Hello my old heart

[Taheera Sollo]

[SIZE=10pt][member="Gabriel Sionoma"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The Sulon Starport was surprisingly busy. The Mirialan healer pushed up on her tiptoes, looking across the heads of bustling natives, visitors, and Alliance personnel. Seemed like much of the retreating Alliance forces had taken a short breather or pit stop on the planet. Green fingers pulled at the small bag on her shoulder, sneaking a sideways glance at Maalik.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]They’d had plenty of time for rest and healing on the transport from Hoth back to Sulon. He’d needed it. But she couldn’t shake the sense of defeat from…everything. The incursion. The second loss and set-up at Hoth. Nearly losing him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Still. Nearly losing him had opened up some feelings she’d been trying to shove aside or dismiss. It shattered some walls she’d unknowingly put up. Taheera was still working through her own questions and dealing with feelings and what a relationship looked like or how it could exist in the middle of a war.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]And then there was Gabe actually meeting Maalik.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Butterflies of nervousness fluttered within her stomach. Why was she so nervous? They’d be fine, right? It’s not like he would pull out a scatter-gun when they met. Right?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Myrtle-ellipses pulled away from the bustling street and back to Maalik. “Gabe should be here soon. He said he’d come pick us up. Any lingering pain with those wounds?"[/SIZE]

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

Molten orbs looked out into the busy airport, unsure of what it was they were doing. This Gabe was apparently coming to pick them up but it was a moon, he couldn't possibly live that far away that modern technology wouldn't suffice for transit.

One hand held the duffel bag that held his various items, most of which were offered by the Galactic Alliance. A few bits of apparel that resembled casual, other bits that looked like incomplete pieces to what could be an attractive uniform. Blue slacks, nice shoes, flip flops, floral shorts, and combat clothes.

The other hand hovered over his brow, blocking out the rays of Sullust and the Sun, commingling to strike a devastating spell against this dust bowel of a planet. The location by the airport seemed civilized enough but the world around it, seen on fly by, spoke more to the lambent fields than to any form of metropolis.

That hand dropped to his chest, scratching across the raised edges of the burn marks that marred already marred flesh. "It itches." He stated, matter-of-fact, as he looked towards Harla. "It was a good thing I had such a good medic on Hoth. She was very nice. I like her." He looked up towards a street sign, something of a satirist thing, that pointed a large finger to the west and had a symbol of maize. "If I get hurt again, she'll definitely be the first one I call."

He promised he would do better at that. But it didn't mean he couldn't joke and make light of a serious issue.

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Atham'aali'kema"]

"Hey hey," green fingers went to slide against his own, and would gently lower his blue hand away from his chest. "No scratching. Don't want to take chances with infection even though I imagine the itchiness is coming from new skin." The bustle in the small starport seemed to thin a little. Must've just been an influx of flights landing.

"And OH. You thought she was nice, hm?" Chestnut brows rose across her tattooed-brow. Purple lips twitched slightly before tugging into a slight frown. "Luckily for both of us, I highly doubt you'll get hurt during our stay here." She kept quiet about her fears of Gabe showing up with that scattergun. She'd messaged Gabe about them coming but she couldn't remember how she'd introduced Maalik. As a friend? Someone originally hired to get her here all the way from Varonaut?

Seemed like ages since she'd broken into the First Order archives.

And ages since Anoat.

"Did you know," myrtle-ellipses broke from his warm eyes of fire, "the first time I came here was during a mighty storm with a deluge of rain?" Dust whipped up from the dry earth as a speeder passed.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Gabe looked out from a distance, sitting in a speeder that was obscured from sight. Taheera was easy enough to pick out, given her skin tones. Sulon didn't have a very prevalent Mirialan community. His brow furrowed as he looked towards her and her friend beneath a set of binocs, realizing that his concerns were warranted.

He flipped open his datapad and transmitted a message to the Jedi Healer.

::Taheera, got caught up in some work down in Baron's Hed. I'm sending for a transport to pick you up and I'll meet you at the homestead. Sorry, can't wait to see you.

-Gabe::

~~~​

​

"That is hard to believe, Harla...given how dusty it is now." He looked over, fighting the urge to scratch. "And yeah, she was very nice. I'll have to introduce you some time, I think you would like her."

His attention was caught by a speeder that stopped in front of them.

A driver popped up over the hood.

"Here for a Taheera Sollo and Maalik...uhh, no last name on that last bit. Off to the Katarn Homestead?" The man was tanned, overly so, and seemed dirty despite a relatively clean profession. Maalik looked over to Harla, eyebrow lifted with a curious expression.

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

Comm beeped along her belt. Frowning, fingers plucked the device out to look at the screen. Myrtle-ellipses traveled between the message on the screen and the stopped speeder and driver. She didn't recognize the man from the farm. Why would Gabe hire a transport service instead of sending one of the workers or even Dick?

Well, she was glad it wasn't Dick.

And why didn't he come himself? After all this time apart? She thought he might be just as anxious to see her as she was him. Any feelings of hurt she tried to push aside. The Mirialan healer trusted her mentor and friend, so, she had to trust that he had a good reason for not coming himself. Well, that's what she told herself anyway.

Shrugging, she forced a small smile on her lips as she looked at Maalik and stepped forward. "Yeah that's us." Smile faltered as she glanced back at the comm screen. A reply escaped her, so she just slid the device back on her belt. "Just got a message from Gabe," she explained a bit distractedly as she slid into the back of the speeder, making room for Maalik. "Something came up so he couldn't make it. He'll just meet us at the homestead later."

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

"Oh..." He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed, or perhaps somewhere in the middle. Likely just relieved, staving off this meeting where he wasn't sure how things were going to go. He wasn't, exactly, a typical visitor for a place like this. Even in a starport where travelers were common, he got his fair share of glances. To all of which he responded with a kind smile, absent any teeth.

He stepped up to the back as the hatch opened. The driver came around and took Maalik's bag, tossing it in and shutting the door. Maalik opted to find a seat in the back, attempting to avoid any unnecessary small talk.

"At the homestead..." He nodded, patting his knees as he pointed in a random direction. "Take us to the homestead, please." He looked towards Harla, lifted brows, as if he was looking for confirmation that he had done well. He knew he had, but her approval was important.

~~~​

​

He pulled into the homestead, parking the speeder in the back near the workshop. He recalled the last time he met anyone with any leaning towards Yuuzhan Vong. In most circumstances, it was always someone he had interacted with. Reverance's former lover, or the grown child of a woman that Reverance had violated. Such was the impact of living with a brothers sin.

"Dear me dear me, you parked outside the lines..." Dick came clicking out, blacktop beneath metal feet. "I don't have time for this, Dick. Go back inside."

"I'm terribly sorry, Sir, but you are not my master. Master Eden, as far as I can tell, is not here right now...or did I somehow miss her heavenly presence?"

Gabe pressed a hand against his forehead, scratching the furrow of his brow. "Suit yourself."

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Atham'aali'kema"]

She didn't see the look on Maalik's face but nodded absently. Of course the driver knew where to go. Gabe had already taken care of the details. Not to mention almost everyone knew the sheriff. And Gabe has a certain reputation. Helped those folks in need or already traded things for his services. And some of those trades were life lessons. Some days it still perplexed her how she'd managed to worm her way so deeply into his life.

He could've easily tossed the confused Jedi back into the storm that night. Or never opened the door in the first place. When she thought about it, she'd been extremely lucky.

Even with her head turned toward the view outside the speeder's window, green fingers reached out to find Maalik's hand. Little gestures like these seemed to come more naturally since their time in the cave. Although, they hadn't kissed again like that in awhile. Just hadn't had time.

Fields, trees, and farmlands rolled by. It would become more clear to Maalik that this was a very rural place. Though she bet he'd guessed already. "There it is," she spoke quietly and finally turned eyes of green to those of orange and yellow. Finger poked at the glass to the ranch style structure in the distance.

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

Maalik's hand turned over, without any thought, as his fingers pressed against Harla's palm and extended outward, lacing through green. It almost reminded him of a game he played as child, tug-o-war in the snow. A sort of tease, tag you're it, or anything of the like. Molten eyes drifted over her hand before looking out in the direction she pointed.

Leaning over, he did a good job of invading her space, as he peered outward. Despite the fact that he could have just looked out his window. The world, after all, was relatively homogeneous.

"Is this your home?" He whispered, looking out through lush fields of grass and islands of fruit bearing trees. Then his eyes moved to the old man in the distance. He couldn't see his face, obscured by the shimmer of heat across the dirt road, but he could see him leaning against the speeder. "Is that him? Gabe?"

~~~​

​

Gabe's vision narrowed as he looked across the open field, trail of dirt and debris following behind the speeding vehicle. Lifting his hand, he blocked out the sun as he made note of the driver, Taheera, and her friend.

"Oh goodness, we are having visitors!" Dick sauntered about, mimicking Gabe with a hand over his cybernetic eyes. Gabe looked over, eyebrow lifted. Turning his attention back to the oncoming speeder, he breathed in slowly as he waited beneath the beating sun and half shade of the house overhang.

[member="Taheera Sollo"] ​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Atham'aali'kema"]

Lips twitched into a smile as Maalik leaned over. Instead of the approaching farm, she just saw blue and a very familiar mop of dark hair. Chiseled jaw with scars along his face, leading toward the curve of his nose and lips framed by the tickling bristle of his facial hair. Perhaps he'd feel the slight increase in tempo of the thrumming of her heart beneath her chest.

What had he asked again?

Tongue ran along her lower lip, quickly bringing moisture back to dried lips from the dust outside. Now though, they were already among greener pastures. Familiarity of home. Well traveled paths and places where lessons occurred. Places where the ground had swallowed her salty tears. Places where her tired head had found a moment of respite. Places where she'd been able to disappear within the tall fields of grass and orchards.

Her home?

"Yes, I suppose it's as close to a home as I've ever had." It was home. Head leaned close to his, nose pressing against the glass of the window. Eyes the same greens as the fields narrowed in on...yes, Gabe. Why was he by a speeder? Where had he been?

"Yeah. That's him and...," face scowled as the speeder slowed, going up the drive, coming to a meandering stop. "Oh boy. Dick. The droid. Um, it can be pretty snarky. Try not to get offended." She smiled weakly, eyes darting to Maalik as her hand dropped to the handle on the speeder door.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Gabe felt the inflection of the force as it called to him, coursing through his finger tips. But this wasn't the force that most were used to. In fact, with the loss of the One Sith and their Yuuzhan Vong hordes, it was one that was no longer needed. An archaic and vestigial thing, a power that was learned more through osmosis than anything else.

Stepping forward, his brow furrowed as he greeted the mirialan as she exited her door. "Taheera...I'm sorry that I couldn't meet you at the starport. I was concerned for..."

~~~​

​

Maalik smiled as she described the aspects of this home, feeling the closeness that only seemed to grow with the passing days that separated this moment from the moments in the starport on Varonat. Watching her pull the handle to her door, he did the same and stepped out. He was feeling a good deal better about meeting this Gabe...

He stopped in his tracks, eyes locking with the man as he approached Harla. His eyes grew a fiery red, teeth clenched as he clawed at the back of the speeder. His amphistaff was locked away in the duffel bag. He didn't even have time to warn her, to tell her with whom she was gleefully waiting reunion.

"WARMASTER!" Maalik spit the words out as he stepped out from the speeder, talon ejecting from his forearm and anger seeping from his teeth. "WRATH!"

~~~​

"Oh Dear me!" A cybernetic voice called out in the distance. "He's no master of mine!"

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

The healer searched Gabe's face. Catching that furrow in his brow. Heart already warmed at the sight of him mixed with relief. They'd lived through another battle of war since the last time they'd seen each other. Not to mention her own mission deep in First Order territory. Seeing him was like being in the presence of family again. Words tumbled from her mouth nearly the same moment he spoke. "Gabe. What's going o-..," normally, the empath would've been able to feel the quick shift in emotions from...anyone. Nearly anyone. Maalik was of course, the exception. Attention was so focused on Gabe that the sudden shout from Maalik made her blood run cold in surprise. Then dread.

Muscles seemed slow to react as she spun around. Dick of course, bringing a moment of humor to any situation. Even short lived. Had Maalik just ejected something from his arm?!

"Maalik," finally found her voice. Hand rose in his direction as she remained in front of Gabe, back to her teacher. In a way Gabe shared her same fate, though to a more severe degree. Mistaken identity.

"It's okay. It's not what you think. Just wait." With that look in Maalik's face, she wondered if words would get through to him at all. She'd never seen that shade of red in his eyes before.

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

He couldn't see fire but he might as well have for all the red that filled his view. Harla was no longer there, far removed from his anger. He had it for only this man, the betrayer.

He staggered, anger giving him tremors, as he recalled the nights spent in grahal suspended over mirror floors. Cut him more, the voice said from resonant tones. Maalik recalled the reflection of his face, the way he smiled as the shapers pulled the flesh from his bones. Or the way he convinced them to graft more and more to his body. Like he was some sort of living pin cushion.

He stepped forward, hand waving at Harla. “Get away from him Harla, he's dangerous…” They had made it to Sulon but this wasn't where she should call home.

~~~​

Gabe placed a hand on Taheera’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly as he moved her to the side. “Atham’aali’keema is confused.” Hazel eyes lifted to the shaper. “And angry. As he should be, Reverance put him through hell.”

He stepped past her, putting himself between her and Maalik. Taking another step forward, his hand came up and rotated. The talons on Maaliks arms pulled back into his skin as he winced, looking down with confusion. “You won't need Steng here. Or any of the things they put in you." Maalik would feel a slight pressure on his body, as if his very skin was giving him a hug.

"I'm not the Warmaster. But I know of what you suffered. And I couldn't be more sorry for it."

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Atham'aali'kema"]

There was real anger there. Burning and smoldering. The healer was surprised Maalik hadn't immediately launched forward in an attack. As if Gabe was anticipating that very thing, she felt a nudge along her shoulder and somehow her mentor was now in the vulnerable position. His braided hair and shirt shifting in the small breeze moving through the tense air. Feet shuffled to the side so she could keep sight lines with Maalik. She had a feeling if he thought she was in danger the last chord holding him in place might snap.

I'm okay. I'm here.

"He's telling the truth," she spoke softly and took a step forward. She couldn't help it. Instinct to be close to Maalik. She wanted to wrap him up in her arms and take that pain away. Was that odd? Too soon?

She gulped.

And seeing that pain and anger along Maalik's face and Gabe's words, a seed of anger twitched within her gut. Green fingers curled into fists at her sides. Reverance was the one who put Maalik through all those scars? The one who'd made Gabe suffer by watching it all through a muted mouth and suspended actions. Jaw clenched, muscles twitched.

For a flicker of a second she felt the darkness within herself, the same feeling she'd had when she'd essence transferred. A voice of darkness seemed to whisper a quiet mocking laughter in her mind. She was teetering on the edge. And she very much wanted to hunt down this Wrath and kill him. But it was for justice, right? Not blind anger.

Head shook, gaze snapping back to Maalik.

"They're twins. It's complicated but a story worth listening to."

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

"Harla..." He looked over his shoulder as he smiled. "The cloaked one?" He shrugged, mildly. He would have stated something to the fact that it fit, to a point, but he was too offset by the inflection of her aura to make a joke about how that particular God was also the God of deception. "Calm yourself, Taheera..." He narrowed his eyes, incapable of touching that aspect of the force, as he remained in tune with the Yuuzhan Vong.

"There is nothing to be gained from tempting fate..." He turned back towards Maalik.

"A twin..." Maalik uttered, eyes searching the ground, as if he were back in that grashal again. He recalled the eye, the way it burned, but these spoke a different story. "Like the Twin Gods?"

"No." Gabe smiled, releasing the hold on Maalik only to approach, placing his hand against the mans shoulder. Maalik almost shirked away but beneath the touch, his gaze softened. "I am no God of War. Though Reverance is kin to deception and lies. And pain. But you are not on Selvaris anymore, they can't hurt you anymore."

Gabe closed his eyes and Maalik blinked sheepishly, unsure of what was happening. He looked towards Harla and smiled meekly, embarrassed by how he had reacted. It was clear now, as clear as day, that this wasn't the man who called himself warmaster. He promised Harla that he would do better but all it took was a single step onto a dusty world for him to break that promise.

"I'm so-sorry, Harla..."
"Don't talk, Maalik." Gabe interrupted him. "I'm trying to focus." A moment passed and then another. This was far more difficult than the simple touch of a Non-Vong, divulging information from the nether. And then, he broke the silence. "They imprinted the shadow of a Yammosk. Right...here." He lifted his hand up, pressing on the blue armored flesh of the slayers forehead. Opening his eyes, he let go as he turned back to Taheera.

"What...what does that mean?"

Gabe stopped as he scratched his beard. "It's a common practice for slayers. In the event that the Legion should dissolve, you are still tethered to their mission. It is your anchor and fulcrum, to which all other protocol adheres..." He approached the door and walked in, leaving them to decide if they needed a moment or if they were going to follow.

"Ahem..." The droid perked up from behind the speeder, finger lifted towards the sky. "You can call me Dick. I am versed in several different languages as well as protocol. I have it under good authority that Yuuzhan Vong like mead. And, would you believe it, I know where the secret stash is."

Cybernetic eyes blinked, waiting for them to take him up on the offer.

[member="Taheera Sollo"]
​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

Purple lips pursed into a thin line. Fists still clenched tightly at her sides as Gabe looked back at her. His hazel gaze seemed to see right through her. Though she'd grown in strength since she last saw him, he'd always be her master. And he knew her. Gulping, myrtle ellipses quickly cast away. If he'd been disturbed by her shift in emotions, she was more so disturbed by the dark presence that seemed to ling just on the outside of her senses.

But just when she began to hone in on whatever it might be, it was gone. As if it'd never been there in the first place.

Gaze flickered up again, making contact with molten orbs as Gabe drifted back inside.

Thank you - she mouthed to the Sheriff.

Focus shifted back to Maalik and she quickly closed the space between them. She spoke before he could. "Maalik, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think that Gabe's twin could've...that he would've been the one to....I should've warned you." The mirialan looked down, studying the grass between their feet. "I wish there was something we could do to break the tether," she muttered, finally looking up as Dick spoke.

"Maalik this is Dick. Dick, Maalik." Lips twitched though her soul still felt weary. Green hands reached forward and went to Maalik's arm, tugging it closer to where that thing had popped out. "How'd you do that? With your arm? That weapon?"

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

"Steng's talons..." He stated quietly, eyes diverting away from her or the droid. "Sgauru bones, coated in Yorik Coral..." He swallowed hard, recalling the procedure like it was yesterday. The way they pumped him with adrenaline to keep him awake, but not enough to stave off the pain. How the Warmaster had insisted on it as a part of the Slayer protocol. Weapons for when the amphistaff wasn't near, concealed by the skin.

He shook his head, molten fingers trailing down Harla's face and body, lingering on her fingers and how they traced at the fresh wounds where the protrusion appeared. "They...ahhh..." He canted. "I'm not sure really how they work. I just flex my forearm and they appear. I used them against the wampa on Hoth before..." His mind drifted back to the scars that itched on his chest, still raised and seemingly fresh.

Walking past her, he plopped down on the stairs that led to the homestead front door.

Pressing a hand against the spot that the Wrath's twin had touched, he moved his hand as he rubbed his forehead. Being controlled by something other than himself, he promised that would never happen again after Selvaris. Yet here he was, a puppet to the strings of this Gabe.

"I wish there was something that could rid me of this Yammosk, as well..." He looked up. His intent wasn't to neglect her affection and concern, far from it in fact. But he was distracted, skin tingling and raw from the interaction. He felt suddenly exhausted.

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]

A wince ran across green skin. She couldn't imagine someone doing anything like they'd done to Maalik. Grafting things in bones just to make a weapon. Against someone's will. The anger within her smoldered quietly. But she felt partially detached from it, as if she could feel it but far away.

Green fingers ran through tangled strands of chestnut hair as she offered a shrug to Dick. "Yeah, maybe some drinks," she muttered and paced in front of the man she was beginning to care more about than anyone else before.

"Okay," she faced him. "We can talk more about that later. I'll work with you, Maalik. You don't have to do any of this alone. You're not alone," she repeated.

"Do you went to go inside? Rest? Drink? Eat something?"

Hands fell to her hips, keen gaze looking him over, trying to arrest the attention of those molten orbs of his.

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

​Molten orbs lidded towards her, breath silent as it pressed out from his blue lips.

​​You don't have to do any of this alone. You're not alone.

​[You're alone here, Maalik. No one is coming to save you. The Legion is the only thing that will ever care for you. But you must accept them to begin your suffering...so that it might end.]

​He tensed as his mind went over that memory, the image of the Wrath looking over him when he was first captured. It wasn't common for his full name to be spoken but when the shorthand was spoken by this man, it felt wrong. Like it stood before some fire as soft iron, ready to be twisted to wrought by the will of another.

​He did his best to close his mind off from that world, not having relived these memories since just after departing Selvaris. Stepping up from the stairs, he approached Harla with a renewed appreciation for what she was to him. Taking her jaw in his hands, he leaned forward to press a kiss against the ink that demarcated the green skin of her forehead. Slow breaths, he moved to nuzzle her nose with his. "I just don't want to be alone."

​Maybe they could talk to Gabe more, discuss what this tether was and whether it could be severed. Or maybe they could find a place to rest, to find a distance place where they needn't dwell on his past. As long as it was together, he wasn't sure it mattered.

​[member="Taheera Sollo"]​

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Atham'aali'kema"]

She saw it run across his jaw. The tension and pain. The healer yearned to take it away. With anyone else, she would've been able to. Part of the perks of being an empath too. She felt...helpless. Fingers dug into her hips as frustration mounted along her green features. The cloud of frustration was quickly eclipsed by surprise as he rose.

Like a dance that she was beginning to intrinsically pick up on the rhythm, she found she was drawn toward him. A half step there and a quickening in her tight-filled chest. Warmth spread through her limbs, something kindled by the spark he seemed to set off with his nearness. Mirrored the warmth of his skin against her own and his breath along her face.

"You won't be," she whispered back, green palm curling upward to his shoulder, moving to curl up his neck to settle along the side of his face.

A gentle kiss was placed along his jaw as the smell of grilled cheese wafted through the homestead's door. Forehead pressed lightly against his own. "Why don't we go in and get some food? Talk to Gabe a bit more. Maybe he has some ideas." She began to pull away to lead him inside.

Dick was gone.

No doubt off to get some mead for the two men who actually liked the stuff.

 

[Atham'aali'kema]

It was an interesting smell, one he wasn't sure he had experienced before. The tones of melting cheese and toasted sourdough bread filled the air as he followed Harla inside, a quiet shadow just at the edge of her peripheral.

Molten orbs glanced over the interior of the house. Beams of solid wood hung high and lofted, supporting exposed floorboards for the second floor. Above the kitchen, a parapet lined with solid oak railings and ornamental flowers that seemed either fake or well tended. The kitchen felt rustic yet sterile, dark rose wood and granite and marble mixed with polished durasteel and cast iron appliances.

Maalik had settled it in that moment, watching the man with braided hair cook over a stove top fire. This was no Wrath. A twin, but how could they be related?

“It smells…nice in here.” Maalik stated quietly as he looked towards the door that led out to the back patio. Flowers of every color peeked out beneath the windows. Orchids of pink and white, dandelions of sickly yellow, and tulips of electric blue and copper brown. He knew not a single name for these plants but the inherent beauty was enough to silence him, tied to the apron strings of the pensiveness brought about moments earlier.

“You said something about a tether…a yammosk.” Maalik nearly whispered.

“Oh oh…” Gabe hissed as he flipped the sandwich. With a stirring motion, the glossed spatula freed the sandwich from the cast iron as he set it down on a pile of prepared sandwiches. Turning the burner off, he pulled out a few plates and peered over his shoulder. “Sorry, you caught me at a very crucial moment. Couldn't let them burn.” He turned around, tossing a towel over his shoulder, as he gestured with a plate to Taheera and Maalik. “Sandwich...sandwich? They’re fresh. And still warm…just like I know someone likes them.” His gaze fixed on Taheera, adorned with warm smile.

[member="Taheera Sollo"]​