Private Jolly Grandpa [Kyra]

[Thurion Heavenshield]

City of Heavenheim
Midvinter

It was the morning after. The King's Hall remained filled with participants of the prior night's feast either fast asleep or only just now staggering outside to make their way home. Fortunately for said king, he rarely partook in the act of drinking and had instead made his way home by the time the party had wound down to spend the night in the comfort of his own bed. He'd woken up only a bit later than usual, had his breakfast, fed his cats, then went for his morning walk to watch the city come alive slowly but surely.

The weather had taken a turn for the better; it had stopped snowing, the skies were clear and the air crisp. He headed for the marketplace by the docks, the beating heart of the seaside capital where goods from all over the globe were being bartered for. The stalls were even more busy this day as there were plenty of offworlders in the form of the Silver Jedi getting to know the local customs, which of course provided the merchants with ample opportunity to briefly increase their sales.

Thurion found himself an elevated position overlooking the city square and the docks beyond. There he leaned against a snowcapped stone wall and listened to the cries of the seagulls circling the fresh catch of the morning being unloaded from the countless fishing vessels.

Down below, at one of the market stalls, he found none other than his own son in the middle of haggling for a new rug. At his side was Nida Heavenshield , her pink and purple especially distinct amongst the local townsfolk, doing her best to aid Thirdas' efforts. The King chuckled to himself and smiled, enjoying the sight of such an ordinary event.

It turned out he wasn't alone observing the couple, as a disapproving huff could be heard further along the same stone wall. He watched as Kyra Perl started fashioning a great big snowball, and Thurion quickly figured out her intent. Pushing off the stone wall, he walked over to the littlest Perl and calmly reached out just in time to grab hold of her arm as she prepared to let loose her projectile of white-powder death, catching her in the act.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he playfully shook his head and took up position next to the Zeltron girl to resume watching the couple below them go about their business.

"Did you sleep well, Kyra?" Based on the sour look on her face, he could tell she wasn't exactly happy about her sister's choice in boyfriend. "Not a fan, are we? You feel like telling me about it?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her close and rubbing to help keep her warm. "I won't tell Thirdas, you have my word."

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra looked up at the King, a wash of angry tears in her eyes as he caught her arm and pulled her in. For many it might be odd to break down before a stranger, and a king to boot, but Kyra did not know such boundaries. Care in any form was always eagerly accepted by the youngest Perl. Any attention was good attention! She showed no shame over being caught, her chin raising defiantly at his questioning.

"I hate him!" She declared, her chest heaving at the assertion. Clearly she had been brooding for some time. The force around the girl was thick with this, fear and jealousy ruling her thoughts with no sense of self-awareness. The longer he touched her, the more the sensation would grow against his mind, its influence as strong as her anger. It was a strange quirk for an empath.


"She can't move here with him-- she can't! It's too far! And too cold! And the Bryn are gonna cut it off, you can't let em-- order them to stop!" She whined, stomping her feet for good measure. She was sixteen, but often reverted to measures that worked. With five children on hand, a bit of whining nearly always got her way with her mother growing up. I mean how much trouble could a Perl get into, anyways? Just how bad could a yes be...

The snow ball fell apart through her fingers, the girl casting it a fleeting glance.

"She can't do iiiiiiiiit..." She whined, the word dragging through the air.


Thurion Heavenshield

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Even Thurion must admit, he did not expect such hailstorm of wild emotions from the young Jedi. Her speaking ill of his natural born son did not impact him, knowing these to be the juvenile thoughts of a girl who had yet to experience romance herself. She was speaking out of concern for her sister, something he could naught but respect.

He could sense the emotional build-up inside the girl. There was much unbridled fear and jealousy in her, something any aspiring Jedi should be wary of.

With a sweep of his arm he brushed away the snow from atop this section of the stone wall, and while Kyra whined he plucked her off the ground and sat her down atop the wall facing away from the marketplace below, placing the pair on equal height.

"Kyra, listen to me," he spoke with a more serious tone than she would've ever heard him use. "Let me put some of these fears of yours to rest. There's been no talk of Thirdas and Nida moving out here that I've been privy to. Only talk I've heard is them potentially getting a place of their own, but somewhere in Silver territory. Thirdas is a soldier in the Antarian Rangers and Nida is a Jedi in the Silver Jedi Order; they can't move here and still maintain their duties there."

He took her hand in his and smiled a little more.

"I understand you're afraid of losing your sister to some stranger, and a boy at that," he caressed her hand with his thumb. "I understand you love your sister very dearly, as you well should. But loving someone also means being able to let them go, to deny your own happiness in favour of theirs. Has Nida ever told you she does not enjoy Thirdas' company? If her is wish to stay with him, don't you think the loving thing to do is to leave them be?"

Thurion reached behind her to pull the fur hood over her head, to keep her pink ears warm. His eyes then fell upon her other arm, noting how she seemed to struggle merely using it. "Kyra, have you hurt your arm?"

Brows furrowed out of concern for the young lady's apparent injury, and he knelt down in the snow to get a closer look. "May I take a look?"

He paused and reached into his pocket to reveal another of Coci's homemade biscuits. "There's a cookie in it for you..."

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

His words did nothing to sooth her, her fears growing stronger the more they were brought to light. He couldn't know the deep pit they had crawled out of -- her deepest and darkest insecurities had been leveled upon the shoulders of his son and her sister. Don't leave her. But Nida would. All the siblings had. It all started with one small thing. Just a school. Just a trip. Just a boy.

I have to do this.
It's natural.
It's growing up.
You'll make friends too-- You'll find your place.

No- just- No!

Sobs fell from the girl as he sat her down, all her pent up pain bursting out of her and taking even her by surprise.

...Everything was a mess...

She didn't take the cookie, but she sat passively as he discovered the shattered arm in a sling. There was no movement in it. To those attuned to healing, they would sense entropy inside the detached ligaments below. This arm should be gone.

She wouldn't let go of it either.

"I- don't- care-" she hitched between her cries, unfeeling to the cold and the pain of the limb as she worked herself into hyperventilating. "I-don't-want-her-to. She-ha-has to stay wi-with me!"

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

She was getting worse. Borderline hysterical, like a panic attack. She started sobbing, hyperventilating.

But the King simply maintained focus on her arm, blocking out her whimpers. Even before she'd given her lackluster approval he'd begun to roll up her sleeve and removed the sling around her neck. All while keeping her arm level in the same exact position.

Without a word he leaned forward and opened his mouth to breathe up and down the length of her slender arm, sending warmth unto her tender skin. And then, very gently, he began to run his hands up and down her arm as if it massage that warmth into her body. No matter how hard he tried, it would most likely hurt at first.

Next, he started humming. A low, steady rumble not unlike that of the sigil of his house. All the while, he tapped into the Force, and through the palms of his hands he sent waves of healing energy; physical, as well as spiritual. She would soon feel its effects, soothing her senses and alleviating the pain and stiffness of her arm.

He kept humming, that same tune he'd first been sung to by his old mentor growing up. The same tune he'd used to put his children to bed every night. A tune he hoped would help put this poor child to rest as well.

Until eventually the song came to an end, and he carefully turned her arm over until her palm faced the skies, then back again.

"Tell me, child," he finally looked up into her face to find her cheeks wet with tears. "Do you feel better now?"

He reached up to wipe her cheeks using his large thumb. "No-one's going to leave you. Those you love will always be with you."

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra whimpered through her teeth, her face draining of color as he touched the mess. "Wha are you--"


He'd feel the bolts holding bone together. Countless nobs and swollen shards trying to find their way back to each other like a jigsaw puzzle. It was a cycle of surgeries and healing sessions that had her arm identifiable again. It was actions like his that kept the limb filled with life, regrowth encouraged within the bone itself. Under his work, a ligament uncoiled and found its notch-- the place on her forearm regrown by the aid of bacta and Celeste Rigel just two days prior.

Kyra's cries cut short as her little finger twitched, her lips parting. "..." Her gaze filled with intensity as she struggled to replicate it, the discomfort not mattering as it gave a subtle jerk again.

The force around her grew abruptly still, her anger dispelling in a puff of calm.

She took in a shaky breath, her shoulders slowly relaxing under the song and his energy.

"No-one's going to leave you. Those you love will always be with you."

​

"That's only true if they're dead," she declared softly, the statement random to the outside but sensical to her. She gave a soft sniffle, dragging her attention off the progress of her arm, to glance at the street below them.

The familiar purple head could be seen walking away, arm in arm with Jerkface as he toted a rug over his shoulder. For their new home together, no doubt.

Her shoulders fell further, a look of defeat entering the gaze that finally drifted back to the man before her.

"Howdidyoudothat," she grumped, attention shifting to her hand.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

A smile settled on his lips once more, greatly pleased with the results she already appeared to be showing by being able to move her fingers. She still had a lot of healing to go through, but hopefully he'd been able to kickstart it a bit.

He rolled her sleeve back down to keep her arm warm and hung it back in its sling around her neck, before then seating himself beside her atop the stone wall. "Now you keep that arm still like you have thus far, and keep doing what the doctors tell you, yes? You've still got a ways to go before it's restored to normal, and even then it may never be as strong as it used to."

Part of a doctor's job is to tell harsh truths, even to the little ones. It's important they understand the situation.

"I willed your broken bones back together with the Force, Kyra. I used a highly advanced form of healing, requiring great focus and mastery of the Force. But most of all," he put his arm around her as if to refer to her emotional state she experienced just now, "it requires a calm mind, a steadfast heart, and a gentle spirit. The Force knows your intentions before you do, and only when those intentions align with what you're wanting to make happen will it allow it."

He next slid off the wall and landed on his feet, offering his hand to the Zeltron girl. "Would you like to take a walk with me, Kyra?"

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stared numbly at the proffered hand, the sudden change in the mood and the great reduction of her pain leaving her whip lashed and even subdued. As much as she influenced the world around her, it influenced her back. His even temper reflected into the energy around her, the girl remaining calm as he spouted Force jumbo.

She sniffled once, the heat of her breath buffing out into the crisp air around her.

"I can't heal anything," she told him, putting her hand in his and jumping down. It bothered her how hard that task was now. You don't realize how much you use your arms for balance until you don't have them to reach out and keep you straight. An hour ago the jostling motion would have knocked the breath from her. Now she couldn't grimaced in discomfort, the change in her state like a breath of fresh air for her mind. She had been rejecting medicine for weeks now-- she didn't like the fuzz-- and so the bit of normalcy to the moment as she straightened out her cloak and walked besides him was... breathtaking to the young Perl.

Her hand snaked out, moving with surprising finesse as it tried to fish the cookie from the pocket of the king.

"I'm still not gonna like him," she declared, making it a point to make her constitution known. She looked up at him, brows furrowed. "Not unless you make him get a new jawline."

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"You're right, you can't," he concurred as she took his hand. "But your body will, given proper rest and patience." He supposed those two words were not very prominent in the young Perl's vocabulary.

He noticed her attempt at fishing the cookie out of his pocket, and he was more than happy to pull it out for her and pass it to her. "I'm glad you enjoy my wife's baking so," he grinned at the young lady.

Her comment about Thirdas' jawline made the older man chuckle as they started strolling together. "He does have a very sharp jaw, doesn't he," he giggled. "I'm afraid he's taken after his old man in that department. He'll have to cover it up with a beard of his own one day to keep from cutting people with it."

They followed the stone wall down past the marketplace, circling the outskirts of the busy plaza. Towering above all else in said town square were two bronze statues depicting two men in vivid detail. He stopped and turned to bow before them, lingered a bit, then took Kyra's hand again.

Leaving the marketplace behind, the crossed the wide cobbled street and stepped into the docks district. A group of kids brandishing wooden sticks and chasing each other ran past the pair, pretending to be great warriors of legend. Cries of seagulls filled the air as they circled the fishing boats unloading their cargo. A local toolmaker hammered away on his anvil to fashion a new set of fishing hooks.

"I like coming here," he told Kyra with eyes on the horizon. "Nobody bothers you here. Everyone is always too busy with their work to notice your presence." He glanced over at an open barrel of fish and wrinkled his nose. "Even though it does reek of fish," he spoke out of the corner of his mouth. Wouldn't want any of the fishermen to overhear his complaint.

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

He was too nice. Made it hard for the empath to be grumpy, which she really wanted to be right now! The girl was just beginning to recognize the influence of her abilities on her daily life. It was a step towards self-awareness that Caedyn Arenais had been working towards, but for her it dampened the otherwise positive shift of morning vibes.

This was very serious business, alright? Kyra wouldn't be bribed out of losing a sister.

She nibbled on the cookie, listening to the man as they explored the strangely scenic place. It was a stark contrast to Yurb. And Zeltros. And Silver Rest. It struck her that so many places go be so different. Like maybe it was possible to move somewhere and be entirely ignorant to the rest of the galaxy around you.

He spoke of hiding in a fish market, but her mind translated this world as a place to hide from it all. She wasn't sure if she liked that concept. It sure sounded comfortable to her though.

"Is Bryn really gonna attack you guys?" She asked, her voice growing tight with strain. She finished off the cookie and took his hand, the little zeltron warming up to the giant besides her.

Thurion Heavenshield

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Kyra's sudden question made the elder turn his head, at first surprised at the unexpected interested in the fate of his homeworld. Deciding to treat her as an adult in this matter, his expression turned serious, even grim. Quite the opposite from the jolly side of him he'd demonstrated thus far.

They didn't stop at the docks; frankly, Thurion could not find it in himself to tolerate the constant stench of dead fish. By following the water they would eventually end up in the oldest part of town. The very house the city of Heavenheim had sprung from.

"Are you frightened, Kyra?" A simple question, though he did not expect an immediate answer.

"Those boys we saw just now, waving their sticks around. Every man and woman on his planet started off just like them. As they grow up, wooden sticks become blunted swords, and then eventually sharp blades. Same goes for exercises and technique, maturing with them as they grow into adults."

Fittingly, the pair strolled by the mustering grounds where men and women practised daily with their sparring partner. More than often said sparring would turn into a full-on brawl until someone drew first blood, but that's par for the course.

"Every person in my culture, the Valkyri culture, is a born fighter. Not all are warriors by trade, but they all fight like warriors. And this world, this Midvinter... it's all they've ever known. This place is as sacred to us as any Jedi temple or artifact."

He stopped and turned to Kyra, leaning down to look her in the eye while placing a hand on her shoulder.

"These Bryn that concern you so," he told her. "If they are foolish enough to set foot on Midvinter, they will be met by the howling fury of winter itself. We will make them pay dearly for intruding upon these lands, and we will fight until the bitter end. That," he suddenly smiled and booped her on the nose with his fingertip, "is the only way to stand up to one's demons, my child."

He took her by the hand as they resumed their walk.

"The Elves of Averlorn have a name for this: they call it the Long Defeat. Knowing that there is little hope of victory, but you will keep on fighting until you are defeated. That you still cling to that small hope that you might yet turn the tide."

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Yes. She was frightened. The emotion tingled through their palms and up his arm, broadcasted clearly for him to receive. She didn't want him to face the Bryn. The creatures frightened her. They made her gut-churn and blood freeze over. Their very name left her feeling numb and paralyzed. This was a very serious matter. Didn't he see that?

She didn't want these people to die, not in a short defeat, long defeat, or any defeat!

"I think I'd rather you run and stay alive," she snuffed, her voice tight. I mean don't get her wrong. Midvinter falling would take care of one annoying problem... But it struck her then how silly such a prejudice was. Thirdas could feck Nida Heavenshield if it kept these people alive.

She sniffed back a runny nose and looked up at the strangely normal king. "You're nothing like I thought you'd be," she stated bluntly, her lips pursed up at him. She seemed to consider him for a moment, then offered confidently.

"We can share Silver Rest. There's space in my room. Alva Heavenshield could sleep with me."

She spoke as if the threat of Bryn was more than just a distant concern-- like the people here would have to leave and she herself had the autonomy of opening the jedi's doors. To her it made perfect sense, her musing churning into an assumed reality inside her vivid mind.

Thurion Heavenshield

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

The Perl child started listing ways his people could escape a possible invasion, as she saw it. Hastily put-together solutions, none of which were ever feasible; even if he could convince his people to abandon their native homeworld, if so much as one soul refused to leave he as their king would stay behind to defend them.

Nevertheless, her heartfelt wish to save Midvinter put tugged at his heartstrings. Kneeling down to her level once more, he took her small hands in his.

"I wish that were possible, little one. Not even I could convince these people to abandon their homes and watch them turn to ash. If Midvinter were to fall, our spirit and hearts couldn't bear the loss. Those born on this soil are connected to it; without the one, the other ceases to be."

He leaned down briefly and pressed her pink hands to his lips.

"Such grim thoughts should not have to trouble someone so young. That clever head of yours should be filled with wanting to pass your Jedi trials, discover romance, make new friends. Do not despair what you cannot change, Kyra. Each of us must live in the now, and act as events unfold."

Thurion gently put his arms around her and pulled her in for a fatherly embrace.

"Oh, my sweet child... No more of this talk of death and destruction. Today, let's just be happy to be sharing these moments together. Today will never come again."

After their hug, Thurion suddenly turned where he knelt, patting himself on the back. "Come on, up you go!"

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

"But..." Kyra protested, her small words lost to his gentle ones. He was speaking to her like a father, and it was a concept she highly unfamiliar with. Kyra was a padawan or a younger sister, and those were the only two roles she knew. Lately death and loss were are a constant for the order, but Kyra had been unable to see past herself and focus beyond Nida or her scrabbles with friends.

She was trying though. Her encounter with Yurb had greatly shaken her. A month ago would have simply agreed with him and let the thought of war slip from her mind. Today she fell quiet, her concerns churning uneasily inside of her. She did not let them fade, but she did let the topic drop. He went to his knee, encouraging her onto his back. At once a bout of excitement hit Kyra's stomach. She was at the age where piggy back rides and cookie distractions should be beyond her, but she was not ready to let them go. She tried for a moment, her frame small enough to lift. But it was his bulk that was the issue. That, and her lack of other hand. She fell butt first into the snow, huffing shock as he glove ripped off her hand as she slipped. It was apparent at once what the issue was.

Her expression faltered, the girl huffing senselessly on the ground. "I can't." She picked herself up, batting at snow as she came to disheartening realization.

"I'm too old." Though she didn't want to be. Imagine no cares but making friends and getting to classes? Where had that life gone? "I'm sixteen you know. Practically an adult." She didn't sound pleased. She glanced up, sizing him up.

"...How old are you?"

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

He could tell she was struggling to get on his back, and sure enough he felt her slip and heard an accompanying thump as she hit the ground. He turned to see that she was alright, but fortunately it had only been a short fall. The snow underneath her had dampened her fall.

"Sixteen years old," he sighed as he bent to pick up her glove and offer it back to her. That pivotal age when you think yourself invincible, capable of just about anything. Not realising you are still a child.

"I am almost 60, would you believe," he admitted while helping her put her glove back on. "Those of Valkyri blood age slower than most humanoids." In physical appearance, Thurion would only appear to be in his fourties with only a few grey hairs sprinkled about. It was not something he was proud of; his wife did not share his extended aging. Given time, he would be forced to outlast her, witness her decline.

He did not linger on the horrid thought for the sake of the Zeltron child, but instead cupped her cheeks to warm her face.

"Don't let anyone tell you that you are too old for something, Kyra. Be as childlike or adult as you like, always. All of us were children once; some, indeed most, choose to forget their inner child, bury it beneath some misguided belief that all situations call for the adult approach. Children however," he gave her curious look before suddenly diving down and wrapping his arms around her legs and hoisting her up to sit atop his shoulder just broad enough to fit her width.

"Children sees the world differently than adults do, and can sometimes see solutions adults can't," he resumed his lesson while spinning in place, laughing as he did, stopping before she had time to feel sick. "Innocence of mind and purity of heart. Powerful gifts granted from birth that ought not be squandered even as we grow up, don't you think?"

He would proceed to walk unhindered despite the added weight, with Kyra sitting on his right shoulder observing the world around her; the tallest Zeltron in the galaxy.

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra liked this man. This king of far-too-cold place and father of Jerk Face. He was nothing like either, both warm and kind and not dating her sister. He said the right things, things she didn’t even know she needed to hear. She had started this morning grumpy and aching. Now she sat ontop if the world, his joy mimicked in the light tinkle of her laugh.

“Well we can switch if you want. I can be queen and you can go back and pass me in detoxify class.” She held tight to him as they went, bobbing up in down with each of his steps. "Hey, can you actually do something about that?” She chirped, the idea coming to her on a dime.

“You use to run the place, right? Can you make Master Lex lay off. I didn’t mean to take his wallet, alright? I was hungry. And he totally does unfair lessons. I mean when am I ever going to eat deathly pickally, I mean really. ” She reached out, straining to swipe at a bread roll on a fresh cart they passed.

The youngest was always hungry and not particularly use to things not being meant for her. Understanding the concept of money was not the same as knowing the world didn’t owe you anything.

Kyra, unfortunate, thought it did.

She eagerly chomped into the stolen roll, crumbs getting into her hair as the baker gaped in nothing short of shock.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Another hearty chuckle escaped the older man as he strolled down the street with the pink girl on his shoulder, likely drawing strange looks from several of his kinsmen.

"Emphasis on used to. Though it would be quite the sight to see you on the throne, and an old man like me in padawan robes, would it not?" He didn't make mention of her apparent confession of having stolen credits, but it did not escape his noticing.

It wasn't until bread crumbs started falling before his eyes that he stopped to look up at what was going on. He turned around to find the poor baker looking flabbergasted, huffing and shouting at Kyra in the ancient tongue.

Whether Kyra liked it or not, Thurion walked up to the baker and put her down, hands on her shoulders and forcing her to face the injured party.

"Kyra, you might think a loaf of bread is not worth much, but on this world everything is handmade, with great toil and sweat. There are no automated factories to make things for us. This poor man likely spent all morning making these loafs of bread either for his family, or to be sold."

The baker calmed down in the presence of his king, and instead held out his hand towards the teenager. To make certain Kyra understood the gesture, Thurion leaned down to translate at her ear-level.

"He's not asking for the breadroll back. He's requesting a trade. You must give him something of equal value. Something he can use."

Currency were of no use on Midvinter. Gold and precious stones did not warm you in the long winter, or feed your family. Delivering shipments of firewood was a far more lucrative business than that of a goldsmith, for instance.

Kyra Perl ​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stood flabbergasted. She never did take well to being chastised, though in this case it was more like corrected. His gentle tone brought a wash of heat to her cheeks, his patience gaining a bashful look.

He knelt at her level, explaining the value of the soft bread dissolving inside her mouth. She blinked hard, the only part of her to belay her shock of such news. No money? No machines? He needed this to survive? In world of credit cards and tabs left open under her family name, Kyra didn't understand the dire need of resources. She looked back and forth between the hand and the king, honestly wondering if his explanation was a joke.

A trick?

She had a lot of older siblings, alright?

It quickly became apparent that this was no joke, the girl had found herself in a situation that was beyond strange. She begrudgingly patted herself down, struggling to find something of worth on her body. She didn't even have a saber. That too was lost at war. At last she settled on her gloves, the only thing on her that could come off and hold any value to his needs.

"But I didn't have to pay for the bread last night," she complained, referring to the feast as she handed the fur-lined gloves to the man. Nida had given them to her, her sister intimately familiar with the coldness of their destination. The brisk air kissed her finger tips. Kyra already regretted her oversight, a slight pout hitting her lips.

"...Sorry..." she told the baker, her chin falling down.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

The red-faced baker had a chance to calm down further as the small girl began to check her pockets for anything of value. As the tiny leather gloves were placed in the palm of his outstretched hand, the look on the pink one's face told him that this was indeed an item she valued greatly. The burly man looked to his king kneeling beside her, then glanced down at the gloves and sighed, his hand bobbing up and down for moment as if he was checking their weight.

"Too small," he relented in what little Basic he knew, handing the pair of gloves back to the girl. Perhaps he thought the trade not worth it in the end, perhaps he couldn't think of a use for such tiny gloves, or perhaps he simply took pity on the little one. Perhaps all three. In either case, the baker did not walk away with the fur-lined gloves in his possession, and even let Kyra keep her bread.

"Now it's no longer stolen goods," Thurion smiled, hand patting her on the back, "but rather a gift." He helped her put her leather gloves back on.

Satisfied with the results of that small lesson, he stood and led her onwards, his large hand on her shoulder as she was allowed to resume nomming on her treat. "I want you to know I'm very proud of you, Kyra. You did the right thing and was rewarded for it."

Turning the corner, the pair left the busy main streets behind and entered a residential district far more quiet and peaceful. Already the soft cries of two little felines could be heard, sitting on his porch asking to be let inside. "Bib-by! Bub-by!" he called out, prompting both Corellian housecats to suddenly turn their heads and rush towards their daddy as he and Kyra approached his humble abode.

Thurion knelt down as the pair of kitties pounced him, stroking their backs and scratching them behind the ears. "Kyra, meet Bib and his brother Bub." Picking one of them off the ground, he handed it over to Kyra. "This one is Bib." The cat's green eyes went wide as it took in the sight of a new person up close, but would soon start purring once Kyra got brave enough to pet it.

While she busied herself with the pair of felines, Thurion walked over to open the fence gate giving off its familiar creak. "I keep forgetting to grease that lousy..." he absent-mindedly let slip as the squeeking sound reminded him. "Anyway, welcome to my humble home, Kyra."

As they stepped inside the Heavenshield plot with cats in tow they were greeted by his wife's lush and beautiful garden containing flowers and bushes both local and imported, which somewhat hilariously made their small plot one of the most exotic places on the planet. A cobbled pathway led from the gate towards the wooden porch of the two-story villa, and as they approached the front door the two felines nuzzled up against it, eager to be let inside for more food.

"You would think," he said as he retrieved the house key from his pocket and unlocked the door, "that these furry friends of ours would learn how to enter through the open window around the back after having learned to use it for an exit."

Pulling the door open, the pair immediately rushed inside to fight over the bowl of food.

"Though I suppose they're not a fan of the backyard, it being mostly water," he added as he welcomed Kyra into his home. If one were to walk through the house and come out the other end, the porch would turn into a bridge jutting out over the calm waters. A good spot for late night fishing in the summertime.

Helping Kyra with her furs, he then kicked off his pair of boots and let them fall wherever they may, insinuating she was free to do the same. As was custom in Valkyri homes, the floor was all covered in fur. One, it helped insulate the house against the cold, and two, it kept you from running the risk of getting splinters from the wooden boards underneath.

"Please, make yourself at home. I'll get a fire going."

Kyra Perl ​