Private Home Fires

[Kirae Orade]

Tags: Mig Gred Vytal Noctura Tessa Monroe Adonis Angelis IV Aether Verd Jonah Mia Monroe Adelle Bastiel Itzhal Volkihar Sylor
Kirae simply sat. She watched. The confidence they had. The bonds and relationships that had been forged between everyone. It was a strength in and of itself. Yes, she could have tried to try and forge those same bonds herself, but socialness was not her forte. If you needed a wall broken down or a shield to stand amidst a raging inferno, then she was your best choice. But if you needed someone to talk? Well, it would be like trying to bleed a stone. Difficulty and entirely pointless.
​

"Ohhhh no you don't ma'am." he said, before motioning for her to bring that ass back here. "You and I are gonna have a chat, it's been long overdue, don't you think?"

Of course, that wasn't to say people wouldn't try. As Kirae simply tensed up, pointing to herself as if to ask if Aether was talking to her. It was clear from the motioning that he was, but that didn't make her feel any better about the situation. Fortunately, it seemed as if the Mand'alor had gotten distracted. For merely a moment, but a moment was enough for Kirae to focus. Talking. She could do this. As soon as Aether threw himself down, she just cleared her throat to speak.

"There's a lot here. People. I mean."

Way to go. Point out the obvious. She racked her brain for some kind of conversational topic. How did people relax? It had been a luxury she had never quite afforded herself as she stared off into the distance, before a single question popped into her head.

"...How is Torva doing?"

That worked. It opened up more avenues for a conversation to go. Urgh, why was she thinking of this like it was some kind of logical puzzle? Some kind of battle to be won?
​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Tags: Itzhal Volkihar Mig Gred Adonis Angelis IV Aether Verd Vytal Noctura Kirae Orade Sylor

"Now, is that respect I hear or fear?" He drawled, words laced with gentle teasing.

Mia smiled, casting a look back over her shoulder at Itzhal as they crossed the living space towards the back porch where everyone was waiting.

“Can it not be both?” She was, after all, her daughter.

Crossing the threshold to the back of the house she moved to the edge of the porch, leaning forward on the balustrade and letting her gaze sweep over the gathering for a moment. It wasn’t often that they came together like this, not just as leaders of a nation, but as friends and family.

Her eyes tracked Mig’s boys running riot and something shifted in her chest as she recalled Halvard Monroe and Tessa doing the same thing as children. She reminded herself to reach out to him and check in. Her sapphire gaze snapped to the Nethermother as she spoke.

"I could have the Spirits tie them down, if you wish."

“No.” The word was perhaps sharper than she intended it to be, cutting across the gathering to the Nightsister. She shook her head, offering a small but apologetic smile. “Thank you for the offer but I have spent enough time among the dead to not want to endure their company again anytime soon. Besides,” she added her gaze shifting to her daughter "I am not nearly as careless as my daughter makes me out to be. The boys will be fine."

 

[Tessa Monroe]

“Ol’val,” Adelle said. “Minmin devus’av sci Valle prek Olys Corellisi.”

“Ihn iom, lia ven en lerha.” she said in a low voice in reply, taking a sip of her drink as one of Mig’s boys came up, fascinated by Phantom. Her gaze drifted up to where her Mother and Itzhal appeared, letting out a small sigh.

Her smuggling had more or less been set aside, the Empire needed more of her and she couldn’t give it while also doing her best to run under Itzhal’s radar, even if it did bring her a modicum of joy to stick her proverbial middle finger up at him. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, just that she hadn’t quite forgotten their first meeting and with his relationship with her mother?

Well, that just complicated matters.

Her mother’s voice snapped out in response to Vytal’s offer and Tessa winced, she should have seen that coming, but she met her gaze with a smile. “Debatable.” she muttered, before catching the sight of the sausages Adonis was almost done with and moved, grabbing a free dish for him to set them on and holding it for him.

“Not bad,” she said with a grin “I should’ve called you instead of Jonah for the help.”

Adelle Bastiel Aether Verd Vytal Noctura Adonis Angelis IV Mig Gred Sylor Itzhal Volkihar Kirae Orade

 

[Itzhal Volkihar]

| Location | Mandalore, Outer Rim Territories

Itzhal shook his head gently from side to side in genuine amusement, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. He strolled through the living quarters, his gaze drifting over the stained windows of the nearest cupboard, a faint silhouette of a weapon rack stored within—a few slugthrowers, if he remembered right, though admittedly his memory was a little hazy by that point. Certainly, they'd stopped keeping track of the score at some point. If anyone asked, though, he was confident he'd won. Probably. Really, who could say. Regardless, there were many more cardboard boxes lying on the coffee table and beside the kitchen, labelled with food and drink, that were almost certainly served to the lively group that had gathered on the back porch.

"Wise," he remarked, his voice low and teasing, as his gaze trailed over the crowd, toward the familiar shade of blonde hair glinting in the afternoon shade. It was a pity that he wasn't wearing his buy'ce; if he had been, he could have effortlessly eavesdropped on the conversation unfolding between Adelle and Tessa. Though, in hindsight, he was perhaps better off not knowing the details of their exchange.

It would be an exceptionally awkward night if he had to arrest Mia's daughter.

With an abundance of compelling reasons to divert his focus, if only for a single night, he looked away from the two figures. His blue eyes swept across the gathering, briefly lingering on the familiar presence of his Mand'alor, encased in the battle-worn armour that had served him well, even if one could hope it would be an unnecessary layer of defence for such an occasion. Considering just how far they were from Sundari, it wasn't an unfair precaution; the Monroe household was somewhat uncomfortably exposed. In contrast to the armoured form of their leader, the Warmaster of the Iron Wolves was a rare and striking sight, elegantly adorned in the flowing, red robes of her nightsister heritage.

Though he found the contrast intriguing, it was not the focal point of his attention. With a casual interjection into the ongoing conversation, he remarked, "I share Mrs Monroe's opinion on the matter; at the very least, it would almost certainly constitute a breach of the peace, and none of us are quite that desperate yet," he drawled, his tone languid yet insistent all the same. He chose not to dwell on the mechanical or moral implications of wielding spirits to control unruly children. "Come to think of it, it would be one of the most peculiar cases I've encountered, if you did."

Direct: Mia Monroe Vytal Noctura
Mentioned: Aether Verd Mig Gred Adelle Bastiel​