Take Off The Mask

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The feel of Alric's hand rubbing up and down her back was a comfort, but it didn't quell the thundering of her heart. At her age, getting her blood pressure up was going to do no one any favors, least of all her.

Her nose gave a crinkle of distaste at the mention of the river. Honestly, it frightened her a bit. Made her uncomfortable. Danger still had no skill at swimming. While she was one to tackle things head on, she still was a bit wary about it all.

Her time on Dac with Judah and Makai had eased things for her when it came to water and the sea, but there was no denying that the only reason she hasn't drowned is that the woman was more apt to float than sink.

Danger had her momma to thank for that.

"Maybe having Makai over sooner than later wouldn't be a bad idea." the kid knew how to swim, and honestly, she'd feel better if he was around. Not that she didn't' trust in Alric's abilities, just that she figured Myra would also appreciate it a bit more.

"How did you ever manage it?" came her whimsical query, wondering how he managed to raise to daughters and not be overcome by all the worry.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

“Honestly.” Alric said as he slowly leaned back again, relaxing slightly as he watched his daughter play around on the edge of the creek. “You just kind of get used to it.”

He still felt that odd sort of...weight when it came to his daughters. It wasn’t necessarily nerves, he wasn’t scared for them, but it was a weariness. A sort of...dispassion for the entirety of the rest of the galaxy. He didn’t particularly think that his daughters were in danger...he just looked at everyone around his twins with a little more scrutiny.

It would be the same for Myra.

That was part of being a parent, you worried, you watched out, and you enjoyed the occasional good time with it. He frowned for a moment and looked up at Danger, eyes following her own gaze. “Just wait until boys come into the picture.”

That was his current worry with the twins.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Boys?" Danger gave a snort. As if. Myra was all of six years old. They had plenty of time to not have to worry about that.

However...

"Ain't like she won't learn how to shoot the eye out of a womprat from five-hundred meters." not an exaggeration. Danger had acquired throughout her lifetime a series of specific skills. Skills that few in the 'verse knew she had. The sort that would make one wonder just what sort of woman the Queen of Trade truly was.

If half the galaxy knew the sort of woman she was and had been back on Tatooine... well there would be Nine Hells to pay.

"She'll do fine I'm sure." an arch of a brow and Danger gave a grin to Alric.

"What about Lily and Rose?" she knew that Rose had some sort of interest on some boy. Alric had mentioned him in a previous holocall Rose and he had.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"It's not her I'm worried about." Alric said simply.

It wasn't like Lily and Rose weren't all set in that department either. They could defend themselves just fine, it wasn't what Alric was really concerned about. He was more concerned about the creeping approach of...well life. His daughters growing up, getting married, having children of their own. Part of that appealed to him, but another part feared it for his own reasons. The Titan didn't want them to go through the same troubles and pains that he had, or Danger had for that matter.

"They're both..." He stopped for a second, frowning. "Getting older."

That was the best way to describe it without thinking about it too much.

It would have been nice if they could just stay Myra's age, or perhaps a little older. A lot of trouble and grief could have been saved if that were the fact, though then again this age came with its own sorts of troubles. He frowned for a moment. "I can hardly stop them, can I?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Everyone grows up, Alric." Danger would tell him quietly.

"The only thing that is different is the manner by which it happens." she'd say, turning her attention back to Myra. The Tuggle had managed to climb on top of the rock with the youngling. He now was sniffing around the flat boulder, curiously eying the green patches of algae that grew along the line of the water.

"We'll get older as well." which made Danger frown a bit. There was that thought again. Glancing over at the Tetan, Danger began the topic of conversation that was a bit more serious.

"What is our plan then?" she began, "for everything when we are gone?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

That was a question that he hadn't really asked himself in quite some time, hadn't really needed to. There was always the clone of course, his biological back up that would kick into life when he was gone. He hadn't really thought about that either for quite some time, maybe because since he'd been together with Danger death had just seemed a bit farther away. Now that she was asking through her mind almost immediately drifted back towards that copy of himself.

"I don't know." He said with a shrug.

They had so much money and influence, even while retired, that their passing would create an outward ripple in dozens of different ways. Not only would they effect Myra, Lily, Rose, and everyone else they loved and cared for, but the entire galactic Market would feel the effects. It was an odd thing to think about, an even odder one to actually go into depth with.

"We leave a small portion to the kids." Not everything, just enough to survive off of. "Then give the rest to charity."

That was just the money of course, but it was the first thing most would think of, and the easiest.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

That made sense. It was an option Danger would have considered herself. However, where Alric likely wouldn't find Vanir to be an issue, Danger had Arceneau Trade to mull over on what to do.

Her lips gave a slight press against one another, a small frown as the woman considered what that would mean. My death at least. She had no other kin. The conglomerate was solely privately owned. It was the legacy she had worked so hard to build, to maintain.

To be honest, she wasn't sure what she would do. It would likely be an internal struggle trying to figure out what to do with it.

Even then, while Myra was officially her adopted daughter, she was far too young to take the reins... nor did she even know if the girl would want to.

Those thoughts were dispelled as she caught a waving motion at the corner of her eye. It was Myra, giggling as she waved at the pair again.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric smiled at his daughter.

He had no reason to really care about what happened to his legacy anymore. As far as he was concerned that matter was already settled. He had his children, nothing else really mattered. He'd run half a dozen corporations over his life time, and while none of them had ever grown to the size of ATC, they were more than successful. That alone had settled his name in the galactic consciousness, and if it had not been enough there was also the fact that his now dead wife had been Empress, and his daughter was too.

Alric had no doubt that he would be remembered, but even with that in mind...he found that he didn't really care.

He was happy with Danger, he was happy with all of his daughters, why worry about what anyone else though?

Alric didn't think that he needed to be remembered, nor did he think that his family did. The Kuhn line had lasted for thousands upon thousand of years, they had done great things and terrible things. He supposed that was part of the nature of things, but now...now it didn't seem to matter anymore. The idea of settling with his families Legacy, of simply letting it go...that appealed to him the most.

Why think about the past, the future, when the now was so much more important.

He lifted his hand and waved back towards Myra.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Myra be careful!" Danger would repeat again, reminding the little girl. "How about you come on over here and sit with us?" if she did that then perhaps they could rest here a bit. Or maybe walk down a ways along the bank of the river. It just didn't sit right to see the little girl so close to the water.

Another hand would beckon the youngling, before Danger would turn her attention back to Alric. He appeared to be more relaxed. The tension having left the lines from his face and from his shoulders.

"I swear she'll go into things headfirst without a thought."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"They always will." Because they just didn't think about it.

What might seem dangerous to them was simply a small obstacle to a child.

It was endearing in a way, annoying as kark in another. Lily and Rose had been much the same way as kids, with Rose mostly leading the way. The little girl had tended to get herself into as much trouble as she possibly could, usually by crawling, running, jumping, and climbing over most everything she could find. It had been worse when she'd discovered the use of the force.

That had been a speed bump Alric hadn't expected.

He presumed that it wouldn't be an issue with Myra, mostly because he hadn't noticed any of the signs, but with Rose it had been a very big surprise. Silara had handled it of course, teaching her a little bit more control...but well a young girl with powers in the force was something else entirely. Alric wasn't exactly sure how force users handled entire families of force users. The twins had been enough of a challenge growing up that he couldn't even begin to imagine.

"She's fine though." Probably. "Happy"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Perhaps Alric had said that too soon. While Myra appeared to be nothing but a happy and healthy little girl, they would soon come to find nothing was as it seemed.

Myra gave another small cry again and then there was the sound of a splash. Mister Tuggles bounded from his boulder just to the side of the small pool. There was Myra, half in the water. One minute she'd been perfectly fine, the next a sudden seizure had taken her. By grace, she had not fallen into the river, but the little girl was now unconscious and very, very pale.

"Myra!" Danger cried out, alarm rushing through her again.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric was up and off the blanket in a matter of seconds. There wasn’t any other natural reaction that kicked in besides getting up and rushing over to Myra as fast as he could. One could have expected dust to kick up in a small wake behind him with how fast he moved. There was no ounce of hesitation, no blink of waiting to see if Myra would get up again.

He moved as fast as he could.

Myra falling wasn’t expected.

She had been fine, healthy, laughing only a few moments ago. The girl hardly ever made a sound, a squeak here, a giggle there, half hearted whimpers when she had a nightmare. There had been no real way to tell if she was hurt or injured, at least until she fell. The Tetan rushed over towards his youngest daughter.

His knee ached, though any and all pain was quickly forgotten. Feet struck hard against rocks, and in one fluid motion Alric scooped Myra up off the rocks and immediately carried her back towards Danger and the blankets.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Is she okay?" Danger cried. "What is wrong with her?" alarm just rose within the woman's breast. Such a mass of panic that seemed to overwhelm her. How Alric had managed to move so fast and simply act was beyond her.

Myra was dripping water, her hair damp. Her dress saturated. Her eyes were closed but she seemed so pale. At the very least her chest was rising and falling softly, so she was still breathing.

"Myra honey," Danger came to sit beside the little girl where Alric had laid her down. Her hands came up to cup her cheeks and try to gain her attention.

"Open your eyes honey."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric kept his cool, mostly. His eyes frantically searched for any signs of injury, broken bones, cracked skull, anything that showed Myra was bleeding or otherwise hurt.

When he found no blood, or not oddly bent limbs, he quickly began to check her pulse. One hand went sailing to the little girl’s neck, feeling a soft thrum of her heartbeat in her pulse. Another sigh of relief pulled through his lips, though next he pulled Danger gently back. “Hang on, Honey.”

Alric said as he leaned in and put his ear next to Myra’s nose and mouth.

There was a soft, almost impossible to discern push of air onto the inside of his ear, sending a slew of goosebumps down his spine. He shook slightly but backed off.

“She’s okay.” For now. “Breathing, let’s get her back to the House, there’s a medical droid.”

He’d really thought of everything.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger didn't even bother grabbing their picnic basket or the blanket. She was too frantic at the thought that something might be wrong with Myra. Did she hurt herself as she fell?

Did she hit her head? Her eyes began to sting, and there was this sudden heavy pressure in Danger's chest.

"Medical droid?" would that be enough? It was a half thought parroting of Alric's words, but none the less the Queen of Trade went rushing alongside her husband.

"Are you sure she's breathin'?" by now, Danger had blanched at least two shades lighter than her normal skin tone.

"Did she hit her head?" so many questions, but Alric was doing his best to quickly head back to the manor.

They would only know once they met with the medical droid.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I think so but she's not bleeding." That was at least a good sign. The lack of blood meant that she didn't have any wounds, and it was very likely that she had a concussion at the very least. He'd had plenty of those as a kid and he turned out alright, it was more the cause of her fall that worried Alric, something that he kept to himself. "She's breathing."

He knew that much from the soft rise and fall of her chest.

The Medical droid would be good enough for an assessment, actually probably better than most doctors that they could find on this planet. Most medical droids did surgeries, analysis, even diagnosis. It helped that they came pre-programmed with dozens upon dozens of medical journals that an organic Doctor could only dream of remembering. They didn't have the same cleverness as an organic doctor, but that was a small sacrafice one had to make.

The medical droid would be enough.

For now. "She'll be okay, Honey."

Alric said the words as he half broke out into a sprint. His knee ached with pain, but he did his best to ignore it. There were few things that could stand in his way when it came to his children, and a little pain from his knee certainly wasn't going to be one of them.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

They made it to the manor as fast as their legs could carry them. It was a wake up call on their age and just what their physical bodies could take. While the adrenaline would be giving them both the burst of energy to take Myra from the bank into the building, the heavy breathing and anxious shake of shot nerves would make Danger's hands tremble.

Danger had no idea where the medical droid or the medbay would be at. She would have to defer to Alric's knowledge for that. They'd barely toured half of the estate, and there was still much to see.

"Myra honey, open your eyes sweetie." Danger would coo out, pleading as she kept up with Alric. They crossed the wrought iron gate that led them into the small atrium. The area was full of flowers and trees here. The cobbled stone path led straight into the stone threshold that led into the massive kitchen.

From here, Danger shot forward, doing her best to open doors and allow Alric to cross unhindered with the youngling in his arms.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

His main focus was just to get to the right room. His knee was hurting, his head was too, everything seemed to be spinning and...he felt a little sick. The symptoms were ignored however, and instead the former Titan rushed as fast as he could towards the double doors that Danger swung open. Their footsteps resounded over and over again until finally they reached the right room.

It was an infirmary.

The washed white walls, the tile floor, and the advanced medical equipment were reminiscent of a hospital or another esteemed medical center, everything was shiny and bright, white enough to cause a slight hurt to the eyes when looked at. Alric immediately placed Myra on the table, frowning slightly and pointing towards the corner.

“Hit that button.” He told Danger.

She rushed over, as any dutiful mother would, and bounded the small red orb as hard as she could.

In an instant a light popped on and the wall fell away. A droid powered online and within a heartbeat stepped out into the room. It looked questioningly at Danger, Alric, and then at Myra. “Fix her.”

It was all he could think to say.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Rushing back to the medical table, the redheaded matron came close to push back the damp bangs of the little girl. Danger couldn't bear to simply step away, anxiety forming into sharp lines across her face.

"Myra, honey?" she murmured low, her eyes stinging with approaching tears. The medical droid slowly floated over, extending the various appendages to begin the scan of the little girl.

Alric had to grab her by the shoulders to pull her back so that the droid could do its job. A whimper managed to escape her mouth, the fine trembling turning into a visible shake as the adrenaline and panic rose.

"What could have happened?" she cried out, unable to bear the sight of their little girl barely breathing.

Things had been going so well for them today. They had it all planned out. Why was the 'verse deciding to do this today? After everything?!

How could the 'verse be so cruel.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The droid worked diligently in assessing what was actually wrong with Myra, checking her over with scanners, thermometers, half a dozen different pieces of equipment that Alric didn’t even recognize. He took Danger in his arms, holding her back but also providing her with a small measure of comfort. “It’ll be okay.”

Myra was still breathing.

Eventually the droid finished it’s work, humming slightly as it turned on it’s servers and quickly rounded on Danger and Alric. For a moment the former Tetan wondered if the thing was broken or simply unwilling to speak, and then it delivered it’s assessment.

“Your daughter will awake within a few moments.”

It likely knew that this was the most urgent.

“She has a mild concussion and is running a fever. She sustained injuries during a fall,these however are mild. I cannot determine the origin of the fever. More tests are required.”

He was half relieved, but he could feel a tightness growing in his chest.

Fever? She had been perfectly alright earlier, fine this morning. He frowned slightly, could something have gotten her sick here? He didn't think so. The Food was the same and an allergy would have materialized itself yesterday. She didn’t have a rash or anything like that either. His hands tightened on Danger for a moment, and then Myra began to stir.