Cruel Tricks [Isley]

[Dorano1]

Adela Verd was much less sane than she had been when her father had vanished. The little girl had torn the galaxy to pieces trying to find her buir, and when she had tried to come home, her mother was gone, Galaar was dead, the Dread Guard was fragmented, and the Confederacy had turned her away. At nine years old, Del had been on her own, and stayed that way for a year. Within that year, the vast majority of her sanity was kaput.

Now, thanks to the miracle of intelligent interaction, her sanity and grammar were starting to come back...mostly the sanity, although personal pronouns were starting to make a reappearance.

But none of this was in Adela's mind as she stood in the center of a deserted field a little ways away from Keldabe, her father's besk'ad in her hand, as she practiced. It helped her focus. Swing, parry, stab, step, sweep, high block, step, step, stab, parry, step, uppercut, block, dodge, step, spin, low cut, feint, high cut, step, step, stab...

Slowly, she settled into a rhythm and her young mind opened to the Force as she searched for anyone approaching -

- then her practice abruptly ended as she found an incredibly familiar presence. Rage flooded through her, and Adela Verd shoved the person she'd found. Hard.

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Isley had done an enormous sum of running.

Ever since the "Fall", it seemed as though that was all that he did. For months on end, he criss-crossed the Galaxy in hopes of evading certain demise. 'Twas a miracle that he had made it to the present...and an even larger miracle that he was allowed Home. Now, he didn't have to retreat any longer. Now, he could start picking up the pieces. One of the top priorities of the present was finding [member="Adela Verd"], his youngest daughter. In the wake of the operation on Vorzyd, Isley learned that she was on Mandalore; and as such he practically sprinted all the way back. He had to find his little one and make sure that she was in one piece.

He had a lot to answer for. He had fled so that the brunt of the Galaxy's wrath would seek him alone.

Isley hoped that, by leaving behind his siblings, children, and spouse, that they would be safe from persecution. He prayed that guilt by association was not levied upon them...but Adela's presence on Mandalore was evidence that this was the contrary. However, at least now he had a chance to reunite with his child and make right one of his many wrongs. To this end, he had borrowed a speeder bike and swiftly rode out to where she was rumored to be. The voyage was not a swift one, for when Adela wanted to be alone, she certainly knew how to make it so.

Yet, as he drew closer to where she was located, the Mandalorian felt an all-too familiar presence touch his mind. It was her! It was his child! It was...painful...She lashed out against him, shoving with an impressive sum of effort. Grimancing, Isley weathered the shove and slowed his bike to a halt. Upon dismounting, the durasteel-clad warrior began to make his approach. "Adela." he breathed, speaking directly into her mind. "I'm so sorry, Ad'ika. I'm so sorry for leaving you...I had to. I had to so that you would be safe."

Coming to a halt a few paces off, Isley lowered his head. He didn't know how she'd react...but he fully anticipated a lashing just as fierce as Ginnie's.

Scratch that. Worse.

 

[Dorano1]

Adela lowered her blade and drew her blaster pistol in a smooth, practiced movement, firing six shots in rapid succession at her father before reholstering it and bringing the besk'ad back up, gripping it in a reverse grip in her right hand that left the blade hovering just below her eye level and presented her ride side to her father.

"Isley, father, buir." Adela's speech was flat and rapid-fire. "Vanished, gone, left, back, crawling, pleading, begging dingus coward." She spat out the last word venemously. The young girl didn't have enough of a grasp of Mandalorian culture to understand the full impact the last word would have, but she knew it was a grievous insult, one of the worst she could offer.

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

There were very few who could get away with pulling a blaster on the Mandalorian...Adela, fortunately, was among them. At the sight of the weapon, urgency gripped Isley in a vicegrip; spurning him to move. With an unceremonious dive, the durasteel-clad man hit the deck as the six shots whizzed past. He then, as quickly as he could, leapt to his feet; raising his hands in a non-threatening manner. This was to be expected, however, she was his child after all. Before he could so much as utter a word in order to dissuade her from further blaster fire, Isley was met with a wall of insults.

Ginnie had alluded to the fact that her language skills had suffered as of late, but hearing it himself was almost as painful as the word "Coward." Here she was, the young girl he had brought into the world. On the day of her birth, she uttered full sentences and seemed happy. Now...Now she could only sling terms that encompassed a general idea. "If I didn't leave, you would be dead." he began. Although his tone was soft and apologetic, there was a bluntness to the way he spoke. A "fatherly" bluntness, so to speak. "I did what I had to in order to protect you. Yes, all that happened was my fault. I was weak. I let the Dark Side use me as a puppet. The fault lays with me for all that has happened, and you are right to be furious with me."

"But know that I love you, Adela. I did not mean for you to be hurt. I only wanted you to be safe and to live."

He paused for a moment, mustering the nerve to take a step closer to his youngest child. "I'm so sorry for everything, Ad'ika. I want to make things right...Please, let me try. Allow me the chance to be the Buir you deserve."

 

[Dorano1]

Adela tilted her head to one side, not unlike Galaar used to. However, her version was cold, wary, and calculating, utterly different from the fallen soldier. She blinked once, slowly. "Dead." She mused. "Gone, kaput, no longer." Her eyes narrowed. "Adela could have come. Adela tried. Adela looked for Isley." She snarled. "Adela came home, nobody wanted her. Nobody was there. Everyone was dead. Adela was alone."

Adela lowered her sword and turned away. "Adela died anyway." She muttered. "I came back. I survived. Not Adela." She insisted, turned back to face her father, eyes burning and accusatory. Some of her words were true, some were exaggerations, some lies. All designed to hurt Isley Verd as much as possible. "Dingus." She added.

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

It didn't add up.

When all Hell had begun to break loose, Isley was confident that his family would be safe. Adela and Anastasia would be looked after by their mother; and his departure would ensure that wrath didn't fall down upon their heads. The Mandalorian honestly thought that his children would be alright...but quite obviously this was not the case. How? How did this happen? How did Adela end up all alone? And...according to her very own words...if everyone was dead..."Phoebe." he muttered, his tone all but a croak. "Anastasia. Tia." No. They couldn't all be dead. They were supposed to be safe!

"T-They're all dead? Your mother. Your sisters. They can't all be.." he said.

The Mandalorian searched his child's eyes for a moment, yet as she turned away the reality came crashing down. It felt as though something cold had been deposited within the pit of his stomach. A stone? A weight? No matter...'Twas frigid, and the icy sensation spread like wildfire. Isley had heard about feeling absolutely numb before, yet up until the present, he had never experienced it for himself. However, at this news, his world came crumbling. With an unceremonious clatter, the Mandalorian completely fell to his knees. With palms flat upon the earth, Isley simply stared at the dirt.

For a moment, he was silent. Then silence turned to tears.

"This is all my doing...Oh gods...They're dead. They're all dead...What have I done." From then on, his words became intelligble. There was swearing, copious sums of it, berating himself for his crimes. He stammered apology after apology, and practically wailed in disbelief.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

[member="Adela Verd"]

 

[Dorano1]

Adela shuddered at the utterly broken sound of her father's voice. As he cried, swore, and apologized, Adela made her way over to him silently and sat down beside him, putting on of her hands on her father's, leaning into him. For a moment she just sat there, but then she spoke. "You're still a dingus." She started. "I am going to make you a shirt. Pink. Special buttons. 'Dingus' across the front in purple sparkles that light up." She glanced at him. "But you are Isley, father, buir as well."


It's amazing what a little sanity will do for one's grammar.

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

In all honesty, the Mandalorian did not know how his child would react to this display of vulnerability. Since the moment of her birth, Isley had done his best to be a pillar of strength that never showed any signs of weakness. However, the pain which wreaked havoc on his heart cast this facade to the side unceremoniously. For a few moments, sobs continued to shake Isley's form until he felt the hands of his child. Looking up, he met her gaze and heard her words...words that weren't broken...

"Pull yourself together." he thought, forcing the sorrow down. Sitting up, he tended to his eyes with but a wipe of his hand. Adela's words were sweet, and reminded him of a certain half-pint smith that he loved dearly. Apparently Dingus was his new title. "I'll wear it too. Just for you, Ad'ika." he said. Leaning forward, the Mandalorian ensnared his daughter in his arms. "I won't abandon you again. Ever. I swear this on my life.

[member="Adela Verd"]

 

[Dorano1]

"You should mean that. I am a better shot now." It was a feeble attempt at humor, and the wording was clumsy, but it was an attempt, at least, and that was more than she'd managed in the past year. When Isley hugged her, she wrapped her arms around his neck, curling into him like she used to when she was a younger. "I missed you, Is'buir."

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Although the attempt at humor was feeble, it was enough to cause the beginnings of a smile to erupt upon Isley's face. What's more, that smile only grew when Adela returned his embrace; just like old times. There would be time for the Mandalorian to grieve over what was lost...or to attempt to find out for himself if Phoebe and Anastasia were truly deceased...but for now, all that mattered was getting his daughter home. "I noticed." he said with a slight chuckle. "Before you know it, you'll be as good a shot as me." Gracing her brow with his lips, the Mandalorian rose to his feet and held his youngling close. It had been too long since he had the opportunity to hold his little one and he was not about to pass it up now.

"Let's go home. Then it's ice cream and holovids and whatever you want; even making a Dingus shirt if you like." With that said, Isley took a moment to telekinetically retrieve his helmet and slip it back onto his head. There was no hiding the grimace of dissatisfaction that came from wearing a sub-par "bowl" of Durasteel, but a man had to make due. "And maybe later, I can see about getting us both some proper beskar'gam, because this ain't cutting it."

[member="Adela Verd"]

 

[Dorano1]

Adela burst into giggles when Isley mentioned the dingus-shirt. She hadn't been serious, but it was still funny enough to warrant laughing over. Her laughter doubled when Isley mentioned getting some new armor.

"No. Wearing a cooking bowl on your head is not generally accepted as suitable armor." She managed, shaking with mirth.

[member="Isley Verd"]