Age of Constructs

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Myra gave a small pause, a rather comical act as it was Alric’s larger hand that stayed her. Her large grey eyes were still a bit wary, eyeballing the Ithorian with suspicion. He was indeed, quite funny looking. She vacillated between believing Alric and letting her own fears take root, but Alric’s small joke about the alien’s appearance managed a small twitch at the corner of her lips that indicated the older Tetan won.

“I welcome you to my garden, Mrs. Arceneau and Mr. Kuhn.” no one in the station was unaware of who the two were. There was mild amusement in his dark eyes, and as if understanding the youngling was hesitant, he merely stayed in place.

“I take it this little one came in to look around?” he inquired, the sluglike visage peering down curiously at the little girl. Danger was amused, but knew that this was for the best for Myra. She had to learn there were countless species out there, different races. She couldn’t be taken over by her fears and lock herself away.

“Go on honey… say hello.” at the most she expected the little girl to wave her shy greeting, but one never knew what would prompt her to finally speak.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"She did." Alric answered for Myra, knowing the little girl wouldn't speak up. It was something they would eventually have to address, but not now. The Ithorian didn't seem to mind, somehow understanding the underlying fear that carried with the little girl. Perhaps he knew somehow, perhaps the rumors of Alric and Danger's daughter were spreading, or perhaps he was just a kind soul. Alric didn't know, but either way he appreciated it.

"Come this way."

He said with a quiet wave.

Alric looked down at Myra, then over to Danger. He gave them both a short shrug then quickly followed after the Ithorian. Myra lingered for a moment, looking up at Danger and then slowly following into step behind Alric, albeit, with her hand firmly wrapped around Danger's. The Titan looked back, smiling slightly as he watched Myra slowly gain courage, while still holding onto her adoptive mother.

It was something.

Something small, but it was progress, and that was always good.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Cautiously, the little girl took another tentative step. Danger simply gave a soft smile and a nod, encouraging the little girl by extending her hand to allow Myra another step closer. They followed the Ithorian, who began to speak in his soft soothing voice.

"We have our vegetables here." he began to explain, giving the trio a small tour. A small three fingered hand gestured to the left. "My favorite actually." he told them. If there was a way for the Ithorian to give a smile, he did then. Myra would watch quietly, following where he would point and then back to Alric and Danger.

"Do you oversee the entire garden?" Danger asked, hoping that conversation would allow Myra's tension to ease.

"I do, Mrs. Arceneau." he said, "I was brought in and given free reign to ensure the growth and the stability of this garden." he said humbly, giving a small pat at a nearby glasteel wall that revealed the expand of the garden.

"Did you hear that, honey?" Danger added, murmuring low. "He makes sure that everythin' round here grows healthy and strong."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The garden was huge, well, really calling it a Garden wasn't really all that accurate anymore. This place was meant to feed the entire station in case of emergency. He shifted slightly as they moved deeper into the greener parts of the place. It was certainly something.

Something he hadn't seen in a long time.

"It's for the station." He explained quietly. "In case something happens and they have to be alone for a while."

That was a nice way to explain to Myra that they would rely on this place in case The Foundry was ever cut off from its supply lines. Such a thing was unlikely of course, given that the entire Vanir Fleet protected this place, but there was always the possibility, no matter how unpleasant. Of course he wasn't about to tell Myra that, she still lived in a somewhat sheltered world, and honestly he wanted to keep her that way as long as he possibly could.

He often wished that Lily and Rose were still children, but then again perhaps that was just Nostalgia.

One could say what they wanted about him, but he loved his children. Again, almost unconsciously his free hand went to the back of his neck.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

He was doing that more and more, Danger thought to herself. A slight frown went curving over her brow, a flutter of curiosity at that. A nervous tick? Perhaps.

"Would you like something from the garden?" the Ithorian would ask, glancing down at the little girl. He meant it in good nature, attempting to bridge it with an olive branch. Myra cautiously would look from Danger to Alric and then back to the Ithorian. She did want a pear. It had been the reason she had come in here to see what there would be. Now she was a bit hesitant.

"I can show you where you can pick what you like." he would offer in turn. Now that was a compromise. Myra would be able to select an item for herself. After a few seconds, she gave a shy nod. Danger smiled. Taking a step closer, she encouraged the little girl to walk forward.

"We're right here." she told her. After a second, her voice was low as she spoke to Alric. "Your neck botherin' you? You're rubbin' it more often than not."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Hm?" He said slowly turning towards her.

Alric hadn't even noticed it, the fact that he was touching his neck more then usual. His hand half rose as though he were going to look at it, but then slowly he lowered it as he realized that too. The unconscious act had of course been triggered by thoughts of family, of love, of the one daughter that had missed out on all that. He hadn't realized that at first, he hadn't been able to, but as soon as Danger asked him it seemed incredibly obvious to him.

For a moment he frowned, then he motioned for Danger to come closer. "Come here."

The Titan had never shown Danger the tattoo, had never shown anyone really. He'd gotten it in a time of turmoil, when he'd still been fighting. The spot had been shaved for only a brief time, a time that Alric kept the tattoo covered by a hat or helmet. The hair had grown back to conceal it well enough, but when one really looked, parting the black curls on his head the name was still clear.

"Look." He pointed to the back of his neck, running fingers through his hair. "I got it a little after."

His words were nearly a whisper, dead quiet. He didn't say after what, he didn't have to.

There was a profound sadness to his voice, a pang of guilt. Then he began to explain himself. "I was thinking about her."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger's smile froze.

She didn't know how her fingers managed to skim across the short locks, or when her hand went drifting across the nape of his neck. For that moment, she was struck numb. There, with the pad of her forefinger, the Queen of Trade traced over the fine black script. It matched the script that the Tetan had over one of his shoulders. One one side Fiona. On the other Violet. Alric's sisters. This one, here at the nape of his neck, hidden away from the 'verse, was a mirror of one of those names. An inky script that delicately spelled out five letters. Five letters that were normally harmless on their own, but together, reminded her of what she had lost. No, what they had lost.

Fiona.

A child. A little girl stillborn, who never had a chance to take a breath of air nor for the 'verse to hear her cry out in life. Her fingers began to tremble, and eyes began to sting. It was a good thing they had walked a little ways, allowing Myra to quietly head off not too far to search for the fruit she was after. It allowed the measure of sorrow that went washing over her face at the realization that Alric had not forgotten after all.

A thought back to when he had first appeared in the lounge of her ship, when he had struggled through his apology:

I'm sorry for everything. For what I did to you. For leaving you alone. For breaking your trust. For coming to Tatooine. For everything I ever did. For...for Fio-.
I'm sorry I ever sent you that dress.

Fiona.
Her name is Fiona.

Alric had Lily and Rose's name etched upon his skin much in the same manner as that of his sisters. It had always pained her that he seemed to have forgotten that between he and she they had barely a glimmer of new life before it had been snuffed away. It had been a silent ache, one that Danger had not brought up. She would keep Fiona's memory alive. Always had. Perhaps, she had never really and truly understood that Alric had felt the same pain and dealt with it in his own manner.

"...Why?" she barely managed to ask. Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure what the question was referencing. Why did he get the tattoo? Why there? Why hidden? Why hadn't he told her sooner?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

There wasn't really an all encompassing answer to the question, not the least because Danger hadn't specified what she meant. In truth, even if she had Alric would have struggled to answer anyway. This wasn't something he had ever thought about telling Danger before, not because it was a secret but because...it was a pain that had always been there for both of them. There had never been a need to bring it up, there had never been a need to bring that pain back. At least not for him.

He'd caused Danger enough suffering.

There was no need for more.

"She was my daughter." He said finally, once again almost too quiet to hear. It was odd in a way. Alric had four daughters. Fiona, Lily and Rose, now Myra. The last wasn't born to him, but she was his daughter nonetheless. When the girls had been young he'd often thought about what it would have been like to have a Son, someone more his own image, but he'd never loved his daughters any less, never wished for them to be anything else. "Our Daughter."

The only wish he'd ever had was that Fiona had survived. "I thought about her a lot when the girls were young. If they would have gotten along, if she would have taught them like my sisters taught me."

There likely wouldn't have been an answer to those questions if Fiona had survived, mostly because Lily and Rose would probably never have been born, but emotion didn't require logic. He'd never considered that part of it, had never wanted to. The old Tetan shifted slightly, pulling away from Danger and turning to face her. He felt her fingertips drift across the skin of his neck as he did so.

"I guess I was doing the same thing with Myra now." He tried to smile, but he found it difficult. Perhaps she would be mad at him, perhaps she would hate him now, bringing her back that memory, but it was something he'd kept to himself for far too long.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

It wasn't anger that Alric would see in Danger's eyes. It was melancholy. That deep ache at remembrance. Over two decades had passed and still the pain felt raw. Perhaps, it would never really ever fade. For Danger, Fiona had been her miracle child. The one gift she never expected nor believed she could ever have. Not with the internal scars that had made her conception a near impossible probability. It was a cruel twist of faith to have carried her for eight months only to have lost her again.

That same agony, however, had been what had brought Alric and she closer. It had laid a path between them through the bricks of loss, allowing them to get past the artifice and to what mattered deep within. To a degree, they were both scarred by their families, one way or another. To have Fiona only to lose her...

Well, it had struck them both.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, fingers curling back. A weak smile was offered. So it was't just me playing what-ifs? she mused. Then again, perhaps their own little fantasies and daydreams were different on their own. Age had a way of coloring it all. What she had wished then was different now; or at the least, changed a bit from the original.

The mention of Myra brought the attention back to the youngling. She was carefully standing beside the Ithorian, still a bit wary, but a little bit more brave than before. They were beside a large refrigerated container for fruit.

"I imagined she'd be a handful." she finally said quietly, reaching out to slid her fingers against his own. They rarely ever spoke of Fiona.

Perhaps it wast time they should.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He shook his head. "I don't think her mother would have allowed it."

That was a compliment to Danger, a testament of how she was. Often he'd thought about how he'd spoiled Lily and Rose, and how Silara had mostly allowed it because of her relationship with Lisette. It was a remarkable that all things considered Lily and Rose grew up to be relatively calm, respectful, and...not bratty. They had always had everything they wanted, but neither of them ever became spoiled. With Danger, he doubted that it would have even been a possibility.

Alric smiled.

"She would have been good." He was confident of that, no one could break that thought away. Fiona would have grown up in a time of war. When the SIth and the Republic were in full swing, when Alric and Danger had been chasing the Star Cabal, when everything in the galaxy was seemingly falling apart, but Alric was still sure she would have been good. He didn't try to define what kind of good, or how she would help, but he was sure. "Kind, I think."

Perhaps the same kindness that Danger carried, or perhaps in her own little way.

It didn't matter, but that was the image of his daughter that Alric had held for over two decades, something no one could take away.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

That sparked a half choked smile, the slide of her fingers interlocking with his own. A squeeze of his hand. "Not with my temper." she'd add, trying to inject a measure of small wry humor, blinking back the tears. Danger knew her vices and her flaws, some of them were more pigheaded than most in sticking around and making themeselves known. Odds were, that amalgam of their union would have some way or another, be it nurture or nature, elicited some form of fiery nature.

Truth be told, how would they even have handled raising a child then? Alric and she were certainly hot blooded then, more self-serving and self protecting than thinking about others. Only the wisdom of years managed to show another way. Danger knew she had been a different person then. Prone to more spite and anger. A desperate need for privacy and a fear of intimacy. Would that have been fair to Fiona?

How much of a stable home would that have been?

"I..." her voice would crack, barely an octave above a whisper. "I often wonder, if I'd do right by her." her lips gave a brief wincing smile, a troubled expression of worry. "If she was still here." it was still hard to say, 'if she lived.'.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"You would have." He said quietly. "We would have."

They had not been as they were now, but they would have tried their best.

There was no doubt in his mind that they would have had their troubles, that they would have been hard pressed to raise Fiona, but he also knew that eventually they would have found a way. The two of them had raised companies from the ground up, had negotiated with Sith, Jedi, and False Gods. In comparison to that raising a child was easy, or so Alric had always thought it. Fiona would have been good, she would have been kind, and she would have been raised well.

Just like Myra now would be.

He turned and looked towards his daughter, a light tug on Danger's hand pulling her with.

There wasn't anything else to say. Myra wasn't a replacement for Fiona, no one was or ever could be, but she was their daughter. It didn't matter that she didn't share their genes, that she didn't even really look like them. She was theirs. There was no doubt in his mind of that now, no hesitation or even thought of ever sending her away. Myra was his daughter as much as Fiona, Lily, or Rose. He communicated that to Danger in his silence, his eyes simply watching the little girl as she plucked a small piece of fruit from a nearby tree.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"We would have." Danger repeated, tightening her grasp against Alric's. As Myra happily plucked her pear, she came running back to the pair. She held it aloft, showing it off with a wide smile across those cherub lips and large grey eyes.

"Oh look at that!" Danger said, adding a bit of an inflection to her voice. The smile was back, genuine, but the lingering bit of melancholy could still be seen in the corners of her eyes. The youngling suddenly gave an expression of concern. She brought down the fruit and went reaching up, letting her smaller hand rest against Danger's forearm. Her tiny brows furrowed together, as if asking 'What is wrong?'

"Oh I'm okay. Just something in my eye, that's all." Danger would assure her. Glancing back up, she shot a grateful smile to the Ithorian.

"Thank you so much. I'm sure Myra will enjoy it."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The Ithorian said one thing or another that Alric couldn't quite hear, his mind drifting off somewhere on his own. He had often thought about Fiona in the years past, had often thought about his own daughters and how they would turn out. He'd even thought about Myra in the past few weeks. Whether or not she would remember her real parents, how she would see them, her sisters, everything. It was important to him, not because of some lineage or succession, but because he knew Danger and him wouldn't be around forever.

It was a dark thought, but one that had been on his mind for a while now.

His heart wasn't the strongest, his leg was slowly giving out, and he knew that eventually everything else would go to. They had time yet, but Alric knew that before long he would have to confront his own age. For some reason that made securing the future of his children all the more important.

Most would say it was already secure. After all Lily and Rose were well on their way to controlling their own lives, and all three of his daughters stood to inherit vast portions of a fortune that most governments would have seen as a yearly GDP. Yet that wasn't enough. Money wasn't enough. Perhaps he wanted to change things, perhaps he wanted to give his daughters something they could be proud of, a legacy, something that they could see and find tangible, something...more.

He frowned for a moment.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Like it?" the question was met with a nod in the affirmation, the little girl giving an encouraging smile. Danger may have soothed some of her worries, but that didn't mean Myra was easily swayed.

"Come on." A hand came up to rest upon the little girl's back. "Let's continue our walk. I'm sure Mistah..." a quick glance up and the Ithorian gave a small smile.

"Oolan Mur." He replied.

"--Mistah Mur has much to attend to." straightening, Danger let her smile linger. "Go on and thank him for it." The little girl shifted on her feet a bit. It was hard for her to. A small rock of her toes and she turned to the Ithorian. A small gesture signaling her thanks came then.

"My pleasure."

Catching a glimpse of Alric, she noticed that same contemplative expression from earlier. They had a moment yes, but now within the context of what they'd been discussing, it gave it a bit more meaning. This was about the girl's future. Where they would be.

Perhaps a discussion they could have later when Myra was asleep.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Finally, as if he knew that it was time Alric snapped out of it. He pulled forward, taking Danger along with him and scooping Myra up underneath his arm. The girl gave a half bubbled shout of surprise as she found herself suddenly lifted into the air and plucked beneath Alric's muscle.

The motion hurt him slightly, his leg flinching with pain as he moved, but for now he simply ignored it.

Myra flailed her arms, barely holding onto the piece of Fruit as Alric stepped forward and passed the Ithorian. He said a word of thanks, then began to trudge away towards the edge of the gardens. There was still a lot to see, and today wasn't supposed to be a day of ruinous contemplation and sad nostalgia, but happiness, joy, trying to get Myra to break from her shell. He knew that, and he knew that he wouldn't ruin today by focusing on troubles he'd long had.

"Come on." He said with a grunt, still ignoring the pain.

"Can't be sitting around fruit all day." Myra bubble laughed again, Alric looked down at her with a smile. "There's candy somewhere around here."

The girls eyes grew wide.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Now you've done it." Danger coo'd, leaning against Alric's body for a moment. They bid their adieu's to the overseer of the shipyard's produce area and continued on.

"Feeling up to keeping up with an energized little girl?" she teased, looping his arm with her own. They made their way, the melancholy of their conversation waning, but none the less, still there at the edge of the mind. It was to be a conversation for later, she supposed. For now, they were here to enjoy the sights of the shipyards and to help Myra adapt socially with more people.

"How is your leg?" she asked him, a more concerned expression on her face in regards to his knee. She knew that walking too much would put too much pressure on it. While they had given him a brace to help with his stride, it didn't mean that it was a complete and final solution.

Towards the exit and beyond the 'gardens' they would follow the corridor that would lead towards the massive galley. Beyond that were the residence halls and the small trading shopping area for the resident employees.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric put Myra down halfway out of the gardens, even the little girls weight beginning to bother him after a few dozen meters. His walk was half hitched for a moment as the extra pressure on his knee quickly disappeared. He let out a sigh of relief, but other then that didn't show any pain. There wasn't any time for it, not today. "It's alright."

That was a lie, but today it wouldn't matter.

"Honey." He asked Myra quietly, leaning down as they neared the exit. "Why don't you and mommy play spy."

Alric looked up at Danger with a grin, Myra's eyes growing quite large. "Take mom and go find some candy. See if you can't spot where they sell it, but be very careful. We wouldn't want them to know you were coming."

It was a game. Something to distract her. There would be people in the Galley areas, not a complete tally of the people on the station of course, but a crowd of a few dozen at least. This way, with Myra and Danger's 'sneaking' Myra would at least feel a little more secure. More importantly however it would allow Alric just a few minutes to rest, something he desperately needed.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Play spy?

Danger took a second to catch exactly what Alric meant by it. Myra enjoyed games. They would play a variety of them back on Elysium. Pulling away from the Tetan, Danger's eyes grew wide and she gave a small waggle of her brows.

"We will have to be very quiet and sneaky!" she whispered, extending out her hand for the little girl to take. She still had the pear in her left hand, a large bite already against its grainy flesh. A bit of the juice made her hands sticky, but Danger wasn't too worried about that. Makai had done much the same whenever they went out to go eat. Nothing topped the first time the little boy enjoyed his first candy apple, though. The fond memory made Danger smile.

"Okay, now keep an eye out." it would be fairly familiar to see a typical stand that would sell candy. However, for Myra, she rarely went out of Elysium, and what they required for food was simply delivered after ordering it.

"Best way to find candy?" she began, moving away from Alric as the two led the way, Mister Tuggles trotting along behind them. A small tap of Myra's nose came next.

"Smell it!" she grinned, seeing the little girl blink then smile. "You remember how that candy we gave you smelled like, right?" using her nose would allow Myra to find the sweets.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

As the two slowly crept off and towards their hunt for Candy Alric began his own hunt. His was far more subdued, and probably said something about his age.

A bench.

That was his target, and unsurprisingly he managed to find one rather quickly. With an almost over delighted smile Alric made his way across the open expanse of the room and headed towards the smooth curved stone that had been fashioned into a sitting area. There was a small pool of water with a fountain in front of it, something to look at while one rested. With a slight grunt, the old man lowered himself onto the uncomfortable stone and stretched out his arms across its back

He rested there, simply sitting, enjoying the quiet.

It wasn't something that he got all that often now, true silence. Myra of course didn't talk much, but the little bug was more then capable of making noise, especially with the constant clickity clack of Mr. Tuggles following her everywhere.

Silence was rare. Precious. He had to savor it.