Times Have Changed, Yet I've Stood Still [Thurion]

[Lief]

Aargonar​

​

Kida had been apprehensive to say the least when it came to stepping foot off the Cortan Blade, her papa's prized ship. There was no greenery, no concrete, not even the horrid durasteel which made up the metal beasts she despised. Instead there was an ocean of orange and yellow set before her, and the people in the distance seemed to sink with each step. What was this foul creation? And why were they here?

Animus of course hadn't seen anything wrong with the world, and had proceeded to take her hand and guide her down the ramp and into the terrain. Immediately the child yelped and clutched at his hand. "Don't like it" she growled, her feet slipping into the grains, it felt as if she was going to be swallowed whole!

But her papa pressed on, and she had to hurry to keep up - though the ground... Sand, he called it... was treacherous and she kept stumbling in it.

Then they reached a hut of sorts, the same vibrant colour as the sand beneath their feet, and Animus turned to plant a kiss atop her head. He informed her that he had business to attend to, and that she had to keep Groom with her at all times. Instructions she'd heard countless times. "Of course, Papa" she said, before turning to beckon the tuk'ata to her side. Then she hastily wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

Don't get into too much trouble was his parting words, and as he wandered off to meet with someone Kida glanced around her surroundings with a large frown upon her lips. This was nature, but not as she had ever known it.

"C'mon, pup" she said, petting Groom's head before setting off in the opposite direction from her papa. The going was tough, her steps enlarged and almost humorous as she fought to keep her balance. One of her hands never left Groom, he was the only support she had. Funnily enough though he didn't seem to have any problems riding the dune sea.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

A couple dunes over...

With the desert world of Aargonar being located between Republic and Coalition space, it proved a pivotal neutral trading spot between the two. Keeping bandits from raiding their trade routes have since become a priority, and for this reason Thurion had travelled to the desert planet to help increase security against raiders. He'd met with those in charge of the small outpost responsible of seeing to the safety of anyone stopping by on their way along the trade route, and been met with reluctant agreement. Like most desolate worlds, the locals didn't much care for the galaxy surrounding them or the outsiders it spawned. Even so, he'd been successful in persuading them to step up security. Whether or not they would remained to be seen.

However, on his way back to his ship - the Oathkeeper - Thurion couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. Coming over the dune heading for his ship, the shape of a little girl met his eyes on the horizon, accompanied by what looked like a large dog of some sort. He squinted and used a hand to block out the sun, but was unable to discern the girl's appearance. Her presence remained familiar, however...

[member="Kida Malgus"]​

 

[Lief]

Trudging through the sand, Kida could not help but pant as the heavy sun beat down upon her back. Behind her the town she had left, and the ship and inhabitants she knew, had begun to vanish beneath the waves of sand. Groom howled softly, more of a rumble than anything, which had the girl stop and stoop down to pet him.

"I know, it's so hot" she complained, feeling bad for the black furred creature. "We'll find some water, or something... I promise."

Quite stupidly she had forgotten to bring supplies. She hadn't expected to be traveling to far but her feet were in control now. When Groom's small growl turned fierce, however, Kida's gaze shot immediately to the horizon where she sensed the presence responsible for her friend's change of heart.

"Calm" she whispered, nuzzling her face against the tuk'ata's, before rising up from the ground and covering her eyes with her free hand. On the top of one of the sand dunes a man stood, and when she narrowed her eyes and allowed her more natural cat-like senses to take over she could begin to make out his details.

It was no one she knew by sight, yet she felt oddly drawn to him all the same. Which was odd, usually Kida was adverse to contact with humans that weren't Mythos or his small entourage.

"Cmon" she said, making her way up the grainy hill. Groom tried to stop her, biting at the sleeve of her dress to try and drag her back. His complaints went unnoticed by the child who was at this point entirely mesmerized by the sensations she was feeling, the familiarity which lingered in the air. She knew that man, though she couldn't for the life of her place her finger on where from.

Not from all the way down here, anyway.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

His hair got caught in a warm breeze, causing Thurion to run a hand through it as he watched the little one make her way up towards him, scaling the dune as if a steep hill. The hound at her side seemed very apprehensive about coming any close, but she didn't seem to care. Thurion didn't move, instead taking the moment to drink from his canteen.

As she approached him, the very familiar feeling he was experiencing grew tenfold, yet it was impossible to discern why. For some reason he felt a great companionship with the girl, and by her similar expression he figured she felt it too. Only when the two were standing face to face did Thurion take a small step forward, much to the dislike of her animal companion who began growling. Turning his attention to the beast, he tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, hand reaching out far enough for it to catch his scent. Rather than baring teeth and biting down on him, the Tuk'ata took to licking the palm of his hand before sitting down in the sand, panting happily.

"Good boy," Thurion spoke as a smile formed on his lips, before turning to the little girl. Again he was mesmerized by her; so much of her seemed familiar to him, as if having met her in another life. Crouching down to her level, he carefully settled a hand beneath her chin. As if instructed to do so, he then proceeded to gently scratch her soft skin. All of a sudden his eyes welled up as he realised. "Kitty..."

[member="Kida Malgus"]​

 

[Lief]

Trudging on up the sand hill, and almost slipping numerous times as her feet lost their grip, it was safe to say that Kida was extremely tired by the time she reached the top of the dune. And when she did reach the summit, a few feet from the figure, Groom perked up and issued a series of growls which only intensified as the man stepped forward to meet them.

"Shh" she soothed, scritching the pup' behind his ears. The man had a different technique, and without words or any real gesture he managed to soothe the tuk'ata. That had her intrigued.

Then his hand reached for her chin, and in the same instance he lowered himself to her height. Kida was a little taken aback by the whole thing, the touch igniting something she had suppressed for so long. And even before he spoke her name, tears began to fall down her cheeks as she was overcome with a sense of loss, grief and completion all in one.

Without a word the child wrapped her arms around [member='Thurion Heavenshield']'s neck and burrowed her face against his shoulder. She breathed in his scent, which she had never once forgotten, as familiar as the scent of pine needles and dirt that called to her from Endor. And with a sniffle her legs buckled.

"F-Furry" the little girl whimpered. "I knew you couldn't be dead." She had feared it for some time, that he had been lost to her. He and Jaxton. Why else would she have been left behind? But he was here, and he was as grown as her Papa.

Still trembling the child just stood with her head against him. None of it quite felt real. He was her best friend, her soul mate, he had awakened something within her no other had been able to all those years ago, a quaint humanity - the innocence of a child - which she had lost the day the Daux had found her as an abandoned babe.

Inadvertently, he had made her who she was today. And deep down, Kida knew that.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

It didn't seem real - none of it did. How could she be here, seemingly all alone? Walking upright, speaking properly... So many questions, yet none of them really mattered in the end. She was his Kitty, his dearest childhood friend. It seemed, however, that she had yet to do any growing whereas he was fastly approaching 40 years of age. "Kida," he let out as the two embraced one another, having spent so much time apart. It had been 20 years since he left Teth to embark on his pilgrimage upon having earned his knighthood, a young man with an eagerness to do good and explore the many stars of the galaxy. Now he was but a young boy again, holding his childhood companion in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Kitty! I should never have left you all those years ago," he managed between sobs, holding onto her for dear life for fear of losing her. Once able to compose himself, he pulled away slightly to get a better look at her. "Kitty, you... you can walk! And talk!" Between sniffles he would let out a laugh, still taken aback yet overjoyed at her stark progress from last they saw each other.

[member="Kida Malgus"]​

 

[Lief]

One of her hands lifted and toyed with a longer strand of hair at the nape of his neck; she didn't want to let go, because doing so may shatter the illusion that had been placed before her reality. This couldn't truly be her Furry could it? The boy who had helped her make her first few steps, who had consoled her grief in sleepless nights and protected her from the wrongs of the world? It smelled like him, and her keen eyesight already picked out the key details which made him who he was physically. He was just older.

And she had barely grown.

The realisation made her sad. So much time had passed by without her even realising it. HK, Jaxton, Rosa, they were all gone - atleast in her eyes; had she really spent so long alone on Teth that decades had passed? Surely not.

When he apologised the girl began to cry again, shaking her head against his neck. "Don't do that" she whispered, "Don't apologise." He would never have left her had he known she'd been all alone, no doubt he thought she was with Jaxton or someone from the Sanctum.

As he pulled back the little girl wiped her tears away on the back of her sleeve and stared up at him with wide eyes. Reaching up one hand she traced his right cheek bone and then across his jaw. Her little fingers trembled throughout the gesture.

"Papa is very patient" she said, of her ability to walk and talk, "He taught me himself. And I'm a Princess now, he thought it only fitting."

Kida even had a beautiful crown, gifted to her by one of her Papa's female friends, full of crystals which Kida found very mesmerizing. Though deep down the twig and leaf crown HK had given her was still more precious and dear. She missed that funny little droid.

The little girl pouted a little. "But, Furry, you're all grown up. I thought we were always going to remain as children..." Like Pan before her, Kida had done her best to remain as young as she could. Or maybe it was merely her ignorance toward how such things were supposed to work. Either way, she had remained a child... Yet the world had grown around her regardless.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Sitting down in the sand with his legs crossed, Furry placed the little girl in his lap facing him. Such an odd experience, having once grown up alongside someone only to meet years later to find you're old enough to be her father. Kitty looked to be about Théo's age, which only made him ponder just how old she was. Was she even a child back when they first met, or had she stagnated years prior to that? He figured it must have something to do with her shapechanging abilities. Her mind had remained that of a child for so long that the rest of her followed.

"Papa?" he repeated after she mentioned her caretaker. He was about to ask if she referred to Jaxton, having barely seen the Zeltron after leaving Teth all those years ago. No, whoever she was referring to was most likely the same person to bring her here. He chose not to ask at all.

"Kida," he said and took her tiny hand in his. "Everyone grows up eventually, that's just how the world works. But that doesn't change who we are; I'm still your Furry, the same boy who would hum you to sleep at night." A lifetime ago, it seemed. Master Asha was alive and well, he'd just met Kära and made a friend for life, and the Jedi Order had yet to fall apart.

The Tuk'ata kept panting happily as he nestled down next to the two. "What's his name," he asked with a smile while reaching out to pet the hound.

[member="Kida Malgus"]​

 

[Lief]

When he settled her into his lap Kida rested her head against him and purred the way she used to. He smelled the same, he had the same warmth. Did it matter that he had grown up without her? "He saved me from slavers" she whispered, remembering it well despite the fact that back then she didn't know the words to say what had happened, "and gave me a home on Atrisia."

She was rather fond of the former Atrisian Empire's Capital. There was lots of grass for her to run around in, trees and water. And it was where her family was. "I think I'd be dead if it wasn't for him."

Peering up at him as he took her hand and began to speak of growing up, the little girl nodded in understanding though she was still a little bit upset. "I waited for you, Furry; back on Teth. For you and Jax. What happened?"

Turning her head to glance upon Groom she smiled a little and petted his head. "Groom" she replied, "he's my friend; we do everything together." Her Papa was busy, and there weren't really any other children in the Palace, so naturally she had befriended Groom - her playmate, her protector, her kindred spirit. The thought pained her, though; that's what Furry once was.

Kida began to sniffle again and hid her face against his shoulder.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

When hearing about Kida's new guardian, Thurion was of two minds about how to feel. Part of him was happy for her and that she had someone looking after her the way he had, but then again another part of him couldn't help but regret that someone not being him. It was selfish of him to think such; what mattered was Kitty's wellbeing and happiness.

"Hello, Groom," he greeted the hound with a pet of his head. The creature kept panting happily and nuzzled his hand, giving it a lick or two.

"I'm sorry, Kitty. I was off seeing parts of the galaxy that had escaped me the years prior. By the time I returned everything had changed, and the Silent Conclave on Teth was abandoned. I... I thought you were with Jax." So much had happened since their last meeting, when she'd seen him off embarking on his pilgrimage having earned his knighthood. He had met so many new people and seen so many places. He had been reunited with his long lost father and discovered his heritage. He had fallen in love, truly and completely. He had gotten married and started a family. Now he was the head of a steadily growing order of Force-users.

Through the hands of fate, the two childhood friends had grown apart.

"But I'm here now. I'm alive and well, Kida, and so are you. Knowing that is enough for me. I am a happy man, married and with kids of my own." He held onto the child, afraid to let go. A soft kiss was placed on her forehead.

[member="Kida Malgus"]​

 

[Lief]

"I've missed you" she said, quietly, in the silence which followed. She did not hold it against him, his disappearance. She understood by now how the Galaxy was, in some regards. She knew that sometimes it took a person on some wild goose chase across the solar systems, and when they were done everything they once knew was different. That had happened to Kida. It had happened to Mythos. And she was certain it had happened to Thurion too.

But that thought brought about its own set of questions.

"Where is Jax?" she asked, brows furrowing. Kida had not seen the blue-furred man in a very, very long time. She had thought he was with Thurion, but clearly that was not so. The girl had tried to stop herself from thinking about him at all, she missed he and Furry so badly. But now she was worried. If he wasn't with her, and he wasn't with Furry, then where?

She nestled into his chest as he held her tightly and settled a kiss atop her head. "You have children?" she said, awe in her voice, "I bet you're the best Papa!" Not that Mythos wasn't the best Papa too. It wasn't a competition after all.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]