Blood of the Lion [Théo]

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

Silver Rest, Kashyyyk

It was a slow-going day for Private Heavenshield. Antarian Rangers were very thorough in not over-working their men, meaning those that come home from a mission are always granted a leave of absence to avoid battle fatigue. Such was the case for Thirdas, having returned from fieldwork just the other day. He went through the normal procedures: a debriefing followed by a brief medical examination, as well as counseling for those in need. After that, he would sleep for almost a full day, replenish and recuperate in any way he could in the case of an emergency call to arms. It hadn't thus far, and so when he learned of his older brother's scheduled arrival on Kashyyyk to pick up his daughter it came as a welcome distraction from the tedium of waiting around for another mission.

Arriving at the youngling quarters of the Silver Rest, surrounding him were groups of children either quietly attending a class held by some Jedi instructor, or running around playing as little ones are keen on doing. Of course his niece belonged to the latter, and as she came running by Thirdas plucked her off the ground. "Hey, hey, hey," he settled her upon his arm in one swooping motion, her slender arms wrapped around his neck. "What're you up to now, ya tiny sky pirate? Papa will be arriving any minute now, and I'm sure he's missed you a whole bunch."

And so the two left the temple, heading for the spaceport to watch the busy traffic of shuttles coming and going in seemingly random order. By now Thora had climbed atop her uncle's shoulders, her scrawny legs dangling on either side of his neck. In contrast to his last visit when he had yet to prove himself in the eyes of his fellow Rangers, this time around it was they who were first to salute before carrying on with their task. "First one to spot Dad's ship gets an ice cream!"

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

The Tarly burst through the atmosphere in a blaze of glory, Théo was cleared to land and began his descent. The rear engines roared as the landing cycle lowered the ship on the landing platform and within minutes, the ramp lowered and he prepared to disembark. Théo could already sense his daughter's presence along with his brother's who Théo was looking forward to seeing once more and hearing about all his progress. And he needed to get everything he could because their mother and father would want to know. And he had 'orders' to take holopics.

It would be nice to see green once more, not that it can't be found on Midvinter, but the lush vegetation of Kashyyyk was something else, something very special and he hoped Thora had gained a good appreciation for it, which in turn, to give her a greater appreciation for her home planet and it's beauty. Thora had a few classes to attend before they would return home, but with a few days up their sleeves, he could spend some time with Thirdas, providing he is not called away on duty. Théo had to wonder what changes he would find in his brother, there were bound to be changes even if only on a small scale.

Thora, in the mean time, sat wriggling atop her uncles shoulders, barely able to contain her excitement, "There it is!", she shouted loud enough to deafen her uncle. "I won all the ice cream!".

The loading ramp retracted as he stepped foot on the surface and walked across the pad dressed in his white shirt and light trousers, the sun glaring in his eyes, but he could make out the figures of two people waving their arms in his direction. He waved back with a smile, although they would not see that from this distance. Once inside the terminal, they were easy to find, Thirdas as tall as any Heavenshield stood out above them all, added to this was Thora on his shoulders.

"There's my girl", he smiled with pride and pulled her face to his to kiss her cheek. And to his brother he looked him over, he looked well enough if not battered around the face. He took both of them in a bear hug, before resting his forehead to that of Thirdas as is their greeting. "Good to see you brother". It was a long journey and Théo was eager to relax at Yggdrasil and catch up with the pair of them, no doubt they both had stories to tell him.

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[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, having looked forward to that ice cream. "You won, fair and square..."

When Théo appeared in the terminal, Thora wriggled more and more as the distance between them grew shorter and shorter. By he end he had to steady her by gripping her legs to keep her from falling off, grinning at her antics and seeing father and daughter reunited once more. When it came to his own greeting however, he found he could not longer maintain the carefree attitude once in the embrace of his brother. He clung to him a bit too long and a bit too tight, nuzzling into his shoulder. Théo had brought the scent of Midvinter with him; the scent of home. All at once he was struck with an intense homesickness.

"Hello, big brother," he finally uttered aloud when their foreheads touched. Théo looked no different from when they last saw each other, however he supposed the same could not be said of himself; his long braid had been cut, leaving only a blonde tuft of hair atop his head. He'd also increased significantly in size, having bulked up during boot camp. Letting his niece off his shoulders she immediately lept into her father's care, and after Thirdas took possession of his brother's travelling bag Thora ended up skipping between the two, holding both by the hand.

"I would say 'mind the climate', but you probably know about that more than I do," he mentioned as they made for a nearby speeder. "I procured this baby for your arrival, my lord. Figured you wouldn't be in the mood for a hike after such a long trip." Tossing his brother's bag in the back seat, the front consisted of a wide sofa rather than individual seats, allowing for father and daughter to sit together up front. "I'll drive," he made sure to point out. Wasn't gonna lose a borrowed year-model to Théo's poor handling, plus he was used to traversing the jungle trails. "Oh, and uh... you owe Thora an ice cream."

Before Théo could interject Thirdas pushed the gas and they zoomed off into the wilds. Of course Thora was elated going so fast over and through the lush green vegetation, practically bouncing in her seat next to her father. "Théo, how's mom and dad? I know, I talk to them every week, but... Figured you'd notice if anything was out of place." Gods know they would not just come out and tell them, for fear of worrying them.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

"It's black", he grinned, why does everyone associate him with black. Something blue would be nice for a change.

He jumped into the speeder, happy enough to let Thirdas drive, Théo sat with his daughter never letting her go. Théo couldn't remember the last time he had controls of a speeder, not that it was hard to do, but quite frankly he did not care for them. Give him a good horse any day. "And what does he mean I owe you ice cream?", he winked at his daughter. "You two have been gambling ice creams, it is not me that lost the bet". Not that he would deny Thora ice cream, but he sure as seven hells not going to let Thirdas get away with this one. "Pay up uncle".


In Théo's eye Thirdas would always be his little brother, someone he would look out for regardless of how old they all get. But he could see his brother was a man now, in his own right, with his own abilities to protect himself as well as anyone he cared for. "Nice hair cut", it wasn't it was horrible but hey it was Théo he had to impress. "You had your nose broken?", he asked as Thirdas' nose seemed to have taken to wandering his face. Of course Théo was concerned for his brother, already he had faced missions which required a lot from people, killed probably and that is never easy no matter what they say.

But his last question made Théo pause. Not because he did not know how to answer it, it was because he did. And there was some concerns around his father Théo had never voiced to anyone, and he was not sure he should to Thirdas either. He turned to catch his brother's eye, "They are fine", he looked down at Thora, he did not want to speak his concerns in front of her, it would distress her too much.

But Thirdas would understand something was up.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"] ​

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

"Thora," he mischievously declared, "when we get to your dad's place, you can have whatever ice cream you can find in his freezer." He sent a cheeky wink Théo's way in between minding the 'road' and attempting to keep his niece from scaling the dashboard.

He knew his brother better than most and had no trouble picking up on the lack of confidence in his voice when mentioning the state of their mother and father. It was all he needed to know to confirm his suspicions; he'd had them since before leaving Midvinter, catching him staring off into nothing - sometimes even while at the dinner table, thinking nobody notices. Then again, some days he is his normal self without any hint of something being wrong. It always came and went.

But they would speak about it later, away from Thora.

It only took a couple more minutes until Yggdrasil appeared before them, the private residence of his brother's in Silver space. Looked like a giant treehouse, Thirdas thought. After parking the speeder and making his niece carry her father's bag inside, much to her disapproval, the two brothers got a moment alone.

"So... I take it you've noticed as well, then." A look of concern was shared between them as Thirdas leaned back against the speeder, crossing his arms after swatting a fly on his neck. "I've felt something's been up the last couple years with the old man. Never bothered asking, I already knew what the answer would be." Squinting eyes gazed up at the hot Kashyyyk sun, but saw not their grandfather smiling back at them. This wasn't Midvinter's sun. "I'm guessing Mom already knows what's up, no way he could keep anything from her."

Pushing off the speeder he began to pace back and forth, getting worked up. "And I bet you anything it's those faen scars of his," he stopped and glared at Théo, his temper getting the better of him. The look his big brother offered in return had him realise this however, and his shoulders slumped as he took his frustrations out on a pebble on the ground, giving it a docile kick.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He watched as Thora vanished up the long stair way to the house and no doubt she was in there exploring already. She had not been here before, and this place would intrigue her young mind. It was a lovely place, very soothing and relaxing and Théo had missed it .. well, apart from the heat but even that was taking care of. Thirdas had noticed the change in their father, it had not been hidden as well as either Papa or Mana had wanted. And beside Théo was strong in the force and could sense the change in him. His eyes lingered over the structure looking for anything that might been fixing and also to think about an answer.

"Yeah, I have". He turned to Thirdas, no longer a kid stood before him and he had every right to answers as much as Théo did. When the battle had began Thirdas had not been a part of it, in the sense of the fight. Had not been there to see the destruction that the army of the hag had done and what toll it had taken on them all. Mother and father had almost lost their lives in defense of Midvinter and if it had not been for Velkar, they would burned their bodies on the funeral pyre. The thought of that alone was troubling. More was yet to come, he could feel it.

"Those scars and the loss of his eye was due to the Hag. And I agree with you, it has everything to do with it". He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "She was unbeatable, and if it had not been for the intervention of the Gods, all of them. Well..", he trailed off, there was no sense in putting nightmarish thoughts in Thirdas' mind, because Théo would probably be dead himself and Thirdas left alone.

"Something is eating away at him, not just physically either but.. his mind .. it is almost as if he had resigned to it. And I am not sure mother is able to help him, the stubborn old goat", no doubt their mother has tried, and no doubt their father would not want to worry her either. Théo was trying to make sense of it all himself, their father is still young in relative terms it is not as if he is grandpapa's age, he still has a good hundred years in him if he does not go fighting the Gods again.

"I don't know what we can do. Other then just be there for him if he calls for us". Father is old guard, not that willing to speak of things that trouble him or ask for help. "When I get back to Midvinter I will go visit him, see if I can pry it out of him". He could only try.

"What have you noticed?", he asked in case there was something Théo had missed.

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[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

His brother's words were both troubling and comforting at the same time, yet did little to stay his frustration at not being able to be of any use in this matter. His head turned towards the nearby lake, again squinting against the sun. "Then it is as I feared," he said, acknowledging their theory regarding their father. "That's why he's so distant at times, why he's lost his zeal over the years. That Crone put some sort of curse on him, sapping him of his strength - it has to be!" No way the great Golden Lion would simply give in willingly, he refused to believe it. Though he might have not shown as much enthusiasm for his father growing up, he idolised him in his own way as a peerless warrior.

"This... notion you have, that something is coming," he then said, having unknowingly felt the words lying dormant in his brother's mind without Théo having spoken them out loud. "If it's the Crone, we'll face her together. We'll kick her ass so bad she'll be forced to set Dad's spirit free!" He'd been too young back then to join the fight, despite his attempt at doing just that. Instead he looked after Nina in Tháinbroek while she recovered from her own wounds sustained before the battle, left to fear for the life of his mother and father, his brother, and his best friend.

The worst part of it all was the waiting - never one of Thirdas' strong suits - and knowing there was nothing to be done about it. He knew Dad had already sought to mend his wounds following his return home, but to no avail. If Dad couldn't do it, then he certainly can't.

He turned to Théo and placed his own hand upon his. "I have missed you, big brother," he stepped in for another of their embraces, eyes closed as their foreheads touched once more. "We've kept an eye on Thora for you, Nida and I both, whenever able. She reminds me of you a lot," he spoke once their brother's embrace ended, again leaning back against the speeder alongside Théo, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not as good at getting into trouble as yours truly, though," he flashed him a cheeky grin. "Probably for the best, I doubt Jedi would approve of broken noses and black eyes."

By now Thora stuck her head out the door, happily waving at them with ice cream in hand. "Think we better head inside before she wrecks the place while high on sugar, don't you?"

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He had pulled Thirdas into a bear hug, If only it was going to be that easy, he thought of the Crone and ridding Midvinter of her. The armies of Midvinter had only just defeated her hordes by the skin of their teeth, they might not be so 'lucky' next time, and there would be a next time. More than ever, Théo was pleased Thora was not there, he did not relish the thought of her or Boo getting caught up in all that when it happens. Not that he could predict such a thing but at least she might be more protected with some training. Even better... off world.

It was good to be here even if only for a short time, the weight of all this and leading the Northmark was weighting down on him of late. He felt it for the first time in a long time, the heavy sense of duty and it was good to be away to refresh before heading back. He let go of his brother and looked up to Thora waving at them both, and he couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see her simply being a kid, with nothing of responsibility on her shoulders for now and he hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"Give her time, I am sure she will find mischief somewhere", maybe she just hadn't found a kindred spirit in that regard. They made their way up the long steps to the main house, nothing had changed which was nice to see and Théo felt more relaxed with each step. In the corner of the main room he spotted his surf boards, how long had it been since he paddled out in the ocean. Well it was time to fix that.

"I need to catch some sun", Théo grinned, and yes he did he was pastie as snow. "Come on the pair of you", he had a spare board for Thirdas, Thora could ride with her papa. Théo stripped down on the spot, down to his underwear, more than enough to head out to the waves. He grabbed his best board and shoved the other into Thirdas' hands, No was not an option for his little brother, Thora was already halfway down the steps excited to be going to the beach.

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[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thirdas Heavenshield]

"You, uh... You don't waste any time, do ya," Thirdas shook his head at his big brother stripping down right in front of him and Thora, only to follow his lead and grab the other board. "Wow, Théo, you really do need to catch some sun," he mentioned as they stepped outside and his brother's pasty skin shone like a beacon of light. "You need to get out of the office a bit more often, buddy." Then again, sunbathing was not exactly a national sport on Midvinter. In contrast, Thirdas had aquired a nice and even tan over the last year on Kashyyyk without having even resorted to actual sunbathing.

Speaking of Midvinter national sports, neither was surfing! But that had not stopped either son of the Lion from learning how to, though in the case of Thirdas he'd only recently gotten the hang of it. However his unrelenting fearlessness made him try again and again until having gotten quite good at it in that time.

Once at the sandy beach they got to it, Thora splashing about as best she could while riding with her dad on his board. Swimming their way out lying flat on their boards, they waited for the first surf-worthy wave to arrive. Thirdas snuck up on his niece and gave her a good splash, of course offering her the chance to strike back. "Here it comes," he pointed at a large wave building close by.

Paddling perpendicular to the wave he got some speed going in time for the lip of the wave to form, growing in size enough to envelop his large frame as he stood on his board, maintaining his centre of balance to keep from wiping out. By the end of the wave's lifecycle Thirdas leaped over the edge, willingly falling in the refreshing water with his board flying all over the place.

"And that's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen," he shouted as he re-emerged.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Thora giggled at her papa as he stripped down to his undies, it continued as uncle Thirdas did the same, they both looked so silly and hairy and they both smelled bad, all sweaty from the heat, but supposed she was no different. Eager to go for a swim, she raced to her bedroom and dressed quickly for the beach grabbing a towel on the way. She loved the beach, loved looking another the sand to find all the pretty shells and explore all the rock pools to see if there were any sea creatures trapped among them.

Once she returned, they would all set off through the jungle until they heard the sound of crashing waves. Thora raced ahead until she burst out into the sunlight once more, it was hot that was true, and a swim would be lovely way to cool off. She would not go surfing though, it did not appeal to her today. Besides her papa wanted to relax and enjoy time with his brother.

Uncles Thirdas was the first to race in and paddle out past the breakers, her papa close behind. By comparison to her uncle, her papa was very white, as white as the snow of the Northmark, which made her a little homesick. While they surfed, she took a short stroll along the sand and found a nice place to paddle in the pools.

“You show off”, Théo yelled out to his brother. Thirdas was not bad for someone that had recently taken up the sport. But Théo knew he was the better of the two, having surfed most of his life and Thirdas was about to find out. Always good to have some friendly competition between the brothers, they could now, now that Thirdas was a man.

Théo turned back to the sea, paddling out further where the bigger waves swelled and rolled toward the shore. He was patient, waiting for the perfect swell and when he chose his wave, he started paddling back to sure. Just as the swell picked up the tail of the board, he jumped up. A natural goofy foot, he feet balanced his weight and the wave began to break.

It was big and broke behind him forming a long deep tube. His board cut across the face of the wave and he vanished inside it. The exhilaration was amazing, riding between the walls of water with the constant threat of it crashing down on him.

On the beach, Thora’s head snapped up sensing the excitement from her papa, but she was worried and little frightened cause she could not see him. The wave started to collapse and Théo shot out from the tube with his arms raised in pure exhilaration yelling, "YaHooo", with the pleasure of it. It is very rare to be able to do this, it is the surfer’s dream. To celebration he flipped the board over the top of the swell and it flew off into the air, with Théo splashing down into the sea.

[member="Thirdas Heavenshield"]​