Under His Shadow

[Micah Talith]

@Vexen @Kaili Talith [member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

"Of course I don't," Kira replied, a comforting half smile on her face. Her expression was genuine. Whatever fears Vexen might have, there was no way that Kira would turn away the Defel. However, one couldn't control the thoughts of another, and Vexen began her life an orphan. The fear of being cast out was still a lingering fear that despite the years with Micah, could not seem to diminish.

"Come on, " Kira gently urged the Defel with a small gesture of her hand. "We can come back and check on him afterward." blue eyes rose to fall upon her unconscious son. She gave an internal sigh.

What she would give to see Micah's laughing face again.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"] | [member="Vexen"] | [member="Micah Talith"]

He considered for a moment. "Let's take it easy for now."

Soliael finally told his daughter.

Though he liked the idea of doing something more, he knew that it wasn't quite yet time to hold a celebration of food just yet. In time if Micah didn't wake up they would have to hold something of that sort, draw away some of the attention from the sadness and desperation, but they weren't there just yet. The mood was still somber, and the last thing that he wanted was for Kira to think they were trying to pull her away from Micah.

No what would be best is if they did something normal.

Usually in the Talith household that meant Kira cooking something, but for the last few weeks they hadn't had the chance for that. He considered a moment, looking at Kaili and then at his datapad before he finally got a better thought than this.

"You know what." He told her. "Let's cook something."

Soliael had never had a culinary gift, in fact often times he burned even the simplest of dishes, but it always brought a smile to Kira's face. "I think your mother would appreciate that far more than even the most expensive restaurant."

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] // [member="Micah Talith"] // [member="Vexen"]

A visibly disappointed look fell over Kaili. By all intents and purposes she had actually meant to pull her mother away from Micah and let her focus on something else. These were the same things that they had tried to do with Kaili when she herself had been distraught after the ship crash all those years ago. Get her mind off the crash for a bit, let her mind find comfort in something else. Of course it rarely worked, but it was always a thought that was appreciated.

Hell, it was practically how Micah himself had forced Kaili to get over it too.

Still, cooking, Kaili could do that. She had picked up her mother’s talent for it to a degree. Maybe her food was a bit more mundane and undeveloped, but food wasn’t exactly what Kaili spent most of her time with anyway. It was allowed to be somewhat undeveloped.

Kaili sighed at her father’s words. “Fine.”

“I’ll do the cooking, and you do the slicing, dicing and cutting.” Kaili pointed at her father and began to walk over to the kitchen. “I feel nerf. Something spicy. We’ll go for that.”

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"] [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Kaili Talith"]

It might not have been intended to, but a parting note that they would return to check on him soon soothed some of the concerns in the small Defel. Instinct was strong with her. For her first years it had been all she had to rely on. If there had been lessons from her parents they were just fleeing images that came to her in the moments between sleep and waking.

Kira had never been anything but kind and understanding. Vexen hadn't the time to bond with anyone as she had with Micah and that tie drew her close, even with him down.

Trying to keep the fears from her mind she drew herself up to her full, if diminutive height, and followed after Kira. Telling herself that she would be, or was already, alone was not going to help anything.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Kira waited for Vexan’s diminative form to catch up with her before extending her arm to wrap around her shoulders. It was a process. For all of them. Micah had always been the joker. The one prone to witty commentary and laughter. Laughter that had spread across this very home Sol and Kira created to be a sanctuary from the galaxy’s problems. However, try as they might, it’s darkness seemed to seep in. It had first done so with Nohei. Then with Esme. Now with Draith.

It was a struggle to keep positive thoughts. Even Kira had her limits. But she had too. Her husband did what he could, do in tune to her emotions as much as she towards the former false god. But it was still hard when their son remained in a coma just out of reach and still edged with the cloud if the Darkside. They could still feel Cameron there.

What that meant was still up in the air, but for now, Kira would be grateful just to see her son open his eyes again.

“I’ll start working on breakfast and you go get washed up?” She suggested to Vexen.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"] | [member="Vexen"] | [member="Micah Talith"]

"Sure kiddo." Soliael said as he placed one of his massive hands on top of his daughters head, nudging her towards the kitchen even though she was already headed in that path.

The force was crowding throughout him, gently swimming in the heart of him. He reached out to it, a gentle nudge at first, closing his eyes for just a moment. Lips thinned, and his head slid from side to side as he tried to get a sense of his son.

How had things gotten this complicated?

It was a question that still lingered within his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder what the hell had actually happened out on that station. There were still many questions to be asked, some of them more bold than others. Soliael frowned slightly, leading Kaili into the kitchen with his hand still placed on her head, as though he were mind controlling her. "Garlic."

He told her as he pointed her towards the closet.

"Onions." He turned her towards another pantry. "Maybe some...carrots?"

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] // [member="Micah Talith"] // [member="Vexen"]

Anise, basil, beef, there were too many things to sort through and Kaili wasn’t sure what her ‘keen’ culinary mind was feeling at that point. At least there was the onions, the carrots and the garlic that her father had spoken of. Kaili grabbed those and threw them over to her assistant for him to work with before approaching the refrigerator to search for the meat. Her hand pulled at the handle before she knelt down to sort through the meats.

“We’re still primarily meat eaters though.” Kaili said and chuckled as she withdrew the nerf pieces and slapped it onto the counter. “We should dice this, make it a stew.”

The basil, anise and lemongrass came out to play and Kaili took her spot next to her father. The food wouldn’t be spicy in the end, probably. She just went with her gut on this one, and it would seem her stomach was set on something mildly Atrisian in the end. Not a bad choice all things considered.

Kaili got a knife out of the cupboards and began dicing the meat.

“So, I take it things have been quiet since last I came to visit.” She asked while keeping her attention on the cooking. “He’s still in a coma, Aela is out there doing something — who knows what — and Maleah is… Just about the same?”

She stared at the way the beef separated under the pressure from the sharpened blade in her hand as it sliced through the red meat with ease. She cut it both horizontally and vertically before she put it aside in a small bowl.

“I guess…” Kaili spoke for a second but cut herself off with an exhale. “We are all like that. Fiercely independent to some extent.”

 

[Vexen]

[member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] [member="Micah Talith"]

"Someone is already cooking," Vexen murmured. Nothing was actually cooking, but she could already smell that someone was preparing fresh ingredients.

Vexen took a deep breath, trying to rally herself. She had retreated deep within her own shell and it wasn't going to be easy to try and escape that place.

Maybe she could pretend, she thought to herself. Just go and wash up and try to pretend that everything was as it had been. Perhaps then it would start to feel that way.

 

[Kira Talith]

@Vexen @Kaili Talith [member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

It was true. It took a couple more seconds before Kira's nose was able to whiff out the succulent scent of freshly chopped herbs and vegetables. A faint smile would cross the corner of her lips. Nohei and Devin are already cooking.

There were few pleasures in life as that of her husband cooking a meal for his family. That was a bliss that was only heightened by the thought of their daughter standing by his side, assisting him in making a meal. It was one of the few precious moments that Kira treasured. Right now, things were so hectic. With what happened with Draith and how Esme was going through her own troubles...

Sometimes Kira wished that she could keep the kids young. That they could just do exactly as they had done ten years ago and lived a simple life here. Before the chaos and wars of the galaxy came to their door.

Kira brought her arm around to loop on top of Vexen's shoulders. The Wraith had lost some weight. Weight that Kira planned to start putting back on her again.

"Guess you are saved from my cooking then." she told her, the pair walking into the kitchen to greet Sol and Kaili.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"] | [member="Vexen"] | [member="Micah Talith"]


”We are independent.” Soliael agreed quietly. ”Thats not a bad thing though.”

His family, his kids, they were all strong and capable. Each of them wanted to do their own thing and each of them had the power and the knowledge on how to do it. That fact made him proud, and even though his two other daughters weren't here he knew that they still were pulling for Micah to come through. ”Even when one of us down. We still keep going.”

There was pride in the way he said it.

Soliael of course wanted Micah to get better of course, he wanted his son to be okay, but he also didn't want his other children to grind to a complete halt. It was important that they could still live their lives. The burden was on him and his wife, and he wanted to ensure it remained that way. ”I don't want any of you to ever limit yourselves. You...youre going to all live long lives. Micah will get better, and this...all of it will be gone in the blink of an eye. Just remember that.”

Almost as if on cue he heard Kira and Vexen.

”Ah.” He said loudly. ”Hello there.”

 

[Kaili Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] // [member="Kira Talith"] // [member="Vexen"]

The knife cut through the meat with ease. The knife in her hands hissed its way through the ingredients with ease and a sense of satisfaction spread through her body at the sight of the meats being sliced in two. The cuts were surgical, made with a sense of precision and focus that weren’t meant for something as simple as a hunk of beef. Whether or not they needed to be as such didn’t really matter, it kept mind off of things and Kaili twisted the piece of meat before her to start dicing.

Mother stepped into the room and Kaili’s eyes averted from the cooking to give her a quick glance and a smile before going back. As much as Kaili would have wanted to respond to her father she felt it more prudent to let it go. The idea to simply get on with life when her brother, one of Kaili’s few remaining friends, laid unresponsive in bed was one of those things she couldn’t just drop. She tried and in many regards managed to do it, but being back home where he was only a few seconds away made it harder to even imagine.

“You’re free to takeover dicing duty if you want.” Kaili spoke with a slight chuckle at her mother’s joke. “I mean, not really because we’re doing it for you, but you know…”

Kaili tossed the diced cubes into a bowl and went on to cut some of the remaining vegetables.

“Just good to get mind off of things.” She said and stopped for a second, mind not letting go of things before she went back to cutting again.

“It’s looking Atrisian today. I hope you two are okay with that.”

 

[Vexen]

Vexen gave a nod at that. She was feeling slightly overwhelmed. Having not strayed far from Micah's room it felt slightly alien just to be down here. She had started to revert to ingrained behaviours.

Back on that Ithorian Herdship she had lived in a small space between bulkheads deep below the gardens. Near pipes that provided both warmth and water. Down in the pith dark she had operated on all senses and could have navigated by scent alone.

Micah's room had become like that little space. The center of her world. Stepping away from it put her on edge, even if the sights, sounds and smells were not so removed. The incident with the stormtrooper captain had knocked her confidence. Micah's suffering had shattered it.

Vexen padded softly for a chair and tried to keep everything under control.

 

[Micah Talith]

@Vexen @Kaili Talith [member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

All the while Micah's family gathered in the kitchen, back in Micah's room, the unconscious young man lay upon his bed. The curtains had been lovingly pulled back by his mother, allowing fresh air and the Borleias' morning sun to shine inside. There was plenty of light, it seemed to spread across the dressers, the various trinkets collected in the Talith's youth, and across the covers of his bed. A light that wouldn't quite reach the young man himself, now forever melded to the lingering Darkside energy of his uncle Cameron in that aftermath at Anoat.

One could have missed it. The slight, flicker of movement behind the thin veil of his lids. But it was there. A subtle movement. A draw of consciousness.

And of pain.

Consciousness came in degrees. The tragic loss of Micah's uncle and the manner by which he'd attempted to stop him had a tramactic effect on his mind and his body. He'd lost his left arm, completely burned away. Along the side of his face were the lingering remnants of scar tissue from the burns. That wasn't to say the damaged nerve cells that would race across his left flank.

So when vivid, orange eyes went snapping open, they came along with the echo of lasting pain. Of agony. Of terrible loss. It was a sudden jerk and groan of his torso, Micah struggling for awareness within the confines of his bed.

The Talith had finally awoke.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"] | [member="Vexen"] | [member="Kaili Talith"]

The shattering of ceramic echoed throughout the house.

It was instant, fast, and quick.

Had they not been in the kitchen all together someone might have thought that a window broke, that Soliael had lashed out in anger or something else, but they would all see him drop the small bowl that he had picked up only a few seconds before. A heartbeat past, and then Soliael looked at Kira.

The look lasted only a second, a brief second second just before he dropped the small piece of ceramic. The bow shattered into a thousand pieces and Soliael almost instantly forgot about it. He moved as thought nothing else mattered, his entire body switching into gear. The Force, his own abilities were entirely ignored. Instead Soliael turned into half a blur, his movements enhanced by natural genetics that pushed him as he dashed through the household.

He ran, sensing the awakening of his son.

 

[Kaili Talith]

The knife was gently put down on top of the wooden surface of the cutting board in stark contrast to her father’s rush to get out of there. Not because she couldn’t feel what was happening but because she already knew she couldn’t get there any faster than her father already would. Her trust in her parents’ abilities to get there superceded the urge to follow like a tail.

Instead her hand reached out towards the nearby shattered plate and lifted it up off the ground and put it on the nearby table on her way out of the kitchen. Her heart began to beat at the thought of what could have happened to make her father drop everything he had in such a manner to rush back up again. It could have been bad, it could have been good. Given the sensation she felt in her heart and the force she knew it was most likely the latter.

Her step sprung to life by the time she reached the staircase, each skip up the steps bringing her closer to her brother and what they had all awaited for so long.

She stepped into his room last of all to give her brother a quick glance…

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"] // [member="Micah Talith"] // [member="Vexen"]​

 

[Vexen]

Vexen's ears flattened down to her scalp. Her eyes narrowed. That tight bond that had developed and crossed the Force between them gave her an immediate sense of his suffering as consciousness returned.

I failed him

That irrational thought was the first one to enter her mind. Vexen had stayed by his side for so long. Just moments before he came to she had left him. She had suffered before. She had suffered alone. His easy going nature couldn't cut through through the seriousness of his current predicament.

She followed the blur that was Micah's father at a more cautious pace. When she entered his room she kept a short distance away. Vexen had never known what it was to have parents care for you at your darkest hour, but she imagined that was what Micah would need right now.

 

[Micah Talith]

Kira didn’t need to ask. Not with the bond Devin and she shared through his ring. That single connection synergized their emotions; what her husband felt was only amplified a dozen times more. It mimicked that of a Force bond, and while there was no doubt that their many years together would and had drawn them closer, it was the ring along with the connection to their son that had Kira flying at Devin’s heels.

When they entered the bedroom, frazzled and wide eyed, they found Micah awake, cursing a blue streak as his mind and body attempted to reconcile the events that had occurred at that station. His uncle Cameron. The coil of seething power channeled through the Former God’s powerful body and then the combustion that sent that scorching wave outward.

Micah stumbled, legs like a newborn Bantha as he snapped his arms up, as if to block a projected attack. Only to have his expression twist in horror. Both hands were not in the air, just one. The other ghostly arm still giving him sensation but no longer there.

The sound of his parents coming in made a noise that startled him, prompting Micah to flinch. He could still feel his uncle. Every where. Like an echo, that final act went through him anew, Cameron’s very existence lancing out into the ether, Micah’s containment turning it into a catalyst that had both energies crashing, melding, and finally, imprinting onto the Talith.

The lingering effect could be palatable; the Darkside seemed to cling like a lingering oily slick upon Micah. It wasn’t his.it was accidentally etched in Cameron’s own hand; making its mark as much as much as his father’s house seal on his upper chest and arm. It lay upon him with that angry mass of burn scars against his flank, on half of his face.

He stumbled, fell. Confusion, agony, and the Force just seemed to churn within him. Anguish filled it then, those vibrant orange eyes blazing twin suns as his mind tried to make sense of it. Death. So much death. Not only that of his uncle.

The battle. The explosion. Vexen’s anxiety. The way his uncle, Aesir Aatrox,
His aunt Amore. Her essence that he could almost reach out to touch, entranced and heartbroken and shocked as much as the Former God had been to see his dead wife.

Gasping, Micah fell against the bed, sliding down, vision blurring, incomprehensible words falling from his mouth.

Only those with acute hearing would be able to hear that confounding phrase, perhaps, blamed on his trauma.

“She’s alive.”

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Micah Talith"] | [member="Kaili Talith"] | [member="Vexen"]

Soliael's ears twitched as Micah spoke.

The old man didn't say anything, but he heard the words. His lips thinned and he wondered briefly what in the hell his son meant, but the truth of it was that it didn't matter. His coma had been long, weeks at a time. Even with the best medical care it had been a difficult time. They had known he would wake up, at least Soliael had, but they had never known when. It could have lasted weeks more, perhaps months or even years. Yet here he was, awake.

It was clear he was in pain, but that would fade.

Large arms wrapped around Micah, Soliael half taking a knee as he practically scooped up the smaller form of his son. "Shhh."

Tears welled within the giants arms. For the past few weeks he had tried to be strongest of them. He had tried to hold himself tall for Kira, for Kaili, for Aela and Maleah. He had always tried to be the rock that they could all tie themselves on. It had been difficult, a strain beyond even what he could bear. Now when he saw Micah moving, speaking, when he saw the suffering that his only son was enduring Soliael could help but break apart. No more a rock than the sand on the beach.

Soliael began to weep.

"It's okay." He whispered, perhaps to himself, perhaps to Micah. "It's alright."

The words were almost as quiet as Micah's had been.

 

[Kaili Talith]

If ever there was a moment in her life that Kaili could remember what it was like to truly feel happy, this moment would have been one of them. The boulder on her conscience lifted off of her shoulders and she slowly approached the bed of her brother to the sounds of her father’s long-withheld tears. The tension — no, knot — in her stomach began to ease up and she took a spot at the very corner of the bed to give her brother a smile as the realization hit her that both of the people that she had cared for that were over Anoat — who had gotten out of it with their consciousness stripped from them that is — were now officially awake again.

Allyson was fine, and so was Micah. Vexen was shook, but stronger than she seemed to let herself believe. The worst of the roller coaster was over now and the station was in sight again. A different station than the one they had left, but a station nonetheless. Something to step onto and make the most of.

A hand rubbed against her brother’s ankle to provide a sense of comfort.

“About time you woke up.” Kaili said with a broken smile. It was all she could think of, the only thing that popped into her mind. “I’m glad to see that you are well, brother.”

 

[Vexen]

A timid shadow slunk closer to the foot of his bed. Arms tucked tightly to her sides, muzzle down and ears back she was truly a formless shade.

His family had surrounded him so quickly. By contrast Vexen had been worrying that it might have mattered that it was right as she left his side that he had finally come to.

There had been almost no hesitation on her part back on that crumbling station. Desperation had driven her on, kept her fear in check. But it was always easier to be brave when that little voice told her that she had to be brave. That she could be brave. That voice that might have been her own, but she still wasn't sure.

It had broken a part of her to find him like that. To come face to face with the very real possibility of losing him. Micah had been everything to her from a very young age. The family had accepted her, but it was Micah that had found her, taught her to read, to look after herself.

Vexen had been the first to his side when he had been burned, but she was the last to his side now. Her head came to lie on the edge of his bed, her muzzle brushing against the outside of his thigh. Two wide eyes watched him carefully from within the shadow.