A Merry Little Life Day

[Minna Balin]

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~ ~ ~​

~ Let me tell you a tale, a story of old,​

Of a galaxy far off, a long time ago,​

Of a familial bond, father and daughter,​

Of a girl nearly sev'n, a whale out of water,​

No action to be seen, no danger, no fear,​

But a tale worth telling, for Life Day Eve is here ~​

~ ~ ~​

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Morning came over Bakura like a sheet of ice over a lake, bringing with it the dim shine of the sun, making the snow on the ground, the trees, the cabin, sparkle with a million colors. As glowing stars above began to wink out of existence, banished by the growing dawn, Minna woke up.

The little human girl stretched in her bed, grimacing as she cracked her back, her shoulders, her fingers. She swung her feet over the edge, and pushed herself from her resting place. She swung one leg up behind her, hooked it around her hands, and stretched out her body in a loop. She did this with the other leg, before padding out of her room on light feet, headed for the door.

Minna tugged her winter gear on, and stepped onto the porch. She reveled in the slight creaking of the wood beneath her feet, the calm breeze tossing snow up like a miniature blizzard, the disappearing nightscape above. The subtle blues and purples of coming day. She waited for a few minutes, enjoying the prickling sensation of the cold, the goosebumps on her arms, before retreating back to the warmth of her home, where she began her morning routine.

Twenty jumping jacks. Ten crunches. Five pushups. Ten calf raises. Five pushups. Twenty-five body twists. Ten squats. The length of her room's worth of high knees. Ten reverse crunches. Five pushups. Ten calf raises. Fifteen seconds of planking. Twenty jumping jacks. Ten squats. Side-planks.

Then, her favorite part of morning workout. Finding a way to wake up her dad.

- [member="Ghorua the Shark"] -

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

They say evil never takes a holiday.

That didn't mean Ghorua couldn't.

He'd put a freeze on all of his Bounty Hunting work, no pun intended, to spend time with Minna on Bakura. Ghorua enjoyed his work, no doubt, but he needed the break with his daughter. It was easy for one to get caught up in the galaxy's woes. Wars. Wonders. What have you.

Reprieve was necessary, so Life Day was a necessity.

Being woken up early when he was trying to sleep in, however, was not.

Ghorua was startled awake by a tapping sensation on his face. His deep black eyes opened quickly, scanning the room, before realizing what was happening. Minna had been throwing pieces of fruit at his cheek. They'd gotten so much food from Commenor their last visit, she'd be swimming in jogans and berries for weeks.

Ghorua couldn't keep the smile at bay, even as he tried to form a straight face. "Alright, Minnow, I'm up, I'm up."

He rose from his oversized bed like a breaching sea creature, shutting off the holorecording playing ocean sounds. He found the simulated crashing waves calming.

"What's up?"

- [member="Minna Balin"] -

 

[Minna Balin]

"Happy Life Day Eve."

Minna let the statement hang in the air, before leaping up onto the Shark's massive bed, and jumping up and down, giggling. With far too much dexterity, she backflipped off the cushy surface, landing lightly at the bedside. She ran a hand through her dark hair, frowning as she realized she hadn't combed it yet. Oh well.

"You promised you'd let me train with whatever I want today." Minna cartwheeled to the threshold of the door, obviously enjoying herself. She'd been waiting for this day forever, and it was finally happening. Now Dad couldn't say no.

"I choose lightsaber training!" She jogged out of the room, as light as a feather. She was off to get changed into her training clothes, before her father changed his mind, and redacted his 'free training' day.

Today would be her first day of saber training. She just knew it.

- [member="Ghorua the Shark"] -

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Oh, yeah.

Ghorua had forgotten about that little pact between the two of them. The Shark was pretty sure he'd made that promise to her half a standard year ago. How she'd managed to remember was beyond him. Maybe learning how to use a lightsaber was more important to her than he realized. She had always been a stubborn kid, so determined to be the best at everything, competing with no one but herself. Ghorua was sure that if she ever decided to become a Jedi, she'd definitely try to 'beat' all the other Jedi at being a Jedi, which could create some complications.

And some great learning opportunities.

"Okay, okay," Ghorua managed to let out before Minna scrambled out of his room. An athletic little goofball, that one. Ghorua rose to his full, gargantuan height, plodding over to change. Little did she know, he'd been planning for this day.

~ ~ ~​

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Ghorua the Shark was outfitted in full armor, something he didn't often do for training sessions. He stepped between ice-laden trees and snowy banks, enjoying the early-morning cold on his face. Glancing back to make sure Minna was keeping up, the Shark trudged forward, but once they made it to their regular training grotto, he didn't stop, instead forging through, deeper into the winter woodlands.


"We're training somewhere special today, Minna. I've got a bit of a surprise for you. An early Life Day Present."

Ghorua grinned, showing all of his rows of serrated teeth.

- [member="Minna Balin"] -

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna was practically bouncing on her heels as they walked through the Bakuran forest, darting in-between trees and kicking snowdrifts. She'd half-expected the old man to back out on his word. He'd tell her something about how she wasn't quite ready for that kind of training, or that she should wait for a Force User to teach her, like Kay, or Mr. Arenais.

But it was actually happening.

Minna was slightly confused as they passed the usual training location, but felt all the more excited for it. She listened to Dad speak, and couldn't help but grin. Her cheeks were beginning to look rosy, partly from excitement, partly from the cold.

"What is it! Wait. Don't tell me. I like surprises."

Minna tried to do a frontflip, but slipped and took a facefull of snow. A beat. Two beats.

A fit of laughter, from deep in Minna's core. She rolled over, and pushed herself off the ground, kicking her legs up until she was standing. Brushing snow off her winter gear, Minna walked forward.

"Alright, where are we go... oh."

- [member="Ghorua the Shark"] -

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua waited for Minna to get up off of the ground, knowing that she was fine. This wasn't the first time she'd eaten snow because she was too excited. Once she dusted herself off, Ghorua smiled warmly, pressing a button on his wrist.

The practice area was beautiful.

Lights were strung up on every bough of every tree. Reds, greens, blues, and whites flashed with iridescence as Ghorua activated his wrist commands. A Life Day tree, strung between two large oaks, lit up with a manic assortment of color. Metal boxes, wrapped in thermal fabric, rested under the branches, gleaming tortuously. Ghorua could see the wonder in his daughter's eyes. This wasn't their first Life Day together, but it was special.

From a satchel at his side, Ghorua produced a small hilt, turning it towards Minna and kneeling down.

"Your first present," the Herglic stated, cheer in his voice. "It doesn't have a crystal in it yet, you'll have to get that when you start your actual Jedi training. Until then, however, I figure you should get used to holding it." Ghorua gestured towards a rack of weapons. Sticks, with handles, and a set of remotes.

"Ready to get started?"

- [member="Minna Balin"] -

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna hefted the training sword in her hand, staring down the remote hovering in front of her. Her hefty winter apparel was stuffed under the protective padding of her training gear, and her gloved mitts around the handle of a glorified stick. It didn't phase her. Nothing did. All that mattered was the small floating orb ahead of her.

Suddenly, it fired a bolt of bright yellow. Instead of blocking it with her stick, her Teras Kasi training kicked in, and she ducked under it, balancing on one foot. Shaking her head, Minna stood back up, gripping the training blade with a renewed energy.

The remote fired again. Minna tried to block it, but instead was struck on her hand by a stinging blast. She suppressed the urge to swear in front of her dad, instead shaking out the appendage in annoyance.

She held the blade in the classic Form V pose, two hands on the hilt, held slightly tilted. Ghorua had told her this form, the one taught to him by some Sith Lord a long time ago, was especially good at blocking blaster fire, and counterattacks. From her point of view, it excelled at getting her hands singed.

Still, she didn't complain. They were only an hour in, after all, and she had been through the beginning stages of learning a weapon many times. At first, everything was tough. Then, it wasn't so tough. Then, it was easy.

She spun the stick in her hand, imagining it to be a blade of pure energy. The thought gave her strength. Her father next to her, encouraging her, teaching her, gave her strength.

"I got it this time!"

- [member="Ghorua the Shark"] -

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

"I'm sure you do, Minna. I'm sure you do." Ghorua sat on the ground next to his daughter, smiling slightly. Minna was always so focused on her goals. Her failures fueled her just as much as any success would. He only thought this because he knew she'd be failing plenty of times in the future.

When he had first trained with a lightsaber, it had been under the tutelage of Darth Orcus. The Herglic Sith had risen to prominence after the One Sith Wars, becoming one of the three beings running the Sith Triumvirate. He was killed during the Battle of Ruusan, if memory served. Ghorua had never been close to the Sith Lord, and had only been taught the basics of Form V, but he still wondered how the galaxy would have been different should Hion had survived.

Ghorua had begun to teach Minna the basics, and he could already tell she was learning quicker than him. Despite his genetic modifications, Minna was already quicker at reacting to blaster fire than him. It spoke volumes of her strength in the Force, even if she wasn't yet skilled enough to harness it.

It wasn't the Shark's job to teach his daughter about Space Magic. Hopefully, that would come with time, and might even advance as her swordplay advanced.

"Maybe this will help," he muttered. He shuffled around his training bag, and pulled out a bandana, which he quickly fashioned into a blindfold. "Do you remember your training with [member="Lady Kay"]?"

He hadn't told either of them, but the Shark had assigned his probe droids to observe the training session through it's entirety. He grinned knowingly.

"Put this on. And try again."

- [member="Minna Balin"] -