On The Island of Misfit Toys (Siobhan)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"]


Siobhan had followed Galina as they made their way through the woods. She kept close to the woman, though not too close. What trust they had established was fragile and she did not want to scare the woman. The woods were dense and the fog as thick as ever, though her high-tech equipment made it less of a bother. Doubtless they were being watched, for predators lurked in the shadows. She noticed how quickly Galina picked up on it and how she stung an arrow across her bow.


One of the many indicators of how the girl had survived years of being marooned upon the island, with no help, no friends, no resources except those she made with her own bare hands. Whatever else might be said of the girl, she was a survivor. To survive under such circumstances, with odds stacked against you in the wilderness, deserves respect. Also compassion. An unfamiliar feeling for Siobhan. She was shaken out of any thoughts she might have had when the twig snapped and her danger senses with it. Siobhan's eyes met Galina's and then a big cat leapt at them from the bushes. One arrow struck the creature in the leg but it persisted, seeming more enraged as it charged them.


The big kitty never got far enough for it was suddenly gripped by an invisible force. The creature's head, indeed its entire body, were roughly pulled back and, with the beast spasming and choking along the way, Siobhan applied a savage telekinetic grip to crush it. Its blood splattered across the snow but Siobhan cared not and was already back in action when suddenly another big cat leapt at her, having used her distraction to cross the distance. Rather than trying to evade as it crashed into her Siobhan simply grabbed its throat with her crushgaunts and in a brutal rending motion tore its head off.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

As quickly as the cat had pounced for Siobhan, Galina barely managed to get a second shot off towards the creature before the strange woman had taken the first beast down. It's blood splattered across the pristine white snow, staining it pink and red.

The second feline, she'd not expected and seemed to be caught quite off guard as it attempted to attack Siobhan. The girl's eyes widened as it seemed with so little effort the cat's head was so easily torn from it's body.

After a moment, the young woman shook the thought off, and walked over to the first cat, plucking the arrow from it's leg, wiped it off, and placed it back into her quiver. After all, arrows were not an endless commodity. When one had to make each and every last arrow by hand, you tended to try and retrieve every one you could.

Stepping over to Siobhan, she offered her hand to help the woman to her feet. Waiting only a moment for her partner as it were to recover. "N-not .. far." She said quietly. At least now the feeling of being watched had disappeared, along with her sense of danger.

After that, she turned and headed deeper into the woods again. A few minutes of walking in the quiet woods, and they came upon a large clearing. At it's center was the twisted wreckage of the ship that brought Galina to the island. A hole in it's side, covered by a large fur that acted as a door. There was the remains of her campfire, and wood piled neatly beside it. On the other side of the clearing, there were two stone piles, that marked her parents graves.

Motioning for Siobhan to wait, Galina pushed back the fur and stepped into what had been her home for eight long years. With a sigh she picked up a small pack that she'd made herself, and quickly gathered what few belongings she had. Two books, that had been her fathers, written in her language. A datapad that she'd documented much of her time on the island. A pendant that had belonged to her mother. Lastly there was a stuffed ewok that she picked up from a small makeshift shelf stuffing it into the bag, before she reached down to pick up one of the softest furs she had, it'd been her blanket on the island, one of her first big kills, and she wasn't about to leave that behind. Carefully rolling it up, she tucked it under her arm and slung the pack over her shoulder before she stepped back outside.

Walking over to the two stone piles, she knelt there for a moment with a heavy sigh. Speaking softly in her native language Galina quickly said her goodbyes. A part of her didn't want to leave them behind, but it was time. In order to have any chance of a real life, it was only natural that she'd have to leave them and the island behind.

Slowly she rose to her feet, and came to join Siobhan. "Leave?" She asked softly, the smallest hint of tears was glistening at the corner of her eyes. Something Galina didn't even bother to wipe away.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tempest"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"], [member="Tempest"]


Siobhan watched in solemn silence as Galina said goodbye to her parents, suppressing a sigh. She felt a strong urge to walk over to the girl and hug her tight, tell her how sorry she was and that things would be alright. But...she stopped herself. As overwhelmning as the desire was to offer what comfort she could, she feared it would only scare the girl away. No matter how much she wanted to wipe her tears away. Compassion was a feeling almost alien to her most of the time, yet now Siobhan felt it strongly. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you again. You'll never be alone anymore, she thought to herself though no words passed her lips, just a look that hopefully conveyed compassion but not pity, as fine a balancing act as that was.


Was it a promise she could keep? What would she even do with her? Where would they put here? After all, she could not just take the girl from the island and then leave her adrift in a world that would be as alien for her as could be imagined, with no friends, no guidance. But...she was probably the least maternal person imaginable and nowhere near qualified to offer a child guidance. In many ways Galina seemed like an adult, hardened by years marooned on a wild island, yet in others still like a little girl.


Yet she had to try to help. "Yes," she answered softly. "I...am...sorry," she spoke slowly so that the girl would have a chance at understanding her. Doubts were banished from her mind and resolution took over as she guided Galina back to where her ship was parked and where Tempest was waiting.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Galina"]

Tempest was waiting patiently when they came back. As Siobhan came into sight, she frowned.
"Someone else's blood?" she asked, nodding to the cat blood that stained the Beskar'gam.

"Anyway, we're ready to go. Come along Galina. Food. Bed," she said slowly, simply.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina's eyes fell to the ground and a sigh followed as she nodded to Siobhan. The words spoken to her, she understood perfectly. There just wasn't anything the redhead could say in return. How do you say it's okay, when you know it's not even close the truth?

The pain of losing her parents like this would be something that stuck with her until the end of her days. Even eight years since that horrible day, she still felt their loss just as much with each passing day as she had since discovering they had perished in the crash. She'd only gotten better at dealing with it. Certainly helped that she immediately had to step into caring for herself, to fight daily for survival. There just wasn't time really to grieve. Who knew, maybe once she was away from the island, away from near constant reminders of how they were torn from her, the grief would lessen.

Reaching up, she laid a hand upon Siobhan's shoulder for a moment, a comforting gesture, or at least that was how she meant it. The quickly she pulled away, uncertain if it was okay for her to do so. Finally she moved a hand up to brush away her own tears and followed along just a few steps behind Siobhan. Time passed quickly as they moved through the woods, though no threats came to them as they moved onward.

Soon enough she spotted the ship and Tempest. A certain eagerness crossed her features as they approached the other woman. This was her ride to freedom, though what was out there beyond this island, the girl had no clue. The galaxy was bound to be different from the one she knew, if only she had known how different.

Galina managed the tiniest hint of a smile upon hearing the word food. "Yes .. Tem-pest." She replied slowly in return as she stepped onto the ship.

Galina paused for a moment as she looked around in awe, she'd actually nearly forgotten what ships looked like on the inside. With great care she ran her fingers over the metal along the wall as she followed behind the others. Such a strange world she was stepping into when compared with where she'd spent the last eight years of her life.

The scent of whatever delightful food had been prepared wafted through the air and brought the young redhead out of her thoughts. Quickening her pace she made sure to keep as close as possibly to the women, knowing soon enough she could sit down to a real meal. The first time in forever that she'd actually have food with spice, and flavor to it, that wasn't something she had to kill, skin and prepare herself.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tempest"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"], [member="Galina"]


"Animal," Siobhan said to Tempest by way of explanation when she enquired about the blood. She gave Galina a hopefully encouraging smile - to say it was automatically encouraging would constitute an auto-hit, since only Galina's writer can decide whether it was - when the girl boarded the ship.



"Food. For you," she spoke slowly and softly when she pointed to the food that had been laid out for her in whichever section of the ship you used to eat things. She turned her gaze to Tempest and gave her a nod.


"I'll take the controls and get us off this island. Watch over her for me a bit." Then she would change because looking nonthreatening was not particularly easy when you walked around clad in full beskar'gam, thus looking like a metal behemoth.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Galina"]

"Got it," Tempest said.

She went and helped Galina get strapped into her seat so that the motion of the ship taking off wouldn't knock her down. She didn't want the girl injured after all.
After they were airborne she sat down opposite Galina and passed her a plate of some cooked meat, vegetables and some pepper too. She didn't want to overload the girl with too much and too many new tastes.
"Eat," she invited, smiling. She took a piece of space lettuce and ate it to show Galina it was safe.

There wasn't much she could say at this point. Galina would have to relearn language before they could have a conversation, so she sat there, trying to be reassuring, and thinking back to the day she'd been saved from slavery....

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

The smile, Galina managed to return with one of her own though short lived. It was quite encouraging to the young woman, reassuring in it's own way. And the little redhead needed all the encouragement she could get!

Coming into the room, she glanced to the food, then to Tempest, and lastly to Siobhan as she left the room, a bit of concern expressed in her eyes as she watched the woman walk away. She didn't want Siobhan to leave her side, trusted her a little more after the events in the forest. But alas she knew she couldn't keep the brunette at her side at all times.

Most nervously she let Tempest help her into her seat, unsure exactly how the whole strap thing worked. Her hands were trembling as the woman helped click it into place. As they took off, Galina gasped frightened by the sudden movement of the ship. Understandably so considering what her last experience in a ship was like, it was only natural for her to harbor some fears of flight. After a moment or two, once she was certain they weren't about to fall out of the sky, she slowly reached forward, her hands still shaking to take the plate from Tempest.

She watched curiously for a second as Tempest took a piece of the space lettuce and ate it, confirming it's safety in her eyes. Leaning down she sniffed of the food slowly, savoring the smells with a most content smile upon her lips. Such a simple thing that she hadn't even realized she'd missed so much. It took her a minute or two more of looking at the food, before she finally took a piece of the meat and started to munch most hungrily, as if she'd truly been starved for years. And she certainly was a bit to the skinny side, something to be expected of someone in her situation.

[member="Tempest"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"], [member="Tempest"]


Some time later Siobhan joined them inside the room at the table. By now the shuttle had taken off and was flying through the sky. Predictably the weather was awful as it so often was on Kaeshana, but the vessel was running an autopilot and should deliver them safely. In addition to that Siobhan had taken off her beskar'gam and instead put on a pair of pants and a shirt. Not only was the imposing armour quite intimidating and threatening, it was also bloody heavy to wear.


She gave Tempest and Galina a smile as she entered. "I sent a quick message to Tegs. Summarised the situation," she spoke to her apprentice before looking at Galina, seeing that she was digging into the meal like someone who had been starved for years, which was probably. She had presumably picked up on the woman's nervousness regarding the flight through the Force. "Eat. It is safe," she said softly, slowly. What are we going to do with her?

 

[Tempest]

Tempest watched [member="Galina"] eat, felt sorry for her. She had been through something which even Tempest had never experienced. Eight years alone, a constant battle for survival. What would it mean now she was rescued?

She looked to [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] and discretely gestured her off to to the side. Smiling at Galina she stood. "Eat. Back soon."

They went a short distance away. Galina could hardly understand them anyway, but she wanted some privacy, both for her and the girl.

"What should we do with her?" she asked Siobhan. "We can't leave her alone. I know you're busy, but I can take care of her until she's ready to live normally again. What do you think?"

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tempest"]

Galina kept munching steadily on the food, quickly going through what had been presented for her. She glanced up at Siobhan as she entered, then to Tempest, and returned to her food. Right now, she was fairly certain it was safe. The people, didn't seem intent to do her any harm at all, just help her. Their actions spoke much louder than words ever could.

She gave a small nod to Tempest as she watched the woman rise and motion to Siobhan. At least food had been a decent distraction away from the nervousness she felt at being in the air again. It wasn't much longer before Galina had cleared away the entire contents of the plate she'd been given. Smiling contently the girl closed her eyes and relaxed back in her seat. It'd been ages since she'd eaten and remembered being this full. A simple joy, but one that had been sorely missed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"], [member="Tempest"]


"I'm not sure. First thing she needs is food and a warm bed. And the certainty she's not gonna be cast out or hurt. Culture shock is gonna be massive for the poor girl. I'll talk with Tegs once we land," Siobhan said softly. She was most certainly not the maternal type and nor was her wife. Dahomey might be a better place for Galina to adjust than Kaeshana since it was less modern, but they could not just send the girl abruptly off to another planet, even if say Tempest watched over her, though it was something to consider.


"I'd appreciate you watching over her and looking after her, but I'd like to help out. She trusts us a tiny bit, I think. Can't have her go off alone right now." Aww, wasn't Siobhan being sweet? Doubtless HK would have made jokes about suddenly feeling 'maternal'. "We'll need someone to translate for her. Make it easier to communicate." Well...they had a planar demigoddess...

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Galina"]

Whilst not feeling maternal, Tempest was feeling protective of the girl, and wanted only the best for her.
“Chesna was able to help with Eyrecae…maybe she can here too?”
Of course, the downside of this was Chesna possibly seducing Galina in the guise of ‘teaching’ her.
“But sure, I’ll be happy to help her out, Sio, and I’d like to, but it’s up to you and Tegs….”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"], [member="Galina"]


"May work. She better not try to jump her. The girl so doesn't need that after getting off that damned island," Siobhan said.


She pulled Tempest into brief hug and gave her a soft kiss. "I know, and I appreciate it. Maybe we can work something out together. It's funny. Never thought I'd...," she trailed off and briefly glanced over to Galina. Her sudden silence probably conveyed more than words could. "We should be landing soon." Indeed in the interim the ship had flown through the stormy sky and was about to reach the main continent. Soon they would have arrived at Santaissa and would land at the Firemane mansion.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

With a content sigh, she opened her eyes and glanced over to Tempest and Siobhan. The girl frowned as she strained to understand what they were saying but they were simply speaking too quickly for her to keep up at all.

The ship suddenly shook a bit with a little turbulence, causing Galina to cry out. Panic rose up in the woman nearly instantly, fearing the worst. The shaking was gone nearly as quickly as it had came but the redhead still was left with the fear as she gripped tightly at the seat she was in. The poor thing only wanted to be safely back on the ground, anything to not be stuck in a ship.

Her eyes flitted between Siobhan and Tempest, with great concern and worry. "Safe? Safe S-siobhan? Tem-pest?" It was the best way she figured she could express her fears since she lacked the ability to speak what she truly needed to. The poor young woman just didn't feel safe at all. She was just so fearful of the same thing happening again, that marooned her upon the island in the first place.

[member="Tempest"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"], [member="Tempest"]


((Posting again with permission))


Siobhan was shaken out of her musings as the ship rocked slightly with some minor turbulences and she felt a surge of panic emanating from Galina. Her fear and terror was such that it was tangible, which was understandable given the horrible ordeal she had been through. Without any hesitation Siobhan turned away and quickly headed back to her. "Yes. Safe," she said very softly and slowly so that Galina could understand her, though she doubted words would help much. Goddess, Sio. Now you're trying to play caretaker. Who would have thought? Apparently even the annoying inner voice felt like trolling her.


What would mum have done? No, wrong question, what would I've wanted her to do? She seemed uncertain about what to do for a moment then wrapped her arms around Galina and pulled her against her body into a loose hug. "Safe. Promise," she repeated as she held the girl in an embrace, one hand reaching out to stroke her hair and then over her back in what was hopefully a soothing manner.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Galina"]

It was very sweet to see a soft side of Siobhan as she cradled the frightened girl.

However, duty called, and as the ship bucked, Tempest fought her way to the cockpit and took control of the ship.
With Tempest at the controls the ship steadied, and eventually they passed through the storms to the settled mainland of Kaeshana, eventually coming in to land at the villa.

Waiting for them was Tegaea Alcori and Chesna, the latter requested with a little trepidation by Tempest. Whilst the girl could translate, she also had an impish habit of being a troll, and would probably try and mould Galina into her image. She would have to be watched closely.

 

[Galina Kerrigan-Alcori]

Galina was near to tears with fright. As Siobhan came over to her and drew her into a hug, the young woman at first tensed unsure how to react. It'd been so long since she'd had human contact, the touch of another. But she found in this moment, all she wanted was to be held.

Reaching out she wrapped both of her arms tightly around Siobhan and pulled herself into the woman's shoulder as tight as she could. Tucking her head down, she pressed herself against her chest, trying to hide from her fears. Clutching at the woman's clothing, she drew Sio's shirt into her hands, her knuckles turning white as she held on for dear life.

"Safe..." She whispered, trying to somehow convince herself that it would be okay.

When the ship finally stopped moving, Galina looked up, but didn't pull away from Siobhan just yet. She held onto her for a moment longer, just to be sure that they were truly safe. Finally she disentangled herself from Siobhan, and reached up drying her own tears. A sniffle followed, but she then managed a real smile through her tear stained look, an expression of thanks, appreciative of what Siobhan had done for her. Reaching out, she lightly touched her upon the shoulder, a gesture of her gratitude.

She glanced around for a moment, a bit confused but slowly she unbuckled the seat beat, and stood up slowly. From there, she had an expression of confusion upon her features. She just wasn't sure where they were, or where they were going, or what she was to do, or go.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Tempest"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Galina"], [member="Tempest"]


"Yes. Safe. I'm here," Siobhan said very slowly in what she hoped was a soothing tone. This writer is quite deliberately formulating it in such a way since they cannot determine Galina's response. The girl was holding on to her as if for her dear life but Siobhan did not pull away and let her have the closeness she clearly needed.


"For you," she finished as the ship landed. Feeling a bit bold she reached out to wipe some of the tears away that Galina might have missed. "Safe. My home," as she spoke these words she pointed to herself, then gently took Galina's hand into hers and led her away. Presumably with Tempest in tow she would guide her out of the ship and down the landing ramp, where Tegaea and Chesna would be waiting for them on the landing pad.

 

[Daera Varias]

[member="Galina"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Whilst Tegaea went to see Siobhan, Chesna headed straight for Galina. As she approached, the wildling would feel a calming sensation coming over her.
“I am Chesna. I am your friend. I will take very good care of you. You are safe with me,” Chesna whispered, laying a gentle touch on the girl’s hand. Somehow her meaning would be understood, even if the exact words would sound strange or unfamiliar.

Tegaea meanwhile gave Siobhan a kiss. “I’ve threatened Chesna severely if she tries to corrupt the girl. I threatened to send her alone to one of our remote bases with just droids to keep her company.”
For Chesna, a creature of people and emotion it was a threat almost as bad as death. Chesna gave Tegaea a hurt look before looking back at Galina.