Kark you, Gabe.

[Aver Brand]

Katarn Homesteadhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/73155-katarn-homestead/
Just after their escape from Komodanhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/115719-a-steelbridge-to-nowhere/

May or may not have nodded off during the hyperspace jump – force of habit, a busted body – didn’t matter. As the shuttle touched down in a great billow of sand, Aver jerked back to awareness… and was immediately rewarded with a pummeling headache.

Felt like she’d been hit by a speeder. Except that the speeder then turned around and ran her over a couple times, right before the driver got out and gave her a swift kick to the ribs for good measure.

The merc groaned, not so much standing as propping herself up against the wall. Her body might’ve repaired most of the damage, but it did kark all to alleviate the fatigue weighing her limbs.

“Captain Vyrgg?” The pilot’s voice filtered through the comm as he killed the engine – Aver had just enough time to flip the overlay back on. A moment later, Daegon burst into the hangar, and stopped dead.

“Yeah it’s bad,” she grunted, blinking away the weariness seeping into her bones. As he continued to stand there, Aver strode over to gather the motionless Marshal into her arms.

“Where are we?” the merc asked as she half-stumbled down the ramp. This finally shook the pilot back into movement. He caught up to the woman just as she reached the door.

“Best healer I know. [member="Avalore Eden"].” He gave a hard rap on the wood, calling out for the Jedi.

Aver nearly dropped Gabriel right then and there.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Children ran through the snow, small footprints left in the brilliant white. An avalanche of snow descended from an arched rooftop of slate, brought to this fall by the mildest of winds. A wind that died now, reduced from a great howl to the meekest of whispers, beneath a gently warming sun.

Smoke rose from the brick of a wide chimney, filling the air with the smell of burning wood and freshly charred meat. The children, a pair of boys, dug trenches so deep around the house in pursuit of one another, that it might serve as moat when the thaw came.

He always promised himself that he would never forget her face. How it began, how it ended, how he cherished it for the time they spent together. A life born of misfortune, a feminine feature that grew from youth to adulthood to marriage - supporting in the times when his mother abandoned him, his father abused him, and his family refused to accept him as one of their own. But now, as the memory moved forward and decayed, there was only a blurry haze that formed the shroud of her image.

The world became something different, bleached contours shifting to jagged monuments of pitch and obsidian. No sun, only the overhang of fire, as if the stars had descended from the sky to be captured by an invisible safety net overhead. There was no more innocent laughing, only the booming sound of cackling that cut across the landscape. A monstrous hand extended from the depths of space. In its palm, the spinning world of Arkania. From each finger tip, a great figure engulfed by flames, flickering shadows cascading across the planet and threatening to consume it.

He shook in Ygdris’ arms as she moved, sweat dripping down the length of his face. His breath was forced yet shallow and labored. Beneath the armor, where the spear remained, veins of black stretched out towards his chest and down his arms.

The bacta had done a good job of preventing further blood loss. But the wound remained, encumbered by broken ribs and a spiritual infliction that resonated from the gold of the spear.

In truth, he had felt the plunge of the bacta and had even considered opening his eyes, baring his teeth and saying something in reference to kark and Ygdris. But exhaustion was far more persuasive, claiming and retaining his attention. Even as they moved to meet someone who wouldn't be particularly happy to see him like this.

[member="Avalore Eden"] | [member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Master Eden!" Bam, bam, bam went Daegon's fist on the door, "Master Eden it's an emergency!"

From within the muffled sound of squeaking. Rhythmic, like footsteps. The door opened and a metallic face greeted the man, "Good evening, Sir. You were loudly hollering for someone?"

"That's right, we need Master Eden, pronto. These two here are in bad shape," the pilot hiked a thumb over his shoulder.

With a whirr of gears the droid turned to look at the giant armored woman with the bloody pulp that was Marshall Sionoma withering in her arms, "Mister Sionoma, you are looking well."

"The Master, is she home?" Daegon interrupted hastily, "Master Eden?! Master Eden it's Daegon from the Alliance Strike Fleet! I need your help!"

"I beg your pardon Sir but the Master is-"

"MASTER EDEN!" Daegon shoved past the droid into the homestead, "Master-"

"I'm here!" a figure hurried down a set of stairs just at the end of the hall, a middle-aged woman who no one would have guessed to be the Chief Healer of the Circle of Healers by wardrobe alone. Her sweater, sweat pants, bare feet, tousled hair bun and glasses suggested someone who very likely had been up in her study, hitting the books after a long day at work. "I'm here, I'm so sorry, I only just got the notice that someone was heading this way. They didn't give me any details-"

"It's the Marshall," Daegon said and stepped aside to let her see, "both of them really. Don't know how this other's even standing, let alone carrying him."


"GABRIEL. YANCEY. SIONOMA. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE."


A pause as Avalore stared at the Merc and her charge, jaw dropped in a mixture of horror and outrage. He was bleeding. Everywhere.

"I didn't know his middle name was Yancey," Dick said from the door.

"Dick take them to the Infirmery, right away, I have to go change."

"As you say, Master Eden. This way."

Squeaksqueaksqueaksqueaksqueak.

 

[Aver Brand]

Avalore Eden. Hal Terrano. Avalore karking Eden.

Aver barely registered when the droid opened the door – probably for the better, because the merc wasn’t going to stay standing much longer. The odd name she’d never heard in reference to the man rang in her ears.

“Heh. Yancey. Heheh.”

It was a desperate sort of chuckle. Swaying on her feet, the woman braced herself against the doorframe with a throbbing side of fractured ribs. Sniffled.

In a display of expert evasion, Aver avoided looking at the Jedi master as she stumbled after the protocol droid. Snrk. Dick. Her shoulders shook with delayed amusement, mind still swimming from the limited oxygen intake. Couldn’t rightly breathe with an armful of muscle and armor and so many broken things you’d rather not begin counting.

The steady squaksquaksqueak became the rhythm to which she paced her stride. One step at a time – one boot in front of the other. They passed through several rooms, but if asked, Aver could only remember the weight of the body in her arms.

“Here, please.”

A distant metallic voice. The merc gave an absent nod, and deposited Gabriel on a spacious operating table. Immediately after, she deposited herself against a wall, closed her eyes, and slid down to the floor.

She… needed a minute.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

The planet shook, like one of many marbles bouncing about in a loosely clutched hand. The snow was long gone now, transitioned abruptly to something sinister and gothic and eldritch for those who knew something different. For Gabe, he held the illusion of normality upon his hill of earth and brick. But that was before the landscape changed, before his view changed and suddenly this met his subconscious expectations.

Trees, admittedly sparse in a world of snow and rock, broke free from their earthen crags before shooting up into the sky. Monstrous snags, absent life or leaf, twisted about themselves and trees nearby, like gangling fingers stretching across the sky to interlace. The ground rumbled, shaking and cracking, as the crust was heaved upward. The catalyst - a great monument, as wide as the horizon and twice as tall. Constructed of black glass, a fire burned within the interior with a size that would put star dreadnoughts to shame.

Those same snags whistled as harsh winds pushed through the gnarled grey branches, pods dropping from the limbs to erupt violently against the cracked ground. From the primordial sticky goo that splashed about, living beings crawled their way forth. No two looking the same, eyes of flame and ember breathed out with blinking pupils that looked up towards the sky. Towards the fire burning within and with mechanical and lumberous movement, they slogged their way towards the monolith.

A loud baritone voice echoed across the planet, vibrating buildings and the air, forming vibrant curtains in the sky like audible northern lights. Violets and reds, given birth from an unknown origin. And like corn kernels bursting open beneath intense heat, each being that had dropped from the desolate trees turned wide open maws towards the sky. And joined in the deep symphony. He felt the desire to join.

He hit the table gingerly but it didn't stop a stubborn body, absent consciousness, from half rolling as a hand moved for the spear shaft. A grunt escaped his tightly sealed lips, swallowed beneath the sound of heavy breaths. Heart rate erratic, a persistent fever, and an abundance of sweat all currently defined him.

As his hand dropped back to the metal table, his eyelids fluttered, revealing burned copper where hazel pools once existed.

[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Avalore Eden"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.

Gentle sounds of small, bare feet across tile floor. A wisp of movement, a quiet breath. A pause.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

Minuscule warmth near Aver's side, the sound of a plastic jug gently setting on the floor by her thigh. Should she look? The diminutive form of a young girl no older than 12 summers stood near, the blaze of her orange eyes watching the feverish man on the bed with equal parts curiosity and worry. A large, unopened jug of water sat at Aver's left.

"Uncle Gabe?"

"Emmer'eli Phe, what have I told you about coming in here bare-footed," swifter footsteps of worn leather shoes, the swish of robes. Avalore returned, hastening into the hall with a hawkish look about her, "go put your shoes and smock on, I need your help. Did you bring the water like I asked?"

"Yes mum, it's there."

"Good girl, go on now. Quickly. Gloves and mask too," Avalore pulled on surgical gloves as she spoke, glancing shortly down to Aver with a harried sigh, "I don't have other Healers with me to help, if you're in pain or need immediate assistance speak up-" she moved to Gabe's side as she spoke with zero indication in her tone that she recognized the armored woman at all.

A quick glance over the man's body was all she needed, the Healer moved instinctively to a nearby glass cabinet and pulled out several pieces of equipment, many of which curiously not tech ... but wood. One of these pieces she placed beneath the Marshall's head as a support, another two were placed at either side of his torso. As the man twitched and seized through his visions she moved to secure his limbs to the operating table.

"Mum?" the little girl was back in pint-sized Medical garb, round eyes peering out from behind safety glasses.

"Gloves, Emme, gloves."

Little girl jumped into movement, hurrying to a supply closet and pulling on a pair of gloves. They were too big for her hands but she pulled them back and fastened the excess out of the way with rubber bands.

"Good, come, get your stool,"

A wooden standing bench was pulled from a corner to the bed, Emme stepped up at her Uncle's side.

"Take these, you know where they go," Avalore handed over diode attachments and linked them up to the monitors. Gabe's heartrate was skyrocketing.

"Mum why is he shaking?"

"Because he's dying."

...

"Don't cry, stay focused."

"You're gonna save him."

Avalore didn't miss a beat. She nodded at her daughter and pulled a silver chain bearing a single ring from around her neck, handing it across the bed to her, "Hold this in his hand and hold it tight, don't you let go of him Emme."

A deep breath, brow tight, the Healer placed a hand on the man's chest over his heart and one on his forehead, "Don't you dare let go."

Emme clutched the ring in her Uncle's hand, curling his fingers around it with both of her own and closed her eyes to what she saw coming. The room filled with a white light, blinding and intense - the purest form of the Lightside any Jedi Master could ever hope to produce. Avalore closed her eyes and turned it inwards on the man and the rot that plagued his body.

 

[Aver Brand]

Something small and unknown drifted by. Aver tried to open her eyes, really, but everything was slow and heavy and the dark was so comforting. Her head sank forward, chin hitting the chestplate with a soft clink.

Yeah, she could fall asleep like this. Karking child’s play.

“Mum?”

Blue eyes flew open like someone’d jabbed a knife beneath her ribs. Breath drawn tight, all clogged up in her throat. Like today couldn’t get any karking worse.

Carefully pretending like she was still out cold (not far from the truth), Aver observed the whirl of commotion around her. She ignored the kid. She focused on the Jedi. And the Marhsal. A beat – remembering earlier, she glanced down at her side.

Well, everything was already gone down the shetter anyways.

Aver unclipped her helmet with a wince – shoulder still ached like a queen – and downed the cup. River in a desert. She leaned her head back against the wall and expelled a long sigh.

And then it hit.

A goddamn freight train to the gut.

Lucky she hadn’t eaten whole day, or Aver’d have left her lunch on the floor right then and there. Gnashing her teeth, the merc keeled over. The blinding rays of white faded out behind her eyelids, and she breathed out in tight relief.

Kark, that burned.

She let out a broken chuckle. Dragged herself back up. “Don’t reckon that’s gonna help much long as you keep the spear in.” Aver sniffled, licking her dry lips. “It’s corrupting him.”

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

​His body shook beneath the power of the healer. A friend, a relative, a loved one. If only he could have known what was happening, that catalyzed his movements towards recovery. The shining bright white light was blinding, but not everlasting. The spear, however, was.

​The baritone of the voices sprung to life something that was otherwise dead. A feeling, deep in his chest, of something that was bigger than him or his family or the world around him. A great purpose was born, dwelling in the breasts of the newly born, as they belched in cacophony towards the fire lit sky. What that purpose was, he wasn't sure, but he knew deep in his heart that it was something worth pursuing.

​A light cracked open the sky, a beam of pure white, that cut through fire and flames alike. He caught the shimmer of it's image in the reflection of the wide obelisk but for all its power, he couldn't feel the persuasion of it. Instead, he moved down from his hill of brick and snow, descending into a forest of gnarled trees and the dead. Moving into the wandering groves, he assimilated into the moaning waves of the misguided as they stepped towards the monolith.

​As they approached the structure, it seemed to breath and grow and take over the very sky. Black on black, glass in the matte of a dead sky. The doors opened with glass panels that ground to dust with a twist, disintegrating into piles of debris that were brushed aside with a single gust of wind. Scores filled the maze of the catacombs as they wondered through, the dead and living alike, as they ushered forward in silence.

​Within the heart of the eldritch feature, the fire burned bright but without any heat. Within the heart, a massive womb that would give life to something that seemed entirely inviting and calamitous. Before him, he came to a full stop and viewed an entire world within the confines of the pyramid. As far as the eye could see, shallow graves and perfects squares - the sod removed and placed neatly next to each unmarked grave. And those recently born moved forward, climbing into their respective death seats. Like water running through gravel, the blackened flow of death moved forward, absent his presence.

​He looked down, his hand clenched without knowing why...

​He shook beneath the forced rapture, Emme's hand wrapped around his beneath the veil of light. Letting out a gasp, he rejected the notions of light for the grip of something that remained ever a part of him.

​[member="Avalore Eden"] | [member="Aver Brand"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

She felt brief moments of intervention, similar to all the other cases she'd treated previous to this. Like the sun breaking through clouds of smog and putrid essence; a sweeping gust of fresh air through a haze of corruption. Avalore knew what it felt like because she'd undergone this very procedure herself by other much more wisened, qualified and experienced Healers when she was much younger.

But then the clouds began to recover and thicken, the open pathways of purification clogging up with dark mire.

Avalore felt herself being pushed back out. Forcibly.

There was a beat of her heart, a skip in the rhythm, where for a single moment she saw Hal hunched over in front of her, the Mark of Darkness sneering back at her attempts to purify it. That split second before the power rebounded on her and spit fire into her fingertips.

"Mum," Emme's voice over the rising tone of the diagnostics monitor, she was carefully watching her mother whose face had gone pale and sweat beaded between deeply furrowed brows. The light in the room was dying down.

Movement at the end of the bed. Aver stood.

“Don’t reckon that’s gonna help much long as you keep the spear in. It’s corrupting him.”

The Healer persisted, setting her presence within him alight, a sun that refused to be hidden.

She'd come too far over the years, healed too many others, lost too many patients, too many loved ones, and brought this man back from the brink of death too many times to lose him now. The consequences of his death were not something she would even consider.

"Mum!" Emme was frightened, her tone edging on desperate while she clung to her Uncle's hand.

Focus.

The Healer's voice was in the room and in their minds. She took another deep breath and without opening her eyes slowly moved the hand at the man's forehead to the spear protruding from his shoulder. It burned within her grip on contact, seething like an angry miasma. She felt its effects almost immediately but denied them purchase by emboldening her own aura. Her grip tightened around it, her mind honed in on the wound while her other hand braced against the armor. With a single swift movement made with stubborn purpose and aided by the Force the Healer removed what piece of this heinous weapon remained within the man's shoulder.

She immediately dropped it to the floor to reassert herself in this battle against the corruptible essence within him. With every foothold the Healer could make she planted herself firmly, resolutely, seeking out the man within the mire so she could bring him home. Only then could she hope to heal him physically.

 

[Aver Brand]

Aver continued to ignore the child.

She couldn’t ignore the black network of veins spreading out from Gabriel’s wound, however. After the electrum spear clattered to the ground, smeared with his blood, the extent of corruption truly came to light.

Heh.

Had to keep her humor even when the world was looking grim. To her left, a kid of unknown origin. To her right, the love of a man she’d once broken into little pieces and then sloppily glued back together when she got bored. Front and center, a man who had no business existing but was here anyway, tilting her understanding of life off-axis.

Ygdris Val wasn’t particularly fond of being wrong.

Really, ever since she’d uttered those stupid three words, chaos erupted across all fronts. Why the kark’d she bothered? It wasn’t worth this mess – and yet she was standing here, looking down at Gabriel and wondering, of all the things, whether or not to help him.

Her spine burned, and her lips twisted into a scowl. Why not put him out of his misery? It’d be faster, easier, simpler. Rev would welcome her home with a smile.

And these people?

I owe you nothing, Aver thought with a set jaw as her gaze drifted to the Jedi.

Idle fancy – pulling a blaster, putting a hole between his eyes.

Guns are easy, this is not.

Blue eyes closed. Oh, it was simple, alright. And true, what she’d said before she fled from his workshop like a karking coward – she could not kill a man that lived inside her.

And she could not bear to see him die, either.

Aver never moved from the foot of the bed. Honestly, her body needed the support. But her mind was keen, and what she lacked in barriers, Ygdris made up with sheer karking determination.

Reaching down, all the way to the base of her spine, Aver wrapped her presence around the sliver of him— them. As if wielding a scalpel, she separated the black and the red, sinking in until she found the faint core of bright gray.

When the jaws of the earth were closing around them, he lent her his strength – as she brought him to her surface, Aver returned the favor.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

​A hard gasp escaped his lips as the spear was extracted, breaking apart any clotting that might have occurred along transit. Teeth bared as his free hand gripped the table, evidence of pain that coursed across the entirety of his body.

​The flood invariably ends, the storms crawl back into the chasm that gave them life, the surge recedes to reveal damaged and eroded shores. Great mountains of snow thaw and winds all die. Balance, despite the mantra of so many, was inherently the way of the universe. Nothing naturally wanted disarray, not when it could have something resembling peace. Gabe understood this, bronze eyes looking towards the obsidian innards of a place he couldn't understand. But everything went against it...

​The people continued in, ant trails by the millions, marching across the world like chains that threatened to suffocate the globe. All funneling into regenerating graves, stepping in and dragging swollen clod over the tops of their ending. Only for them to be swallowed, replaced by another hole, and filled once more. But as they continued, a table of stone grew towards the deepest pits of the fire. And on it, clothed figures chiseled out holes. It was hard to see so Gabe moved closer, stepping up a flight of stairs that formed from simple desire.

​Several holes were being constructed, the crafters burning in the fire only to be replaced by another. Sitting upon the ashes of the laborers that preceded them, they would soon turn all the same. Each hole was incremental, starting small and ending in something that could fit a gargantuan figure. At their base, miniature obelisks grew erect from the stone slab, etched in designs that he couldn't make out. But they felt familiar.

​When it was all said and done, individuals moved from the flood to approach custom crafted grave sites. A tall figure of black hair, a raven haired woman next to him. One of fire and gold skin, a much shorter woman with metal arms, and...

​Scars, tribal tattoos, black and gray hair...He held out a hand, throat dry and voice hoarse, as he tried to do something. But they each stepped into their holes, fire consuming them, as a blinding white light erupted from the center. He tried to run forward, do something to stop whatever was happening, but he felt the warm grip of something on his wrist. Turning to look, it was a particular set of scarred fingers that wrapped around his arm. And a voice, his own but different, that anchored him to a distant place - far removed from this monument of death and sacrifice.

​His breath was labored and harsh, but it began to slow. The blue veins of necrosis withdrew from his neck and skin exposed beneath the armor. Eyes fluttering in the fleeing sense of a seizure, the blood and copper seeped from his pupils like sublimating metal. Not conscious, his vision shifted to black, as he passed into a dreamless sleep.

​[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Avalore Eden"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

The feat of employing Force Light for any extended amount of time was exceptionally exhausting. Where, on any normal day, Avalore would have had a handful of Healer Aides to relieve her once the man was stabilized - today she was not so lucky. Yet despite her overwhelming fatigue she soldiered on and set about implementing her newer knowledge as a practicing Doctor and Surgeon to begin to piece him back together. The woman spoke only when directing her daughter to fetch supplies and materials; to help her pare away the layers of broken armor and blood-soaked clothing; to stand in as her Surgeon's aide while she worked to stem the bleeding and seal up the major wounds.

Her final order for the girl, hours later while she wound the last bit of gauze over the bacta patches covering his wounds; was to get the bacta-tank ready. Gabe would likely need to soak for several days given the spread of internal damage she hadn't the energy to heal herself, but for now he needed a fresh supply of blood and time for rest. She left him covered in medical diodes, hooked up to the blood transfuser, covered in damn near the last of her supply of bacta poultices. It was amazing how quickly the supplies ran low when raising four children - three of which young and rowdy boys.

She stripped herself of her bloodied smock and gloves and stood at the sink after rinsing her face with cold water. Weary and careworn, the Healer rubbed at her neck with a heavy sigh.

"Mum," her daughter returned, voice low, "can I stay?"
"No, Kitten, you need to go eat dinner and get to bed."
"But Uncle Gabe-"
"Needs to rest. He'll be in here for a while, you can come see him tomorrow after school. Go on."

Quiet steps sounded as her daughter left the room. Avalore brushed her hair from her face before turning to check on the woman that had brought her mutilated best friend in. When she found her she was momentarily taken aback by her size and the gleam of her armor despite the layers of dirt, blood, and who-knew-what-else coating the metal.

"Thank you," she said, brow furrowing as her voice broke. The Healer gently cleared her throat, "for bringing Gabe home. Is there anything I can do for you Miss...?"

 

[Aver Brand]

With the corruption banished from Gabriel, there wasn’t anything else she could do. Aver’s medical knowledge was limited to all the ways one could abuse a body – not so much how to repair one.

Besides. Even if she knew how, there wasn’t an iota of energy left to give. The hours passed by in a red blur for the merc. Not asleep, but not quite awake either. If anything happened, Aver knew with a bone-deep certainty that she wouldn’t be able to lift so much as a finger.

Suppose there were upsides to seeking refuge in peaceful territory.

Blue eyes only cracked open when the white noise of frantic surgery came to an abrupt end. Silence. Steps, then, coming nearer.

Aver sighed, forcing herself to meet a weary brown gaze.

Her lips twitched into a tired attempt at a smile. “If you lot have a shower…” she trailed off, gesturing to her dirt-caked armor.

Shoulder still twinged as she raised her arm to knock the markings on her pauldron. Or what appeared to be the markings on her pauldron, at any rate. “Captain Vyrgg. Just doin’ my job, ma’am.”

What a fat load of lies.

Except the thing about the shower. Dear kark did she crave that shower.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

The Healer couldn't help the curious glance over the armor after having those moments to take in the woman's face. Captain Vyrgg. Strange name but certainly not the strangest she'd ever heard. A nod, then, to the name and title. No questions, no suspicions. Avalore had no reason to believe that anyone working with Gabe was someone to mistrust. He would never allow dangerous people into the home of his family - his exiling of Chevu was enough proof of that.

"Well, Captain, I think we can accommodate you with a guest room if you're not too badly beaten up. This way."

She lead the woman back through the house proper, her own steps unhurried for the fatigue of a lengthy surgery, "You know you bear a striking resemblance to a Mercenary," this wasn't an awkward lead-in for Aver at all, "Hazel Scheler. Ever heard of her? She works out of Alliance space fairly regularly. Ran a few jobs for the Circle of Healers. If I didn't know any better I'd say you two were sisters."

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

He looked up towards the splotched pattern of patchwork that so often defined the lower forest ceiling. The subtle shine of the sun cut through serrated and feathery leaves, painting his face in a motley of tones. Dark and light, air stagnant yet tempered with the slightest breeze. A blessing, ever treating the beads of sweat that lined his cheeks.

The adventure into the Ankarres apiary was one he took often, constantly encumbered with a sense of glee. I will get lost today, he thought to himself as he laced up the leather of his shoes. I will walk so far into the woods that I will be lost and then, I will find my way home. But it was hard to get lost when he knew every step of these woods. He knew every croak that belched from a frog, every chirp that sounded from the sparrow that outpaced the hawk, every squeak from the mouse that scurried from the owl, and every groan of the snag that constantly threatened to fall over.

He knew this world. As much as he knew himself, he knew this place and the words of its wisdom. So he was never lost, even with the branches blotted out the sun. Because he could always sense where home was, off in the distance but forever close.

He had tried, multiple times, to get Destin to come with him. More for the melancholy, more for the desire to linger by the home and research cryptic subjects on the holonet, Maud couldn’t understand it. Gabe had told him that there was a universe to experience in every world, it just simply required searching. So Maud searched: caves, forests, dessicated gulches, bustling townships, and illegal safaris. And where his searching had taken him today was perhaps his favorite. An open field of sunburst wildflowers. Pistils of faded crimson, petals that mocked the sun, and a stigma that sprouted wings of violet. He promised he would collect some for his mother, even if she had no need for it. Her life was filled with utility, things that could heal or help with the circle or help with the homestead. But Maud found a certain beauty in things that had no immediate purpose. They just...were.

Grabbing one and then another, it wasn’t long before he had a bunch. In one hand, he gripped them as soft as a lover’s hand, and turned in the direction of the homestead. With a swift run, shielding the petals for the fear of losing them, he found his way back to the house as he knew he would. Turning into the silence of the homestead, he padded inward, relieved of his shoes and quickly barefoot. A lean figure, sharp chin threatening to blossom with a beard of red and a head shrouded in well cleansed dreads of strawberry blonde - he looked up towards the beams of wood that formed the skeleton of his home.

“Mom…” He raised his voice, a deep timber for a young man of 16, as eyes of caramelized forest looked towards the door that led towards the infirmary. “I found something for you.” He wondered where Gabe was. Uncle might be able to help with identifying this wildflower.

[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Avalore Eden"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

True enough, Aver nearly stumbled over her own legs at the Jedi’s words. Lucky that she was dragging her feet behind the woman – could school her expression back to normalcy before she noticed anything.

“Can’t say I do, ma’am,” she said just as they stopped at the bathroom. First time she wasn’t lying out of her ass since she arrived here.

Her hand hovered on the door, brow furrowed for a moment. “Don’t wanna impose any further, ma’am, but… I’d take a warm meal over that bed in a heartbeat.” Force knew her gut was tied up in knots from the gauntlet she’d ran in the past two days.

Moments later, scalding hot water was washing away the grime of Steelbridge; the taint of the Avatars. Steam rose in great plumes around her when she emerged from the bathroom. Wet strands of black and red stuck to her pale skin, but a hook of a pleased grin nonetheless curled her features.

And then froze.

Standing at the top of the stairs, Aver stared down at the young boy. Skin of a faint pink hue, dreadlocks, and those damn cheekbones.

Hell if she wouldn’t recognize them by touch alone.

Her razor gaze flickered from the man to the infirmary, piercing walls to burrow into Gabriel. Heart hammering against her ribs, Aver couldn’t help but dig her fingers into the fine polish of the railing.

You have a son?

Roar she might in spirit, the Marshal remained unconscious.

With a twisted scowl, the merc forced out a long, heavy breath. She would not run. She would find out who this boy was, and she would eat because she wouldn’t get ten steps out of the house before falling over from exhaustion.

A stiff stride brought her back down the steps, armor now gleaming in proud Alliance colors, free of blood, and free of dirt.

Aver didn’t offer a greeting.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Oh," the Healer blinked as she reached one of the communal guest-house bathrooms, "of course. Did you think you were leaving without one?" Her smile managed to break through the fatigue this time, "Dinner's at six in the main hall, towels are in the linen closet to the left. If you need anything else just ask...anyone, really."

The children were well-trained to be as helpful as possible around the homestead; an attribute she fully intended to take advantage of before Miss Cera got home. Avalore left the Captain to her shower and headed back downstairs to corral the Edens, made all the easier by the sound of Maud's voice.

“Mom…”

"Maud?" stopping short midway down the stairs, she spied the mop of messy strawberry-wheat hair below and made her way towards him.

“I found something for you."

"What...?" a surprised blink at the small bouquet he offered her, "Oh Maud, these are lovely." A hand looped around her son's waist in a hug, head leaned against his shoulder while she smelled them. Avalore liked flowers - Force knew she'd planted plenty of them around the Homestead, but her true passion for plants was in those of medicinal qualities. Since her time living at the Sanctuary on Cato she'd delved into the study of useful herbs and plants. Never quite imagined she'd have a home where she could expand on that venture, but here she was.

"Thank you," Healer smiled up at her much taller son, tired eyes wrinkled with delight. "I needed this. Spent all afternoon putting your Uncle back together and I-" the grandfather clock in the foyer chimed. 5 o' clock. Shit. "I need you to round up your brothers. Your Uncle came home from his mission in a bad state and there's blood all over the place. We have to clean up before Miss Cera gets in from work, you know how blood makes her ill. Go on, hurry!"

Mother mode re-engaged.

By the time Aver emerged from her shower Maud had a mop and bucket. No cleaning droids around this Homestead; just good, old fashioned elbow grease. S'Vora was outside at the entrance where Aver had carried Gabe in, hosing off the walkway. Destin had the hall, a scowl on his face while he scrubbed ground-in dirt from Aver's boots.

The smell of dinner wafted in from the kitchen over the strong aroma of cleaner.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

A thoughtful gaze burdened him with his typical quietude as his mother offered him a hug. He leaned forward, having outgrown her at an early age, and draped an ink coated arm over her shoulder. Marks of a tribe, he explained, but one for which he wasn’t yet a member. He felt the ache and exhaustion pour in from her very bones, seeping out like the moan of a wooden structure beneath a hard wind. He didn’t offer any form of a comment on how he was happy to see her, because that simply went without saying. “You look tired. Can I make you some tea?”

The grandfather clock chimed and eyes of a deep forest turned towards the sound, darting back to his mother. She explained the circumstance and the ever persistent proclivities of his uncle, the death defying Marshal. “I wonder how many times he’s going to fall off that wall...who needs all the horses and all the men, when he has you?” He offered her a reassuring grip of the shoulder and a slight smile, moving on with his task.

His station would be that of the mop and bucket. But not before he moved into the infirmary, ensuring that the trail of blood was handled there first and foremost. While his mother claimed that blood made Miss Cera ill, Maud had his own suspicions. Ones that left him concerned not just with the sight of blood, but the smell of it as well. As he moved to hurriedly clean up what he could, he spotted his Uncle there - lying on the table. Approaching, he tilted his head, adorned with a pensive glow. Pressing his hand against his uncle's chest, over his bandage, he understood the wound to have once been lethal - but those summer leaves had since turned orange and red and the bruises would follow suit. Smirking, he took a jab at the man while a retort couldn’t be offered. “Forever the clumsy oaf…”

He thought he spied a smile from the old non-jedi. Grabbing the bucket and mop, he headed back out to the kitchen. Looking towards the bouquet, he hadn’t even had the opportunity to put them in a vase. Time was of the essence on all fronts so he triaged, getting to cleaning the spatter that had formed across the tiling. Until his eyes lifted to the woman in armor, coming down the stairs. No greeting from her but it wasn’t needed. He had seen enough personnel to know the rank on armor, even if it was worn down. But armor, in a place like this, was entirely uncalled for. The Homestead was a place of safety so either the soldier was glued into that carapace or she was soon to be on her way, to another mission.

Appraisal set somewhere between indifference and appreciation. This was an icon of war, the act of taking the last resort and making it the first line of defense. But that wasn’t important. He stopped was he was doing and moved to the island, withdrawing a box that could have housed sterile gloves. But instead, it housed something far more important. Withdrawing two booties, he moved towards the Captain and offered them. “Either the boots come off or you’ll have to wear the slippers on the tiling. Uncle put a lot of effort into this flooring...can’t see it scuffed up on my watch.”

[member="Aver Brand"] | [member="Avalore Eden"]​

 

[Aver Brand]

Chores. How very homely.

Aver scowled at the booties proffered by the intrepid youngster. This was a different sort of dauntless – or maybe ignorance was the better word. When Dahl quipped back through a fanged smirk, she was quite aware she was playing with fire. This kid was plunging his hand into the flames and didn’t even know it.

She shook her head, laughing despite herself. Better than backhanding him through the wall, for sure.

“Sure thing,” came the gruff reply as she snapped the nylon over phrik. As she straightened back up, her blue eyes flickered beyond his dancing dreadlocks.

Oh kark no.

At the end of the hall was another young man, bent over the tiles with a brush. Couldn’t get a good look at his face – didn’t need to. Weird green color aside, she might as well have been staring at Rev, some four-odd centuries ago. Or was it Gabriel?

Two sons. Just what she needed.

Without another glance – lest she succumb to questions – Aver padded after the enticing smells of dinner wafting down the corridor.

Following her nose, the woman emerged into a spacious kitchen. Beneath her disarmed feet, stone was replaced by polished hardwood. A large dining table lorded over the room beyond the counter, bathing in the evening light spilling through a wall-length window. The tiny child from before was setting the cutlery and plates, but Aver hardly noticed.

Odd, in and of itself – until you followed her gaze and saw it stuck on the wookiee. Or, more particularly, the apron.

On the wookiee in the karking apron.

If she weren’t about to fall over from hunger, Aver would’ve turned on the spot and left right then and there.

[member="Gabriel Sionoma"]​

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Elli? ... Elli - Destin, have you seen Elli?" Avalore reappeared finally, having changed into a clean set of civilian clothes and freshened up a bit herself. She stood at the end of the hall with one hand on her hip while the other picked up the bucket of soap and water he'd been using to scrub and carried it further down the hall to him, "I can't find her anywhere."

"Probably out in the gardens," Destin grunted grumpily, glancing up with his dark eyes as she set the bucket down. He seemed to consider something for a minute, gaze wandering down along the freshly cleaned hall with a hint of distaste and landing, briefly, on the armored stranger in their house, "What happened to Uncle?"

His mother heaved a sigh, lifting her free hand to rub at her neck, "I don't know Des, but he's not awake to ask and it's not something fit for dinner conversation. I'm sure we'll hear the story once he's well enough," frowning, she smoothed a hand over her son's head, "thank you for cleaning up. It looks much better. When you finish can you check on Svora and see if you can find Elli? Dinner's nearly ready and I need to help Opi in the kitchen."

"Yes ma'am."

"I can always count on you."


She walked into the kitchen moments after the exchange between Aver and Armaud and had to pause as she spied the woman eyeing the wookiee. Avalore smiled dolefully, reminded of her own introduction to the hairy gal, "This is Opi," she introduced, "the Nanny of my children who also happens to be a fantastic cook. Opi this is Captain ... I'm sorry, what was it again...Vrag?"