Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

A day had passed.

A very long day.

Geonosis had been something else, it had been Aela's introduction to war, it had been Soliaels first foray into battle since Kashyyyk, and it had been a reminder to him that the galaxy was still very much in a constant state of turmoil. The night had been rough. The first thing he had done when they had made it off world was to call Kira, the second was to console Aela.

His daughter, stoic and strong as ever had tried to be brave.

At first she had simply remained silent, Then she had looked at Soliael and asked him question after question after question. He had forgotten all that he had answered, though most had been about himself, about the wars that he had been apart of and why he had been there. He had never lied to her, though at times he had softened the blow of what he was saying.

Eventually Aela had gone quiet, and had said only four words.

“I forgive you daddy.”

It had been a hurt and a relief at the same time, though far more of the former than anything else. Now Aela and he were quickly walking down the ramp of the shuttle, Aela rushing forward to meet the arms of her waiting mother, Soliael staring down ahead of her with weary eyes.

 

[Kira Talith]

One blonde little girl was quickly enveloped into the arms of her kneeling mother. Kira would bury her face onto her daughter’s lightly scented hair, holding her tightly as the woman would tremble. Her entire body was shaking in emotion; every twitch, flutter, and tiny shift a crash of silent emotions the Lorrdian couldn’t keep in.

Tears would smart her eyes, and before she knew it, they would flow freely, soaking into Aela’s golden hair as she held her close. It was her way of keeping quiet. Of trying to not let the kids worry, but it was hard to hold it back in.

Maleah bounded from the door straight to her father, chattering a mile a minute while Micah carried Kaili in his arms. As the one to pick up his mother’s native kinetic communication, he caught more than met the eye, his eyes a bit more somber than the rest.

Kai’s tiny chubby arms would pull from Micah’s neck and began reaching out to [member="Soliael Devin Talith"], that universal open and close grabby hands signal that demanded her father’s affection.

So Micah brought her to him, walking past his mother crying silent tears of relief and utter emotional turmoil, her hands lightly stroking Aela’s hair as if using it for tangible evidence she was okay.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael grasped his daughters, Maleah in one arm, the other holding Kaili. His hand snaked up and tussled Micah's hair.

He knew exactly how Kira felt, he knew exactly why she was in the state she was in. There was guilt in his chest, though of course it hadn't been his fault. There had been no way to predict exactly what would have happened on this trip. No way to predict that it would end in a war, in a battlefield. He wondered briefly what would have happened if the rest of his family had come with.

His stomach turned. “Come on guys, lets go inside.”

There was much to talk about, and slowly he put down Maleah, still holding Kaili and urging Micah on towards the house.

His steps quickened as he neared his wife, his face awash with emotion. Hurt, fear, guilt. Soliael wanted nothing more than to hold her and tell her everything was okay.

 

[Kira Talith]

Much of what happened next was a blur. Maybe that was a blessing in and of itself. The impact on Aela was immediate to see; she was quieter and a bit more somber. There was a knowing in her eyes that broke Kira's heart.

That night she tucked her in, smoothing Aela's brow and tucking the wayward tendrils of blonde hair behind the shell of her ear. A comforting smile would shine down at the little girl, but that solemn expression that shone back at Kira made her realize that a line had been crossed.

Innocence lost.

How does a mother handle that? She was angry. She was torn. She was a bundle of emotions she had no clue how to work through. She didn't want Aela to go on the trip to begin with, and then this happened. A knot grew in her through as she forced a faint smile. All she could do is keep that hidden from the kids; they didn't need anything more to stress about.

"Sleep well, sweetie," came Kira's low murmur, bending down to press a kiss on her temple.

"If you need anything just call okay?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael sat quietly in the living room.

He had already said goodnight to Maleah and Micah about an hour ago, or rather he had laid in bed with each of them and told them a story of his youth, both of them eventually falling asleep so deeply that he basically dangled Micah by the leg when moving him from Maleahs bed to his own. Aela had been kissed goodnight before Kira had taken her to bed, and Kaili had received the same treatment as the twins.

All of them had been happy to have Soliael back home, and all of them had clamored for his attention. They of course understood that something had happened, but they also knew that right now it was more important to spend time together than be curious.

Now the former Force god simply sat on the sofa, waiting for his wife to come back. From the ring she would feel a mixture of emotions, the strongest of them, guilt.

 

[Kira Talith]

Slipping from Aela's room, she closed the door shut behind her. Her blue eyes would drop down to her hand. Kira felt Soliael's guilt. It bled into her, saturated her senses to the point where it would threaten to take her over. That was the side-effect of the ring he wore; she was able to feel his every emotion and they had the chance to completely overwhelm her, and much like a Zeltron able to impart emotional sway, so could the ring to Kira.

But she didn't need that right now. Couldn't. Wouldn't.

Kira felt anger. Anger at the situation. Anger that her daughter's eyes no longer held an innocence that was there. Anger that her hesitation and her uneasiness at this trip bore fruit in the worst possible way.

She didn't need that right now. Not after everything.

Her hand curled to a fist, knuckles white. A sharp pain grew on her chest and it was just hard to breathe. Again, her vision blurred.

The silent pad of feet would take the Lorrdian mother from room to room, a quick check up to see how her children fared. Maleah and Micah were completely passed out. Kaili had managed to kick her covers away, easily remedied by Kira adjusting the blanket over her tiny form again. Butterfly kisses goodnight and the quiet closing of her door would end her nightly routine.

A few minutes later, Kira's petite form would appear from the corridor. Blue eyes caught sight of her husband, sitting there as if the weight of the universe sat on his shoulders.

Tense seconds would pass. Kira was always an expressive woman; her emotions, her thoughts, her very being easily read on her face. What lay there now was a troubling pill to swallow. She was silent. Still.

And still waters run deep.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael didn't say anything.

After over a decade together he could read her like a book. She had always been physical about her emotions, had always been expressive. Even now when she was near a rage Soliael could read her like a children playbook.

He said nothing. He didn't need to.

For a moment he would simply look at her in silence. The anger was of course understandable. Their child had been put through literal hell. Though Soliael had protected her as much as he possibly could, she had still been there during the battle, had still heard the sound of blaster fire and explosions striking nearby.

Soliael knew exactly what Kira was thinking, knew exactly why her anger was directed at him, and he knew there was nothing he could say right now to make it better.

 

[Kira Talith]

It was an odd, troubling, conundrum to be in. Yet what was one to do? Bright orange eyes would stare into her own, the same color that the four beautiful children they'd been blessed with had. As much as she loved the sight of them, it was a reminder right now. A reminder that a line had been crossed and her fears had been realized.

How does one even work through that? It was a startling realization that any danger or harm that came across her children could affect her so; more so than anything that had happened to her in the past. More than her torture with Nemene. It... It just filled her with such a helpless wave of frustration and rage.

She didn't even realize she was trembling, her knuckles white, the nails of her fingers digging bloody crescents into her palms. But her eyes directed silent damning words at him.

You said this would be good for her.

You said that none of these planets are in the throes of war.

Her vision blurred anew, and she jerked her head away from his gaze. As much as the relief was there that they were safe, that they were alive, that Aela and Sol were unharmed, she just was caught between wanting to lash out at him and desiring comfort.

It was an ugly, terrifying state to be in and she hated it. Hated that he put her in this situation. What she didn't realize quite yet is that what she felt was only human.

Yet that didn't stop her from feeling utterly wretched.

Before she knew it, her feet began to take her away from the living room towards the kitchen. Busy. She needed to keep busy. It was a desperate urge that surged inside her, the trembling getting worse.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Slowly he stood.

There wasn't anyway that he was going to leave her alone now.

She was angry, he knew that. Angry at him, angry at the situation, and perhaps angry at the galaxy. Yet he had been away for nearly two weeks, the longest that they had been apart for nearly a decade. He couldn't bring himself to be apart from her for any longer, even when she was feeling like this. With slow steps he simply went after her, following her into the kitchen.

There Kira slowly kept herself busy, Soliael sitting down at the small island within the center of the kitchen.

 

[Kira Talith]

It was an odd parallel to the same night over two weeks ago.

Flour. Sugar. Milk.

Bowls, measuring cups, and a spatula. The recipe was a mantra in her mind right now. She had to keep busy, had to do something. The kitchen was filled with the light sounds of Kira moving back and forth, and all the while, Kira felt Soliael watching her. Felt his eyes following her every move, watching her open and close cabinets, tracing each one of her steps. Not a word was spoken, but he didn't need to. His guilt bled along with his desire to have her near. Much like she was caught in her own yoyo of emotions, but had no idea how to manage it.

Flour. Sugar. Milk. Blue nerf milk.

There was something soothing about baking cookies, as odd as that may seem. It was a simple recipe. Nothing too fancy for sugar cookies. It was a routine; she could do this in her sleep.

Well, sorta.

Her back was turned to Sol when the measuring cup slipped from her trembling fingers. She was never the best at telekinetics, one of her main struggling points beyond telepathy. The crash and sound of glass breaking cut the silence like the crash of a speeder, sending shards of glass and flour spilling all over the floor. That frustration grew anew, breathing becoming difficult as she knelt down to start picking up the glass.

Ever the klutz and more so when she was emotionally overloaded, it was no wonder that as soon as she started to clean up she gave a sudden wince.

A bright red bead of blood came pooling from her thumb.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Before Kira could get up Soliael was squatting in front of her.

It pained him to see his wife like this. Cut him to the core. He knew she was angry, upset, he knew he couldn't fix it, yet there was a deep wound in the fact that he could not. Soliael grasped Kira's hand before she could fix it, pulling her gently up and taking his thumb delicately in his fingers.

He looked at the blood for a moment, then grabbed a small paper towel from the center island.

The former God's hand tore off a piece and gently placed it against Kira's thumb. Red began to spill into the bright white, and for half a blink Soliael watched it. Then he looked down at his wife, staring into the deep blue glaciers that were her eyes. He let out a sigh, then wrapped his arm around her.

Soliael pulled her into a tight embrace.

It didn't matter that she was angry, it didn't matter that he was guilty, it didn't matter that he had been through war or that he had made it home.

He just wanted to hold his wife.

 

[Kira Talith]

The hard thud of her fist hitting his chest came first. Then another, and another. His hold on her would only tighten, and through the ring Kira could feel his heartbreak. Yet riding along that guilt was this aching necessity; a deep well of need that could only be sated by having her in his arms.

Each strike was in frustration. In anger. In pain as much as sorrow. Her tiny body shuddered in his arms, and that fist that would hammer strikes against his chest would wane, one last hit lingering on his chest.

She began to sob.

Fingers from the fist that had struck at him would uncurl, only to tighten against the fabric of his shirt. He enveloped her, taking her weight, being her foundation despite her emotional turmoil.

His scent enveloped her, the strength of his arms a tangible reminder as much as the love he poured over her. Clinging to him, she wept silent tears, burying her face against his chest.

Oh Force, she had been so afraid. So scared. Not knowing what had happened then everything after. Aela, the kids. Sol. The relief as well as the anger, and at the root of it all realizing that she had been so close to losing them both.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He held her.

It was all that he could do. It was all that he could think to do. He held her.

It was the first time in two weeks he had done so, the first time in what felt like forever. To him this was the only thing he could do now. There was a melancholy to it. He knew that she was still angry, that she was mad, and she had a right to be. Their daughter had been through a situation that she should never have been put through.

Yet it had happened.

All they could do was love her, take care of her, and explain what had happened and why it had happened. Soliael already knew this, and Kira did too, but right now the future didn't matter. What mattered was the present and how they handled the situation as it occurred.

He squeezed her.

 

[Kira Talith]

They lay intertwined upon their bed hours later, Kira's body fitted snugly against Soliael's it was hard to discern where one began and where another would end.

She was weary, exhausted. Her eyes were slightly puffy from crying, red rimmed and half hooded in the dark. Sleep did not come for her, her mind an endless chain of thoughts and concerns as she lay in her husband's embrace. The gentle cafune of blunt fingers would run through her hair, lulling her in an attempt to comfort as much as a need to simply touch the woman he adored.

Life had taken quite a bit of a reality check for the two. They couldn't simply ignore the war that lay out there; right at their doorstep if they were being honest with each other. Borealis was at the cusp of one Sith Territory, and while they were certainly on a planet mostly thought of as a tourist world, the danger was made all too real by what had occurred on Geonosis.

Her anger had waned, his embrace and her sobs a cathartic release. It didn't erase the tension or the worry, but she knew that what happened had been out of Soliael's control. He could not have predicted it would happen.

With only the sound of their breathing and the distant crash of ocean waves, Kira would mull over just what would they do next? What would they say to Aela? To the kids?

A shuddering breath would fill her lungs, and she would curl against Sol if an attempt to get closer beyond what they were now, almost as if needing to get under his skin. Lids fell shut and she would press her face against the whorls of hair upon the hard wall of his chest.

Finally she spoke, a muffled series of five words that made her feel utterly lost.

"What do we do now?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael lay there quietly, his head shifting slightly.

“We keep going.” He said simply. “It's not the end.”

It wasn't, but it was a big event, life changing for Aela, for Kira and Soliael. It was the first time one of their children had been exposed to war, to the evils in the galaxy, to the wrong that had been done to others around them. It was serious, and not something they could ignore, even for a weekend. “She's smart. Smarter than I was at that age. She knows what happened, she knows what she experienced. There's no point in lying to her.”

His own words stung him, each one like a needle getting stabbed into his skin.

“The best we can do is explain to her that its not always like that...” Soliael said quietly. “That war...fighting...battle, its not the norm. Its the outlier.”

 

[Kira Talith]

A forefinger would lightly doodle a small circle on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath, the thrum of his voice as he spoke. No it wasn't the end, it just made her very aware of the consequences that could follow. Her desire was that their children wouldn't have to bear the burden of worry, of fear, of war. She had learned early on in the streets of Kuat about the grim realities of life that she wished she could spare to Esmae, Khayri, Draith, and Nohei.

She gave a sigh, warm breath lightly blowing over his chest.

"What about the twins?" Nohei was still too young to understand, but the underlying tension was noticed by the two. Kira slowly would pull herself from Soliael's embrace, her torso rising as she lay on her side, resting her weight on her elbow as she would stare down at him.

"What if they ask Esmae questions? They can already tell something is wrong." strands of long blonde hair came cascading down her shoulder, the tips brushing along Soliael's forearm.

"And wonder if this will only prompt her to shut herself in again..."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He let his hand slide through her hair.

“She won't tell them.” There was a fact in those words. “She knows they're too young. Knows that it would only confuse them. Aela won't lie, but I know that she won't do anything that might scare them, including telling them what happened on Geonosis.”

Aela was already thinking like a grown up, a problem that had happened before the trip, and something that would persist.

“The bad doesn't outweigh the good Kira. We saw some amazing things, met tribes, creatures, and even monsters. She'll remember that. The good always outweighs the bad. Always.” He kissed her forehead in reassurance, confident in his own words.

 

[Kira Talith]

The press of his lips brought a comforting touch, warmth spreading from the contact upon her skin. A soft sigh, and a nod of agreement would follow suit. She tightened her hold around his torso, drawing him closer as she came back down to lay against him.

He had a valid point, and to a degree there was a part of her that could recognize the irony at the situation. Normally it was her pointing out the silver lining. It went to show how things would work with the other now, after being together for so long. The years would see them weather each other like two rocks, eventually eroding each other into the perfect fit, become a single wall, nestled into each other’s curves and hollows, her strengths chinking his weaknesses, her weaknesses reinforced by his strengths.

Her mind would draw back to their last conversation, of that winter retreat. Suddenly the imminent distance to One Sith territory would concern her all the more.

" What of Atoa?" she would ask him, her right leg shifting to slide between his.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He smiled.

Atoa.

That would be a good thing. It would be a new home, a place for their children to enjoy themselves,a place for the two of them to get away. A place for the entire family to get away if they needed to. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about the events of the past week, the more he thought it would be necessary.

Not a fortress, but a hide away.

It would be a place for all of them to go if they needed to. Large enough for all of them and secure enough that if they needed somewhere to run, somewhere to hide, it would be there at all times. Plus it would be good to have a place to simply get away, somewhere where the kids could experience different climate.

“Next month.” Soliael said kissing her.

That would be enough time to rest.

 

[Kira Talith]

Expansion Region
Ghost Nebula
Atoan System
:: Atoa


Atoa was a little-known ice planet in the Atoan system, inside the Ghost Nebula. From what [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] informed the family, it was a terrestrial, Type 1, temperate world covered in ice, snow, and rivers. The native species, the Atoans, were a near-humanoid offshoot that had multiple hearts, likely an evolutionary feature due to the cold weather. Their government was a small Theocracy, which made it all the more interesting as their new potential home.

Sol had told Kira that it had been almost two hundred years since he last set foot on Atoa. Would it be the same? With how remote and difficult it was to navigate through the Ghost Nebula and pinpoint the small planet, it was doubtful. Yet her nerves were still unsettled. A month had passed since Aela and Sol had returned from their travels, and while both parents were as honest as they could be while encouraging their children to pursue other ventures, Kira was poignantly aware of the moments her eldest daughter would sit quietly in her room to write in her journal.

A sigh would escape the Lorrdian Jedi Master's lips, pearing out through the viewport at the blue white sphere that was to be their potential new home. This was a family trip; after those two weeks it was clear that neither Soliael or Kira wanted to spend anymore time apart from each other or the family. It was all or nothing, with every care and precaution of safety they could take.

Her hands would rub up and down her arms, standing in her room, a chill running down her spine. She wore half of her cold weather outfit on, the jacket, gloves, and her hat laying on top of the bed.

The kids would be getting ready, and she also had Nohei to check on.

Today was sure to be a busy day.