Never lost the soft edge as it spoke. Perhaps it was the small, tiny part of himself that he'd locked away along with the story book endings, something hidden away from himself by his rational mind. Something that seemingly had no place in the real world, or so the rational parts of his mind had told him.

He felt the impact before he realized that he'd dropped to one knee, the damp earth yielding slightly to his armored weight. Armored limbs reached out and pulled his wife and daughter close as the quiet voice won the brief, but intense battle inside him. This was real. This was happening. Perhaps, just once in a long, long while, happily ever afters did happen. The thought consoled him as he held his family close wordlessly. Maybe the galaxy wasn't such a harsh and forbidding place, after all.

[member="Mirshko Betna"] [member="Elpsis Kallikora"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Anija Betna"] [member="Coryth Elaris"]