The Pathfinder Chronicles and stuff

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

“Looks like there is limited information.” The young Talith would tell her. There wasn’t a known location, but now they had a few clues.

“But I think from reading up on this… you’re a Wraith.” He would pull up a more detailed search on the Wraiths, but little to none would change on the results. However, they did match up on the key qualities Vexen displayed.

“They seem to be very rare. Most do bodyguard work,” he wasn’t going to add about the assassin bit. “But they are visible under ultraviolet light -- which is that dark light that you spoke up earlier.” that made sense.

It also made him curious to try out. Unfortunately there was no black light onboard.

“And they mention that typically they are shadows to the naked eye.” bright orange eyes would swivel over to Vexen.

“But you are not the only one.”

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

This was the second time in as many days that Vexen’s perspective on the world was irrevocably changed. She felt no disappointment that there was no listed homeworld; that merely took the edge off her excitement.

Her head turned from Micah to the screen and back again. She couldn’t read it, but she had perhaps hoped to spy a picture. Her little heart was pounding fast now as she tried to chew through this bit of information in her mind. She wasn’t the only one like her. She wasn’t really that different from the others, just another type of person. Perhaps she could even have a family out there. Like Micah had a family.

Then her eyes turned to the floor as her mind when down a different path. “How did I end up here, all alone?” she asked rhetorically. She had pondered that question before. She’d always been in the Hidden Places down below the gardens on her own. To some extent she just assumed that was the way of things. But if there were more like her then surely she had been with her own kind at some point. But she didn’t recall anything but here.

No, that’s not true.

“Sometimes,” she said quietly, still looking at the floor. “If I try really hard I can push back before here. Just a few things. Rocks, running wa’er. A smell. Like me, but not like me. Sometimes when I can rem…ember it makes me feel…safe.”

Her heart wasn’t pounding with excitement any more. Her mind raced, but once again the infant was feeling overwhelmed with a concoction of emotions she didn’t know how to deal with. She went down on her haunches and drew her knees into her chest and rocked on the spot as she tried to think this through.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

One didn't need to be empathic to realize that Vexen was a little bit overwhelmed right now. Or more like alot.

So he slipped off his chair and came low to be next to the Defel. Again, as this family was wont to do, what with his need to show comfort, Micah went reaching out to try and hug Vexen. Sometimes, everyone needed a hug. She seemed like she did.

She could have been taken from her family maybe? Or lost? There were so many different reasons. That troubled Micah.

"Those are memories." memories that could potentially be enhanced with the Force, but not something that Micah thought of at the time.

"Maybe of your family? Where you came from?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

This time she was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even see him coming. As she felt his arms wrap around her she didn't bare her teeth this time, but she did let out a low growl.

It lasted only a few moments before she stopped. Bright eyes looked up at his face and then she leant her head against his chest.

"But if I had one, why did they leave me?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah's small chest rose, breathing deeply against Vexen's diminutive form. Would they leave her? It wasn't as if Micah was blind to things. His father and mother were upfront and tried to talk to him and his sisters when it came to serious matters. However, perhaps it was a handicap with the boy that he couldn't imagine parents leaving their children behind.

It just didn't make sense.

"Maybe you got lost?" he would suggest. "If you have some happy memories of being safe... maybe that means that you weren't left at all." he would pause to consider.

"But that means that you can at least start looking for them if you like." Micah didn't know how that would start, but he was able to find his sisters through the Force. That was because of their bond.

Maybe there were bonds Vexen had that she could use to find her family herself?

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

At least Vexen wasn’t as pungent as she had been when Micah had hugged her before. Clean soft fur would rub under his chin as she found a more comfortable position, her ears flattening against her head.

“I dun know how,” she sighed. “I mean, I was thinkin’ this was everything. Just the gardens and the Land Below that folk aren’t allowed to go to. I’d have seen another like me if they were here. How much is there to look?”

The herdship was only a kilometre or so across. There was a vast flotilla above the world acting as cities for the Ithorians so that they didn’t ruin the ecology of Ithor. That was as far as Vexen’s notion of scale went. The hership and the view of the green marble down beneath them through some of the windows. The notion of having to go further afield to search was…bewildering.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah wasn't sure exactly how to break it to Vexen. The galaxy was a whole lot larger than just the Herdship. His family could be anywhere. But where their is a will, there is a way.

"You know how I told you about the Force?" he would start, coming down to sit next to her, gently stroking on her hair with the blunt ends of his fingers. A thought came to his mind. It could work... but it would take a while.

"I know how to find my sisters with it." he told her. "It took me a long time to work on it, years... but I was finally able to find them when I focused hard enough. It's like they are connected to a string, and i'm on one end of it... while they are in another." It was more complicated than that, but it was a start.

"Maybe... Maybe I can teach you how to do that? So maybe you can find your family one day?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

He'd told her the ship was how he went to different world. In her mind she drew a picture. A few more green balls just like Ithor scattered around. Did all the people...

What was he doing with his...

Vexen's lids half closed and she felt the tension in her muscles simply melt away. She sighed quietly. No one else had ever groomed her fur before and something about that rhythmic action sent her into an exceedingly placid state.

He stopped and turned to look at her, clearly concerned that she'd gone silent. Her eyes widened a touch and she looked back. Oh, he'd asked her a question.

"Don't stop," she said very quietly. What had she been thinking again? Oh right.

"Yeah you can show me," she replied as if expecting it to be the easiest thing in the galaxy. "Do all people live above their worlds? How many are there?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

The Talith would do as Vexen requested, his small fingers running through her fur in a light stroking manner. With all the grime and grit gone, her fur was quite smooth. It would need some more upkeep. Malnutrition and a lifetime of living in the dregs meant that there were parts that were more of a flat matte. Were she to start eating well and hydrating, healthy fur would grow, making her coat all the more vibrant under ultraviolet light.

"Not all. Some live underground. Some live on the surface... some in the ocean." he would explain. "There are an endless amount of planets. Each one is different, and each one may have people in it. Some more than others and different kinds."

Perhaps a bit overwhelming, but it was true.

"It will take a while." he told her. "Training you how to do it." he had to be honest about that. "You just have to work hard and you'll become good at it. Then maybe we can find your family."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen had gone quiet again. With eyes half shut she tried to picture other worlds. Was that why there were so many different types of people? Did they each come from a different world? Her head pushed up against his hand to increase the pressure and guide him further down the neck. Whilst she was in something of a trance she was listening to his words. She could pick up on his inflection and knew he was being honest that this would be a long and difficult task.

Like every other step in her life Vexen simply considered it, weighed it up and nodded her head. There was no use complaining in life. Complaining got you nothing except an occasional beating. Vexen knew that you just had to suck it up, get your head down and get on with the job at hand. Whether that was moving some rocks to clear a tunnel, climbing up a degraded wall, or waiting patiently for a human to leave his uneaten food at a table.

When she spoke, she didn't mention the task further. She didn't feel there was anything more to say. A job needed to be done and it would be. The goal was worth everything she had to give. "What's an ocean?" she asked, before adding: "Scratch behind the ears?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah couldn't help but smile. It was the sort that was crooked right along the right side, matching him a a miniature of his father, Soliael Talith. He gave a slight scoot, setting his back against the wall and bringing the Defel along with him. His fingers would drift up towards the back of her ears, where they would give a slight twitch and flatten out as he would do as instructed.

Kai, seeing how her older brother was making himself comfortable, decided that she too must take a spot. The youngest Talith would wander over, giving up on Vexen's tail for the present time, and claim her spot on the opposite side of Vexen. She would curl her little body against his, prompting a small chuckle.

"You wanting to cuddle too, Kai?" blonde hair would spill against his chest, and Micah would lift up his arm to wrap around her. That's how he stayed. Two little girls on each side while Micah set to cafune them both.

"Mmm... an ocean?" his tiny face would scrunch. "It is wet. Salty. Realllly big. Back on Borleias, our home is surrounded by it." he tipped his head back, resting it against the wall. "It is fun. We all like to go swimming."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"Oh like a lake?" Vexen asked. They had lakes here. There was a big one underground too. It had a name...tricky name. Began with an 'R'. Res...never mind, Vexen decided not to bother bringing it up. There was nothing salty about either of those though. "How far away is your home?" Vexen asked. This 'ship' seemed pretty big on its own. It made her wonder why anyone would stay in one place. If you could take such a spacious abode around with you...why settle.Something new welled up inside her. Normally such a feeling was stifled - often it was dangerous. Curiosity got the better of her sometimes, as it did any intelligent creature.

"How far is Borleias? Wassit like?" she asked. Through half-lidded eyes she watched Kaili settle. Not that should would for very long; children her age rarely did. Vexen instinctively nipped at Micah's hand gentle. Defel's had thick fur and typically groomed roughly with tooth and claw.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

"Okay, okay" Micah would say, laughing at the nip. The blunt nails of his fingers would scratch a bit harder, paying particular attention under the curve of Vexen's ears.

"Is that better." Kai had taken to poking at Micah's belly, but at his sudden vigorous movements when scratching Vexen, would draw her attention to instead trying to poke at what she could only guesstimate to be the Defel's nose.

"She's relaxing Kai, be nice." Then again, Kai always did better with robots than anything on four legs.

"An ocean is a lot larger than a pond." how to equate size comparison to the ocean that surrounded the tourist world of Borleias? "Like a twenty thousand ponds." although, he couldn't quite picture twenty thousand ponds himself.

"There is a beach and an ocean. It can be bright during the day."

 

[Vexen]

It was fortunate that Micah had her kept in a relatively placid state with the scratching. Left to her own devices for so many years had left her a relatively primal creature and poking her nose was more than likely to elicit a bite. Instead eyes flashed open at Kaili which seemed to dissavow her of the notion.

Twenty…thousand, she thought to herself. She wasn't really sure what a thousand was. “So…like…is it so big you can't see the ground on the other side?” she asked quietly, before her body managed to become even more limp.

For a moment she had something akin to an outer body experience. For a fleeting moment she felt overwhelmed again. The scene was so…alien to her. Was this really happening? Sometimes she had observed the other lost children who roamed the hidden places in their packs. At night they sometimes gathered together in huddles for warmth. She'd always wanted to join in. It was one of the reasons she had tried in vain to approach them several times. Yet they had always been so scared. Micah was like Rajik. He wasn't scared at all. Yet he was also utterly different. What was it that made him brave and yet kind? She wondered.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]


Micah had to fight with Kai's current fascination, ending up tucking her up closer against his side. She might be a bit feisty, but if he started to play with her hair --

He felt the soft nuzzle and hid of her face against his arm as Micah wove his fingers through her blonde hair. Just like mom, he smirked, turning over to Vex.

It would appear that all creatures of the female type enjoyed being scratched and have their hair played with. Well, at least this was rather comfortable. Out by the galley, the soft tone deaf sound of Kira's cheery voice would float in and out. While she may not sing a tune, she did make up for it in passion and in gusto. Kira sang for herself or her family. They enjoyed the intent in the end anyways.

".... Yeah. So big you can't see the ground on the otherside or below." One apt way to put it. "But that's okay, we have ways to get over it. Plus swimming is nice."

He would continue the scratch behind her ears, taking her lead to where else she would like it. "Getting sleepy?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"How strange," Vexen stated. Her ear flicked up and twisted towards the sound of the caterwauling. Recognising the sudden increase in pitch for what it was, the ear flattened back down.

In her mind she tried to picture an infinite ocean for what it was. Having never set fut on a spherical world, she imagined the horizon reaching up forever. She made herself a little dizzy trying to picture out. "I like water," she stated suddenly. Her fur would have been far worse if there wasn't that great underground body of water. The Ithorian probably didn't appreciate the strands of fur in their reservoir for watering plants of course.

"Not sleepy," she replied quietly. "Just..." There was a word for this wasn't there. She couldn't recall it, so she went with "...okay."

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

The young Talith would smile. He understood what that meant, and he was glad for it. Being 'okay' was a good first step.

"Alright." he kept on the attentive stroking, all the wall mulling over what had just occurred. In essence, he had taken responsibility over the Defel with offering to train her. Meant that she would be staying with him. Something he would tell his mom about, but he didn't think there was a big issue about it.

Maleah after all had Toufless and Aela had her pet Drexl.

Not to say Vexen was a pet, but he considered her a new friend.

And one thing his parents have always taught him is that one should always look after their friends.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Even though it made her eyes water, she sat and stared with wonder at the view before her. The stars had turned to great long streaks before cerulean tunnel had stretched out the infinity before them. Each star apparently had its own worlds and each world was as large as the Land Below. And now they were moving between the stars, off to an entirely different world. Her chest moved quickly as she sucked in shirt raspy breaths. Vexen became acutely aware of Micah watching her closely with a wide grin.




She was panting furiously, but Micah waved at her to get up off her haunches.

“Jus’ a sec,” she pleaded, taking her stun batons up off the floor. That memory often came to the fore of her mind. The very first time she'd seen hyperspace. Her universe had grown so very much on that day.

With a sigh she pushed herself up off the floor. Micah was barely even sweating yet. She snorted out through her nose, trying to rid herself of that acrid stench. Much to her chagrin, they had quickly discovered that a lightsaber set to a non lethal mode could still singe her fur.

The incident with the warp spiders had been the turning point. It had hit her that she had betrayed that first agreement she had made with Micah. Instead she had become lazy and dependant on Micah. Not to mention soft around the middle and more concerned with preening her fur than training so she could find her people. If there was one thing the little Defel was capable of, it was attacking a problem with single minded determination. Once that had been surviving, now it was training. It was simple really. A routine was made and no matter how arduous it was it had to be followed.

Micah was still smiling as she flicked on her stun batons. Blue lights crackling down the sides. He was still standing casually, cocky as ever. Without warning she darted forwards and swung at his shin to punish him.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

The teenager would smirk at the Defel, only to widen his eyes as she moved with greater efficiency and deftness. Vexen has always been a fast girl. It was a matter of training her to be even faster. To use the Force while she was doing so to begin with.

His saber came down, moving to parry the hit as he took a step and swung back. There were beads of sweat sticking to his face, soaking his temples. He had to toss his hair away from his face, it kept getting in his eyes. But he was being stubborn about it.

His parry would follow through with a step forward and an attempt to go for her right arm.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen immediately regretted overextending herself. Too keen to catch him off guard with a painful tap on the shin she had failed to properly map out her next moves in her mind. That was the main difference between them now, other than raw technique. She was quick and had the basic moves down, but she rarely strung them together smoothly. It was the difference between being able to carry out an activity consciously and knowing it so well that your body carried it out whilst you mind pondered other things. The frustration would be clear in her aura.

Her stun batons were relatively short. She preferred it that way so they were light and could be kept hidden in her fur for when she needed them. On the other hand it meant she continually had to risk a painful welt from a saber set to stun to try and break through his guard every time. Both batons crossed above her and then swung around to catch his saber. It was a bit haphazard, but it worked. With the momentum taken out of the strike, the right hand held firm and tried to force his saber out wide, whilst the left quickly flicked back into line and around to strike for his wrist. Then she would rather rapidly retreat backwards to re-evaluate and try and plan a way through a well-set defence.