Down by the River

[Judah Lesan]

The sun was high in the afternoon, and while it had not been a overly hot day, Aden still managed to be working out in the wheat fields with his shirt tossed to the side. All that kept his chest hidden from the elements was the white tank top undershirt he had been wearing. The sun had made it warm, and the hard labor he had exerted in work on building a yaim that was worthy of his family had caused his body to break out in a sweat. He needed to cool off, and as he drank from the cool water a fun thought crossed his mind.

"Mesh'la," he called toward the small shelter the family had been using along with the elderly widow who watched their young son, Valen. His voice called out a couple more times as he got to work packing up his gear for the time being.

Aden replaced the lid on the canteen he'd been drinking it from and tossed it onto the shirt which was next to the pile of tools and equipment he had been using. He wished Mesh'la's uncle had been there to help as the goran was rather good with a hammer. Aden was decent, but most of his skill revolved around hitting rats from 500 meters with a high powered sniper rifle. Most of what he knew about farming had come from Mesh'la and her family.

"Mesh'la, grab the truck and let's find that river. If I don't take a break you're gonna have a patient instead of a riduur."

Despite the fact Mesh'la had broken their riduurok, Aden carried on as though it had never happened. He never insisted she let him touch her or demand they share a bed once more, but he simply had no room in his mind for the fact they were not going to make it work. Aden had messed up, bur he was always the optimist. Maybe finding the river was a little selfish as well. They had never replaced their fishing spot, and if Aden was honest, that was where they had fallen for each other. Another place was what they needed, and he was going to get one for them.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

They had been busy planting yet another few acres of grain; this time summer wheat. Though because [member="Aden Dral"] didn't really have a clue as to what they were doing, Mesh'la took the lead here, handing out scut chores for the young sniper to do while the blonde handled the business end of the endeavor.

Part Tor by birth and adopted by a Hokan when older, Mesh'la had grown up amongst farmers, knew the land inside and out, well Mandalore that is. Concord Dawn was similar she had been told by the ag agent at the general store in town as the Ure Jatr as it was referred to by the locals where the new Garon homestead was located in the northern hemisphere was like the Kelita River Valley outside of Keldabe though had colder winters with a light snow cover. The golden valley had rolling hills and deep soils with a river to one side and forests on the other. The weather and soil were a bit different as were the irrigation needs. There would be a learning curve and the Drals would just have to take one step at a time to make things profitable for the Clan Goran once again as the young Mando couple had taken over the reigns.

Things were still up in the air regarding the true nature of the relationship between the medic and sniper, but they were both on the same page when it came to their son. The rest would maybe come back in time. At least they were acting more like the best friends they were before, well almost. There was distance still that Mesh kept from Aden. It was like an invisible wall that she made sure he stayed on the other side of. Though if the petite blonde was honest, it had been getting less and less as the two rebuilt the homestead and their livelihood when not relying on mercenary work to bring in the credits.

The golden blonde looked up from her datapad where she had been checking off the 'to do' list made for them to stay on track for planting season in a tank and jeans with a long sleeve shirt tied around her slender waist. "Hmmm... You know that sounds good, the part about the river not having you as a patient. You are much too whiny," Mesh quipped with a knowing chuckle as she nodded an affirmative, then walked over to where her silver speeder truck was parked off to the side of the field; pulling off the other work glove before jumping up into the extended cab.

Mesh'la drove over to where Aden was waiting, then reached over and opened the passenger door for him. "Your chariot, sire," she grinned in jest, then as soon as he was in, the truck sped off towards the river that snaked along the far edge of their property. Some things never changed.

 

[Judah Lesan]

"I'm not too whinney," Aden replied sticking out his tongue.

He was glad there was some kind of normal for them. He knew Mesh'la was still guarded, but at least they felt like friends again and not some couple faking appearances. They'd both agreed that Strider's offer was something they had to take advantage of for the sake of Valen. They were United on his best interest. That's why he would learn to farm as well as shoot a rifle. Aden had never learned as much as Mesh'la had. He was certainly the one keeping them back. At least he was a good work horse.

Of course Mesh'la was driving as the silver speeder pulled up. The flat bed on the back was designed to haul whatever they needed for the farm. There days though the blonde took it off road while Aden watched the young toddler. He smiled as he hopped into the seat next to her and motioned for them to go forward.

"Go east, just like back home... I got a good feeling."

Aden just needed this to work. The whole trip out to the river was more than a casual idea. He'd been thinking about finding it for some time, and the two needed to be alone. They hadn't been really. This time Aden knew not to talk about what had happened, but he was going to be keeping things to the good times. There was no sense in going to that. Aden and Mesh'la had to build a future for them and their son. They had to come first if their son would get their best. Aden knew it, and he knew Mesh'la knew it as well.

"You know... you look gorgeous today!"

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

"I don't know... The last time we followed your good feeling, all we got was an angry beehive and no honey," she quipped back with a smirk, turning the steering yoke to the right to go east.

The besties when they were growing up on Mandalore had so many adventures together. It was only inevitable the two teens would go from friends to more... It's just the timing had been rushed, or at least that is how Mesh'la saw it. Had they waited and let their relationship grow organically into a mature one been better? Probably, but actions have consequences and this is where they had led them. Could they make amends. Did she want things to go back to the way it was before? Yes, but events had changed both [member="Aden Dral"] and herself. Was the core of their love still there? From his point of view yes. From Mesh's... she just didn't know. Perhaps if the young blonde didn't try so hard to find fault things would become more clear on where she stood on the matter of them.

Gorgeous... Did he just go there?!

​The back of her hand flung quickly with force at the dark-haired sniper's muscled arm giving it a good smack from the driver's seat. Telling a Mando women she was pretty was a not a good way to earn brownie points nor stay alive for long. Now telling them they were a good shot was.

"Oh you just wait, ner vod... I'll show you gorgeous when we get to the river," she stated with a truth to her electric blue eyes he might remember from their competitive days. It may also have a double meaning, though seriously Mesh was planning on how to get back at the di'kut; sweet as Aden was trying to be.

 

[Judah Lesan]

"But it wasn't my idea to go after the honey in the first place," he quipped back as though they were young and care free.

They were young still, but not care free. Today was the closest they had felt like it in a while, but the inevitsble truth would hit them once they returned to the farmstead. The reality of their current situation was always plain every time Valen was present. Aden wouldn't trade him for anything, but the reminder of their choice to advance their relationship in a moment of grief was something which always had Aden wondering if it had been right. He knew it was, and would again in a heart beat, but the immaturity he displayed with all things Strider had caused him, them, problems.

Of course he was slightly shocked when Mesh'la seemed to take issue with his compliment. While he knew Mandalorian women didn't like it, she'd allowed it before. It was another reminder of his decisions and the consequences of them he supposed. Their was a chuckle when her threat came full round because of the few things it could have meant. Mesh'la had been overly careful to not say anything with any hope of suggestion. In the end, Aden could wipe a smug look over his face.

"Really now," he grinned even more as the smell of the river grew stronger.

He had been right this time at least, and it wasn't long before the smell was accompanied with the sound and sight of it as well. It wasn't swelling which was good. The water flowing fast, but tame at once. There was not much to remind him of their river, but if this was to be their home, this was to be their river.

Aden wasted no time once the speeder stopped in getting out. As he moved toward the river his shirt came off and he tossed it over to the blonde with a grin. "I don't care how cold it is, I'm jumping in.... you coming?" He kept moving toward the river, and his boots, socks, and pants were left behind. Aden rushed in with a loud shout and was in the water in no time.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh'la just flashed [member="Aden Dral"] one of her playful glares, then parked the speeder alongside the river bank. And of course, the young sniper was out of it and going straight for the river in a matter of seconds.

The golden blonde's electric blue gaze though could not look away from her ex-husband as he undressed before her. Thank the Manda though Aden had stopped at his underwear before entering the water. Mesh'la didn't know if she could handle him all the way naked and keep her distance as was the medic's best laid intentions. His physique had certainly filled out during their time apart. He no longer had a male teenager's body. No, Aden was a man now in more ways than one.

Getting out of the speeder truck, the petite blonde walked around to the front that was facing the river and leaned back onto the bumper. The water did look inviting, and not just because the dark-haired Garon-born was in it either. They had been working hard all day in the heat of the day. A dip to cool off and refresh herself did sound good before going back to have evening meal with Valen and Merja; the elder Munin clanswoman who was now living with them to help with taking care of their son.

"I suppose it won't hurt to go for a nice swim. It was a hot one today, and I think we earned it," Mesh nodded, pulling of her boots and socks, then she pushed off from the truck slipping her tank up and over her golden head before shimming out of her work jeans leaving her undergarments on. The clothes were laid neatly on the hood before making the trek down to the river's edge.

"This river isn't quite as fast moving as the Kelita, though just as cold!" Mesh exclaimed as the her warm body slid down into the cool water, then she ventured out slowly to where Aden was; not too close, but close enough that they could talk in a reasonable way.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Aden was wet from head to toe by the time Mesh'la had decided she was going to get in. He watched as she stripped her clothes off, a playfully devious smirk pulling at his lips as she did. His mind was clearly going all kinds of places knowing this was the most he'd seen of her body since leaving. She was beautiful as ever, even the evidence of child birth was attractive to him in a way. The petite blonde was still fit though, having worked like a warrior to maintain her physique. Seeing her as she was did. It help the fact the two were still physically distant. Aden wanted to reunite with his wife in the worst way, but he knew patience was key.

"You remeber the day we met... I'd gone swimming in the river and came out covered in leeches. You just looked at me and laughed." Aden chuckled as he thought about it. The adventures they had, the moments, their first kiss, all of it had been at that river. It's a shock Valen hadn't been conceived there, but the winter was not time for that kind of outdoor activity.

Aden moved closer to Mesh'la. She wanted the distance to be comfortable, but Aden was not of the same mind. He liked the tension, pushed on it. He knew if he could introduce enough of it she would eventually give in.

"I fell in love with you at that river, Mesh'ika," he said with a look which gave away that he was up to something.

When he thought he defenses were down, Aden splashed the cold water in her direction. It was a given when the two were in the water and splash fight would begin. Aden as predictable as ever attempted to pull Mesh'la into some other place so he could take advantage of it. He meant the words. They were as sincere as they could be. Which is why he was hopeful he would actually manage to catch her off guard for once. Aden rarely did.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

"Ewww.... Don't remind me," she said, scrunching her nose up and making a face of playful disgust. "Gods I hope your bad luck with finding those blood suckers didn't follow you here."

Mesh'la had known about the leeches there along that portion of the Kelita River near the bridge, well where [member="Aden Dral"] had gone in at. All the locals did, but of course the Strider bastard wasn't a local boy. And he was way too busy trying to show off than noticing where his feet went in....Oh those were the days, when they were all naive and innocent.

The look in the sniper's eyes didn't look all naive and innocent as he closed the distance between them; Aden entering into Mesh's normally protected personal space as of late; her ex definitely pushing limits trying to move goal posts.

"I know... it happened for us both there. But this is now, and here," she said softly, putting her hand upon Aden's muscular chest as in to stop him from coming any closer.

The petite blonde attempted to step backwards after that, but her bare foot only found water as the river bottom got suddenly sloped off deeper and Mesh'la floundered for a moment going under...

 

[Judah Lesan]

Aden shook his head. He wasn't the new kid that he had been then. His time with Mesh'la at their river had taught him how to spot a cesspool for leeches like it was second nature, because it was. He smiled at her happy they were getting along, but it faded as she had to vocalize their present situation. He had hoped she would be more receptive to his advances, but Mesh'la had put a stop to them. Her hand on his chest was not an invitation to kiss her, but it was a warning.

"You say that as if we..." he didn't have time to finish before Mesh'la was slipping.

The water was deeper where he stood and he'd grown since he'd left. He stood a couple inches or more taller than he had when he'd left. Aden reached to pull Mesh'la up, but he lost his own footing, splashing about as he tried to get her head above the water. A grin tugged at his lips when they were finally safe. The splashing made him feel young again, and with a flick of his wrist he splashed some water toward his wife.

Eye brows waggled as he dared her to splash back. There was no arguing her position that this was here and now. Aden just had to make the case this could be what they needed. They needed to have time to rekindle the fire which was reduced to glowing embers. Embers could spark and cause a wildfire though, and Aden intended to do that.

"Sink me if you can," he chuckled.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

"You know it's not a good idea to challenge me. Tor, remember?!" she smirked.

The honey blonde's electric blue eyes sparked dangerous just before she pounced upon [member="Aden Dral"] with all her might placing her full weight upon his shoulders and smothering his face with her body.

The young sniper was well built, but she knew his weaknesses and tried to capitalize on them as Aden's dark head began going down into the water. Hopefully he took a good breath as Mesh'la didn't want to have to treat a drowning victim. Little Val didn't need to be fatherless twice.

 

[Judah Lesan]

Mesh’la was playing dirty. Aden didn’t blame her because he would have done the same. His weak spots were well known to her, and the fact she had her her whole lordy pushing down on him was also enough of a distraction. They had not had fun like this in a long time, and it was the closest to actually touching each other for more than just passing encouragements since Aden came back into her life. Laughing hard, Aden took a full breath in and fought to hold it as he found he could not avoid being pushed under.

Aden tried to pull Mesh’la with him, but she was a slippery woman. She wasn’t going to be caught unless she wanted to be. That was more true now than it had been when they were younger. There was never a question or doubt that she loved him and that he loved her, but Aden did wonder if Strider hadn’t let him believe he had died.... what would have happened?

The thoughts were pushed out his mind as Aden swam under and popped out the water on the other side, behind Mesh’la. She would have heard him so there was little time. Aden grabbed Mesh’la from behind, but rather than dunk her, he just held her.

”You win... you win... he said laughing as he caught his breath. ”We need to do this more often...”

@Mesh’la Dral

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh'la hadn't allowed herself to have this much fun.... well, she couldn't remember really. Things had been so serious for so long that the petite blonde had forgotten what it was like to enjoy the small things in life that held it all together; laughter & love. The young medic had closed herself off so no more pain could be allowed in. She still was troubled by the events of the that awful day when Manda'yaim was destroyed. Her only comfort was that she and her son had survived...

Our son, Mesh'la reminded herself as a pair of large hands she knew only too well wrapped themselves around her slender middle from behind. She wanted to push them away, but didn't this time. The feel of Aden's body against hers.... It was hard to deny how much she'd truly missed this closeness; him.

"Duh?! Girls rule, boys drool!" Mesh quipped with a soft giggle attached; something a kin to what she used to say to Aden in their youth.

"Elek," she replied softly as her head turned back so their eyes could met. "It's been a long time since we've had this much fun together. I miss those days when we were innocent and didn't have a care in the world. If only we could go back in time.... "

[member="Aden Dral"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Aden missed the sound of Mesh’la laughing. He’d either been gone or life had not given them much to laugh with. This was a moment where they could. He felt her tense slightly at his touch. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when Mesh’la didn’t make him let go. It was a long way to physical intimacy, but he would take it. His hands weren’t the soft and smooth hands of the teenage boy Mesh’la had first known. The work they’d been doing and his time with Strider had hardened them. Mesh’la’s skin however seemed to never change.

He chuckled at her teasing.

”I could throw so easily from here,” he said.

Her eyes caught his. There was a seriousness to them which were filled with a longing to erase the damage the past couple of years had produced and replace it with the innocence they once had. How far back did they have to go? The night Strider was said to be dead was even further still.

”I know... me too...” Aden wanted to kiss her, but was afraid she would pull away. He sighed as he kept his eyes locked on hers. ”Do you regret any of it?” Aden wanted to know.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

"You could try," she retorted back quickly with another soft giggle attached. "...but you won't if you know what is good for you."

Now that was the old Mesh talking, not the sourpuss, all serious new one. It felt good if she was honest with herself to be like her old self. Mesh'la didn't know how her mother had stayed so positive over the years through all the hardships and tragedies endeared.

Aden's pair of brown orbs, yes they were mesmerizing if Mesh let herself truly looked into them, studied her blue, then a question was raised by the young sniper; a rather insightful one too. Did she have any regrets? Electric blue eyes looked away to the shoreline for a moment. She bit her lip nervously in thought, then the blonde returned her gaze upon the man whom she'd married and had a child with.

"My only regret is the path we took to get to this very moment of needing to ask that."

[member="Aden Dral"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Aden loved seeing the old Mesh’la. This was the woman he fell in love with, the one he had made a child with. His question was one which he was certain he knew the answer to. His own regrets echoed that answer. The biggest regret had been leaving. Had Aden not left it would not have taken them so long to get to this place. Why couldn’t he had just stayed? Life would have been easier to this point had he.

”I wouldn’t be asking if I hadn’t left. I suppose that’s what I regret.”

They were still in the water, though Aden turned Mesh’la around so it was easier to look at her. He’d been pushing her since he’d come back into her life, but he’d never just asked or talked to her about what had really happened. Sure it came up, but Aden has always been pushing it off, or trying to get her to marry him again. For Valen’s sake they were trying, but Aden needed to be fully responsible for why things were the way they were.

Aden brushed some of the wet hair from Mesh’la’s face. His eyes never left hers. He studied her face for a moment. There was something under the surface, something they were both leaving unsaid.

”I don’t want there to be anymore regrets, Mesh’ika. That’s why I’m going to kiss you. If I don’t try now, I’m going to regret it later.”

With that said, Aden leaned his head down and moved to capture her lips. It was up to her to turn away or kiss him back.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh'la had been turned around in her ex-husband's embrace so they could talk face to face; their eyes still locked on the other. It appeared a moment of truth was before the once happy couple as they stood in the mid-depths of the river. Was this to be the Drals' cin vhetin or a baptism of sorts to be born again as one?

As the water slowly rushed in and around their two bodies, Aden said his regret was ever leaving. She knew he meant that, and had in her mind basically forgiven him for that as his efforts to make things right with sincerity since the sniper's return had been ten fold. Their young son had embraced his father as if he'd never been away, which made them all happy to see. Course Valen had been just a baby when Aden left them. The impact would had been much worse had Little Val been older. But that was neither here nor there, this was now.

No Mesh's problem was within her heart. She still didn't know if the love she felt for Aden from before he broke it was still there. If that feeling still rang true, it was well hidden behind the strong walls erected to protect herself from further heartache. The destruction of Manda'yaim had seen to that as the last arrow to pierce it. But was it time to let down a layer to even see?

When Aden announced he didn't want any more regrets and was going to kiss her, Mesh'la froze in quiet terror as hands lay firmly against his muscular chest with her own heart pounding in her ample one. She closed her eyes and held her breath until the warmth of his lips pressed against hers...

A moment turned into a few moments, then the blonde relaxed ever so and returned in kind the experimental, sweet kiss...Though Mesh'la pulled away after a few skipped heartbeats, then headed towards the shore and directly up to the speeder truck dripping wet with undergarments clinging to her shapely body as they had been left on for the swim.

"We should dry off and get back home. It will be dark soon, and Val will miss us," Mesh stuttered out clearly flustered or was it twitterpated by what just happened as she grabbed a towel that had been left with her nicely folded clothes on the hood. Time would only tell.

[member="Aden Dral"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Aden one’s he was taking a chance as it was when he told Mesh’la he was going to kiss her. However, it was better than just surprising her. She had been frank with him when Aden moved back in. There was an uncertainty if her heart would ever hold the same love for him as it once had. The only reason Aden had been allowed back into the home was because of their son, Valen. Had it not been for his innocent life, Mesh’la would likely have told Aden to take a hike after she said her piece. Everything that had happened was all for his sake, and the fact he deserved his mother and his father.

When Mesh’la pulled away, Aden knew better than to press his luck. She had given in enough to give him hope that she was open to repairing their relationship and seeing if they could find each other again. His body ached for Mesh’la in that moment, but he wasn’t about to force something to happen. Aden was still sleeping in Valen’s room since the boy had been sneaking into the bed with him in the middle of the night as it was.

His eyes followed Mesh as she walked back to the shore. It didn’t take him long to start following her, though he paused as she came out of the water to admire the fact her undergarments clung to her skin and showed off her figure. ”We need to get back before he has to go to bed,” Aden said rounding the speeder for his own towel. ”We have to find out what happens next in the grand adeventures of Stri’buir the Great. Valen is doing the sound effects tonight.”

Valen has become Aden’s world. He had missed two years of the boy’s life, and he was desperately trying to make up for it. Sure he desperately wished that when they got back to the yaim, Aden could tell the story and join Mesh’la for the night. He climbed into the speeder and started it. Aden waited for Mesh’la to climb in before heading back to the small structure which served as their temporary home.

”I know it isn’t out river, and we can’t come back once we put him down, but if we hurry I was thinking we could get some caf and watch the sunset after Valen goes down. The way they clouds are forming up in the sky it should be absolutely stunning tonight.”

There was a sense under his words that as much as they did need to get back for Valen hat Aden wasn’t ready to leave what happened at the river there. Whatever had just happened, he wanted to take some of it back to the yaim. They needed this memory.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh'la dried herself off best she could, then decided to just wrap herself up in the towel instead of putting on her dry clothes over her wet undergarments. That would just be uncomfortable. The petite blonde envisioned the questioning look Merja would give Mesh when they got home. The widowed Munin clanswoman was very much a grandmother type fixture in their household, and the Drals were fortunate to have her as an extra pair of hands in raising their young son, who adored the white haired Mando'ad like the babuir he didn't have any more thanks to the aruetyc vode. The young aspiring baar'ur missed her mother as well and often turned to Mirja for advice she normally would have of her buir.

"Oh yes... Stri'buir the Great. So how many krayt dragons has he slain to date? Hopefully you've kept the adventures with damsels in distress to a minimal G-rating. Val's not quite three yet ya know," Mesh quipped lightly as she slipped into the speeder truck on the passenger side, which was a rare scene as she usually drove everywhere. It was okay this time as her mind was not on the business of driving right now, but rather the tall, dark and handsome sitting behind the wheel next to her, who had set her world on edge the day he came back asking for another chance and to be the family they should be.

Gods why did her ex-husband have to make things so hard?! How could Mesh continue to keep Aden at an arm's length when his tantalizing kiss made her want to keep him at a length much closer and in-depth? Okay that last line of thinking was dangerous, and danger was bad, right? Mesh'la pushed that thought far from her mind though easier said than done as her blue gaze lingered upon the young sniper's expansive tattoo following the ink up from his forearm and well defined bicep to his broad shoulder and muscled chest before darting her eyes away to look out the front window at the cloud formation in the distance. She had never asked him about those tattoos as Aden didn't have them before he left her.

"Elek... I think you're right about the evening sky. There might be a couple of ales left in the cooling unit, if your buir didn't drink them. It's a bit late for caffeine, well at least for me, and I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Hopefully Valen does too, little stinker."

[member="Aden Dral"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"We don't have any damsels in distress in those stories. I am not sure anyone can tell the tales of Stri'buir the Great and keep things with ladies G-rated."

Aden was of the same mind as Mesh'la on this one. Valen didn't need to know about the adventures his grandfather had with women. They all ended the same usually anyway. Another child and another angry woman. Aden had managed to avoid being like his father in that regard. He never wanted to leave a child out there without a father, and yet his selfish decision to find the truth about Strider's death had done just that. Valen was young enough he would never remember it, but Aden would have to live with the reality that he had done something he had never wanted to do.

Mesh'la got caught looking his way a few times, but Aden said nothing as they drove on. Her eyes kept falling to the tattoos. He'd never talked about them, and she had never asked. The story was simple. That's how many people he had killed in the last two years working as a merc for his father. The credits he had been sending to Mesh'la came with a price, and he made sure he had a way to remember what his life had been.

He tried not to let his eyes wander, but she was still in her undergarments. Aden could not put certain thoughts out of his mind as easily as it seemed Mesh'la could The more her wet clothes clung to her and showed off her curves the more Aden wanted a physical reunion. He sighed as they neared the homestead, though smiled when Mesh'la mentioned the ale. His brow quirked. Aden hadn't recalled her wanting there to be any alcohol shared between them so close to the end of the day before. He tried not to read into it, but he was still a man so it was too late.

"He'll got to sleep just fine. Most nights he is out before I am, especially when he has been playing hard all day..."

That was the thing about boys. They played hard and often slept hard, unless they were so wound full of energy that sleep elluded them. Aden pulled up to the home hoping he was correct. He glanced over to Mesh'la before hoping out of the speeder. "You go get those ale's, and I'll get the little trooer to bed. I think Stri'buir is gonna vanquish a squad of goons tonight."

Aden smiled then headed into the small home to do exactly as he had said.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

"Okay... Sounds like a plan," she answered with a small smile of her own, then followed [member="Aden Dral"] into the traditional Mando home built into the earth; this one with a turf covered roof being they were on the plains and not in the woods.

The vheh'yaim had been the original Clan Garon one when the elders first married. Until Mesh'la and Aden could build their own, this one would have to do for the young family. There had been much work to make it livable again as the structure had been left vacant and in ruins for some time. Though with a little spit shine and polish, it was now comfortable enough for the two, little Val, and Merja to reside in at this time. Though, space was at a premium and privacy... well it left a lot to be desired.

The older woman arched a graying eyebrow with a quizzical gaze as the Drals walked in wet and seemingly in good mood from their excursion at the river, but Merja did not comment. There would be time for that in the morning over caf should her adopted granddaughter want to share. With a nod, she went to her room to leave the family to their evening.

Mesh'la gave Valen a kiss goodnight on the forehead, then let his father get him ready for bed as that had become the ritual as of late. She quickly changed into some dry clothes, then grabbed the last of the ales from the cooling unit in the kitchen area and some supplies for roasting marshmallows and making chocolate goodness sandwiches.

After going outside, the golden blonde went to the fire pit area just as the sun was beginning to set over the western skyline in its glory. She started a fire, then sat back to relax until Aden joined her. One thing was for certain, they were going to be blessed with a beautiful sunset across the valley tonight. This day was coming to a nice end. How nice exactly, well time would only tell.