Bonk On The Head

[Aela Talith]

Borleias.

Aela hadn't been here for months now. Not because of some childish feud or anger, but because the Galactic Alliance had been keeping her busy. She had been made a Jedi Marshal, and with that came more responsibilities than she could honestly handle. Things had spiraled quickly, and it had come to a quick crux when the Alliance had assaulted The One Sith's homeworld of Coruscant. The battle had gone surprisingly well, with the Alliance getting away with many holocrons and even some prisoners. They hadn't taken the planet of course, but they had made a dent and shown that the Good guys could fight back.

That was something.

It was an achievement that had marked celebration, and for Aela part of that celebration had been a trip home.

Borleias was on the frontier of Sith space, and with the fall of Contruum it had proven rather difficult to get back unnoticed. Luckily the Rising Tide was a stealth ship, and Aela had managed to return home without much of a bother. She had found her parents there, of course, her mother still resting and her father doting on her as always. Things were going well it seemed after the disaster on Contruum, spirits were surprisingly high.

The great delight had been finding Maleah there.

Aela's younger sister generally tended to venture off on her own. Unlike Micah or Kaili she hadn't really bothered with the Alliance and had instead chosen to travel. Maleah was eighteen now, just like Micah and as far as Aela knew had made great progress in her taming of beasts, though likely none at all in combat.

She supposed that was just personal choice, though as she lounged on the balcony of the Talith Manor on Borleias she couldn't help but worry that her sister might one day get hurt.

 

[Louise]

Even those consumed by wanderlust were brought back to home now and again.

Only in the late autumn of her teen years Maleah Talith had no large rush to travel the entire galaxy in one fell swoop. New places, flora and fauna could wait…well, actually no, that wasn't quite right. There were circumstances where these things couldn't wait.

Circumstances that were firmly and most often placed in the laps of the One Sith.

Of course, they had good public relations, spin doctors showing the public all of the very benevolent deeds that were born of a One Sith government, but Maleah was more than aware of the atrocities that weren't all too well hidden if you simply looked a little harder...or if you had three siblings firmly rooted in the art of freedom fighting, that helped too.

However, Maleah's concerns were rooted upon slightly different issues than those of her brother and sisters. They would have all likely scoffed if the twin suddenly brought up the worry of environment and that was a fair cause, given the atrocities and tyranny that the Sith brought forth. They razed planets, destroying far more than just human lives. Plants and animals that would cease to exist, crushed underfoot without further thought or hunted down with no concern of preservation so they could make new toys. Nature disregarded, only worth something in their minds in terms of glands, hides and toxins.

She was mad enough to do something about it, but not stupid enough. Maleah knew that she could outrun a Sith, outclimb them, outmanoeuvre them but then came the thought of being outnumbered. No good.

Padding through the house barefoot the young woman frowned. Toofless for once was not with her, rather he was somewhere comfortable having a nap, as Nexu of such a distinguished age tended to do. Such a scowl was rare on her face, tending to be the most light-hearted of the Talith brood but at least the prospect of seeing her older sister would cheer her up somewhat.

Equipping a mischievous grin for the moment, Maleah poked her head through the balcony entrance and looked to Aela.

“What's up, big butt?”

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

Aela just perked an eyebrow.

Her younger siblings had always teased her, it was something that she had come to expect in all honesty. Micah still did it too, though Kaili had mostly stopped. She supposed it was a good thing, something to keep her grounded and away from the big head that so often came with titles and things of that nature. A small smile pulled at her lips, though it quickly disappeared as her head looked away from her sister and back towards the ocean ahead of her.

"Not much." She didn't try for a come back, she was never good at those and in general it just ended with her being even more humiliated.

That was a lesson that had been imparted years ago.

"Just looking at the ocean." Her hands wrung at the railings. "It's nice to see something like this after being on Sullust so long."

Sullust was a world of fire and brimstone. One couldn't walk the surface without being in an EVO suit, and even in the Bio-dome that encompassed the grand Jedi Temple there it was something that eventually got to you. It was nice being in the fresh air, nice to be able to simply breath and look out over a vast ocean in the distance. Aela was happy to be home, happy to be able to be calm and at ease. It wouldn't be for long, but at least it was something.

 

[Louise]

Even the Aela Talith's of the galaxy needed some time for rest and relaxation. Who would have thunk it?

The atmosphere and well, the atmosphere between Sullest and Borleias were worlds apart. The effect of one's surroundings could never be underestimated, and that wasn't just for planets heavy-laden with the Dark Side. It was subtle, the way a person's temperament could change to match their surroundings. Volcanic. Naturally Jedi to weather the weather but nature had her ways.

Contrast with the rainforest and beaches of Borleias, relaxed with an often sunny disposition, of course sometimes given a hard lash of moodiness with torrential rain.

However the sun shone upon them on this day, as Maleah slid through the door offering more than just a floating head towards her older sister. Weather like this encouraged the twin to cover up with her Garhoon legacy flipping the coin of positive and negative traits and giving the young woman a mild allergy to the sunlight.

It meant for lots of hats as a child.

“Welllll,” she drawled deliberately taking long and not-at-all sneaky steps towards Aela, still grinning like the fool, “I think it's nice to see yoooouuu after so long.”

With that her lithe arms moved to wrap around her older sister from behind, in what was an only mildly forced sibling hug. Only mildly. It wasn't as if Aela wasn't capable of throwing her over the railing anyway. Throwing people off of things was a family tradition, after all.

“How've ya been, Aels?”

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

She put a hand on her Sisters, smiling slightly.

"Stressed." That was true, sadly true. "The Alliance has been doing a lot of work, and I've been at the front of most of it."

Aela knew that her sister wasn't the most interested in what went on with the greater galaxy. Oh she cared for the greater good of course, but politics and war didn't really interest her. Aela understood that, and in truth she felt a bit of envy towards Maleah for that. Aela felt like she had to help, like she had to do something, yet at times she wished that she didn't have to. Going into nature, exploring, seeing the galaxy would have been lovely. Perhaps when she was older she would.

"It'll only get worse." The young Marshall knew what was coming soon, knew what was about to happen.

The Alliance would be invading the planet of Lujo soon, and with that invasion would come all that one thought of war. Fighting, death, loss of hope. Aela knew it was coming, she could see it. The dark haze hung over them all, projecting its odd encompassing fog everywhere. She was nervous because of it, not something that she was ready to admit to anyone.

Save perhaps to her family.

 

[Louise]

There was a twang of guilt as Aela confessed to her stress.

Travelling the galaxy, exploring new places and meeting new people (but mostly animals) was almost akin to living the dream, Maleah stood in very envied boots for a lot of people out there. So how could guilt be avoided? Especially when her siblings were out there, lives at risk and in the case of her eldest sibling actively leading the good fight? Wasn't she obliged to help? If not for the sake of the galaxy then for the sake of family?

The mischievous grin finally folded into a frown as the twin rested her chin upon her sister's shoulder.

She'd never even asked what her family thought of her decision to remain uninvolved in the Galactic Alliance's affairs. Not that such thoughts evaded her mind now and again? Were they disappointed in her? Mum and dad had done so much in their lives and had so many stories to tell, so many tales of impressive feats and her siblings were racking up their own as she pottered around with animals.

Was she selfish? Did they resent her? Think she was a coward? Probably not, those were likely just her own doubts niggling away at her thoughts. Still, they were very persistent in their niggling, even more persistent than Toofless when he was aching for a tummy rub.

“Do….do you want me to help?” Maleah finally asked after a long pause in conversation, voice thick with hesitancy.

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

Aela began to shake her head.

"No." She didn't want Maleah involved. Not because she thought her sister was weak or anything of the sort, but because one of them needed to stay away. Kaili worked with the Alliance, Micah, and of course Aela. They all did. Kaili wasn't as heavily involved as she or Micah, but she was still there. The eldest Talith didn't want all of her siblings involved, and she certainly didn't want Maleah to join just because she had said so. They each had to make their own decisions, each had to choose their own path.

Maleah's path was not in the Alliance.

It never would be. War was not her sisters way.

"It's not you." Aela explained. "Plus, we can't all be fighting a war, Mom and Dad would have a tizzy."

Their father had made his opinion on their aid of the Galactic Alliance very clear. Soliael did not like his children fighting the battles of others, and he certainly did not condone them going to war. More than once he had had to pull them out of difficulty, the last time he had nearly locked them all away in the house permanently. Aela knew what she did was dangerous, but she also knew that she had to do it.

 

[Louise]

Aela's response garnered relief with a side of hurt.

A small part of the young woman thought that perhaps her sister wouldn't have wanted her there because she would have gotten in the way, because she wasn't as capable as the rest of them. Sure, she had the animals, she always had the animals but she just wasn't as experienced as her freedom fighting siblings.

Releasing her sister from her embrace, Maleah moved to join her side instead, settling her hands on the railing and squeezing it nervously.

“I know, I just….feel bad, like I should be helping...”

Why did she get to enjoy her life without sacrifice? The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she was obligated to help. Even if she would have been a burden rather than a blessing. Despite Aela justification through their parents it just didn't quite alleviate the guilt.

“Is there anything I can do, Aels? Even if it's not out there, fighting the good fight?”

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

She considered the thought for a moment.

Maleah traveled all over the galaxy, searching, looking, and just wandering. That meant she visited worlds that Aela had never even heard of. That was simply the way of her sister, but it could be used to her advantage, to the Alliances advantage. Part of the Galactic Alliance stretched out into the outer rim and beyond, into the expansion regions. She knew that, though she wasn't exactly involved in the politics of the government nor what worlds joined.

However, that didn't mean she couldn't have Maleah help. "Spread the word."

That was rather vague.

"When you go to planets, in the core, outer rim, expansion regions." She waved her hand, signalling that she meant everywhere. "Just talk about the Alliance, about the New Jedi Order and that we're trying to help. The more people know the better."

That would help, help a lot actually. Eventually people would come to them, they would come to help, come to seek refuge, or simply to join the Alliance as a whole. Aela knew that it wasn't as thrilling as battle but it was something that Maleah could do, something that suited her.

 

[Louise]

It didn't seem like a lot, but it was something and Maleah could appreciate that her sister would give her something to make her feel like she was helping. Besides, it gave her an actual cause for travelling besides her own desires and if that didn't add some worth then she wasn't sure what did.

“I can do that,” she replied with a determined noise, a hint of her regular chipper nature returning to her tone, “easy!”

Squinting into the sunlight, Maleah was acutely aware that her skin would start to burn, even after such little time exposed, bring back the rainy season, huh? In a lazy attempt to combat this she turned, leaning her back against the railing instead.

“Soooooo...”

A grin, cheeky and mischievous.

“...now that I've got justification for my wandering,” Maleah began, folding her arms across her chest, “have you got any more cool butt-kicking stories from since the last time you were home?”

There were always cool butt-kicking stories.

“Y'know, I'll need them for spreading the word, spin some awesome tales to get people hooked. Don't worry, your heroics will only be used for the cause. I'm not gonna be starting a cult in your name or anything...”

Although, they do say that business runs in the family.

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

For a moment Aela pondered. "Not recently. I told you about Coruscant."

That had really been her shining moment of glory. The battle on Coruscant had gone well for the Alliance, ending in huge damage for the Sith and gains for them. They had taken dozens of prisoners and had gotten away with nearly no casualties, having orchestrated and lead the attack Aela was quite proud of that accomplishment. Of course since then the Alliance had only gotten bigger, bolder. Soon they would strike and begin to chip away at the Sith.

"I'll be going to Copero soon." Aela continued. "It's a shipyard."

One of the largest in the galaxy actually.

The mission was supposed to be secret, but who else could Aela trust but her sister? There was no harm in telling Maleah of things to come.

 

[Louise]

“Sith didn't even know what hit them!” she said with a grin, pride for her siblings practically beaming out from her face. In her own way she was jealous, what they did with the Galactic Alliance sounded so heroic, crazy and even a little bit fun, like being thrown off of a cliff by Oma Qui.

First the hub of galactic civilisation and next the hub of industrial production. They were gathering so much steam that soon there wouldn't be a lot that could stop them.

Good.

She quietly hoped that Aela would kick one of those rotten Sith right in the goolies, for the razed planets that couldn't.

“I bet that'll piss them off real bad,” Maleah chuckled, a hand moving up from folded arms to scratch at her own chin, “I bet you're gonna kick their butts, Aels. I'm expecting a whole lot of new tales when you next come back, you know?”

A niggle appeared, one that was perhaps selfish or maybe one that was just born of common sense. The more they struck out at the One Sith, the more likely it was that they would retaliate and not in a polite and organised warfare manner. A personal way, hitting out at family and friends, torture wasn't above them, in fact they were renowned for it.

Mum and dad would have been fine, they were more than capable of fending off Sith and would have definitely sent them packing but she couldn't have said the same for herself and while beasts and hunting were her forte, it wasn't the same as fighting. Her demeanour switched back to a more serious state.

“Do you think they know about me, Aela? That'll they'll come for me one day, to get to you?"

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

Aela shook her head. "I don't think so."

That was the truth of it. The Talith family didn't exactly advertise who they were and what they did, and even then that was why they had gotten the Tattoos, so their father and Mother could track them anywhere in the galaxy. That might have seemed a tad creepy, but when more than half of your children were fighting against evil Sith Lords it was prudent to be prepared. Aela couldn't really blame her parents for that particular precaution.

"Why?" She asked. "Are you worried?"

There really wasn't a need to worry, though she would understand.

The Galaxy was a large place, but with how the Sith were going it seemed to be getting smaller all the time. Aela never worried about that in particular though, at least no in regards to her sister. Maleah was fast enough that she could escape most things, that and she had a pet Drexl. Those things were fierce enough to take on half an army on their own.

 

[Louise]

Eyebrows furrowed for a moment, before a small (and careful) bite of the lip occurred. “I don't know,” she replied, unsure of her own answer, “maybe.”

You could never be too prepared, least of all in the galaxy that they lived in.

If she was going out world-to-world (which she was more than happy to do, of course) spreading the word of the Galactic Alliance then there was a certain lesser element of danger. Tell the wrong person the wrong thing and they'd have people on her to shut down what they would call propaganda.

While she was definitely at less risk than her siblings, her lack of duelling prowess left her vulnerable, especially in situations that didn't work with her advantages. There weren't forests everywhere and sometimes you couldn't have an animal companion with you at all times. Maleah was aware of her own weaknesses, and so she would strive to rid herself of them.

Well, she would try.

“I need to get better at duelling, Aels,” she admitted slowly, “hunting's useful and all but it's not the same.”

She could deal with animals, with ease but people were a whole 'nother story.

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

"Oh." She understood now.

That was something that she could help with at least, something that she could really get behind.

Dueling, fighting had always been something she was good at. It had started when she was eight years old and Micah had stolen her journal. She had moved so fast to snatch it back from him that her parents had actually been impressed. Her father had told her that she took after her Grandfather, Moridin. The use of force speed at that level had apparently been enough to impress, and from there Aela had simply become better and better at it's use.

That in it of itself allowed her to fight better than most.

"I can teach you." Aela said with a hint of excitement. "At least a little bit."

The eldest Talith didn't have time in the world, but she could at the very least teach Maleah the basics. It would help of course if she eventually went to their father, or perhaps their aunt or Uncle. Oma likely would have been the best, though Aela had no idea how Quietus fought her opponents, in fact she had never seen her Oma fight. Pondering that for a moment Aela shifted her gaze towards her sister, seeking an answer.

 

[Louise]

A lot of the family were more than viable options to ask about in regards to a spot of training, but to her Aela seemed to make the most sense. She was out there on the front line, facing the most current threat there was, she knew most of all what enemies there were out there and most importantly how they fought.

Not to mention that her big sister would very likely be a tough teacher. She hadn't been dubbed as The Grumpus for nothing, after all. Usually studious and serious, there would be little messing around here.

“Thanks, Aels,” she replied with a grin, “you're the best!”

Pushing herself off of the railing, Maleah moved to go back inside the house. If she spent much longer out in the sun then she was definitely going to burn. A shame really, the view out onto the ocean was almost unmatched in its serenity, perhaps only beaten out by a calm night with a full moon.

“Wanna start right away?”

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

She hadn't forgotten about her sisters allergy to the sun, how she didn't...well how she couldn't be outside for too long in the Borleias light. The sun was bright on this planet, bright enough that even Aela got burned after a little while. Of course that didn't help with training. Mom and Dad likely wouldn't want them to fight inside the house, and they didn't exactly have a dedicated dojo somewhere either.

"Let's wait till dusk." She said with a smile. "That way you won't get burned and it won't be so hot."

She was conscious of her siblings, even if they had annoyed her to no end as kids.

Another smile and Aela began to follow her sister inside. "Come on, lets go get something to eat."

Food would be good. If everything went as planned then they would be burning a lot of calories later. The use of the force, and even generally exercising and dueling made one tired. Aela had always made it a point to eat before combat, mostly because if she didn't she ran out of energy faster. It wasn't something that people often thought about, but it was an important aspect of fighting.

She only hoped Maleah didn't throw up on her.

 

[Louise]

“Good thinking.”

Not to mention she was pretty hungry, and she imagined Toofless was too. Although, he was more than capable of going out and hunting his own meal, but it was much more likely that he would be a lazy bag of fur and beg for scraps under the table. A foolish decision, as Aela was the least likely Talith to give scraps. She was more likely to look at him sternly and inform him that he belonged outside.

Having an extra pair of eyes to look sad with wouldn't budge her opinion on that, but at least a senior cat he was more likely to be let off of the hook with a disapproving sigh. Regardless of all of this, Toofless still got excited when he saw Aela, even he understood the importance of family.

“I think there's some smoked nerf in the fridge,” Maleah said, excited at the prospect of some good home eating, not to mention the barbecue sauce to go along with it. The thought alone quickened the young woman's pace on the way to the kitchen, not that she needed to go any faster, only Micah would be willing to race her for food.

He always tended to win, sometimes she reckoned that her twin was part monkey.

---

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Maleah Talith"]

Aela tended to eat a lot. It wasn't because she had a big appetite, but more because it was necessary.

At the Jedi Temple back on Sullust they tended to train quite a bit, Aela specifically. She did classes tutoring several of the younglings and of course sparred with other Masters on a daily basis. She had developed a reputation as a fierce fighter and a difficult opponent to actually take down, in fact only one or two of the others had managed to do so. That amount of fighting, instructing, and sparring took a lot of energy, energy that required a lot of food.

In the end, that ended with Aela eating quite a bit.

It was always amusing. In the mess hall people would wander by her, seeing her gingerly picking at a mass of food with only a small fork.

She always finished of course, mostly because directly after she would go back to training. Some might have seem it as a rather sad life, Maleah might have in fact, but Aela liked it. She was good at fighting, good at teaching people how to fight. When one had a skill it was important to keep up with it, important to actually be sufficient in all areas. "I think I want cereal."

An odd choice, but they had plenty of that.

 

[Louise]

“Cereal?!” Maleah parroted, almost in disbelief of such. Cereals and grains weren't exactly her idea of a meal. I mean, sure, fibre was important but nowhere near as satisfying as meat.

It likely came down to how they lived their respective lives. Aela was a studious Jedi who lived under strict pretences, while Maleah lived the life of a free spirit and a hunter. It meant for vastly different diets, after all, it wasn't like that she was going to shoot down a box of cornflakes in the brush.

Toofless appeared as they came into the kitchen, because...well...of course he did. He was a bottomless pit of a beast. In passing the woman scratched the top of his head but the nexu wasn't as interested in Maleah as much as he was in Aela. He didn't get to see her as much, even despite the fact that he didn't go to Onderon with her.

Poor soul didn't know she was having cereal, and she very much doubted he would want some of that.

She went straight to the fridge, retrieving the platter of smoked nerf, which, well was for everybody and not just Maleah but y'know, when you're hungry...things can happen, food can suddenly vanish into thin air and nexu can be conveniently blamed for such.

“Sure you don't want some? It's so gooooooood!”

---

[member="Aela Talith"]