Private Brother, My Brother

[Damsy Callat]

T Y P H A N​

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Location: Undisclosed Confederate Space > Rebellious Hawk (Dauntless flagship) ​

> hangar bay 04-theta | Tag: Rann Thress ​

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Well. ​

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That was a clusterfeth.​

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One Typhan wasn't sure if he was glad was over. With Rodia behind him and Omega's survivors now, the suppressors' funerals were only a mater of time. They'd probably be conducted at Camp Phoenix, whenever the living got a chance to find their way back. As long as the Agents of Chaos were still in the galaxy at large, they'd try to push toward Geonosis. As much as he enjoyed running around terrorists, Typhan hoped they had at least enough dignity to let the Confederacy bury their dead before going for round three - though they probably didn't. Asking that of them would be like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.​

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Attending the funeral, though, didn't seem as bad as telling the War Marshal she'd have to organize it. Facing Fengris, Eisahn, Kaal and company's death would be devastating, was even now, but Ancients have mercy on whoever's poor soul that had to explain to Luna Terrik the circumstances of five of her old squadmates' fates. It'd either be Typhan or Damsy. They'd have to pull duraplast straws for that honor.​

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But not now. Now, Damsy had to be stabilized. Comforted. Her second hadn't heard from her, much less seen her for obvious reasons since they split and the invasion began, but as soon as word descended to Rodia of Dauntless regrouping on the Rebellious Hawk, he had to try to find her. There was no way he would be faster than the news, but he'd be damned if he didn't try to be. Hearing the phrase 'friendly fire casualties' from a trusted lieutenant, or even a newfound half-brother, rather than through the rumor grapevine would be so much better.​

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It was a real possibility that she'd be mad at him for it too, but that would be acceptable fallout by him. After all, what were the chance that, the first time she left Omega's reigns to him...​

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"'Heard she's in here," stated Ty rather than finish his thought, as he waled through the grand blast doors of hangar bay four-theta. CDF forces and flight deck personnel alike were bustling about the landed fighters and gunships. He strained for a moment before adding, "Yeah, see?" Surely enough, the figure of Damsy, small but rather recognizable with her yellow armor paint job and collapsed trident electrostaff at her utility belt, couuld be found at the end of Typhan's line of sight, pointed out for the Obsidian squire. She sat an the edge of the MAT-class dropship's cabin, armored feet hanging towards the deck below, and head in her hands. Dammit, it looked like they were too late.​

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A lone engineer and his astromech were working up on a ladder on one of the tucked wings, but other than that, everyone gave the major a large berth. Wraith and despair were oddbedfellows mingling in the aura radiating from her form. Evidently, even non-Force users could feel it, if not make perfect sense of it.​

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"There you go, Rann. Good luck, bro. She's gotta be wrecked. Have her comm me when ya folks done. We need words too." With a securing clasp delivered to Rann's shoulder and a lopsided smile to his eyes, Thypan took his leave.​

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[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

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Rann nodded to Typhan Berrezz as he turned to leave, and Rann turned back to look at Damsy Callat . His sister. Half sister, sure. But his family nonetheless. Suddenly, everything he had planned to say was gone. He didn't know what to do. He froze.​

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"Oh boy. I guess uh. Here we go." he said to himself, working up the courage to begin the walk over.​

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As soon as the battle on Rodia was over, Rann took the opportunity to remove the cumbersome armor plates from the suit Voph had given him, just leaving the black body suit and a grey robe. Unfortunate, because at this moment Rann wished he was encased in the thickest, heaviest suit or armor available in the galaxy. As he approached, he couldn't help but stare. Nerves and anxiety flooded his mind as he grew ever closer to her.​

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He of course, knew what had happened to her team on Rodia. He had witnessed it first hand. He regretted his laid back reaction to what had happened now, knowing now who they were. Of course, once he learned he was devastated. He felt like a monster, an uncaring fiend. These were Confederate soldiers, his soldiers, he he didn't care they had died. And, they were under the command of his half-sister. ​

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Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking (in truth, seconds.) he arrived at the dropship she had been sitting on.​

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He stood there for a few seconds, searching for the words. How were you supposed to go about this? It was hard enough telling someone you were related, now the person he had to tell he was related to was understandably distraught following the battles of Rodia and Talay. He was never one to be at a loss for words, but now words had failed him.​

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"Hi...uh...Damsy? I uh....Look." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't really know how to say this, so I'm going to say it. I'm Rann, I'm your brother, I served with Typhan on Rodia, I know what happened I saw it, I just wanted to meet you, tell you I'm sorry, and hope that you're okay."​

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This wasn't the heartwarming start to this family reunion that Rann would have wanted, but it's the one he had. He didn't know what to do, nerves got the better of him.​

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He held his arms out for a hug, it felt like the right thing to do.​

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[Damsy Callat]

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B R O T H E R​

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Damsy slowly rose her head to glower up at Rann Thress as he came to shade her. As he stumbled through his speech, her dull blue eyes drifted only slightly from his. Maybe she deciding to listen or not, but her attention was sucked into an invisible black hole. She held that far off look for the remainder of Rann's monologue and even long-stretching seconds after. In the Force, her aura was every negative emotional signature but hostile. She knew who to blame paramount - CDF's first-time contractor, Breshig War Forge Consolidated - and none of their ranks were on the Hawk.​

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Still, she was trying to restrain her anger at others outside of them. Not Typhan, but Grand Marshal Verd. Lord Commander Voph. Especially War Marshal Terrik - since that worked out so well last time. Maybe, maybe not Rann; Damsy wasn't sure yet what his role had been with any specificity. ​

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What was sure of, however, was that Rann knowledge of her ran familial and military lines if he had gained most of it from Typhan as she assumed by his mention of him. But they she wasn't sure again, this time if he knew the messiest bits of her background - about her so-thought death on Atrisia during the Blackwing virus pandemic, mysterious body change and acquisition of the Force, infiltration of the Defense Force as Adjunct Niobe Crowe, and the following Inquisition spying against them for one Master Obsidian for which she had confessed. ​

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Utterly and truly, the sithspawn had run her own name through the mud. She didn't want the second half-sibling she had happened across to stoop and pick up the mixed pieces of broken hearth and reputation. She knew she had so many more, most likely well within reach as the apples didn't seem to fall from the Confederate tree, but she also knew she wasn't worthy of the Vi'dreya name though she did not officially bear it. It was still a badge she carried with her Dauntless gear in her field rucksack, now thoroughly scuffed not from following her throughout duty but her own mishandling.​

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Now she was ashamed to bear it.​

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But she was so tired. Lonely. Angry. At herself, at that bomber pilot, at the Force. ​

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She couldn't turn Rann away. She needed a brother selfishly right now, for all the reasons she convinced herself she didn't want one.​

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Damsy stood, grasping at the hanging sashes of his robes for some sort of textual stimulation rather than simple support, and wrapped her fellow Force-user in a limp hug. No strength of a commando, or a Squire, or even a sithspawn, exuded from her muscles.​

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"Thank you," she rasped. ​

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[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

A thousand emotions fought inside of Rann's mind as Damsy wrapped her arms around Rann weakly and just kind of hung there. Rann couldn't really believe that she had actually wanted the hug, or even that he had just offered one. It just felt like the right thing to do. He blinked once and brought his arms down around her, wrapping her in a firm hug. Was it a hug for long-lost family recently found? Someone trying to be supportive for someone else? Rann didn't really know. Both. Neither, it didn't matter to him why he was doing it, just that he was doing it. For some reason, he couldn't quite understand, he could feel tears welling in his eyes and he fought so hard to keep them back.

"I...I'm sorry, Damsy." he shuddered, his voice breaking slightly, "I...I wish I could have done more, I-...." He paused. Shame, sadness and fear filled him. Everything that he had blocked out during the Battle of Rodia... But his rage was silent. As if understanding, or unable or unwilling to try to show itself. For this brief moment, briefest of moments, Rann felt wholly himself again. The magician from Onderon. The good man.

He didn't know why, as a tear rolled down his cheek, his arms wrapped around her tighter.

"I thought you were dead. I found out about you, then I saw your name, that you were dead...I'm sorry. I would have found you sooner. I hope I would have." He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears to stop as a second fell from his other eye. It all felt a bit... dramatic. But for Rann, this hug felt both rewarding and punishing. Reminded of what he perceived of his failure to protect Omega, and then his perceived failure to react in a sympathetic manner at the loss of life. Another tear, followed by a fourth cascaded down as he began to tremble, ashamed all over again.

"I...I'm probably a mess...but...I'm....so sorry." He tried to keep from sobbing loudly, not wanting to make a scene but unwilling to open his eyes to check to see. He felt even more ashamed, unsure of what this woman must think, of this...stranger having an emotional breakdown. The thought served to do nothing more than cause more tears, a steady stream.

He didn't know that he could.

He didn't know that he was.

He didn't know how to not.

But he had failed as a brother.


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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tags: Rann Thress​

Damsy had been seven when she had gotten caught in Kamino's Equatorial Countercurrent. When she had first swam into it, she hadn't known she was stuck; she was simply letting the currents carry her as she sunned her top half breaking the surface. It didn't seem fast the same way a tsunami doesn't seem dangerous in the open sea. Out there, with no stationary land as a constant, relative comparisons like fast and deep didn't exist. Such measurements had no meaning.

Until the riptide brought the sithling to the skirts of a maelstrom. She had panicked if not simply because of the sound and the sudden point of comparison to really gauge her speed, but she had come after to realize the danger ran deeper than the discomfort of loss of control. She could breathe underwater just as well as she could above when turned human, yes, but the rapidly-circling waters of a whirlpool deoxygenated the water. And even if it didn't, the water's violent velocity would pass over rather than through her gills.

Thankfully, a passing aiwha had saved her at the last moment. She again never strayed quite that far from Tipoca City for fear of drowning in the seas she owned.

At this moment, Rann was her aiwha. Another mammal, a brother, a saving grace - forget the percentage - that had come to save her from herself. What threatened here to consume was emotion, eager to, among other things, supersede what gift a tragedy had produced.

She needed his support through this, yes, but he also needed hers. Needing each other wasn't selfish. It was family.

"Rann, sea otter, no..." she muttered as she fought his grasp. She caressed his face. She had never seen one, let alone two, but she heard sea otters held hands as they slept so the currents would not pull them away.

As long as Rann held her hand, he hadn't failed as a brother.

She continued to cry along, unsure of when she had begun, even as she wiped his tears with her thumbs.

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat @​

It was all very overwhelming and very sudden. Before he knew of Damsy's survival, he felt cold to the idea of brothers and sisters. He knew how many children his father, Metus, had. He knew he had other siblings out there, but he didn't feel the need to go connect with them. Not until he had learned of her, and her survival. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He was very grateful that she hadn't turned him away. That she had accepted him, but he couldn't help but feel worse for it. The idea was for him to comfort her, not the other way around. He tried to steel himself.

He steadied his breathing, and realized that she...called him sea otter? He couldn't help but smile. "Sea otter?" he let out a small laugh. "I'm uh. I'm here now. Thank you." He didn't know what else to say with his emotions flying out of control. There was a million things he wanted to say, but nothing came out. He wanted to apologize a thousand more times, promise to always be there, and be the best sibling he could be. But he couldn't say anything.

Right now, he would settle for this hug, and this connection.

A million things he wanted to say, nothing more that he could.

He was at a loss. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what he was doing. Any plan or strategy he could have come up with for this interaction fell apart immediately. He didn't know how to be a brother, he already felt as if he had failed at being one. But he was willing to learn, and be a better brother. But what did that mean?

Frankly, Rann was surprised Damsy didn't turn him away. He was confused as to why he allowed himself to be so emotionally vulnerable in the first place. He was just happy she didn't tell him to go away. He certainly wasn't expecting the hug to be reciprocated. He didn't know why he even offered a hug, it was a million to one shot she would even accept one. He tried not to think about it. He enjoyed the moment. There'd be a million more like this if Rann had a choice.
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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

A few minutes later, the siblings were nestled at an empty mess table, Damsy with an ice water, ration bar, and salt packet in front of her. She hadn't touched any of it since bringing it over, though. Instead, she opted to lean slightly over the table and keep Rann's hand in hers – should he let her.

"So, Rann," she began slowly. "You've, uh, heard?" She let go of the hand she may have been holding with a small squeeze, or otherwise just straightened up. A completely rhetorical question; their reunion of twenty or so minutes ago had been emotional to say the least for them both, but she could remember every word he had said. "That I...was assumed KIA by Blackwing. I guess you heard from Berrezz."

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat ​

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Rann held Damsy's hand tightly, staring at the salt packet and the glass of water in confusion, before shrugging, deciding it must just be for her ration bar. Weird, but not that weird. He held on to Damsy's hand until she pulled it free herself. He looked at her thoughtfully as she spoke, and when she asked him if he'd heard of her supposed demise on Atrisia he looked down sadly.​

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"Yeah. I heard. Once I found out who my Father was, I looked to see if I had any siblings, and it's...pretty public information. And it's.... a lot." He chuckled. "I didn't expect it to be this much. We have.....a lot of siblings. So I narrowed down to CIS, which removed quite a few. Then active. Which your name was on, but when I checked further it listed you as KIA on Atrisia. So....No. Typhan didn't tell me. I met him on Rodia and he told me you were alive. After he told me that I knew I had to meet you, and he said he'd bring me after the battle. So... here I am." He shrugged and smiled.​

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"I'm incredibly happy that you're alive."​

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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

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"Thanks, Rann. So am I." Happy I'm alive, too. She said it, was touched by Rann's desire to see her, and made exceedingly glad by their reunion, but she still wasn't really sure if she meant it. Survivor's guilt seemed to light a diagnosis.​

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She smiled nonetheless.​

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As her facial muscles tensed, dryness spread down her throat. Instinct drove her reach for her water, which she dragged closer to her, and also for the adjacent salt. Poising it above the condensated glass' lip, she tore the grey paper open shallowly at the top before upturned the packet. With a slender finger, she tapped against it insistently as soon as most of the fine, white halite crystals had already piled atop her chose drink. A few strays joined thanks to her coaxing, even as the pile began to sink into the depths like a snowy ice berg.​

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She froze, suddenly unsure how to explain herself. She had to, right? The first time Luna or Typhan saw her salt her water they were taken aback. Both of them understood the necessity now, however, so hopefully Rann too could come to understand.​

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"I'm a squaloid shifter," she began, looking up to him as she gently swirled her glass to aid dissolution. "If you're heard whispers of the Siren of Kamino..." She sighed. "Yeah, that's me. My mother's Shi'ido, and Father spiced her DNA with his by Sith alchemy."​

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[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat ​

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Rann couldn't help but stare as Damsy poured the contents of the salt packet. He blinked and looked back at her as she started to explain and nodded in understanding.​

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"I know what you are. Its uh... heh. Still a little odd to see that aspect in person. I didn't know about how you came to be, though. Sith Alchemy? Huh." He couldn't help but be surprised.​

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"That's exotic. Compared to me anyway. Old fashioned Human. Mom's just some human woman from Onderon." He shrugged. "At least you never have to worry about whether or not you were unwanted." He smiled. He himself never considered that idea, not particularly cared enough one way or the other. He was alive now, that's all that mattered. ​

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"Siren of Kamino," he said with a smile. "That's a pretty awesome title. Yeah I've heard of it. I'm happy I'll get to see the Siren in action." He said with a wider smile.​

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"It does make me want to get a title of my own. One I hope I can be proud of, one that's intimidating like that one."​

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Rann was content to just sit there and talk to her, happy that he could spend time with his sister.​

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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

Damsy nodded after Rann mused over the terms of her conception, before motioning the her concoction. "It's a freshwater allergy," she expounded.

As Rann explained his own species ancestry, she began to drink. A small cough interrupted her otherwise smooth, small sips upon his suggestion of her knowing she had been wanted. Had been, she thought. Sure. 'Was' was a different story altogether; So was 'is'. Her life was a sandwich prepared by her father, with two bookends of want; both of which were rather shallow, short when compared to the disgusting and sizable filling that had been the neglect of her childhood. It had been an experience of twenty years and change that even still colored the present - specifically her relationship with her father and herself, her self-worth.

Winning the battle of ignoring his past rejections was impossible. Damsy had tried for so long, assessing the field from every angle. Swimming out of the Kaminoan maelstrom would have been easier, and that had been impossible too.

Damsy simply shrugged. "You give Father too much credit," she informed non-judgmentally, for she had too, once upon a time. She had kept her head in the abyssal mud for a long, long time. Even when she surfaced, it had been hard to see Metus for what he truly had been - maybe, to a point, still was - through the clay and grit still sticking to her eyes. "I wasn't wanted either." She took one hand away from the cradle she had made her glass and extended it back over the table for Rann's. She smiled, small but comforting. Hopefully. As unfortunate of a fact of life they shared, knowing they did instilled some amount of pride into the sithspawn. "He didn't expect the monster he got."

Monster.

There was no use, not really, in arguing that point. Still, sometimes people did, but not Damsy - to Damsy. She had come to terms with what she was almost as soon as she could swim.

Then she nodded. "I'm sure you will," she said regarding his desire for a title of his own, to be instilled in Confederate lore. "And I'll be happy to call you by it." Her smile grew. "Just...in hindsight, I'll tell ya it's real easy for stories to get away from you." She chuckled at the memory. Though it was good now and all had worked out for the best, she still remembered the panic of realizing that she was being used as a sort of threat of haze new commando and marine recruits.

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat​

He couldn't help but be taken aback at what Damsy was saying about their Father. He reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed it. ​

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"I... Well. I guess that makes sense. I never really met the man."​

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But you have him to blame for how you are, now. He swallowed, blinking a couple times. "I uh. I want you to know that I'm happy you're what he got. Best possible scenario, I think." He said, forcing a smile. ​

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"So here we are. Two unwanted, forgotten, neglected children of an absentee Father with serious commitment issues. Oh well, we have each other. And legions of brothers and sisters, too. One big not-so-happy-not-quite-a-family family."​

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Despite it all he had hope, though. He wasn't sure they'd ever be the type of family to have big Life Day meals together by the fireplace...but...​

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He wished for more.​

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He had nothing in the mind for family beyond perhaps the want to start his own one day. He didn't really particularly care for familial relations before knowing about his family. Even then, he had no expectations.​

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Damsy shattered those expectations. Now he couldn't help but want to push for more, but from the sadness he could hear in her voice, he felt that she tried and failed. That she was just as surprised by the success of their meeting as he was.​

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It broke his heart, but at the same time reaffirmed the strength of the relationship between them in his mind.​

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"My dear sister." He said with a smile, much more genuine. "I'm proud to have you."​

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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

"I'm proud to have you."

Damsy's smile gained a purer edge, and she glowed. Not in the Force, but with the more mundane but equally magical aura of reciprocal pride. She had never had a phrase like that directed at her, neither verbally or in writing, not from Naroh Se and certainly not from Metus. Or Luna. Or Gerwald.

Realization deeper that the most dug abyssal trench on Kamino rippled the vibrant blue of Damsy's eyes. She loved Rann, not simply because of what he was to her. She felt no familial obligation, but something warm tugged up on her heart nonetheless. Unconditional acceptance swam in this man's soul, something she had never quite found even in her closest friends.

He was proud, regardless of what she was or what she could do, but also because of them. The distinction was ironic and empowering.

She returned the comforting hand squeeze in kind. "And I you." She meant it with both her forms, head to toes and head to tail barb.

~ x . x . x ~ ​

For the time being, Damsy still held the rank of Adjunct-Major, even if she had garnered it under a different name. With it, an officer's quarters had been maintained for her. It was there she had retired for the night, and had invited Rann to do the same. "Your choice," she had said. "Bed or floor." She had chucked at the last option, hinting that she didn't prefer it, and playfully brushed his shoulder with hers as she pushed into the cabin. "'Won't be weird about it if you ain't."

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat​

Entering into Damsy's quarters, Rann looked around briefly. "This is a lot bigger then I thought it would be. Bigger then my house growing up."

He looked over at the bed when Damsy suggested bunking together.

"Are you sure it's alright? I have no problem sleeping elsewhere. Or on the bed. I don't want to impose. Don't get me wrong, I'll take the offer. A bed is better then no bed, and I'll maintain as much distance and be as respectful as possible."

He realized he didn't have any sleepwear, and shrugged. He removed the robe that sit atop the black bodysuit he wore and folded it neatly, placing it on some surface.

"Thank you for offering me a place to sleep. I appreciate it." He reached down and poked the mattress. "Probably going to be the nicest bed I've slept in for.... a while. Sorry if I snore. Probably going to get some real good sleep tonight, thank you." He turned and smiled at Damsy.


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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

Maintain as much distance and be a respectful as possible?​

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Huffing a laughing, Damsy moved toward the refresher closet at the back of the cabin. "Fine, fine," she chortled, "just don't fall off the damn thing." She stepped inside and began stripping down to her blacks. She was completely decent underneath her armor, but she didn't like peeling off her plates in front of company outside of her squad's. ​

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"Good, we all deserve it," she said, stepping back into her bedroom, referring to his sleep comment. "What a clusterfeth, huh? And...I don't just mean the Omega Incident." She sat down on the left-side foot of the mattress and glanced over to her brother. "I mean, we knew they were coming. We prepared for a full-scale invasion across two systems and got, what, some glorified strike forces at each?" Her head fell into her hands, her arms to her spread knees. "And that's what messed up our defense?" The question was made rhetorical as she jolted up and leaned back on her hands. "By ocean tides - I swear - tell me how that makes any kriffing sense. Like, at all." ​

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat​

"Yeah..." Rann replied, laying down in the bed. He stared up at the ceiling. He had more he wanted to say... but nothing came out. The complete embarrassment they suffered on Rodia and Talay shook him. He went there eager for a fight and was denied. Throughout the whole city, not a one Agent of Chaos except for Gabriel.

How did that happen? The entire battle, I only saw one enemy. Hell, most of us only saw one enemy. How? How'd they put us on the run? I don't understand!

He began breathing heavily, anger rising within him. He tried to just close his eyes and drift off to a well deserved sleep.

But he couldn't. Try as he might, his body would not allow him to sleep. With a sigh, he rose from the bed, threw his robe back on, clipped his lightsaber back on his belt, and exited his sister's quarters. He needed a quiet place to think.

He wandered the halls of the mostly deserted ship until he came across a door,

'GARDEN'

"Hmm." He entered into it and found a small, peaceful little garden and, in the center, a small clearing underneath a small tree. He looked over towards a control panel and dimmed the lights slightly, trying to simulate a dusk setting, and approached the clearing. He unhooked his lightsaber and set it down in front of him as he dropped down to his knees, interlocking his hands together and resting them in front of him.

With a deep breath he closed his eyes.

He sought to confront this feeling on anger, of Rage, that seemed to be building within him. He looked within himself, trying to isolate why exactly he was feeling angrier and angrier. And what exactly happened to him on Rodia.

He vaguely remembered his explosion of anger, his rage filled screams, but they seemed...distant. Foreign, unfamiliar to him. As if someone was showing him a holo-vid of someone else, instead of his own memories.

His heart beat grew faster, as he began squeezing his eyes shut, breathing heavier as the feelings of anger, hate, and suffering that he had felt on Rodia began to resurface, calling to him. Almost seeming as if they wanted to get in contact with him.

"No."

"No, I'm better then that."

"No, I'm not."

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[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

Damsy couldn't get to sleep either, but for another host of reasons. Or, rather, one. She had likely seen some of the most action of CIS grounders had, on Talay, where she had been. While Talay phased her in both similar and different ways to Rodia, one of the unique ways the former lingered on her still had finally caught up to her:

The auditory bruise of beacon sonar.

Swimming too close to it for too long had harmed her. Misophonia translated directly into the physical and physiological then - vertigo, pulsating veins, splitting headache, and the urgent need to flee. It all had died down since. Now, though, the third symptom was back, and she could think of little else but the forth.

Where would - could - she go? They were deep in CIS space rather than newly-liberated waters, on a vessel not a station, where there was no relay sending out a red herring, but simply her memory. To escape from that, even she could not swim nearly fast enough.

She grunted and rolled over, intending to face Rann. When she didn't, she groaned again, propping herself up on one arm and glancing around her dark room.

 

[Rann Thress]

S I S T E R​

Tags: Damsy Callat​

The anger Rann felt remembering Rodia continued to grow and fester. Depression wormed it's way inside his mind as well, just remembering the failures. He tried to focus, to relax, to find his center but he couldn't. It was all too much.

He wished he could just forget, and for one brief moment, wished he never left Onderon. The shame he felt was that great. He didn't feel worthy of his name, family, or sister. He didn't feel worthy of rank or title. He didn't feel worthy period.

"I should have died on Ryloth" he said quietly to himself.

At least that would have been an appropriate end to his story. A bright candle snuffed out. Now? He felt more like a forgotten one. A weak flame that won't die but barely lights up enough to remain visible.

"It's not fair." He said, squeezing his eyes shut. Working to try and gain control of his emotions.
"All I wanted was a fight."

All I want was to prove myself.

Why can't I?​

 

[Damsy Callat]

B R O T H E R​

Tag: Rann Thress​

The pain would not budge.

Meaning, she could not breathe it away with eyes closed and Force pooling in her body. But with the latter she could at least will herself to endure more than she could have on Talay - either that or the instinctual knowledge that the damaging stimuli now inhabited only memory rather than reality.

She pushed herself entirely from her mattress, threw off the covers, and shakily stood. Pain wracked her body with a few steps, as if gravity was pulling a steam off a cliff. Hot and stingy: a waterfall of lava. It wasn't advisable to swim against a current for anyone but Damsy. Through the molten torrent, she reached out, down, forward; probing the river channels that were the Rebellious Hawk's halls.

Finally, she contacted an unmelting stone. Pulling herself up, she left the source of her pain below, though the bruised of its digging fingerprints wracked her head. "...Rann?" she asked gently, as slowly as she folded her legs back under her at the base of the bed. She hadn't made it physically far, but the meta left her exhausted. "What are you doing...? Where are you?" She couldn't quite tell, frazzled as she was.

Only that he, in fact, was.