The Pathfinder Chronicles and stuff

[Micah Talith]

Kalee's Shadow
Ithor
Some few seconds after [member="Vexen"] wakes up...


"Micah!"

The voice was high-pitched, a bit out of breath, and came from the entrance of the ship. The Defel would be quick to surmise that there was someone else on the ship besides the tiny, peach faced youngling with the bright orange eyes!

The babble of baby talk along with the,"Ohhh you must be sleepy, mmm? Want to nap?" the low, soothing mothering tones of one Kira Talith would lightly echo as the hiss of the hydrolic ramp would indicate entry.

There were other little shuffles of feet, definitely more than one pair joining that mix.

"Micah, honey... I need your help with these groceries!"

They were no longer alone.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

That voice was unfamiliar. Vexen cocked her head to one side and both ears perked up. An infant as well. Several sets of footsteps. A powerful fight or flight reaction started. Vexen's rapidly thumping heart was loud in her own ears. There were strangers around now. Was it time to leave? Micah has offered more food, but at this moment Vexen had been startled. Long ago the infant Defel had her behaviour fixed for dealing with sudden surprises: run away.

She did an odd jig as she tried to decide whether to bolt for the exit of the ‘ship’ or hide in the room. In the darkness she could possibly dart part whoever was there and escape back to the hidden places. Her mind was made up as dim glow bathed the corridor as a light was turned on somewhere. Vexen's face vanished in a flash as she shot back into Micah's room and hid behind his bed.

A small voice of reason tried to pipe up. Micah seems kind. He wouldn't let anyone hurt you. Calm down. But Vexen had survived on instinct alone for a very long time and right now that voice was very small. She had to scrunch her eyes tight as more and more lights were switched on outside of the doorway.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]


“Honey?” Kira’s questioning voice would carry. Micah’s own pipped in shortly after.

“Coming!” he told her, moving from the lounge area where he’d been watching the holo. With a rub of his nose, he padded his way over towards the entryway of the Kaile, where the tiny blonde Lorrdian Jedi Master stood.

Joy spread across her face, and a sunny smile beamed down at her only son. “Hey buck-a-roo.” she would greet him, giving his mop of blonde streaked hair a quick ruffle.

“Have you’ve seen your sisters?” Aela and Maleah to be exact.

“Not yet,” he would tell her, moving on down the ramp to gather the groceries from the small speedercar. “Aela commed earlier that she and Maleah were gonna go to the animal sanctuary.” well that made sense, especially with the love of animals both had.

“Well, as long as they aren’t out too late,” she say, more to herself as her fingers ran across the pale blonde locks of Kaili’s hair. The sleepy youngest Talith lay with her eyes closed and a thumb in her mouth along her mother’s shoulder, the youngling rather tuckered out from their little trip to the Ithorian sanctuary.

“You’ve been busy?” Kira asked her son, giving a slight frown as she felt a strange sensation run down her spine. Was that… fear?

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]
She heard Micah's voice clearly. Yet in her sudden panic she barely paid attention to the words, despite her keen hearing being capable of discerning every syllable. Her breath came fast and shallow. She was now torn between instinct and reason. The internal battle manifested as - keeping on all fours behind the bed - she turned on a full circle.

Strangers were dangerous. If they saw her they generally panicked. Now she was penned in on this ‘ship’ and it was too light out there to flee.

No! The boy was kind. He wouldn't hurt her. But he was just a boy.

Still full of anxiety, the defel infant tried to get a grip. Her head popped up from behind the bed, bendy eyes peering out. Her ears perked up. She shifted her weight from paw to paw nervously, but remained rooted to the spot.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

"Mmhm," Micah would tell his mother, walking alongside her. "I made some new friends!" he would pipe in, starting to tell her about his day.

"Oh is that so?" Kira would smile down at her son, but her frown would only grow. Yes, she certainly felt that. Fear. "Is everything okay bud?" she asked him with a curious tone, searching. She even gave a half spin on her feet as she gave a small look around the lounge.

"Yup! Vexen is sleeping now." he said it without a care. Kira blinked, and turned to look at her son. "Vexen?"

"Yeah, I met her under the sewers today." if that bit of information shocked his mother, it didn't show. "I brought her over to eat. She looked hungry." bags were set on the table and he began to put items away in the galley.

"Oh, okay." well it was Kira, and Micah was her son. If anything they shared the most similar of traits. Meanwhile, Kira would give this a good mull. Is that who she was feeling? It would make sense if suddenly new people were on and about. That would require a level of conciousness.

"How about you check on your new friend and see if she wants to eat." Kira gave her son a shoo, Maleah going straight for the juiceboxes with a clamor.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Her paws clenched and unclenched as she heard footsteps approaching. Stupid little useless furball. It's just his family, she thought to herself. Then she realised that she'd used the same terms that Rajick used to describe her when he was in a dark mood.

She growled. Yet that noise was borne of frustration at her own anxiety. Two loud snorts followed from her nose as she battled her own instincts. The footsteps became louder. Just one set, her sensitive ears told her. It was Micah. She didn't know how she knew, but she knee. He was ever easy going. Right now he felt relaxed, calm, happy to see his family again. A modicum of that attitude seemed to rub off on her, easy the tight knots she'd wound herself up in.

As he reached the door he'd see bright eyes peering out at him from behind his own bed. There was silence for a moment before she sighed. “Micah,” she said. Her breathing was sharp and shallow. It sounded incredibly loud to her. “Tha’s your family ain't it?” she asked in a wavering little voice.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah heard the low growl and the subsequent two snorts from the back of his room, prompting a curious concern over his youthful face. The suite was dark, but his senses were able to pick up on the diminutive form of the female. She was half crouched, almost in a protective stance as if she simply wanted to blend away with the walls.

"Yeah, it's my mum and my sisters." he told her, being informative as much as he could while keeping his voice neutral. He could tell she was scared again, and in his young mind along with his time with his great Oma, he empathically could relate to the Defel cub. Perhaps a trait given to all the Talith children from their mother, that intrinsic need to soothe and assure that one was safe.

"Are you hungry again?" food seemed to calm her down a bit. "My mum wanted to know if you wanted to eat again." he kept talking, walking on over towards the dresser where he went to grab a few knickknacks. Keeping busy and having Vex watch him seemed to relay that he wasn't trying to harm her.

"If Kai stays up, i'll make sure she doesn't throw her food a lot." he would grin out cheekily.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

" 'kay," she said in a small voice as she watched him walk past her carefully. He was just walking around his room carefree and she was on her haunches, stock still, behind his bed. It all felt rather foolish when he simply went to his dresser. She let out a small stuttered sigh as her eyes broke away and looked down to the floor. This was difficult for her. Naturally Defels built a mental map of their cave systems and trod familiar routes. It was easy to get lost otherwise. She could march through her main paths through the Hidden Places with her eyes closed. She even tended to follow familiar paths through the gardens. Being in a strange place with lots of strange people around was just entirely new to Vexen.

"Sorry," she whispered as she stood back up to her full, though diminutive, height. Her jaw quivered faintly. "Some food'd be nice, ta. It's a bit bright out there."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"] [member="Aela Talith"]

"I have some sun goggles if you like," he would tell her, his lighthearted attitude relaying that it was okay. She was okay. "I used them when my dad took me to Jakku." that had been a rather fun trip. Really hot though. Not as bad as Tatooine, but pretty up there. His mum had been fluttering over him about putting on enough sunblock.

He went digging through his dresser, still giving a bit of small talk here and there. "Aela should be back soon." he would say, "She's a bit more stuffy, but I think you'll like her." considering how Aela and Maleah both went gaga over the more furrier and scalier type of critters, that it made sense that the few times she would be more open to interaction would be with the Defel.

"Mum is likely to make dinner... but between you and me," Micah would glance over at the dark fuzzy shadow that was Vex, a mischievous glint sparking in his eyes.

"Dad does it better."

Well, it was a fact.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

For the first time in a few minutes Vexen left the small patch of floor she'd been occupying. Her left arm, with the twisted claw, hung straight down against her side. Her right arm went across her body, nervously stretching at her shoulder.

She peered around Micah, curious to see what it was he was looking for. He talked a lot. Not like Rajick did. Rajick mumbled to himself a lot. When he directly engaged Vexen in conversation it was rarely a good sign. Yet Micah was like a background patter of friendly noise.

Once again she found herself wondering what it would be like to be part of such a large family. He didn't even acknowledge her apology, so either he'd missed it or he'd decided to ignore it. Feeling a little more assured, she stopped scratching her shoulder, letting her arms hang more naturally. She yawned a wife, toothy yawn.

"Okay. Fresh cooked food is good," she remarked.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah was glad that Vex seemed to relax a bit more. With a smile that broadened, Micah would offer the basic sun goggles over to the Defel.

“Here you go.” he said, flashy a toothy grin of his own. “Yeah, mum got a whole bunch of food.” he told her, closing the dresser drawer with a small rasp of the rails.

“It might be a bit bright ‘cause mum turned on all the lights.” he explained, only to offer his hand. “But I can guide you if it is too bright for you despite the goggles

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"Yeah," Vexen replied quietly. "Would'n want the little ones trippin' over thereselves. I'll probably be alright."

The goggles cut out quite a lot of light and she could always squint, she thought to herself. Yet she found her good hand snaking out to grasp Micah's firmly. This was the first time in her entire life that someone was taking her to be introduced to new people. It was a strange and terrifying experience, but at the same time it was not entirely unwelcome. She was beginning to get used to the sound of her own voice again. In the last months she had barely spoken more words than the last day. Strange to be kept out of her own head and to be sharing her thoughts with another. Micah listened too, not like Rajick.

"They won't be scared of me?" she asked quietly. There was a tiny little spark deep down inside the blanket of fear. It threatened to grow brighter.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

“Nah,” he assured her, taking her smaller paw into her own. “I don’t think they are scare of anything really.” he joked, but there was a measure of truth in that. His dad was the bravest man he knew. So was his mum. Really, there was nothing to be scared of, especially when the person in question was Micah’s new friend.

“They are really nice. They will like you, don’t worry.” He assured her, ambling along. Micah wasn’t too much taller than Vex, but he kept his stride short to help her walk along. It felt like she was ready to bolt at any moment, and he didn’t want her feeling scared.

They made it down the hall, and Kira’s voice could be heard echoing in a singsong. A rather tone deaf singsong, but it was pleasant just the same.

“That’s my mum.” He would whisper, chuckling a bit. “She likes to sing.”

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

The off key warble did rather grate on Vexen's sensitive hearing at its worst parts, but Vexen decided not to mention that. However, Micah might have noticed the silhouette of her ears flattening down suddenly at a particularly flat note. They came around the corner into the galley. Vexen kept her eyes narrowed to slits to let just the faintest sliver of light through. On the table was a pile of empty bags. Vexen's eyes turned to regard the source of the singing. The slender human had blonde hair and seemed to be short by their standards. Up on tip-toes, Micah's mum seemed to be struggling to place a can up on the top shelf.

Vexen looked up to Micah, then back across to the singer.

"Hi," she said quietly, her voice dying in her throat and coming out particularly quietly.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]


The soft greeting was enough to prompt catching Kira's attention. The petite blonde would glance over her shoulder, a smile on her lips and warmth in her eyes.

"Oh hello!" She said, only to blink a bit in confusion. It was after all, hard to see a Defel with how they blended into the shadows. "OH!" it took a bit of focus and use of the Force. Yes, this was most definitely where that sensation of fear came. It was still there, tucked away with apprehension and shyness.

"There you are!" she grinned, she slipped the can of food onto the cupboard and slid the door shut. "Hi! I'm Micah's mom." she introduced herself, padding on over in a swath of plain blue Jedi Robes.

"I'm Kira..." she knelt down to get a better look of Vex." What's your name?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

It probably came as a surprise - to Vexen more than anyone - that she sidestepped behind Micah as she approached quickly. Bright eyes peered out as she introduction herself. She seemed a tiny slip of a woman hidden in a pile of voluptuous robes.

She certainly wasn't scared of the defel, not in the least. "Vexen," she replied, her voice wavering.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Oh she was terrified, Kira would muse to herself. Vexen may be just short of a shadow, but just by the way Kira could read her through the Force, she could tell that despite that fear, there was a kernal of strength there.

Eyes of one orphan met those of another.

Kira knew what it was to grow up alone in the streets. Kuat was her underground, and much like Vexen, had been used by the orphanage Warden to go out and pick pockets. Coming back empty handed meant the whip or worse. Scraps for food and just a bunch of younglings that stuck together. It wasn't until she had been picked up by the Jedi did things changes -- but even then, there was a reason why Kira was the way she is now.

She understood that necessity to survive.

So Kira, much like Micah had before, would slow her movements, understanding perfectly. She carefully stretched out her hand, palm up and in offering.

"Would you like something to eat, Vexen?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

It seemed the offer of food was always a route to Vexen's heart that circumvented her instinctive fear. With little social interaction and no schooling to speak of, the little creature ran almost entirely on instinct. Starvation was a very real threat to her survival, even more so than the other inhabitants in this world. This world which, as it turned out, was a very tiny corner of a very big Galaxy. She didn't comprehend quite what that meant, she couldn't. She also didn't know what it meant for her future and how it was about to shoot off down a tangent.

Her nose sniffed at the air and she leant out from behind Micah once more. "Yeah..."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Kira's smile would brighten, a wide toothy one that would follow a wink from the blonde woman.

"You feel like eating anything in particular then?" She would ask the Defel, coming to her feet slowly and simply continuing her conversation naturally. Micah in the meantime would give Vex's hand a comforting squeeze.

"Did you want another juice box?" he would ask her, a soft smile upon the younglings face. His mother went to the other side of the galley, a little bit of energy thrumming out of her.

"Breakfast? Dinner? Breakfast for dinner?" she sang out, giving a half chuckle.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Her body language and tone was infectious. That tight knot was now almost entirely unravelled. This had to be the most easy-going family in the world, she decided. She watched people all the time. Watched them in family groups. They were very rarely quite as relaxed, or smiled as much, as these people.

Letting go of Micah’s hand she followed in Kira’s wake. “Dunt normally get to choose food,” she said, more talkative than she had been in hours. “Whatever,” she said with a shrug. “Juice would be nice.”

She clambered up onto a chair again, taking the same corner seat she had fallen asleep in previously. Her eyes locked with the very youngest Talith and the pair found themselves watching each other suspiciously.