Private Family Time

[Kahlil Noble]

"Even triplets didn't slow you down, Valery. Not till the end at least."

And even then, hardly. Valery was always an active person, and likely would always be. Though, now he just looked confused as he glanced to Vera and Colette. What they said didn't make sense to him. Did he say something wrong? He tilted his head, but rather than think about it he just shrugged and started to jog along after them.

He was fine with just keeping up for now.

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"Oh..." Valery smiled and even blushed a little at his comment — she thought he had meant something else. "Right, I definitely won't be slowed down now, by just-" She paused, and turned to look at Colette, who ran ahead of her and taunted her. Most of what she said hardly bothered her — Valery was a gremlin who loved a challenge, especially from her family. She often had her spars with Kahlil, after all.

But then she mentioned gray hairs.

"Watch it you..." Valery spoke with her fiery gaze narrowed, then reached for her husband's hand and pulled him along.

"Keep up, babe! We're not letting that gremlin beat us!" The triplets all giggled, while Mom picked up the pace, but they stayed close to Aris and Vera. The latter of which turned to her brother and sighed.

"We're really going to have to keep our eyes on Mom if she's going to be like this during her pregnancy..."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

Valery pushed past Colette and the girl struggled in vain to keep her grin from showing. First her lips pursed inbetween her teeth, shifted from side to side, before they finally separated into a very wide, very mischievous grin.

The master was on a warpath, and the learner picked up behind her and kept up with her fellow siblings. This was exactly what she had wanted, and Valery seemed to have swallowed not just but the bait but the whole hook and line too. The success went far beyond what she thought it would accomplish.

But then, Valery had always seemed to have a slight complex about her age. She was, after all, a woman that was technically out of her time. That was to say, the time when she grew up and when she lived in were separated by more than a few generations worth of time. At least that was Colette's working hypothesis.

Still, there was no point in just rubbing it in. Valery was determined, but so was Colette.

The force sped up her movement and she put herself in front of Valery and Kahlil, leaned against a tree with her arms crossed and the cockiest smile one could imagine.

"Beat you at what, hm?" Growing old? Colette decided not to say it. Valery was in the perfect spot as it was. This was just Colette soaking in the master's determination. "You seem to think there's a competition going, Valery…"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"That is worrying to think about. Are we going to have to be the ones to remind her to take it easy?"

Aris gave a worried look to Vera as they walked. They didn't rush, there wasn't a race. It was still hiking. Kahlil was of the same mind, giving a worried laugh as Valery tried to indeed make this into a race of some kind. He wasn't going to race of course, he knew his limits better than most. Instead he just shook his head.

"There is no competition. We've got all the time in the world for a hike."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"Well, you know Mom..." Vera chuckled and shook her head while they just walked along. "It does mean that she's happy, though." Vera had seen her Mom during very difficult years, and much of that energy had been gone then. Ever since Dad returned, it was like this, and the birth of the triplets had fired it up.

Though, Vera knew she was just as important to Mom too. All of her family was.

Valery, however, was about to threaten one of those kids she loved so much, when Kahlil turned out to be a gigantic brick wall she couldn't just drag along. She looked back, murder in her eyes, but then sighed when he mentioned they had all the time in the world. He was right, of course, but she was too stubborn to openly admit that.

She had just allowed Colette's challenge to get under her skin a bit.

"First of all, I'm not old," Valery huffed. "Secondly, I'm having second thoughts about that cat..." she smirked a little, and kept her eyes on Colette to see how she'd respond to that little tease.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

How Colette would respond? Chuckles.

"Mmmm, no you're not." She said and walked up next to Valery. "I saw how you reacted when I brought it up."

"An orange-white little kitten to keep the triplets busy, to keep me company, and to keep the rest of you from missing me when I'm away on a job."

"A cute little kitten that takes care of all the pesky rats and other parasites without even being asked, it's the perfect co-operative pet."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil blinked as he listened to the two. They really spoke like family. He smiled wide after a moment before chuckling and carrying on ahead. He didn't know they were planning to get a cat, but he also wasn't surprised. Colette did seem like a cat person.

"You two are gonna fall behind if you keep arguing like that, you know."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"Mmmm, no you're not."

Valery narrowed her eyes — Colette really was a brat. It's... why she fit sp perfectly into the family, to a point where most would likely not even believe she was adopted. It made Valery incredibly happy, so rather than a continued effort to challenge the oldest of her children, Valery just smiled.

...and then remembered she hadn't mentioned it to the husband yet.

Puppy eyes turned around to face her husband, who poked a little at them falling behind. But Valery was more interested in getting this cat now, both because she figured all the little ones would love it, and... Colette really deserved to have her little friend.

"Baaaabe..." she smiled and pushed her lower lip out in a pleading kind of way, "Colette and I were talkinggg, and we'd really like to get a cat. Maybe from Keshi here?"

 

[Colette]

Kahlil Noble / Valery Noble

"A cute little orange tabby caaaat…" Colette added. "The perfect companion for triplets and infants…"

"Someone to keep me company, and who can rest nicely in your lap when you take a nice break…"

"... Someone to spoil and pamper with love and affection…"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"A cat is better than a raptor, so I don't see a problem with it."

Before Fuzzy Vera had made friends with the local fauna of their last home, before his death. Fauna being near dinosaur creatures. He just chuckled as he kept walking.

"You just need to make sure you take care of them, alright?"

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

Valery already knew that Colette was a brat and a gremlin, but it seemed she also had the puppy eyes down quite well. A true Noble, and Valery couldn't be more proud of that. It also proved to be more than enough to persuade her husband, and when he agreed, Valery wrapped herself around him for a hug while she squealed.

Maybe she had really just wanted a cat, too, and it surely was better than a dinosaur.

"I still think the Raptor would have been cool," Vera said with a sigh. "You would have loved him too, Aris. Think Fuzzy...but less fluffy and deadly." That seemed like a good way to put it, so she nodded and walked along.

"Maybe we can pick one up at the shelter in my hometown?" Valery then suggested with a smile.

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

"A raptor is meant to live in the wild though, Vera…" Colette added as she looked over her shoulder. "That's where they'll thrive. Just like the cat would thrive alongside us if we got one."

This was true. Raptors were cute in their own kind of way, but they were still not meant to be kept around a house. Unless of course 'around the house' meant around the perimeter of a house. Colette figured that was not quite what Vera had in mind.

"A shelter cat also means that we would help the poor soul too. It's better that way than to go to someone who breeds cats specifically for adoption." The kid shrugged. "And it just kind of feels nice to know that it's one less animal dreaming of a good home and instead an animal that has a good home."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"That sounds incredibly dangerous and very cool."

Aris nodded once. He agreed with both sides of that argument. No, they shouldn't have a raptor. Yes, it would be the coolest thing in the world. But that was all he was going to say on that as he walked along with Vera.

"You've already convinced me, you don't need to make be want to get even more. Just one, for now. And maybe we help out a local shelter, alright?"

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"It is very cool," Vera said, choosing to ignore the part about it being dangerous. "The raptor was my friend and wanted to come with me." She glared at Colette, even though she knew her sister was right. This wasn't exactly a normal raptor either — it would have gotten very big, and never been able to even fit inside their home.

This was for the best, and she wasn't lacking in the pet department — she had Fuzzy!

"That sounds good, love," Valery smiled at him, and took his hand again to start walking. They were getting higher up into the mountains, and soon enough, Valery stopped to point at something. A huge nest at one of the peaks, with several familiar looking creatures around it.

During their last visit, Valery and Kahlil had been on one's back.

"Remember those, love?" she asked with a grin, before she looked at Colette to see her reaction.

"Those are called the Ayda."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

"Or maybe it wanted to eat you!" Colette said and turned around to look at Vera and make some spooky 'oooo' noises before she laughed and turned back in the direction they were going only to see the big griffins in the distance.

"Woah." She spoke under her breath as she exhaled with wonder.

"You rode one of those?" Colette asked Valery as she leaned over towards her. "Must have been quite the sight. To not only trust the beast not to eat you, but to fly so that you didn't fall off."

Wait, had… Valery gone on a ride on one of those before?

Colette swore she had told her about it once…

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"They're easy to talk to if you're patient."

Kahlil chuckled a little. The fear of being eaten wasn't one that had come to mind the last time he'd seen these creatures. They were friends, and the Force had no problems with helping him make his intentions known.

"Perhaps we'll see about connecting with these ones."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"I'll make one eat you," Vera said, and while that was probably just a funny statement to most, Valery blinked. She had seen Vera control an entire army of Racyons once, and the little Noble was awfully good at calming down predators and other beasts as well. If she wanted to send a Raptor after someone, she probably could.

Not that she would, of course...

"We did fly on one that was trained by the Faedra, the warrior group on the Island we mentioned before. The warriors there have bonded with these creatures, and use them to travel across the planet when they're needed. Kahlil and I used them for a similar purpose when slavers attacked Keshi," Valery explained with a sigh. They... had also shared a more romantic kiss in the clouds on one of them, but she would keep that to herself.

She was a silly romantic, but she didn't need to make that too obvious.

"We could go up to them if you'd like? They're friendly if we try to connect with them. Just... it's pretty high up. We'll have to carry the triplets for the last bit of the climb."

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Kahlil Noble

Oh the kid was welcome to try. Colette had managed to talk down one of the New Cov predators mere weeks into her studies much to Valery's surprise at the time. Nature was something that Colette just seemed to understand on a purely instinctive level.

But, this wasn't a competition. At least not unless Vera decided to start something.

"I think there's more beauty in admiring them from the ground." Colette said as she looked up at the creatures flying far above them. "That's their natural habitat, and we are just fortunate enough to be allowed in it by them."

"Would they see any camp we set up as a threat?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"We won't invade their space, but if they invite us, I don't see a reason why not."

They weren't sentient like a person was, but they had an intelligence that could very easily be just as curious. Still, that was a bridge to cross later, perhaps literally.

"I don't think they'll be aggressive, so long as we're not too close to their nests."

Valery Noble | Colette

 

[Valery Noble]

Keshi

​

Outfit: Epicanthix Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Colette

"They're not very aggressive animals," Valery said with a small dip of her head. "As long as we don't actively threaten their young, we'll have no problems getting closer. Besides, we're already in their domain. The entirety of these mountains is what they consider their habitat." A place of living where they didn't mind locals or even outsiders, as long as nothing about nature was harmed here on purpose.

"They might even come say hello to us. Wouldn't that be fun, sweetie?" Valery looked down at Aurra, who was quite obviously staring at the creatures.

"They are pretty," she said with an index finger near her mouth. "Daddy? Can we say hello?" She looked at her father now, then towards her Mom, and of course, at her big sister too.

Valery just chuckled and joined up with her husband again, "Let's get to the top first? Maybe we'll see some of them there, and we can enjoy the view together?" She looked at Colette as well now, then at her husband.