Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Naboo.” He said with a smile.

That was one that he was looking forward to. Naboo was a beautiful planet, rich in culture and every other way. The places was massive and a huge sections to explore. Theed, the Gungan submerged cities, even the inner core. There was so much to see and do that Soliael had scheduled three entire days simply for Naboo itself.

Each of the days they would do something different, though he knew exactly what his daughter would gravitate towards.

“One of the minor Gungan Settlements know me.” That would be no surprise to Kira, Soliael knew people everywhere. “My father had once held one of his artifacts there, they were grateful when I...removed it.”

Of course Soliael had destroyed that artifact and the Gungans having been slowly corrupted by its influence had been thankful for his rescue.

 

[Kira Talith]

"You always have one tale or another," Kira would reply with mild humor, well aware that her husband had quite the full life before he met her. Well, being an entire two centuries older than her had that benefit.

"Naboo should be beautiful this time of year," she'd say fondly, snuggling down upon the pillow as she would mull about her own past. She had traveled often to the Protectorate world when she worked undercover as a Protectorate employee.

"You should travel to the Lord Protector's museum," Kira added, " Lake country should be relatively warm around this year." a thought come come to her, and she perked up.

"I know you've been telling stories about your father...how far in depth are you going to go with that?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I doubt I can get Aela into a museum.” Soliael said smiling slightly. His little girl had refused to even enter the library on Terminus. That had been a shock, Aela loved books. Yet she had been so caught up with the life of the planets they visited, the people, the animals, everything. It was amazing to see and to watch, though trying at times.

When the question of his father came up he sighed.

“It's...” He trailed off for a moment. “She asks a lot of questions. I don't try to hide anything from her, she'll find out when she grows up anyway and I won't have her saying I lied. She knows he was a bad man, she knows he was Sith Emperor and that he hurt a lot of people.”

He stalled for a second. “I haven't told her any details of course.”

That would have been foolish

 

[Kira Talith]

"Nor should you hide it; but there is a time and a place I suppose." Kira would add, mulling aloud. What Soliael was now and how he came to be here was in part due to the choices his father, the former Sith Emperor had done. The Force willed it, she supposed, and she wasn't one to really try and analyze what exactly that will would shape.

They could only focus on the here and now and how it may affect their children's future.

"It isn't about who Aela's grandfather was anyways... but more on who she will be in the future. The Force works in mysterious ways. Whatever it wills." she shined him an encouraging smile then. "It led me to you."

Perhaps a bit corny, but to a degree, their courtship was anything but traditional. Specific events had to have happened in their lives for their relationship to have worked just so -- each had to grow and mature to who they were when he had brought her to Exocron.

"There are lessons to be learned from the history and experiences of your father... as much as from your mother, Amore, and even your great grandmother as well."

Her smile grew wider.

"I'm sure the children will be anxious about those particular lessons from the latter once we determine how to start out their training..." her eyes would perk as another thought came to her.

"You should stop by the Jedi Academy," she began, adding a second later, "Perhaps introducing Aela to a different view of various Force Philosophies should start now -- I'm sure other Jedi masters may have other ideas onto what being a Jedi is." she'd follow with a rather comical wry grin.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He simply shrugged.

Quite honestly Soliael was not a fan of the Jedi Order. He thought them stuck up and in a rut. He had told Kira more than once why he thoughts the Jedi Order was ailing against the One Sith, why the Silver Jedi and the...Levanwhatevers had broken off. Of course she disagreed, but in the end it didn't really matter.

He would do as she suggested.

“I'll stop by.” Suddenly a smirk broke out on his face. “But i'm telling her to take everything they say with a grain of salt.”

There was no way she could stop him from doing that, mostly because he was in charge of this little trip.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira gave a roll of her eyes, then shook her head at him in mild amusement.

"Is that what you also tell her when she asks you how we met?" she'd toss back the quip with notable mischievousness. Whatever his thoughts would be on the Jedi Order, they were the ones responsible for providing the guidance and tenets that had saved a younger version of Soliael on Metalorn so long ago.

"Take this story with a grain of salt?" she'd tease, rolling on her side and giving a small stretch.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He grinned.

“I haven't mentioned that story.” There was a certain hint of smug to his voice. “No need to frighten her with tales of war after all.”

For a moment he seemed to be gloating, as if he had won some great battle of wits.

Such was not the case of course, and he was simply playing with his wife, who he knew what likely missing him a great deal. He knew that because he was missing her, a part of him feeling empty even now. There was a distance between them that he could not bare, and as he looked at her through the holoscreen he came to a decision.

“No more trips.” Soliael said to her. “Not for this long.”

 

[Kira Talith]

She felt the seriousness and the sense of conclusion before he said it.

Slowly, Kira would roll up into a sitting position. Her hair would tangle unruly around her shoulders, bare skin lightly gleaming against the reflecting cerulean holoprojector image. Tucking the blanket over her her chest, she would give him a light smile. It was a smile that would relay her relief as much as state exactly how much she missed him.

She missed him terribly.

There was a weariness that would cling to the corners of her eyes, a bit of exhaustion at having to be with the three kids; as much as she loved the hooligans, they could wear her out. But regardless of all that, it was the nights alone in their king sized bed that truly made the worst impact.

"...I'd like that." came her soft admission, bringing her hands to her lap as she would play with her fingers. This was showing more than she normally would with the kids around her.

Several thoughts came to her. He had said what he had needed to say, should she bother saying what she was feeling? Thinking? A part of her thought that it wouldn't help the situation and another would say that he was her partner and closest confidant in every way, she should be open about everything to him.

So she was.

"... I.." came a small stammer, lids lowered before she would lift them up. "Bed feels too big without you in it." she'd admit, silly as it was.

"Not the same..." she'd start to nibble on her lower lip, " Kinda funny thinking that now I can sleep whatever side I want...But I don't want to."

She gave a short half laugh, as if laughing at herself, but really just showing her nervous awkwardness. She would always be like that; maybe it was endearing.

"I find myself talking in the middle of the night as if you're here... " both her eyebrows would go up, and shed shake her head, making fun of herself. "Crazy isn't it?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“A little.” He said as his voice filled with warmth. “But so are you.”

He teased her of course, that was their manner, their means of communicating. There was a certain comfort in it, a familiarity that existed only between the two of them. Some might have said they were an odd couple, but it didn't matter. They had been together for more than half a decade now, they had been through good times and bad, they had four beautiful children.

That was enough.

They loved each other.

They had a connections not born of the force, not artificially created, but forged within the deepest throes of nature itself. A love that could not be found anywhere else. One that would sunder planets if it was ever severed by force.

Soliael knew that, and so did Kira.

“We'll be home soon. Aela will tell Micah, Maleah, and Kaili stories, and we can find some time on the beach.” He knew that Aela wanted more responsibility, craved it even. He could tell from the way she played with the animals, from the way that she acted, perhaps allowing her to babysit...even if only while the two of them were a couple seconds away, would be good for her.

 

[Kira Talith]

"What does that say about you then, eh if you married me?" she'd quip back without breaking a beat at his reference about her being crazy. She gave a small chuckle and then gave a nod of agreement.

"Mmm... I'm sure Micah and Maleah would enjoy that," came her rueful addition, already picturing how that would work out. "But, you are right..it would be good for her. And good for them. Getting her involved would make her feel a bit more responsibility. Getting her to train them with what she knows more so."

The corner of her mouth perked.

"And would be nice to have you to myself for a minute or two." she'd tease, only to get caught in a small yawn. She would blink a bit, tired eyes falling half hooded as her body was demanding she get some rest.

"Tell Aela I love her and kiss her for me. " Kira would say, rubbing the heel of her palm against her right eye. A second later, her arm fell to her side and she shined him a smile.

"I love you." she'd add as she would say goodnight.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I love you too.” That was all the answer he gave, the rest was already understood.

It was how their relationship worked, how they worked. They didn't need to bandy about words or argue things, they simply...went with it.

They trusted each other. They knew what they needed, and they knew that whatever decision the other made was the right thing to do. He smiled, knowing that security was there, that that level of trust was there. He had his family, but Kira...Kira was almost a part of him.

He reached over, tapping the small button to allow his wife to return to sleep, leaning back on the acceleration couch and letting out a long exhausted sigh.

 

[Kira Talith]

​

"Okay... now, just focus a bit kiddo," Kira would encourage her son, watching him with a bit of amusement as he sat cross legged on the floor, his chubby face scrunched up in concentration. As Kira had discussed with Soliael, training would begin for the children. Her first priority was to make sure that they were able to master the aspect of sense first and foremost.

The ability to heighten the senses with the Force was one of the first things taught to the Jedi, and in turn to Kira, when they begin their training. A student would learn how the Force binds all livings things together, and would learn to recognize these bonds and how they interact. It would enable her children to feel their environment, detect danger and through practice and advanced training, be able to detect the location of hidden beings or enemies even through barriers.

For this however, the ties that bind were the focus of the lesson. Maleah and Micah were already very closely bound to the other, exploring this bond and comparing that to that of Kaili to play a rather interesting game of hide and seek was a lesson in it of itself in sensing through the Force.

The lazy afternoon sun was starting to set, but there was enough light and warm out to warrant the continuation of the game while she waited for the ritual call of her beloved.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

That call came when it was night time again, at least for Soliael and Aela.

It happened of course when one was half the galaxy away. Different planets had different orbits, and Soliael and Aela had long ago switched timezones and sleep schedules away from the rest of their families. It was the visit to Naboo that had really cemented that, mostly because Aela had seemingly found so much energy on the planet that sleep had hardly come to her.

That was likely due to him, or at least a trait inherited. He had never slept much, hardly at all before Kira had convinced him to its brighter sides. A smile mused across his face as he thought of his daughter growing up, then the rest of his children.

A house of teenagers that never slept.

A new kind of Netherworld.

Grinning to himself Soliael leaned down and pressed the dial button. Aela was fast asleep, hidden beneath the blankets somewhere and stowed away in secret, holding a small plush Sando Aqua Monster that one of the Gungans had stitched for her.

Perhaps she would wake up later, or perhaps not.

 

[Kira Talith]

Micah's brow had two distinct lines of concentration furrowing across it; it was comical really, how much concentration he was trying to put into being able to sense where his two sisters were at.

Just a little bit more. A little bit --

The beepdeebeep of the faint incoming comm call would resonate lightly throughout the home. A sudden sigh of exasperation would blow from the single male Talith offspring, his little shoulders dropping a bit as the twin suns of his eyes would open up to peer at his mother.

A comforting muse of his tangled mop of dirty blonde hair would come next, the mouthed words following from his mother to encourage him to pick up the comm.

"Go on," she knew he was frustrated. Things seemed to come a bit easier for his sisters than it did with him. Everyone was different, and learned things differently and had different strengths. But the frustration of a little boy would remain none the less with his ambition to be as great as his dad.

Another half grumble and then Micah would scoot over towards the main holoarray. His tiny fingers would flow easily over the console, and with a few press of the buttons, the flare of the holoimage of his father would come to life.

A rather exasperated Micah Draith Shamalain Talith would stare back at his father.

"Hi dad."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Micah.” Soliael said in greeting.

He missed his son, maybe a little bit more than the others. The Shamalain family was made up of mostly women, Soliael had been surrounded by women all of his life, and of course he loved them all dearly. Yet Micah was his only son. The only other boy in the family. That forged a special connection between the two of them, even if no one acknowledged it.

“Learning to use the force are we?” He could guess from Kiras idle presence in the corner of the display and from the way Micah appeared to be tired. He saw the signs, and he knew how to recognize them easily enough. A smile fell on his face, soon they would all star to learn, even Kaili. “How's it going?”

The force came naturally and easily to Aela, but he expected it would be different for all his children.

 

[Kira Talith]

Micah gave another exasperated sigh, half not wanting to admit that it wasn't going so well and half wanting to impress his father. It was a conundrum, one he wasn't quite sure how to work through. All he knew is that it was very frustrating.

He opted for the truth, his nose scrunching up in a grimace as a level of annoyance would bloom on his face.

"Not good." he would admit, not too proud of that clearly. His tiny jaw would flex; so he wasn't feeling down on himself or asking for pity. Instead, that frustration was focused internally.

"Trying to find Kai and Maleah without looking."

The petite figure of Kira would briefly be seen in the background; a small wave of hello and she would step out. Maybe talking with his father would in private would help her son a bit more to talk through his frustrations.

She could always talk to Sol later, as she knew the kids also missed their father so.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Sol tapped his chin for a few moments, smiling.

Using the force to sense something, people, places, things, had always been something the former Sith Lord had been good at. He was born with a natural inclination to the force, and it came to him as a subtle motioning wave crashing against the shores of a beach. He had always been able to sense things, even without any training.

That was why he had succeeded to quickly under his uncles training.

“Do you want me to help?” He could give advice, he could tutor his son, but he knew that that wasn't always what he would want. Soliael was well aware of the headstrong nature of Micah, and if he wanted to figure this out on his own, then Soliael would let him do so. Of course he was more than eager to help, but it was better to ask first.

He waited for his Son to reply, smiling slightly, already knowing how to help.

 

[Micah Talith]

Now that was another conundrum.

Much like his mother, Micah also wore his emotions on his face. He was conflicted. His dad could help him but then again he also really wanted to do it by himself. There was also that nagging worry in the back of his mind that if Aela could do it, then he could do it too!

Granted, Micah didn't focus on the fact that Aela had taken to the books and was also older. Which meant she had at least three years on him in experience. But it was a matter of principle!

Enter the first experience of pride. It would swell in his tiny chest with a breath, his shoulders squaring.

"I can do it." he would say with a measure of bravado and grit. That flash of determination in eyes that would mirror his father's own.

A pause.

"... but how do you do it?" okay, so it wasn't actually asking for help as much as figuring out how his father did it.

That didn't count as helping right?

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“To me the force is a pond.” Soliael said simply. “Close your eyes. Calm yourself, be still.”

That was difficult for him, always on the move, but Soliael knew that he could do it. He knew this because Micah was his son, and his Son could do whatever it is he wished. “Look to that pond, then block all waves that are found within it. The tree's, the birds, the wild of Borleias, everything. A calm settle upon it, rise up over the pond and look down.”

He encouraged his son, his voice picking up.

“Then look for the ripples.” His words began to sway with a certain force. “The small tiny ripples, the ones that are impossible to block out, the ones that are simply...there. Those will be your sisters.”

It was an extremely simplified version of how Soliael sensed things, and it also wouldn't work on anyone who knew how to hide their force signature, but luckily for Micha, neither of his siblings knew how to do that.

 

[Kira Talith]

Ripples? A pond?

Micah's face would scrunch up. Well, it wasn't that he wasn't aware at what a pond was; just he was more used to the constant crash and pull of the ocean's waves. Much like him, they were in constant motion, and even under the seemingly calmer swells of the deeper waves, held as much energy as the sole son of a Lorrdian and Garhoon hybried could be expected, perhaps more so.

Nonetheless, the young Talith was aware that his father's counsel held merit. His father was the most powerful man he knew after all! He had to know how to do it!

He wouldn't lie, afterall.

So, much to the small amusement of one peeking Kira, Micah would close his eyes, following his father's directions. Calming himself was a bit more difficult with his recent frustration, and one would notice it by the way his fingers would tap against his thigh. A tick much like his mother, needing an outlet in communication.

Added encouragement along with that stubborn determination would have Draith settle down a bit more, and in his mind's eye, he would picture the small freshwater pond they had at the back of the house.

The first step was to block the ripples. The tiny ones he could see moving over the surface. His face would scrunch up further in deepening concentration.

Like all things, first lessons took time.