Coming Home

[Kaili Talith]

Hands firmly on the wheel Kaili couldn’t help but frown from jawline to jawline as her brother messed her hair up again. He insisted on doing that, Kaili insisted on getting mad. Then again, it was really just another part of their dynamicism. Their bond, as cheesy as it sounded, was one of the stronger ones. Explicit understanding through just about eighteen years of going back and forth with petty squabbles and pranks on one another. Which, of course, wasn’t to mention all the good stuff too. Micah was there through both the boo-boo’s and the boo-hoo’s.

He was there in the crash too. Force knows what would have happened if he wasn’t.

“Isn’t that how it always works?” Kaili snickered. “One to crave it, the other to go get it? Something like that?”

Never had twisting the Rule of Two felt more appropriate.

“I think I know a good way to distract her.” Kaili let a hand free itself from the wheel to adjust her hair in a rush before setting down on the controls again. “I think we’re getting close to home now, right?”

Indeed they were. Casa De Talith crept up in the distance.

“So, any last minute pep talks?”

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

A thick brow went arching up with his familiar devilry.

"Don't let her drag you into baking cookies." he warned her, the twitch at the corner of his mouth barely containing the amused smirk that crept there. Their mother enjoyed doing things with the kids. Baking and family vacations were a constant. Their family was of the sort that constantly did things together and would keep in frequent contact. Rare were the days where more than a couple of days would go by without contacting each other, be it via com, holocall, or just a quick message.

They all knew that their mother fretted.

"By then, we might as well stay over for dinner." it would end up a family affair. Truth be told, not something he'd mind. But they did have pheasants roasting.

And it be a right shame to set on fire Nohei's shop.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili would take the hint. A fire wasn’t exactly one of those things that she would enjoy particularly much. The shop was well-insured, but ‘I left a pheasant in my oven and left for a while’ wasn’t a very good defense in court. There was, after all, a reason people sticked to the classic ‘electrical mishaps’ when it came to that kind of fraud. What that meant was that Kaili had to keep her mother occupied to the point where Micah could slip past the mental defenses of a former shadow, seep into the kitchen, root around the fridge and also make it out again before Kaili.

If she caught the both of them, Kaili would stand to lose her entire shop.

And in return, her parents would lose a whole lot of credits over nothing. Horrible thought that.

“Alright, no baking or other activities.” Kaili smiled. “You take the back entrance, I take the front.”

“Rendezvous back here in an hour at most? Yes? Good.” Kaili didn’t really offer her brother much of a choice. They had already wasted enough time just to get here, the clock was already ticking.

Kaili finally set the speeder down on the landing platform out front of her old home. Shaky hands let go of the controls and she took a deep breath to calm the last of her nerves. Hopefully it would all get easier from here. All she had to do was keep mother busy. She could do that, right?

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Micah Talith]

"One hour!" Micah told her, lifting one lone finger up for emphasis.

"One." his grew wider. "You take longer than that, and I'll have to leave you behind." he joked, his swarthy jaw flexing within that impish grin of his. It was in those moments that Micah had such a striking similarity to their mother. The young man was ever an amalgam of both, heavy with their father's dark looks but saturated with their mother's mischievous devilry.

"And eat that pheasant myself!" well, more like he'd make sure that the oven was turned off. If their mother was going to drag Nohei over for dinner then he might as well bring the birds over and they could make it a family meal. Either option wasn't bad in his book.

"You ready?"


[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Oh please, I was born ready.” Kaili grinned as she took another deep breath. “Question is, are you nimble enough?”

The threat of eating the whole pheasant for himself wasn’t exactly something Kaili would take much offense to or find particularly odd. After all, if you compared the overall portions when it came to Micah and Kaili eating something home cooked together the results were more often than not a 20/80 split in Micah’s favor which suited Kaili just fine. Girl had to watch her waistline, after all.

“It’s a dealio then. Now off you go, before mother spots you and burns my home down.” Kaili chuckled as she practically pushed her brother off of the landing platform. “One hour!”

Kaili got herself into the game. She straightened her clothes and hair and took a few bold steps towards the entrance. One hand hovered in front of the door as the other extended itself for the doorbell. One knock, one ring and the game was on.

Now came the hard part. Keeping Kira Talith busy to the point where she would neglect that which happened around her. Which was a bit like feeding a dog a banana. You could do it, they might even enjoy it, but only for a while until the side effects kicked in.

Not that Kaili was aware of any side effects, but she quite simply put had to make that analogy.

It was for the greater good, and her own amusement.

[member="Micah Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

​

[member="Kaili Talith"] would have no trouble finding her mother.

Ever since the Battle of Contruum, the Jedi Master had spent her time at Casa de Talith. Under the watchful gaze of her husband, [member="Soliael Devin Talith"], the Lorrdian female had slowly recuperated from her wounds. The experience had elicited the over protective streak from the former false god, resulting in his resignation of the Senate seat. For Kira herself, while the Jedi Order had expressed interest in having her join their council, it was a position that had made Soliael a little less than pleased.

While her husband would lay the galaxy at her feet, there were a few points that Sol would remain firm on. The Jedi Council was one of them. In the end, a compromise was made. She would continue her work with the Jedi Academy, but at a lighter pace, while leaving the responsibility of the council elsewhere. The fierce sense of responsibility was there within Kira, and it is in fact her desire to do good and help others that her husband adored. However, Kira's health was first and foremost in his mind. In this he would not bulge.

To that effect, the past few months had been spent in redecorating the island home and considering a new expansion. For the most part, Kira had taken to gardening. While she certainly had no green thumb, there was little harm she could do with flora native to tropical weather. There is where Nohei would find her mother, wearing a large wide brim straw hat and a sun dress of a pale blue hue.

Age graced her features lightly, the Light-side of the Force granting her longevity. Laugh lines lined the corners of her mouth and her eyes, and streaks of pale blonde hair blended with the white. Well over fifty she may be, but her joviality lent her youth.

 

[Kaili Talith]

There was no answer, but that didn’t really matter. Few knew of this place, at least from outside the family. A knock and a ring at the doorbell was more of a courtesy than anything else. Hand wrapped around the doorknob she twisted it to open the door and in an instant it was as if she was that little kid again. The kid that ran around playing with Micah before trying to beat the ever living snot out of him for tripping her. Yeah, the kid had some anger issues, but time and practice had helped with it. She still had her moments, but compared to the tantrums she threw as a kid they all looked pretty bleak in comparison.

Mother wasn’t in the usual spots. Kaili had poked her head in each partition of the house that she could remember her having been in when she was a kid, but she wasn’t there. She scratched her head and continued out on the pavilion overlooking most of the island and the surrounding sea. Kaili had always liked this place, yet [member="Kira Talith"] was once again nowhere to be seen. The kid scratched her head once more before grabbing a hold of the railing only to see the straw hat down below.

“Figures.” Kaili smirked as she turned around on her heel and rushed downstairs not once, but twice until eventually she came waltzing out into the new garden.

“I keep forgetting this place exists.” Kaili grinned as she announced her presence to her mother. “Hello, mother.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

A sunny smile and her mother’s jovial greeting would call over to [member="Kaili Talith"] with an energetic wave. “Hey kiddo!” She called out, the distant sound of crashing waves bringing with it sea salt and the fresh crisp air of the sea.

Kira adjusted her sundress, placing down her spade and hand hoe as she sat up. “Come on over,” she sang, waving that dirty hand to her youngest.

“Just planting these things.” She gesture to the small mess of herb pots waiting to be planted around her. Again, not much of a green thumb, but it kept her busy. That it was in a half state of a mess was to no surprise. Upon closer inspection, one would see that the elder woman had a dusting of dirt over her blue dress already, with a smudge of grime along one cheek. Dirt was caked under her nails - she wasn’t the sort to wear gloves.

“Your father should be around here somewhere…. I asked him to grab us lunch!” She beamed at the younger blonde, bright aquamarine eyes twinkling.

“It has been a while!”

Yes. A while. All of a day really!

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kira was a caring mother. So caring that she never left her kids alone for more than a day. Or well, at the very least Kaili, and although the youngest never really went into much detail about the going-ons in her life she still appreciated the fact that her mother cared enough to make daily small talk over the comm lines. She hadn’t shared much about her experiences with Allyson yet, but something certainly seemed different with the ‘little’ kid. She remained in her shop all day, but the way in which her lip always seemed to twitch upwards in a cautious smirk when she mentioned that name.

No, it didn’t take a genius to figure out something was there.

“Yeah, a whole eighteen hours! How could I manage?” Kaili deadpanned as she went down on both knees next to her mother. Propriety and all that be damned, her mother left herself wide open for it. “I’ve been doing repairs and all that around the shop still. I just wanted to swing by home and, you know...”

“Feel like a kid again?” Gods that felt cringe worthy to even say. “I mean, you know, been a couple of... Weird weeks. Months? I feel like I lost track of time.”

“Ever feel like that? Just... Lost, in a sense?”

Or maybe Kaili had come along to just talk to her mother again. Properly for once. Face-to-face and not through a screen. Yeah, to just sit down and talk for a while. Or well, for an hour so that Micah could get what they needed and then bail. Either/or.

Kaili looked at the garden, quietly wondering to herself what her mother was up to now.

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira gave her youngest a rather goofy, mock expression of disbelief. Both hands went gesturing up in an exaggerated shrug.

“I know right?!” Bright blue eyes glittered with growing impish humor. “Too l-ooong!” As [member="Kaili Talith"] plopped on beside her, Kira attacked. Those grubby fingers caught the younger girl to nab her into a tight hug.

“Soo looong… Look! I need to make up for all the lost hugs!” She would promptly start rubbing her face against the crook of Kaili’s neck, laughing and chuckling as the Lorrdian embraced Nohei. She had caught the contemplative expression on her daughter’s face earlier, and while she was acting rather silly for her age, Kira would none the less answer Nohei’s query.

“Hmmm..” in the scuffle, her hair had perked up, leaving her face exposed to the bright Borleia’s sun. Not matter, be it askewed or not, Kira wasn’t to mind. “Yes I have.” She gave a nod, smile still lingering upon her lips. A gentle rub of Nohei’s arms was next.

“Things can seem a bit topsy-turvy.” This was directly in reference towards the events that transpired after being cast out into the gladiator slave pits in the wake of her torture. The time between then and to when [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] had found her had been quite the dizzying and clouded affair.

She had almost been broken then.

“That’s when I focused on what I had, buck-a-roo. Your father helped me a lot too.” She pressed a kiss upon Nohei’s cheek.

Lorrdians were very physical by nature. It wasn’t just that they spoke with their bodies, but that they relayed emotions and thoughts through it as well. By far, Kira Talith was a very affectionate being, and perhaps she mothered her children a bit more often than necessary.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili swayed from side to side trying not to topple on over from the bear hug her mother gave her. Well-aware that her question was one that didn’t make a whole lot of sense for someone her age, she still felt like it was a question that she needed to ask. Her mother was great like that. No question made her feel stupid, no matter how stupid the question actually was. She just gave that warm smile, a hug and a kiss on the cheek as well as that perfect answer. Always.

“Yeah...” Kaili sighed as she softened her shoulders. “It’s just, you know... I’ve been putting more effort in lately, really tried to get better and move on from the-... From the-...” Deep breath. “The crash.”

It wasn’t easy, but swallowing parts of that fear was what Micah had told her to do, and through Allyson she had found that talking about it was a good way to relieve the stresses and worries. These were all things that fell in natural for her mother, no doubt, but when it came to the girl that had shut herself tight within a shop it was all unexplored territories. Mask up and swallow hard. She kept a pretty solid outward appearance to any and all. Anyone except her mother, and to some degree her brother.

“It’s... Time, I think.” Kaili sighed. Again. “I-... I...” Really dragging out the words here. Eyes perking as if they were trying to reel a fish out of water. “I even took the speeder here.”

Should Kaili have felt as proud of herself as she did in that moment?

Absolutely!

“My own speeder! The red one you and dad got me when I was... Fifteen, I think?”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

Hearing that [member="Kaili Talith"] was stretching out of her comfort zone and starting to pilot things again made Kira giddy. She tried to keep herself contained, knowing that her daughter was still going through a lot, but she couldn't help he dawning joy that spread across her visage. Kira was always such an easy creature to read, and when she cheesed a grin that split her face in two and her aquamarine eyes practically glowed, it was hard to miss.

"That's great!" she told Nohei, bundling her up closer so that the younger blonde could snuggle up against her lap. A slight adjustment of her hat would provide them both a bit of shade, and despite the grubby fingers, Kira couldn't help but gently cafune her daughter's hair in encouragement and affection.

Kira worried about her. Fretted really. It was only by Sol helping her calm down that she wasn't constantly over at Nohei's shop or demanding that she please stay at the house. But the kids needed their space, and Nohei would have to work things at her own pace.

All she could do along with her father is encourage and support her in anyway they can. Nohei knew they were here for her. Any time. Any place. Both would drop anything at a moment's notice for their children.

It was hard for her youngest to talk about it. The Lorrdian knew all too well how guilt could wreck the soul and mind. For the longest time, she blamed herself for Oliver's death at Nemene's hand. Felt guilt and doubt that perhaps it was her doing that had resulted in what had followed. The way that Nemene and Eve had hunted her down and used the youngling to trap her... then ultimately used him as the medium to torture her. Kira often still had the flashbacks.

"Mmm.. yeah you were fifteen or so." she murmured, brushing her lips against Nohei's temple. The 'mum rock and hug' came next.

"You were constantly out and about then... " she grinned impishly, "Followed shortly by your second speeder after that one didn't quite make it..."

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili didn’t deny her mother the snuggle. Much like Kaili’s mother, Kaili herself wasn’t exactly one to shy away from a hug. And it was great news. Everyone in the family had been supporting, and even without near-daily calls checking up on her Kaili knew that her mother was the one who had taken the trauma worst of them all. The look on her face when Kaili announced her plans to move out was not one that she would ever forget, but it was only one of many that reassured Kaili’s connection to her mother.

She just had to take it on by herself, or so she had told herself.

It was more of a delusion than she had realised at first.

Dirty fingers ran rampant through Kaili’s hand, and even if it was her mother she couldn’t help get a little annoyed. But only a little. Micah did it, Allyson did it, Mother did it, Father did it. It was as if every time Kaili managed to get her hair into the disheveled mess that she desired, someone else came along to turn it into another disheveled mess that she didn’t want.

Yet hair aside, a nostalgic sigh parted Kaili’s lips.

“Yeah.” The girl spoke beneath the breath. Before smiling again. “I’m surprised we could afford all the hospital visits, or that my arms don’t set off metal detectors yet.” She chuckled. “I liked when we brought the speeder back though and I had to put it back together again.”

“You’re the best, mom.” Kaili squeezed her mother tight. “There is no one like you.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Kira gave her daughter an impish grin, "Well I'd hope so," she mused Nohei's hair to tease her a bit. There was a reason why Micah had the tendency to rile up his youngest sister. That was because their only son had managed to soak a bulk of his mother's personality. The difference in there being that Kira was prone to gentle jesting, and didn't tease her daughter to the point she'd get riled up.

"Your father wouldn't be able to know what to do with himself if there was!" there was a joke in there that suggested that Soliael would be rather fretful. How overprotective the Talith had grown over his wife was rather obvious. He had always been to a degree with his family, just more so after what happened in Contruum. They had almost lost Kira then.

"So, how was it with the speeder hmm?" cradling Nohei, she enjoyed the time with her youngest. For the most part, she seemed to be unaware of what was transpiring with her son in the kitchen.

Or perhaps she knew and was simply indulging them both!

 

[Kaili Talith]

No, Kaili had almost forgotten what her brother was up to. Even if she talked to her mother almost every day it still felt good to do it in person and proper. As much as Henry had once been the carrier of her burdens, she had come to realise that actual human interaction was better. Even if that realisation had only come a few weeks ago. She still hadn’t thanked Allyson properly for that.

“It was great.” Kaili almost sang. “I was... Free again. Free, but terrified.”

“I keep getting reminded of the-...” Kaili took a quick breath to calm herself. “I managed. I didn’t crash, or die, or even get hurt. The speeder is standing out front fully intact like the day we bought it. Or well, kinda.” It was most likely filled with more spare parts than original parts by now. Kaili didn’t have the heart to ever get rid of it.

“I considered not going in person, but then when I remembered the way Allyson drove it a few weeks back I also remembered that sense of... Freedom, you know?” Kaili’s felt a warm smile tug at her lips once more at the mention of the Corellian woman’s name. “I wish I had the guts to take my seat behind the wheels of the speeder ages ago, but I guess it was better now than never.”

“It’s kind of funny how things work out.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira would only smile. She was happy that her youngest was now starting to edge out and enjoy what had been her passion. Devin had told her that it was all up to Nohei and things had to go at her pace. It didn't stop her from fretting. One just couldn't do that with their children. There was always that concern.

A kiss went brushing upon [member="Kaili Talith"] 's temple. There was that mention of that Allyson girl. The Lorrdian hadn't met her yet, but it was easy to see that her daughter held her in high regard. It was also not hard to miss that the young woman was likely part of the reason Nohei was out and about again. Marked her as good in her book.

"That's what your father always says," she would tell her, her hat still a bit askew. A loud squawk came from over head, where Khal, Micah's Valrain pet adjusted upon his roost. His large wings fluttered, before settling again. Being as he was too large, Micah kept him here on Talith home.

"Oh you! Yes, Nohei came to visit." Kira gave a laugh, her body shaking a bit in her mirth, jolting her youngest in her embrace a bit. "It's like he hasn't seen you in ages." her hand rose to shoo at the Valrain.

"Well, you keep going things at your pace, lovely." the Jedi Master said thereafter, smiling down with encouragement to Nohei. Her face drew near and she gave her a small Orolotan kiss, a brush of their noses in a silly swish.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Most people would have been afraid by big birds. But then again, most people weren’t Taliths either. All her life Kaili had grown up around animals and wildlife. She was the only one of her siblings who didn’t have the same affinity for them, sure, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get along with them and she had more often than not found that treating them in the same way in which she wanted them to treat her had been the best of moves. Maybe not all of the time, but people were always around for when things got... Hairy.

Kaili skipped up and down ever so gently as her mother laughed. It was good to see Khal again, even if he still caused her nerves to tense up in anticipation for a pecking. Yeah, not being afraid, and being prepared were two very different things.

Or so she told herself.

“Hey, big guy.” Kaili waved her hand at the bird before her mother shooed it away.

“That’s the idea.” The kid chimed before her nose brushed against her mother’s. “Slow but steady.”

A look went for the door to the house. Part of Kaili wondered if her brother had done his part yet, or if he was still doing it. For a second the thought of cheese crossed her mind again and she couldn’t help smiling and salivate in anticipation. Which was something she had done unusually often lately; smiled.

“So, other than the garden, what have you and dad been up to?” Another stray look went for the door. Small talk was only viable for so long, wasn’t it? “Heard anything from Aela?”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Hmmmm..."

The low hum rumbled through her throat with a bit of a knowing smirk following that. Ah, it wasn't a really good idea to ask that of her parents, knowing how they were. With the Jedi Master being on a bit of a house arrest for her recuperation, there was little much else to do but ahh -- cough.

If anything, Kai's father was quite a man in his prime.

Yet beyond that, the two had to find something to do around the house. With the kids gone, there were other ventures to go and things to do.

"Well," the Lorrdian began, gently brushing back a wayward lock of hair away from her daughter's temple. Her hair was a shade darker, much like summer wheat that had been bleached by the sun. Likely due to the near endless sun that Borleias had.

"Your father started to whittle again." He had often done so off and on when the kids were little; only to find out that it incredibly bored him. The corner of her mouth twitched. "He tried to finish that rocking chair he started years back - ohh.." her brows drew in concentration, thinking back. Blue eyes went panning over to the ocean.

"I think when you were fourteen?" that must have been it. She gave a nod, then a pat and rub of Kai's right arm, as if pleased with herself. "He lasted all of three days!" her shoulders shook as she laughed.

"And I..well." a gesture would idly motion to the chaos of the pots, flowers, trees, and a few holes on the ground. "Trying to to see if I can make this last the summer." her lips curved into an impish smile. Things typically didn't go well for Kira when it came to plants. A green thumb she certainly did not have.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder and closed her eyes. The soft hum reverberated through her mind. Part of her felt like that kid again, the one she had felt like an idiot when she had said that she wanted to feel like again a few minutes ago. The little kid let her breath sweep through her nose in a muted chuckle. Father was whittling again, and mother was back in her garden again. It would seem that if there was one thing you could always count on when it came to the Taliths it was that they were all stubborn.

“Well, maybe this is the year we get fresh ‘tatos on the table, huh?” Kaili grinned. “Or maybe not.”

“I guess what’s important is to keep busy.” The youngest Talith shrugged. “Droids, whittling, even gardening. If it makes you feel better, right?”

“Have you used the fertilizer? Made sure not to forget to water the plants? ... Or water too much. Tried talking to them?” Kaili was serious. “I heard talking can actually help plants. I mean, it was from a fairly eccentric neti on the Holonet, but who am I to argue against a Neti?”

“At least when it come to things such as these.”

[member="Kira Talith"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Perhaps!" well they would just have to see. Speaking of tables, Micah was actually taking his sweet time. He managed to slip into the kitchen, no sight of his father anywhere. A small flower sack would be his weapon of choice. Needless to say, he spent a good amount of time eating an apple while idly tossing food into the burlap sack.

"Uhh fertilizer?" Kira gave a small worried expression. Her blonde head would pan, only to point towards a new compost pile she was building. Something about it being satisfying making your own compost pile. At least, that is what the holoblogs said.

"Well... I was singing a bit!" she said with a charming grin. "I'm just planting these flowers for now." she would gesture with a finger at the semi circle spread in front of them.

"The herb garden is down the side... I had your father put down some trellises for me." with a mischievous grin, the woman took off her straw hat and perched it upon the crown of her daughter's head.

"So how is the business going? I heard your father contacted the Bazaar."