Private Home Once More

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Really?" She looked at him with an eyebrow raised way up, and a teasing smirk to match her smug look. "This temple is incredibly old, and you think these doors were designed to be like this?" she snickered and enjoyed calling him out for once. Of course, she expected a clever response in return, but she couldn't just not try to tease him for once.

Usually, she was on the receiving end of it, after all.

"If only you had a pair of beautiful Keshian eyes. You look cute in the dark." Valery grinned but as soon as his lightsaber ignited, her eyes had to suddenly adjust away from infrared, resulting in a short, soft grumble from her. The two then passed into the dark chamber, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it was huge, and had several long hallways extending away into dark depths.

"I feel like I'm thinking what you're thinking." She looked at him, as his lesson about familiars flashed into her mind.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It's a good thing I do have a pair to at least guide me."

He flashed a playful smirk as they continued to swim side by side, deeper into the darkness of the room. Then, he grinned wider and nodded. Without another word he closed his eyes and let himself focus on the crystal within his saber. It only took a moment before a blue glow formed, and all at once the small foxlike spirit came running out to swim through the water around them. It yawned a little before staring directly at Kahlil.

It's wet.

The voice echoed through his mind just as much as it did Valery's through their bond. He just chuckled and nodded. "We figured you might like a swim." Again it looked around, then nodded.

I can swim.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Just like you in the morning," Valery teased with a grin when his familiar yawned. Kahlil loved his morning coffee, while Valery was the type to just instantly get up if it wasn't a lazy day. But her teasing quickly stopped when she connected with her own crystal, and the fiery fox popped up to immediately pounce on top of his.

Paws wrapped around Kahlil's familiar's neck, and Valery's immediately began to nibble on his ear.

Wake up, sleepy!

"...heh." Valery smiled sheepishly as she looked at Kahlil, and cleared her throat. "Come on, don't bully your friend." She chuckled and the fiery fox climbed off with a grumble. Fine, she said before she swam around the other familiar.

"Can you two help us explore the Temple? It could be dangerous."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

I am awake.

They spoke calmly, but there was some underlying annoyance in their tone. And amusement. A weird mix to be certain. They fluffed themself up once they were released, nodding towards Valery.

We can help. We can be bright, too.

Then they lit up, a calm, bright blue. One that cast light over the darkness. Kahlil nodded.

"We appreciate it."

We know.

Then they swam off to lead the way, only pausing to glance back towards the red one.

Coming?

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

You are now, Harmony!

Valery blinked and looked at Kahlil for a moment. His familiar being called Harmony seemed appropriate, but she was already dreading to find out what her own familiar was called now. Maybe something cute, like Peace or Serenity? She smiled nervously all of a sudden, and watched the two foxes move through the water.

I can light up, too!

Like a bright flame, Chaos ignited to create a beautiful display of color alongide Harmony. A flame that burned even underwater, but likely because it wasn't a flame like those Valery would create. Valery meanwhile just smiled a little and watched Harmony swim off, only to stop.

Coming!

....

They turned around and smiled, I'm Chaos! They called out before swimming after Harmony to catch up. Valery's face turned bright red, and she quickly looked away, pretending to look in a different direction she could explore with Kahlil while their familiars explored something else.

"Shut up."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"So Vera wasn't the only one to inherit that from you."

There wasn't a reason to look, because Kahlil was practically oozing a teasing aura at this point. Chaos. It made sense. He swam along with the Familiars, but didn't look away from her. Oh no, he was going to savor this embarrassed expression. This was going to be something she wasn't going to ever hear the end of.

"Harmony and Chaos. Let's not keep them waiting, mm?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"So Vera wasn't the only one to inherit that from you."

Wow.

Valery had avoided eye contact out of embarrassment, but now slowly turned to him, eyes narrowed a little bit. He was loving this little detail about their familiars, and it showed in the way he looked at her. They swam after the much faster familiars, but he wasn't going to miss even a second of her blushing. "I'm afraid Aeryn will be even worse, too..." She chuckled softly because deep down, she knew that Chaos was a fitting name, and she understood Vera had the same energy she had as a kid.

She just couldn't make it too easy for Kahlil to tease her, so she downplayed it a lot whenever she could.

"You think we should go a different way? Cover more ground and let those two explore on their own?" If they found something, it did mean Valery and Kahlil would have to circle around, but this was a big temple with a lot of hallways.

...

"That way!" Chaos called out without waiting on the Nobles, before swimming into a junction with two other hallways splitting off. One was beautifully designed with gold inlays in the various patterns that covered the walls, floor and ceiling. The other...was dark and barren - uninviting.

Naturally, Chaos swam down the darker one and completely ignored the other. "I see a door with chains! Wanna open it, Harmony?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Well, at least we have experience handling it."

He had experience, anyway. The smug grin still refused to leave his face as he followed along after their familiars, letting the light of his saber reveal more and more of the temple as they went. They could split up. Their Familiars were probably the safest of the two groups, and they could still communicate much like Valery and Kahlil did through their bond so.. He nodded, pointing down a different path with a faint grin.

"Yeah. They could use the freedom."

...

"We don't need to open it. Our forms aren't solid." A sigh. Harmony drifted up slowly behind Chaos, glancing to and fro as they went just to make sure he saw everything. Took the time to do so at that. Every design, flaw, perfect sheen, he needed and wanted to observe it all.

He did pause outside the locked door, though.

"Locks are made to keep people out. Or something in. We should make sure we know which before we try to slip in, Chaos."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Experience handling it, huh?" She squinted a little more in response to that smug grin of his. "You make it sound like Vera and I are difficult to handle sometimes." She knew very well that she could be difficult, but now she was putting it on Kahlil to confirm or deny it. Not that he'd have any trouble teasing her about this, but she felt a need to try and keep him on his toes.

If he was mean, she'd totally make him sleep on the couch.

"I agree but wait..." Valery swam over and took his hand again before swimming along with him. "I like holding hands." She chuckled and together with Kahlil, swam down the path that was laced with golden decorations and wall art, depicting warriors in armor in various heroic stances.

What they found in the room ahead was similar in nature - at the very center was a huge statue of a male human warrior with long hair, an athletic body covered only by torn clothes, and in his hands he held a trident, while he stared up at a giant serpent that snaked around him.

On each side of the room were 3 other statues, making for 6 total in addition to the larger one. Each showed another warrior confronting a beast of their own.

"Huh, what do you think this could be all about?"

...

"Why are you being boring again?" Chaos asked with a sigh of their own, before trying to gnaw on the chains. They grumbled when nothing happened, and rapidly accelerated to swim circles around Harmony, all whilst trying to nudge them along.

"Come on! They asked if we could look, right?" Chaos grinned and swam over to the door, this time already putting a paw through. "Ohhhh~ So scary~" Chaos grinned and looked at Harmony once more before just going through entirely.

"You won't make me go alone, right?!" There was some giggling before Chaos suddenly went quiet - something that rarely happened. Because beyond the door, all they saw was a circular tunnel, with incredibly smooth walls of rock that ran much deeper than they had expected.

They saw no light at the end of this tunnel.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I imagine for other people, probably. But not for me. I'm just that good."

He smirked just a little before taking her hand and squeezing gently. Yeah, he loved swimming with her just the same as she did. Then, he blinked. And frowned. The statues didn't exactly fill his mind with joy looking at it. This could mean a couple of things, but the one that came to mind the most?

"They idolized saying monsters, clearly. Probably meant they're the type who enjoy fighting." Which meant warrior culture. Where'd they go, then? Why were they on a planet where there wasn't much for water? Now there were all kinds of questions that came to mind as he started to swim around the room.

...

"Not boring. Observing. It's important not to rush in."

Not that they had much time to observe at all. There was a huff sound before they followed after Chaos, shaking their head as the only protest they offered. The kind they knew Chaos wouldn't see. They continued to follow, deeper and deeper into the tunnel, frowning here and there as they looked to and fro. Always observing, always trying to take in more and more detail.

"It's weirdly empty."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"I only like to be difficult to you, and not to others. Just because I luv you~" she teased with a more loving grin. "And you can't handle me as well as you think. Next time we fight and I'm not in a dress, I'll get you." Was she using the dress as excuse anyway? Of course, and she looked at him with a matching, totally smug grin. Before the end of this week, she'd definitely be getting into another little fight with him.

"Mhmm, but where were all these monsters, or where did they go? You'd think this planet would still have signs of them if they were once here, right?" She asked before spotting something else - another stone tablet with text on it, but this one was written in a language unknown to either of them.

"You don't happen to have a rune for translating this, huh?" She waggled her eyebrows and teased with another smirk.

...

"Observating is boring!"

That was all Chaos had to say about Harmony's passive approach. Why observe from afar if you can just take a closer look instead? The little familiar grinned and continued to swim through the tunnel that was both weirdly smooth and weirdly empty at the same time.

"You think it leads anywhere?" They asked, now so far away from the door that they couldn't even see it anymore behind them. The water was getting colder around them, and through the Force, Chaos felt some shivers too.

"I think I see-" they paused squinting at what looked like an opening into a larger chamber, as the entire tunnel started to violently shake. "Earth quake?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"See? I knew you'd blame it on the dress."

He chuckled and shook his head before turning his gaze to the tablet as she motioned to it. Then, he just grinned and raised a hand up to trace out a different rune. "Actually, yes. It's something new, mostly because of the rune I have on my spine." He traced it out, and sure enough the Force would whisper the words in translation. Handy thing, that Force trick he had now.

...

"It's a chamber. For something."

Harmony tilted their head as they continued on, investigating the smoothness of the tunnel, of how cold it seemed to get. They weren't supposed to be able to feel cold. They squinted, especially as the room started to shake.

"Danger. We need to get back to the others."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Nooo, you won fair and square, babe." She leaned in to kiss his cheek and shot him a grin. He always had this edge over her through their bond, so even without the dress it would have likely ended the same way. But she was getting closer to winning, so maybe she just had to come up with some new tricks to beat him next time. Tricks that didn't involve kicking him below the belt.

Valery then blinked when Kahlil actually did have a rune to help translate the text, and even grumbled a little. Why could she never just tease him and actually make it work? But once the Force began to whisper the translation, she listened in and remained quiet.

In epochs past, when the galaxy's heart beat strong,
Warriors of valor rose to sing a daring song.
With courage as their compass, they embarked,
To tame the wild, where giant beasts embarked.

In this sacred hall, the statues stand tall,
Memorials of battles, when heroes answered the call.

Let this temple stand, an ode to their might,
The warriors who battled to make the dark bright.
May their spirits guide us, from dusk till dawn,
In our journeys forward, we stand as one.​

"Definitely sounds like a warrior culture, but now I wonder what happened to them, and what happened to these beasts they fought."

...

"It's a chamber. For something."

"No chit!" Chaos laughed but their joy was interrupted by the rumbling of the ground. Harmony urged them to head back to Valery and Kahlil, but Chaos was not yet convinced. The ground shook, but they saw nothing yet, so why leave?

"Be brave, we should look!" Chaos added before swimming fast towards the chamber. Only once they reached the entrance, they stopped and looked around - it was empty but the floor was covered in something strange.

"...is that skin? A lot of skin..."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Given this is a lake I doubt there's much if any sign of them. Sounds more like this world was once an ocean world." That was quite the change for an environment to go through. Ocean to vast, sprawling forests. He chuckled, rubbing at his chin with his free hand in thought. Maybe there was something else here, something they were missing. .. Or maybe that was just him overthinking it. Honestly, he wasn't too sure one way or another.

This was just a lifeless ruins after all.

...

"It's not that I'm not brave, I just think there's something in here with us."

Harmony groaned, but followed after Chaos none the less as they went deeper into the chamber. Skin. Yeah, that checked out. They looked around, frowned deeper. They certainly weren't alone here at all.

"There's something alive here."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Or just this part sank away into the lake," Valery theorized, but that was probably even less likely. It'd be very 'convenient' if exactly just this Temple had fallen into the waters. Sure, the lake was pretty big, but it was still only a lake. Valery then sighed and looked around some more, before noticing something that caused her to blink and rub the back of her neck.

Was she going insane?

"...was that door there when we entered?" Valery pointed at the golden doors that definitely hadn't been there when they stepped into the room. They were off the side, positioned between some of the statues depicting other ancient battles. Through the Force, they pulled at their bond, drawing them in.

"Should we?"

...

"Alive? Looks pretty dead to me," Chaos said while they studied the shed skin on the floor. That's what that meant, right? The beast must be dead. With a bright grin, Chaos swam over to harmony and nudged their side, "Why are you so nervous? This is fun and nothing can hurt us here!"

Then the ground shook some more, and far more violently. With each passing second, it seemed to get closer until...

Chaos slowly turned their head up, as they noticed some dust falling from the ceiling. Through a large gaping hole, the head of the beast was staring right at them. It had no idea what Chaos and Harmony were, but they were looking awfully tasty to the creature that had been locked away here for so long.

"Maybe we shouldn't have gone in here."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil raised a brow as he stared at the door. Well, that was never a good sign, seeing something that wasn't there to begin with. He let out a sigh before flashing Valery a grin anyway. If it was going to form from seemingly nothing, they might as well check it out. Odds were it was born of the Force anyway.

"Well, ladies first, right?"

He waggled his eyebrow teasingly as he opened the door for her.

...

"This is why it's important to take it slow and observe your surroundings, Chaos."

Harmony let out a real big sigh this time, shaking their head as they watched the snake rise up. A large, angry looking serpent. He hummed in thought, looking it over. Really looking it over. Studying every part, trying to learn everything they could about the creature. They weren't in danger yet, or maybe they were, but nothing got in the way of intellectual pursuit!

"It can't eat us, so we're fine I imagine."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

???

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Such a gentleman," Valery said with an eye-roll in response to the waggling of his eyebrows. But her amused grin disappeared when Kahlil held the door open, and all she could see was a swirling, green liquid. It looked more like a portal than it did a door, but the Force was drawing her in. So while she still held his hand, Valery swam through and pulled her husband along to wherever it'd take them. This was an adventure she wouldn't shy away from.

In an instant, the two found themselves within what appeared to be another Temple, but one made of crystal and stone, rather than marble and gold. Each crystal illuminated the chamber with a gentle green glow, and each one felt distinct in the Force. At the very back, located on a pedestal at the center, stood another statue.

This time, a warrior with a sword held in front of him, the tip inserted into the ground. The warrior displayed look like one of the other 6 statues they had seen in the lake Temple, but this time there was no beast.

"Where are we?" she asked, her eyes drifting back to the door... only to notice that it was no longer there.

...
"What would have changed if we went slow?! This is way more fun!"

Although, staring at the giant serpent did make even Chaos just a little scared, even though it probably couldn't eat them. It... really couldn't eat them, right?

"I don't like the way it's looking at us."

The Serpent, however, wasn't just going to sit there and stare at the two familiars. Its gigantic maw opened, and two jets of green liquid blasted towards them. Chaos screeched and evaded it to be safe, only to then watch the acidic venom boil the water and burn the ground underneath so rapidly that it left gaping holes everywhere.

"Oh no! We must warn the others!"

...

"Wait, where are they?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil let out a low whistle as he looked around the room. It was certainly different. And yet, somewhat the same? He rubbed at his chin, trying to figure out where exactly they were. A different place, a different time? Reality? The fact the door was gone just meant this was indeed something born of the Force. At least in his mind, anyway. He just chuckled and shook his head.

"No point in looking back. We'll have to keep going forward for now. Hopefully Chaos and Harmony will be fine."

...

"It's old. Hungry. Angry?"

Harmony hummed as they continued to study the creature. As the acid came, they seemed to just barely dodge it. Not because it was difficult, but because moving too much would just put the serpent out of their view. And they really needed to keep studying.

"They should already know what's going on. We're connected after all. .. Wait what do you mean they're gone?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

???

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Outfit: Epicanthix dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Hopefully Chaos and Harmony will be fine.

Valery blinked and thought about everything she had seen from the two familiars thus far. Harmony was calm, relaxed and able to think their way through situations. Chaos was... different. She really hoped they wouldn't panic and be able to figure out what was happening on their end of the portal without getting into too much trouble.

"This type of teleportation just... never gets easier." At least they weren't separated again like they were with the Aing-Tii moving them around through space. But now they were definitely away from home, and she didn't like that one bit.

"Maybe we can-"

"Come forward, travelers." The deep voice echoed through the hall, while the eyes of the statues began to glow green. There was no tension or hostility in the Force, but a welcoming aura that called them forward instead. "You must have many questions, so allow me to answer them."

...
"Wait what do you mean they're gone?"

"That they're not in the Temple anymore!!" Chaos yelled after rushing over to hide behind Harmony. Snakes were definitely not a favorite animal of Chaos, and this one was big. Very big. It was also now slithering its way out of the tunnel from the ceiling, and surprisingly, it was even bigger than it looked.

Slowly but surely, the chamber was filled up with the entirety of the snake, and Harmony would be able to notice something that Chaos was surely missing in all of their panic. The scales of the snake were covered in patterns, not too dissimilar from Kahlil's runes, but these patterns repeated like an uninterrupted chain with links.

Each time it seemed to attack or prepare an acidic burst, they glowed gold.

"Where do go?! It's coming!"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"For you, perhaps."

Teleportation was easy for him. He just chuckled, flashing her a knowing grin before letting his gaze move around the room again. And fall on the statue as it began to speak. He raised a brow right up at that, glancing from it back to his wife before staring down the figure itself. Interesting choice, sentient rock. Was it embodying a spirit? Was it actually a person? Who created it? All sorts of questions came to mind at the moment, but he kept them quiet for the time being.

They'd have time to talk, as the figure said.

"Mind explaining where we are, before anything else?"

...

Huh. So they were gone. Harmony turned their attention to the lack of sensation they felt. It was weird they were still manifested without the other two there with them. DId that mean they were more alive than initially thought? Or perhaps their lingering will was just on a timer? Then, the runes. Oh. Fascinating. And dangerous. The fact they flashed meant some pretty bad things for the two Familiars.

"We leave, through the tunnel. I think it can actually hurt us!"

Valery Noble