The Pathfinder Chronicles and stuff

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

A cheeky grin drew across the scruff of his face, perking a rare dimple typically hidden underneath it. That little boy look, trouble with a mischievous glint.

"Well, I do like a little bit of char on mine," he flopped himself onto his seat, teasing Vexen, but actually meaning it. He didn't mind. Food was food, and sometimes he did like a bit of the char. A good marbling was nice too. Mouth watering, he gave a nod. Forks and knives set, he waited for Vexen to join him.

"Sounds like a plan." he said, setting down his juice box to get ready to dig in. "Did you want anything particular with it?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"You mean with the armour or the foofm..." Vexen said. Her manners were better, but that didn't always prevent her from shovelling food into her face before finishing her sentence. She had curbed her sweat treats habit recently, but saw no reason not to enjoy freshly cooked meat. Odd how things that had once been such rare treats could become so commonplace.

She'd only really imagined something that ensured his training sabers didn't singe her fur.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

The twin suns of his eyes would dance with devilry.

"Seems like you are good to go with the steak there," he'd joke with her, digging into his meal and slicing up bite sized pieces of steak. They were both rather carnivorous in their likes, which wasn't to say they didn't get their fair share of vegetables. His mother would beat him with her spoon if he avoided them, even at his age now.

"Nah, the armor. Do you want something basic or anything that would help out?" with Micah able to imbue items, it was easy to apply a Force imbuement quality for her.

Another consideration. Did he want to try training with a lightsaber? Or better yet, did she want one to begin with? There were so many different versions of light weapons now a days, that she could have her pick of the litter and he'd be happy to craft it.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen had the good graces to chew a little less noisily and look abashed. Knives and forks seemed such an unnecessary pain. Sometimes, when no one was looking, she'd happily gnaw on a hunk of meat. She had good teeth for it. Fortunate that Micah had found her when he did, or else they might have been lost well before old age. She slowly chewed her steak for a moment, conscious of keeping her mouth closed.

"I dun' like getting hit," she said after a short time in thought. Her voice revealed the fact that her mind had turned back to some dark memories from her past. "I can run and hide and dodge. But can you make somethin' that...I dunno...makes it hard to grab me with the Force?"

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Needless to say, Micah couldn't help but give a small chuckle. The Defel was terribly conscious of her fur. The one time Micah had bought her a brand new ultraviolet light lamp, she became so ecstatic. It was to no surprise that she spent a good hour brushing her fur, although at times, she would often come to Micah for him to do the brushing.

"Something that makes it hard to grab you with the Force." There were several ways they could go about this. One was Terentaktek leather, but that would affect whatever Force use the Defel may use under the armor. Plus, it would make healing her over the armor impossible. However, it would protect her from being grabbed.

There was also the potential to use taozin nodules upon the leather to make Vexen seem blurry and fuzzy in the Force, making it difficult to discern her. Imbuing the leather to scatter her Force signature would also do well.

"Hmm.. let me think on it. I know a few ways, but they do different effects. Anything else?"

 

[Vexen]

“I dunno,” Vex replied her eyes turning to the ceiling as she paused cutting her steak into polite sized chunks and pondered. “What would be cool?” she asked. Cool was a word she had only picked up in the last few years. She hadn’t exactly had a normal upbringing where she was subject to the usual peer-pressures to conform with other pre-teens her age. At the same time she was immersed in popular culture as much as the next kid with a datapad and had started to have some concerns over how other people perceived her.

It was so very difficult being an almost invisible shadow. People often didn’t engage her in conversation unless Micah introduced her. She was still nervous about talking to strangers without him letting her know it was safe. Some behaviours could be written deep into the psyche if the lessons were learned frequently enough in the early years.

“What we up to tomorrow?” she asked.

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah would mull that question over, chewing thoughtfully. Both were rather the same in terms of how they ended up engulfing their food. Perhaps not the best of manners, but enough to have his mum okay with it. If anything, she was just happy that they were eating well. Mums were always worrying about such matters as nutrition and the like. Kira Talith may be all of half a meter shorter than his father, but all knew that it was she who ruled their home and had them wrapped around her little pinky finger.

"I can think of other things. Make them a bit like your goggles." if she didn't know if she wanted a lightweapon of some form, Micah didn't want to push her. The Defel knew what she wanted when she put her mind to it.

"Tomorrow, we will dive more into your Force training," He told her. They were alternating physical training and Force training. Some classes were with Micah, others they would wander about to have the experts give their insight. Healing was never his forte, but his aunt Amore, would best serve for that. She had been the one who had managed to set and heal Vexen's hand as much as she could.

"Work on your defenses and expand on your senses." he would elaborate. Bright orange eyes would look up at the Defel. "Is there anything you want to learn on specifically?" with the breadth of contacts and connections, there was little that Vex could ask for that he couldn't train her or find someone who could do so.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

"Something interesting?" she ventured hopefully. It didn't seem likely. For some reason she just liked the physical stuff better. Learning to jump higher, run faster, to fight.

The Force was unique to everyone and she just got bored listening to other people talk about it. Some of the people they'd met really liked their big words too, which made her feel silly. Still, she'd made a promise to him, herself and her family. That extended to that day in the Covenant when she'd stood with all the others and agreed to make a difference.

"Mind tricks?" she asked, knowing he'd probably say no. It was the one area she seemed to have an affinity for and needed the least practise. "I can have a dessert right?" she asked to herself as she carried her plate to the sink. She found a small plastic tub of something chocolatey and waved another at Micah.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

"Yes. No. And yes." the Talith said with a laugh.

"You are already adapt at Mind-Tricks, but we can have you expand them later. I want to make sure you have your defenses first." like being able to use a bubble of protection, a basic heal, how to push her body to move faster and conserve her energy. These were all the things she'll need to learn first before they go onto the more advanced areas.

A thought came to him, then he would gesture over to the Defel with his fork.

"What do you consider interesting?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

The lid of the tub came off with remarkable speed. Licked clean and slapped down on the table in a flash. The second tub went sliding across the table to come to a halt within arm’s reach.

“Hmm…” was all Micah got before the tub was licked clean. He was very quickly presented with the view of a pink tongue pressed against the inside of the clear plastic. Vexen turned it around in her hands and eyed it suspiciously.

Her goggles turned back to Micah. Even to this day she sometimes needed a moment to compose her thoughts. Words didn’t always come easily to the Defel, even when she was alone with Micah.

“I dunno. Trying to concentrate and hold up three stones at a time is kind of boring though?”

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah gave a snort.

“Having trouble there?” he’d ask, heavy in amusement. He reached over to take the other tub, popping the lid to get his own cookie. A shove set one in between his lips while he offered the rest to the Defel. She did have her sweet tooth.

“Nuhuh.” his mumbled voice would say, pulling the cookie from his mouth with a bite. “Not gonna have you lift stones.” Yes that was terribly boring. Something that Aela would do.

“We could go wandering for a bit.” He told her. Another thought came to find. “Find other groups of Force users. That might be interesting. Learn from them.” maybe a way to enhance Vex’s skills.

He would chew some more.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen put the pot down with a sigh. "Never as much in em as it looks."

She looked thoughtful for a few moments. Being offered an alternative to lifting stones was good. But it sounded like they would be going to see strangers.

"Ok, anyone we know?" she asked tentatively.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah went reaching over for the other tub, ready to at the very least take one cookie from the Defel before she ate them all. She did have her sweet tooth, and things had a tendency of disappearing if left alone for too long. The Talith gave her a wide grin.

"Mmhm, " popping the lid, he managed to claim one of the last cookies. "I figured we could stop by the healers. Learn some basic healing from my aunt." Amore had been the literal Goddess Inari. She was a renowned healer. If she wasn't available, however, they could stop by the circle of healers at least.

"We could go see Jace again," he told her, gesturing with his cookie. "I hear he's done right well after Aela slammed him a time or two." That was a joke of course. Truth be told, he wondered how the Hound was doing. It had been a while. Perhaps it was time to go visit @Jacen Voldstalker. If anything, it would be nice to catch up, mulled the Force Tracker.

"Let's do that." he made his decision. "We can go see Jace first. From there, we can travel around Alliance and neutral space. See who we can find to learn a bit from mmm?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen's body language suddenly shifted. The stiffness melted away and she was much more animated once again. Micah didn't need to study her silhouette carefully to understand the difference of course. Their bond was so strong they often knew what the other was thinking before they did.

"Oh yeah, let's go see him," Vexen replied, far more enthusiastic about the notion now she realised there weren't any strangers involved. It took her a long time to trust. Even relaxing in a new person's presence still took time. The pair had spent plenty of time at Micah's aunts and they'd talked to Jacen often when at Sullust. She liked that world too. Lots of long winding underground passages beneath the surface of the dome. She always felt quite content when she stayed down there. The feel of the enclosed space, the way it muffled the sound but could echo a pin drop from a great distance at the same time. Must have been similar to the passages she'd grown up in underneath the living areas of the Herdship, she reasoned.

"How long a trip is that?" she asked. "Might chill and do some readin' for a bit," she added. Even with the Force she could feel the fatigue setting in across her body from their morning exertions.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

The right corner of Micah's mouth curved upward. He took a bite from his cookie. "Go rest. You did well today. It will take us at least five hours or so to get there." Vex usually had a bout of food coma after having a meal. He couldn't blame her, naps were pretty great.

"Go clean up, stretch a bit then relax. Once we reach Sullust we can find Jace and take it from there." The Marshal had his own interesting skillset. He was more combat oriented, so perhaps Vex would be able to learn a bit from him.

Either way, it would be great to see the Jedi again. They still had to go to the hot springs. Something about redheads and the likelihood of potential wiggling.

And to be honest, at his age, he was quite interested in said wiggling.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Her eyes slowly blinked open. There was a distinctly unpleasant sensation, but it took her groggy mind a fee moments to pin it down. Her tongue was hanging out if her mouth and had stuck to a page of her book. It peeled off slowly and she ran it around the inside of her mouth to moisten it once more. Yuck.

With a wide yawn she found her goggles under her blankets. After a while she'd migrated from her cubby hole in the engine room to her own quarters, but she still preferred a pile of blankets to pillows. They just didn't feel right and left her with a sore neck.

Taking a gander at her mirror, she found her fur all flattened to the side of her face and sticking up in tufts at the top. Well that just wouldn't do. A quick lick of her paws and a stroke failed to smooth it down, so she went to find her brush to sort it out before going to find Micah.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah took the time to comm his father back on Borleias. The Talith like to comm regularly, and talking to his parents brought with it a measure of joy along with the typical smart-alec jokes. The latter was more prominent in his conversations with his mother, while the more serious ones revolving about the Force, locations to travel, and various artifacts were with Soliael.

He was curious if there was anything new or of interest. To which he was surprised to hear that his father had stepped down from being the Senator of heir home. Well that is something. However, considering how the Talith enjoyed spending more time with his mother, it made sense.

Their marriage was the sort that Micah openly desired to have for himself. He wasn't sure when he'd get married, but he knew he planned for it to happen at one time or another. Meeting a girl, falling in love, getting married and having a family is what he was looking forward to. Seeing the love his father had for his mother and vice versa gave him the hope and desire for one exactly like that for himself.

Perhaps a bit of a high standard, but he wasn't prideful to the point to deny it.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

The more stubborn bits of fur had required wetting, smoothing down and blow-drying several times before they agreed to lay properly. If he hadn't been aware of her waking up through their Force Bond, he would have heard the repeated blasts of dryer. When she was content, she slipped her goggles back on and headed out of her room. She kept the door locked most of the time. It was simply because she couldn't expect the lights in the ship to be kept down to a comfortable level for her at all times, and she liked to take her goggles off from time to time. It would just take one accident slip and the light outside her room would leave her eyes permanently damaged.

Her jaws opened wide into a big yawn and she meandered through the ship to find Micah. "We nearly there yet?" she asked.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah could tell when Vex awoke. She was like this little flutter in the edge of his senses. A smile perked the corner of his mouth as he heard her soft mewling question.

The pad of his foot pushed his chair around, turning to face the Defel in a dramatic slow spin. The scruffy faced Talith gave a smirk, his bright orange eyes laughing down at Vexen.

"We'll be out of hyperspace in about fifteen minutes or so." his grin grew wider. "How's the fur? Managed to smooth over those little signed bits?" he only teased her, knowing how much that meant to her.

"We can find you some more of that product you like to use." When they were able to use water showers, there was this particular product Vex could use on her fur to soften it and smooth over the ends. Nothing worked best than her own natural oils, but this was just something on top for the extra dry bits.

"So, gonna need to take your measurements. Then I figure when we are over at Jace's I can use the Academy temple's shop to craft you that armor."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

“I’ve never liked the hot springs much, but there are some cool pools down under the Temple I think,” she said. “I can go and get some pampering after we’ve caught up with Jace,” she said, using a three syllable word which was a rarity for the ill-educated Defel. The subtle hint there that should would need some credits to go for a pampering after they’d spoken to the Jedi Marshal.

Her eyes narrowed a touch, just visible through the semi-opaque goggles. “Got time to measure me before we get there, or when you’ve set ‘er down?”