Who are you to change this world, silly girl? (Tarissa)

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina shook her head, "Hardly seems like you. Though, it does sound a lot like me. I can't really see myself with more than one person. But that's me."

And yes, by this point Galina looked quite like a space lobster at this point. "Absolutely not, mum!" She shrieked, seeming more than a bit embarrassed and exasperated by her mother. She finally laughed when her mom admitted she was kidding, "It might, there's not exactly many girls my age around here. The elves are far older than me. I think I'd have to travel more if I wanted to be around more people my age."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Honestly, I don't understand monogamy. Why would you tie yourself to one person? It's unnatural. I can understand exclusive emotional commitment. That's sensible. But expecting someone to only seek pleasure with yourself is...selfish and self-defeating. You're denying yourself new experiences that can spice things up in the bedroom. Besides, it's statistically proven that polygamous relationships are more understanding and less wracked by jealouy." Clearly Siobhan had very strong opinion about this subject. "There's no harm if you're open about your desires."


By now, Galina looked like an adorable lobster. "But if you don't want your first experiences to be with a lovely harem girl, I won't push it on you. If you mingle more with the court, you should run into some Eldorai girls your age, and some Firemane employees do have kids." They were just NPCs right now. "Elpsis is around the villa a lot...though I foresee her trying to bed you." Truth be told, Siobhan was not sure how she felt about that, considering the redhead was like a spiritual daughter or niece.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina shrugged, "I just don't see things working well for at least me with more than one person at a time. And can we so not talk about pleasure, and me or you in the same sentence. I don't even want to think about that, mum." She seemed quite set in her opinion, and it was going to take a long while to even dream to change her opinions on the matter.

Never mind just how red Galina was getting at this point. "I suppose I can mingle more at court. And yeah, I recall Elpsis being rather flirty last time I saw her. Not sure how I feel about that, sweet girl but so not sure."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Does this mean you don't want the vibrator I bought for you? It comes with an instruction manual." The next time Galina entered her room, she'd find a magic wand of joy and pleasure on her bed, along with informative pictures.


Lobster red Galina was kind of cute. She had to embarrass her daughter more. It was all part of her education. "Elpsis is...well, she reminds me a bit of younger me. Not sure how I feel about that. If she comes on to you too strongly, just put her in her place or send her to me. I can't fault her for having good taste though."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"MUM!" Galina shrieked out of sheer embarrassment! Poor Galina was definitely in for a surprise when she found that magic wand of joy on her bed.

Galina shook her head, to try and push the thoughts away, "Yeah, that I can manage.This is so not my thing. Can we find another topic to discuss, mum?" She asked in an attempt to get where she could turn back to a normal skin color.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"But why? It's such fun. It's important that we have this mother-daughter talks. I don't want you to think there's something you can't tell me," Siobhan said innocently. "Your skin is as red as your hair. It's a perfectly natural topic."


Fortunately for Galina, Siobhan was feeling hungry. "Well, I suppose it's time for dinner now. And you really need some new clothes. I've seen some lovely stuff at The Lady's Haven," she smirked at the prospect of femming her daughter up a bit.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"No no, I get that whole I can tell you anything.... and I mean anything, clearly." She shook her head, "We were getting into strange and unnatural territory about five minutes ago. New topic, please." She begged before grabbing a pillow on the couch and hiding her face behind it.

"Yeah, dinner ..." She muttered. "Clothes? But I hate clothes shopping." Which Galina truly did hate, clothes shopping, so wasn't her thing. It was going to take serious effort on Sio's part to get Galina even remotely into more feminine things.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"Oh, come on, give it a try. You may discover that you enjoy shopping for a pretty dress and then being pampered with a massage and a good pedicure. I know just the stylist for you," Siobhan declared, going off on a girly femme tangent. She fondly stroked Galina's glorious firemane. It truly deserved the best of care. If it was any consolation for Galina, Elpsis also had to fend off Tegaea's attempts to femme her up.


"Besides, you want to spend more time at court and, as shallow as it probably is, perfumed aristos think you're weird if you show up in jeans and a T-shirt. Or wear the same dress more than once a week. We also need to get you some suits if you want to accompany me on Firemane business." Fortunately for Galina, her mother would not insist on her wearing a skirt. Pants were perfectly fine.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

"It was painful last time I went shopping." She shook her head and sighed, "It's going to take more than a massage and a pedicure to get me to like it the pampering. It just seems frivolous to me. Extra things that I don't need." Yep, it was going to take effort on Siobhan's part to make her even begin to like pampering and shopping.

Galina slumped, exhaling sharply as she sank into her chair. Because she knew her mum had a point, "You may, possibly, maybe, might, possibly, have, some small point there." She didn't like to admit it, at all, but she said it. "I just don't like the idea of needing fancy clothes or maintaining a certain appearance. I'm used to being, free. To do as I like, to not worry about clothes, or hair, or anything like that and that's been nice. I don't even know how to do any of that stuff, or even begin to manage it. It's not my thing. I just really don't like it. It seems silly when compared to all the things in the galaxy there are to learn and worry about." She bit her lip for a moment and again sighed, "I'm sorry mum, I know it's needed. I'm just not into that kind of stuff the way you are."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


As fashion-obsessed as Siobhan was, some of Galina's words resonated with her. "I understand, dear. You can dress as you wish outside of your duties, but like it or not, you'll have to adjust for official functions. Doesn't mean you have to be loaded with perfume and jewellry, but certain standards must be maintained. When we go shopping, we can buy stuff that's classy but modest. Tegs' red dress is a good example. She looks like queen in it, but there's nothing frivolous about it."


At this point, an Eldorai servant girl entered the room, bowing demurely. "Pardon me, Mistresses, but dinner is ready and about to be put on the table," she raised her head slightly and glanced towards Galina. "That dress looks lovely on you, Lady."


Siobhan looked triumphant. "See, even the maidens like you in it." Naturally she disregarded the fact that she paid her servants to fawn, though in this case it seemed the compliment was a genuine one. "Anyway, let's go eat. By the way, Galina how do you feel about visiting the Xioquo with me?" The thread had been started before they were defeated, but one might as well handwave the timeline and assume that had already happened.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina nodded, a frown creasing her lips. "It makes sense, mum. I'm just not comfortable in this type of clothing. I can get used to it, really don't like it, but I can get used to it." The teenager pouted a bit as she set the pillow she'd been holding to the side.

She turned seeing the servant enter the room. Galina cocked her head to the side and smiled a little bit. "Thank you."

One last time she sighed, "They may like it, I still don't." Slowly Galina pushed herself up out of the chair. "I know I'm pretty and all of that, mum. Things like this just feel incredibly strange to me. It feels weird against my skin, and I'm not even used to that." Following her mother, she thought about the question, "I don't know. It's a different culture, almost a different world. I wouldn't mind, though. It could be a learning experience."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"I believe it will be very educational for you. The Xioquo's old culture was shattered during the war and now it's our job to wean them off tyranny, so that they can be part of Tygara's community. Naturally, we cannot accomplish that overnight. Their entire culture was steeped in violence and abuse. There's millions of slaves who need to be housed, clothed, fed and taught a trade, old guard reactionaries who dream of a return to the 'good old days', not to mention racial strife with the Qadiri and the Eldorai."


Siobhan leaned back into her chair, picking up a glass of wine and taking a sip. "I guess you can see some analogies to Sigma. Winning a war is easy, winning the peace is where the real work starts. It was a sobering lesson for me when I became Exarch of the Protectorate. These people are our responsibility now, and we must do right by them." Her political views could probably be described as stern maternalism, with her as the 'benevolent despot'.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina nodded and listened as her mother explained the situation to her. It sounded like it, unfortunately, would compare well to her world. Some things hit a little too closely to home, and she hadn't forgotten all she'd seen while out with the Angelii. That she couldn't forget, ever. Nor could she forget the horrors of Sigma either. Both were unfortunate realities of both worlds. "Yeah, I can see some similarities. As much as I don't like to think other worlds don't go through anything close to what Sigma has, but here and other places experience it too. A fact of life, I guess."

She sighed, "I know better than to think Sigma is going to be some fairytale. Never really believed in fairytales anyway. But more than that, it takes time to change cultural ideas that have been accepted as the norm for hundreds of years now. It takes time and a hell of a lot of work. Work that may not end, at least not for me. The people back on Sigma need help as much as the Xioquo do. The elves here, have you and mum. I don't have any dreams of rainbows and happy endings. Those things only happen after a ton of blood, sweat, and tears first. Even then, those moments are rare. I know that." A dark view of the galaxy but Galina had a rather cold, and extremely harsh upbringing. It was only natural for her to look at things like this, without the rose tinted glasses that most folks seemed keen to wear.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"I know that Sigma needs help. What you need is experience before you can start fixing it. So this is a good start. Rainbows and happy endings only happen in fairy tales, that's true. It's the sort of bullchit the Silver Jedi love. The type of stories where no one innocent gets hurt, the bad guys are easily beaten and 'redeemed' and everyone gathers around the fire place."


Her tone was very scathing when she spoke of the Silver Jedi. She had soured considerably on them since Ruusan. To her, the Jedi cared more about their imaginary halos than actually doing what was right. By now, servant girls had brought dishes of food, along with drinks. "That's why they lose. That's why they've failed any time someone challenged them. They're used to easy victories and can't stand the thought someone might not swallow their code. It is a world of blood and iron."

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina's frown deepened. Her mother wasn't wrong. It just wasn't something she wanted to keep putting on hold. "I know, mum. I don't like waiting while trying to get ready for it. I'm just a bit impatient." And she knew it a flaw she had. She did nod, "I know, they love those happy joy and peace loving stories where everything works out flawlessly, but that isn't reality. And it won't ever be."

She shook her head, "Yeah, they do. They don't know what it's like to truly fight for anything, with the exception of ramming that code down people's throats." With her plate in front of her, Galina slowly started to pick through her food, not really that interested in eating right that second.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


"One day, the Sith or the Mandalorians will strangle them all. The Jedi will be too blind to even see it before it's too late," Siobhan muttered to herself, not particularly caring either way. It had reached the point that the Silver Jedi were just a meat shield to her.


"Eat up. You're not getting bulimic on me," she reproached Galina a bit, digging into her own food. "We can leave for the Xioquo lands in three days. That gives us some time to prepare." And perhaps to expand Galina's wardrobe a bit.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina nodded, "One day, yeah it'll happen. They can't see what's right in front of them, not even when it beats them in the face." She wasn't paying that much mind but still had heard Siobhan.

She sighed and took a long drink from her glass. "I'm not all that hungry right now." She shrugged slightly, "Just not exactly in the mood to eat. My mind is else where." Galina couldn't help it when it came to thinking about her homeworld and all the troubles and problems it had.

One last tired sigh, "Alright, three days." That at least gave her some distance from them heading into the Xioquo lands. It was needed to give her a little time to shake her thoughts from how her world was, how she remembered the events on the edge of their lands. She needed the time, for certain. "I, also, can't help but feel you want to sneak in some shopping in that time." She murmured, not exactly looking forward to that part of things either!

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan sighed slightly. "One day, I'm going to turn you into a pretty fashionista and you will like it," she declared airily, washing down her food with some Qadiri wine. "By the way, dear, I have a present for you. In case you're wondering, this one is not a vibrator."


The magic wand of joy had not been forgotten. Galina would find it lying on her bed. In any case, the Countess snapped her fingers and a Qadiri servant girl approached both of them demurely, carrying a gift-wrapped present. It was very likely that the young redhead would enjoy it.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina shrugged again, "You can try, but I highly doubt that's going to happen anytime soon."

She lifted an eyebrow as she heard the word present. "Not a vibrator, and this is no trick?" She asked curiously. She looked to the door as the servant came in with the gift wrapped present.

She took it gently from the girl and laid the large package in her hand. She bit her lip and carefully opened the box. Much to her surprise, it wasn't a toy kit for the bedroom. It was a lovely bow. "Now this is great, mum." She said with a bright smile as she pulled the bow from the package and stood up for a moment to test the draw of it before she sat back down. "I haven't seen bows like this in a long while. Not since what I made myself and what I had back on Sigma. Thank you, mum. This was super sweet."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"]


Siobhan smiled brightly, pleased that her little girl was happy. "Glad you like it, sweetie! It's made out of graphite, so it's resistant to lightsabres. The graphite shaft allows the durasteel tipped arrows to be fired at a much faster speed, enough to break through medium armour. So it's actually useful in modern combat. Effective range is 180-300 metres."


Impulsively, she pulled Galina into a hug. "You're my little angel. Never forget that," she planted a kiss on the teenager's forehead, then backed away. "Well, I am kind of tired, so I'm going to lie down for an hour so." As much as this rankled with Siobhan, she was not getting any younger. Not so long ago, she'd discovered the first streaks of grey in her infallible firemane.