One HELL of a Verd’goten

[Kaden Farr]

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1‬​

The universe produced on constant, change. It was the one commodity Kaden and Yasha knew only too well. From the day they had met, change was the only thing which stayed the same. Kaden had been an orphan when they met, and the little rekr had been a young terror. The Civil war ended with enough change between them, they grew, Kaden became an adult, Yasha almost died, but they had survived it. Every change which the universe threw at them had been faced head on.

Nothing was new this time.

Kaden still wasn’t used to it. He looked in the mirror as the pads of his fingers pressed into the skin of his face. Where it had once been smooth the young man now has stubble. The brown hair has lightened. Kaden was taller, his muscles were larger and more defined. He had grown up. It should have been normal, but it wasn’t.

The gate.

His mind returned to the event of Dathomir, Yasha’s verd’goten. Another even had left them changed, but now Kaden knew what she had, and he was more like her now than anyone could have thought possible. Kaden took in a deep breath and pulled the tunic over his head as he sighed. The medics couldn’t tell him what happened, no one could.

Taking one last look in the mirror Kaden smirked. ”I’m going to need new armor.”

Kaden left his room in the small home he had with Silas. He grabbed something which was rolled up in a leather hide as he walked out the door. [member="Yasha Mantis"] did not live far from him, the house she stayed in when her father let her visit was near the palace. It had been a gift from Ra.

”Yasha it’s me... open up,” he said still surprised by the baritone voice he heard. Kaden knew when Yasha opened the door to him it would not be the girl he was used to seeing. Whatever happened to him had happened to her.

There was one truth no one could no longer deny. The Manda has destined their paths to join.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Yasha gave up looking in the mirror. It was fitting that [member="Kaden Mantis"] came with her through the Verd’goten, and into the Netherworld. He experienced the gut wrenching honesty of Sinner’s Rue, the terrors of the Garden of Thorns and the macabre of the Blood Plains. They searched for answers, Yasha searched for one last piece of home.

By the time the miraculous happened, Yasha and Kaden were thrust back through the Warlock Gate and back to the moment they left, the moment Mandalore once again took Dathomir.

Explaining what occurred hadn’t happened. Nothing happened at the end of that horrific day, but two kids who reappeared as teenagers, covered in the gore of their journey. Katlaydr grew. She stood a foot taller than her younger self.

The growing pains of the Netherworld were as intense as the plasmic lava which ruined Mandalore. Dressed in loose linen pants and a warm, billowing red sweater, the sixteen year old warrior pulled open the door and leaned against the door jamb.

Limbs lengthened out, skin a pale olive shone under clean, black hair, the girl could have been a duplicate of her mother with a wild edge. She flinched as the dome’s light hit her eyes. What did one say after surviving so long on each others’ graces?

Nothing. Yasha turned around and padded barefoot into the living room, slumping down on the couch and throwing her legs upon it. One knee bent, she put her chin atop it, and watched Kaden come in. She couldn’t sleep last night.

Kaden’s back wasn’t to hers, [member="Aditya Mantis"] wasn’t watching over them. The diffused light spread across the living room floor, and Yasha watched it. Kaden would say what he needed to. He always would.

 

[Kaden Farr]

Silence was what greeted Kaden when the door was opened to him.

Silence followed by the sound of bare feet padding along the hard floor. Kaden didn’t recognize Yasha in the same way he didn’t recognize himself. Had they not been there together, experienced what they had, Kaden wouldn’t have believed it. His nightmares would not leave him, not for a long time. The same bags Yasha had under her eyes were worn on the face of the young warrior.

Yasha was a vision of pure beauty, but Kaden couldn’t say it, not yet. He wasn’t there to tell her how enticing she was to him now. She was still Yasha and he was still Kaden. This change didn’t change the promise Kaden made to Yasha several moths ago. Had it only been that long ago? It seemed like ages now.

”Me either...” he said indicating the tired way in which she looked at him. ”If it weren’t for the fact your father would kill me...” Kaden didn’t need to finish the sentence. Yasha knew sleeping alone only kept them awake. It would be an adjustment, but they could not go back to how it had been overnight. Even though nothing had changed from the moment they left, the two spent near three years in the Netherworld, three long, horrific, and violent years. The fact Kaden still felt any kind of love for the young woman on the couch was a miracle.

Kaden walked over to the couch and sat so Yasha could lean against him if she wanted to. Before he would let her though, he handed her the rolled up piece of leather hide. It wasn’t the hide itself that was important, but what was inside of it. Kaden had a knife commissioned for Yasha before the events of Dathomir. It was made knowing she would come through her verd’goten a true warrior.

”That was one HELL of a verd’goten, ner Yash’ika,” Kaden said with a chuckle.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

There were times when neither Yasha nor Kaden were at their best. In those moments, all they had was the drive to discover, the drive to find missing pieces and then find their way home. Smirking as Kaden reminded her of what her father would do if he caught them snoozing, Yasha rolled her eyes and stared up at him.

He shouldn’t have followed her into the pits of Hell, but he did. Yasha couldn’t be more glad he had.

Her calloused hand took the roll of leather and felt the heft of it in her grasp. She looked up, eyes round, eyebrows tilted in question. Lips pursed. Settling with her back against his side, Yasha unrolled the leather and gasped. Testing the handle in her grasp, Yasha flicked her wrist and the weighted knife went veering into the far wall.

“Awesome.” Her grin broke the sombre fatigue on the teen’s face. “I love it, Kade… did you save it all th-“

All this time. Of course he did. He’d only commissioned it a few months before. The chuckle broken out of his lungs was as infectious as the couch was soft, and the girl couldn’t help but share it.

“I can’t do anything small, can I? Remember that death-o-dile? Gee. That knife would’ve helped, then. Still think this nail isn’t growing back right... guess it's not the coolest battle damage we've got, eh?” Tilting her finger to look at the nails she’d used to flay the monster, Yasha looked up at his chin. He’d grown up. Heaving to her feet, Yasha flipped to walk on her hands for the heck of it, her sweater falling around her shoulders, while her white tank stayed in place. Hand-walking to the wall where her knife rested, she flipped back around and took the knife out of the wall, hefting it once again. A warrior’s knife.

“Best verd’goten in history… or not best, but toughest. Beat that, Te’a, Kalo and Bik. Hah. Theirs is going to be lame.” She set the knife on the leather, sliding them onto the coffee table beside them. The back of her head collided softly with Kaden’s shoulder, as she relaxed in the quiet, arms propped on her knees.

“… I like the quiet here… nothing’s trying to kill us or… worse… did you eat yet?”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden had little doubt Yasha would appreciate the gift he had made her. What he hadn’t expected, though should have, was the way she tested the knife by throwing it into the wall. He sighed. That was a project he was going to have to take on. The young man had become quite skilled in the areas carpentry and construction. It wasn’t a glorious job to some, but Kaden loved it. It was why he’d been able to afford the knife. Kad Tor would be getting Kaden’s help in rebuilding his shop because of the deal they had made.

”It’s made from beskar. Treat it right and it won’t go dull,” Kaden said as she walked on her hands to get the knife.m

That was all Kaden managed to say too. When the loose fitting sweater fell to her shoulders, Kade was reminded of how much Yasha had changed. Her chest was round. Kaden almost missed the whole conversation they were trying to have because of it. He had watched her grow while they spent the time in the blood plains, so why was this all hitting him now?

”Of all the possible battle scars and you’re worried about a fingernail? Just one of the many things I love about you...”

That was the crux of the issue. Kaden had gone after Yasha because he loved her, and not just as his best friend. It had taken him almost the full three years they spent in the Netherworld to admit it to himself. Now that he had, well, nothing has changed. Yasha was still his closest friend. They had literally survived hell together, and Yasha’s mother. She had been helpful, but the woman was blunt, too blunt at times.

He smiled when Yasha fell back onto the couch and let her head fall onto his shoulder. The weight of her head against him was a comforting feeling. They had survived many nights back to back, this only felt right. Kaden closed his eyes, it felt safe to do so.

”So lame...”

Kaden nodded as Yasha said her home felt safe. It was quiet compared to the hell they had been through. At least they had come back to the exact moment after they had left, even if they had aged. Then came the question of food.

”No I haven’t, but I’m here because I wanted to celebrate. You’re an adult now... I’m an adult... we can stay in if you want, but they can’t turn us away at the main hall in the palace anymore.”

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“You love me for my fingernail?” Yasha said, teeth chomped around the offending digit. She popped the finger out of her mouth and raised her eyebrows. “You are so weird.”

Yasha shoved her shoulder into Kaden’s side and mashed her lips together to prevent a contented chuckle.

“Maximum lameness. Watch, Te’a’ll complain. ‘It’s not faair! Yasha got to be Katlaydr! Yasha got older in a hell dimension... daaaaaddyyyyy I want to age up in a hell dimension. Waa!’” Yasha giggled, flailing her hands in front of her to approximate the girl. “Throw her into Nar Hutta, she’ll think it’s Hell. Might shut her up… come home complaining about how tough hell was and we can laugh behind our buy’ce’s.”

The main hall. [member="Kaden Mantis"]’ point of arrival, proof above all, they made it to adulthood. While Yasha would go into the main hall anyway, who would try and remove Preliat’s daughter and Ra’s Ward from anywhere, she was cognizant of the difference now. They were old enough to be there.

That alone felt odd to the teenager. Being in a place where she was both allowed and wanted... after her second trip to the Netherworld, the girl got used to being stared at by multiple kinds of eyes and told, ‘this is not your place’, ‘you do not belong here, Wolf’, ‘get thee out. Your way is blocked. Get thee out’. Daddy said the Netherworld would be loathe to have Yasha back... and it was. It repulsed her at every step, pushing back as if a giant hand attempted to keep them from maintaining forward momentum.

“We can go to the main hall. You’ve never been, have you? I could do with a salad. Remember those? Vegetables…. honest to gooses vegetables. And meat that tastes like meat, not dragon’s tears, or bantha fear or the feeling you get in the back of your neck when something terrifying is behind you and you don’t want to look, but do.” Food in the Netherworld… Yasha stuck her tongue out and looked behind her to see Kaden.

“Huh. First time in three years I’ve looked behind me and found something I like.” Giving a timid smirk, Yasha rolled off the couch and hopped to her feet, stretching high before letting her arms flop down to her sides. She tucked her new knife in the back of her linen trousers, and nodded to the door. “You coming, lava legs?”

Yasha’s face screwed up as she tried not to laugh. That lava had been epic.

 

[Kaden Farr]

"Weird... no... I said one of the things I love about you. I didn't say I love you because of your fingernail."

Kaden rolled his eyes and shook his head. She was playing... or was she? That was the one thing about girls in general. They were good at hiding certain things.

"I mean I never would have tried to guess what the Netherworld was like for you before experiencing it myself, but now..." Kaden looked at Yasha with a serious look in his eyes. The experience had changed him. He had been pretty carefree for an orphan with a revenge complex, and even after the Civil War things had settled into a rhythm that was familiar to him. The netherworld disrupted all of that and left him a little more reserved and a lot more serious. "I understand you more than I probably should..."

The only comforting part of their trip to the Netherworld was the fact the place seemed to reject them. Yasha was certainly unwanted there which was about the only thing which was good about the place. It was ironic to think of being able to hold onto hope when trapped in a place that was supposed to steal it, but Kaden had. Even though the place had changed him, Kaden never lost hope.

His eyes perked up when Yasha asked about the main hall. Kaden had been there. "I was fourteen before all of this remember. I've been in the main hall, but no one would let me have any of the tihar. That changes now that I look like this!" Of course Kaden was not sure if he was joking about trying the alcoholic beverage or not. It was a strong drink for someone who had not been allowed to drink with the other warriors before. Whether Ra had let Yasha sample the bitter nectar or not was another matter. He knew she'd been allowed in before she came of age, but now they belonged there. It was a thought which made Kaden smile.

"Keep the vegetables... I just want the meat, to feel the juices running through my teeth and down my chin. If I never taste the meat of the Netherworld ever again... I will not complain one bit."

Kaden's appetite matched his new physique. He almost felt like he could eat more than Yasha's body weight. That was not something he would say, lest the wolf challenge him to it.

Her statement caught him off guard as she looked at him. The young man never once remembered his sentiments, or attempts to flirt, be returned. To be fair neither of them really understood what they felt. The fact Yasha tried, that wasn't something he expected at all. It caught him off guard enough that he smiled wide and almost blushed... almost. He wouldn't dare blush.

He hopped off the couch.

"Right behind you... got your shebs like always," he said as he pointed at her bare feet. "You gonna put some shoes on?"

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Hmmm.” Yasha peered at him with the dark eyes of the serial defeater of monsters, her face neutral until she shrugged. “Sure. For more than my fingernail.”

The teenager had yet to be able to say ‘it’. The sentiment from [member="Kaden Mantis"]’ mouth was too sacred a thing to be repeated in kind for such a vulgar defeater of monsters and hellspawn. She held onto her emotions as if they were the last layer of armour, silent and dragon-skin impenetrable.

The crinkle of her woollen sweater echoed as Kaden spoke, and Yasha turned to look at him, her lips shut and chin tilted to the side. Since again descending to the lands of the dead, Yasha took on much more of her father and aunt’s mannerisms. It was the most she had to hold onto, her father’s cadence with words and her aunt’s neutral, yet mighty face. Kaden said he understood, and much to the ache in her chest, he did.

Kaden would always understand her in a way which would not, could not be suffered upon any other being.

“Right. Fourteen… a real man.” Yasha quipped, pressing her lips together to avoid a saucy smirk. It was sufficient only to purse her lips together, after a night’s sleep, shower and lotions, how much softer they looked. All of her had a softness she’d lost to the wastes. Sundari brought it back in the swell of her clothing, the tangible ease of the fabrics so different to her armour, even the light of the desert sun diffused by the dome, softened the Hell Wolf. He’d tried to be ancient back then, proving himself a man. A real man.

Yasha chortled with her lips still closed, her hand holding to the lintel of the door, as she swung the rest of her body out of it. What did anyone know about growing up? It’s not like anyone understood it until they’d already ended up dead.

“You didn’t have to gnaw the jugular out of those hinter beasts… I’ll never look at juices running through my teeth the same way again. Bleh.” Giving a frown, her nose crinkled.

Did she detect a small reddening of his cheek? Of course she didn’t need to, his smile said enough. ’Score 1 for Yasha’ she thought, tip toeing along the bordered fence around the property beside the palace. How she’d scaled the twelve foot wall so fast was a mystery to all but Kaden. Cartwheeling like the gymnast-ballerina Aditya refused to let her stay in the Netherworld without becoming, Yasha finished off with a flourish and wiggled one of her feet over the edge.

“Right, ‘cause the Netherworld couldn’t defeat us, I’ll trip on a rock, or cut my toe on a piece of sand, get infected and die? Nothing to cut my foot on but marble floors and sandy steps, sheb-getter.”

The wall she scaled was a shared one with the palace grounds. Yasha winked and jumped down the other side. She always did like to see Kaden run to catch her. The panic was priceless.

And if he didn’t get there in time? Yasha would break fall and roll with it, as she always did.

 

[Kaden Farr]

Pshhhh a real man at fourteen, Kaden knew he was, but he certainly overcompensated for wanting to be recognized as such. He knew what everyone meant, but hated being looked down on because he wasn’t fully developed. Now at eighteen that was different, but the teasing from Yasha did push at sounds which were fresher than he wanted them to be. Maybe it was because he was changed.

”I mean technically,” he shrugged.

Kaden shook his head at the mention of the beast, and how Yasha had killed it.

”Hey my hands weren’t free and they were going to kill us!”

Kaden knew he was overprotective of Yasha. She was always daring and pushing the envelope, and ever since the shot which almost killed her, the hell they had lived through, Kaden didn’t want to see anything happen to her. Her comments only serve to show exactly why Kaden was always looking out for her. She scaled the wall and was about to jump.

”Dammit...”

Kaden took off running. Even if she dropped, tucked, rolled, and popped back up, she was going not walking away without tearing her clothes or worse... breaking something. He rounded the wall as fast as he could. His arms reached out as she dropped. Kaden caught the lithe young woman in his arms. His chest heaving near breathless from pushing himself.

”You know I might not be there to catch you all the time. Always scaring me like that...” Kaden set her down on her feet. ”Yasha... we...”

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Technically.” Yasha flourished in a bow, measuring her own height with her hand in the sky. “Welcome to adulthood, Shebster. It’s been a wild ride. Glad I caught up in the growing department.”

“It was the grossest, juiciest gross of all time… you’re welcome… I even might do it again, for my lava legs… not for Mama though, she’s on her fething own.” As she fell, Yasha heard Kaden’s sprinting feet, the breaths pushing out of his lungs. He would always catch her. Through their experiences, Yasha came to be able to show her trust, to take on the battles which caused Kaden’s eyes to go wide. She could defeat anything with Kaden beside her.

“Oof!” Yasha swung her arms around Kaden’s shoulders, landing in his grasp. “I knew you’d make it. Have more faith in yourself, sheb-getter.”

The pristine grin flashing on her face was as honest as Yasha could be with him. She kept her arm around his shoulder, having grown over six feet tall in the intervening years. “We survived.”

Letting her cheeks continue to blush, Yasha knew she could blame it on the fall. Her toes dug in the sand around them, sipping in the warmth of Sundari.

“This kind of thing? It doesn’t scare me anymore. Don’t think anything could scare me with you around. You carry all our fear for both of us.” The arm on his shoulder squeezed, bringing her close enough to put her chin on his neck. She hung there for a moment, suspended with her feet in the sand and her head on his shoulder.

“We’re going to the Main Hall and we’re going to drink tihar until we’re numb… and then we’re going to chill like the atin’la verda we are. Shereshoy, Kaden… shereshoy.” Her voice broke with the unsettling behind her eyes. Yasha broke away, raising her arms onto her head and hissing out an exhale through her teeth.

Their little entrance caused a stir with the Yalilyr, Death Watch Elite Guards. Yet, Ambrose Vizla called them off from investigating.

‘Give them space. It’s Katlaydr…’ a rumble went through the Palace. Rumours of Katlaydr’s transformation were as true as Mandalore’s sky, and there she was breathing and living before them.

Shereshoy. Yasha’s mantra, and her new promise. Hang onto life and relish it, enjoy each day, every second, seek and grab hold… for later we die. The teenager padded across the sand to the Palace entrance, her arms still atop her head, until she came to Ambrose standing at the door.

“Oya, Katlaydr, Mantis… welcome home.” Ambrose Vizsla saluted, and Yasha saluted back, walking past him to the Main Hall. She stood bare foot and dressed in linen before the Mando’ade, who ate and drank and spoke of their adventures. The silence cascaded like an outgoing tide on a world where the moon was too close for longevity.

“Where’s the buir-karking tihar?! We’re thirsty!” Yasha shouted. The Hall broke into raucous shouts. Ambrose strode along the background, putting his hand on the nearest tender’s shoulder.

“Water hers down… Katlaydr and Mantis deserve this... give them anything they want.” He whispered, letting go to walk further on.

[member="Kaden Mantis"]

 

[Kaden Farr]

Yasha was really pushing the shebs comment a bit far. Kaden knew her well enough that he knew she was after a reaction. That made it more fun not to react. Maybe that was why she decided to leap from the top of the stone wall. Whatever her reasons for it, Kaden wasn't exactly thrilled about it. He'd been watching her back ever since they had met, moreso than ever the three years they spent in the Netherworld, and now that they were back Aditya's words rang in his head.

"Don't leave her alone with her thoughts... she's going to need you more than ever..."

Those may not have been her exact words, but that's what stuck with Kaden. He was beginning to think Yasha's mother had been correct. However, as much as it annoyed him, this was another thing about Yahsa she loved... she was fearless.

"We did survive, ner Yash'ika, but don't tempt fate."

Kaden didn't know how to answer her observation. It wasn't that Kaden carried enough fear for both of them... he just took his promise seriously. It had only been a few months to the rest of the galaxy, but for Kaden and Yasha that promise had been almost four years ago by now. From the moment those words left his mouth after bringing her home from the medical ward, Kaden had always kept himself in a position to be with her. They both had promised. It meant dealing with Baiko... something Silas had thought was actually good for Kaden, and while he didn't see it at the time, Kaden knew it was a good decision.

A small chuckle and smirk tugged at Kaden's lips. He finally knew how to respond.

"You live enough life for the both of us I think... If being with you is what gives you strength, then you shall never be without me."

It was just another restatement of the promise he made before, but this time there was something more to it. When it first came out of his mouth Kaden could not have known what it meant, but now he did. He was pledging his life to hers. The choice had been made at such a young age, and even now Kaden wouldn't abandon it.

The moment was... Yasha was going to say something. The years had seen the both grow, but where Kaden had been taller than her, the genetics of her bloodline had kicked in, and Yasha was now the same height as him. She was tall and proud, yet in his arms she was vulnerable. It was the only time she allowed herself to be. He just held her, but not for long as the palace guards came to see what the commotion was.

"At least they are vigilant," Kaden said nodding to Ambrose as they walked toward the main hall.

The crowd went silent as Kaden and Yasha walked in. No doubt the rumors of their transformation had fallen on the ears of everyone in the room. Eyes followed them both until they sat down, then the noise lifted in the air once again. It was thunderous boom of conversation, laughter, and singing. Those who had too much to drink were passed out where they sat. Drunken arguments turned to brawls. They were celebrating another victory in a way only the Mando'ade could.

Two plates of food were brought to the teenagers, but more importantly the tihaar. Kaden smiled as he reached for the glass and took a daring gulp. His curiosity had overtaken any sense of caution. Yasha was right, they would drink until they went numb, or until they were kicked out. Kaden took in the aroma of the meat. Picking up the leg bone he sank his teeth into the red meat and tore at it as though he hadn't had anything to eat in three years. He hadn't, nothing good anyway.

"SHERESHOY, Yasha!"

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Maybe I don’t need to tempt fate if I can just tempt you.” Yasha pushed away from his chest, feeling how much more solid he was now, than those years when they met.

While cognizant of what Kaden meant, Yasha got good at playing dumb. Would that last? As with everything in their lives, the supposed ignorance wouldn’t. In her mind Yasha already knew what Kaden promised, and she thought he knew it was returned. Maybe he needed reassurance, maybe Yasha knew how terrifying that next step was.

Maybe this was the last bit of her childhood she could cling to, before everyone saw her as a young woman instead of a girl.

“Poor you. Stuck with me. How that must make you suffer...” Yasha’s eyes mirrored her father’s moody dark. She tilted away and into the hall, sitting amidst the warriors of clans mixed and revived. There were stories of bounties, hunts and battles. The conquering of women and men in the sheets, which made Yasha blush and turn her ear.

She took the flagon of tihar and let it drain down her throat in a long gulp. The rest sloshed back into the cup, and Yasha slammed it down. Some gave the two a curious berth, others stood watching them in silence. Many ignored them, for their own revels.

“Shereshoy.” Yasha whispered, eyes never stilling as they never did back home in the wastes of the Netherlands. She touched no meat, picking at the vegetables and roots on her plate. The smell of roasting meat.... searing flesh and fingers digging past skin and leather for a kill... to survive... that tang of fear....

Yasha shut her eyes and drank more of her cup until it was dry. Under her sweater, her shoulders shook near imperceptible to all but the trained eye. Ambrose came quietly around, his vision never leaving Kaden and Yasha. He took her plate, and slid another in front of her. Fish, and vegetable. Yasha looked up at the commander and warrior, her eyes dark and deep and wide.

“Caught off New Keldabe. You should try it. MandalMotors has a new initiative for Katlaydr to investigate. Entire shoals of fish survived the cataclysm, they’re hearty. Like us.” His voice remained soft, as he filled Yasha’s flagon with more watered down tihar.

“Thank you, Ambrose... I...”

He shook his head. “Later. Now is a time for celebration. So celebrate, you Epicanthix scamp... Kaden, you look thirsty! Can’t have a warrior fighting on an empty stomach and dry throat.”

Ambrose filled Kaden’s cup again, slapping the fellow man on the back and passing him Yasha’s extra plate.

A brawl ended with one of the men being dragged away to recoup. The victor roared and took a mug, drinking it down, spilling liquid along his chin. He stomped over to the two and muscled between them.

“Move, boy. Hey, look here! Little Rekr’s sprouted and blossomed! Dathomir did you good, Katlaydr... too good.” The drunken man whistled, as the crowd reacted in varying degrees between disinterest, cat calling and fear. Yasha sat face forward, eating her fish.

[member="Kaden Mantis"]

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden gulped. Did Yasha even know what she was saying... tempt Kaden. He tried to chuckle, but he blushed again... Yasha 2, Kaden 0. It didn't necessarily bother Kaden that Yasha was trying to hold on to the one part of her childhood she could control. His promise was a promise no matter what happened. Now that they shared the experience of the Netherworld Kaden was more determined to never leave her side. Their friendship was what was more important to him than anything else anyway. That didn't mean there were not feelings... the desires of any man his apparent age, Kaden had to navigate that. His promise was deeper than all of that. They both knew it, and Yasha never pushed back on the thought.

She didn't like the look of the meat. Kaden's eyes went to Ambrose who had already noticed. He nodded to the warrior as he brought Yasha a plate of fish and vegetables. It was what she wanted anyway. He chuckled as more drink was set in front of him.

"You better believe I am thirsty... even the water in the Netherworld tastes like ash. There is nothing you could invent with that still of yours back there I could not put down."

If that seemed like a challenge, it was. However, Kaden also knew Ambrose was not about to take the bait. He was good man, and excellent warrior, and kept his eye out for them like he should. It was a good thing to know they had his loyalty and support. Kaden knew it was more so for Yasha, but Ambrose knew where Yasha was Kaden would not be far behind.

Kaden began to dig into Yasha's extra plate of meat. His appetite was the biggest change of all. It took a lot of calories to maintain the physique Kaden now boasted. How he had grown to be that size with what passed as nourishment in Netherworld was another mystery entirely. Still in the time it took for Yasha to start on her vegetables Kaden had two plates cleared. He washed it all down with the second glass of drink which spilled as someone was trying to squeeze between them.

“Move, boy. Hey, look here! Little Rekr’s sprouted and blossomed! Dathomir did you good, Katlaydr... too good.”

The cup in Kaden's hand hit the table as he put it down with some force. The recently serious and more stoic warrior was not when it came to people moving in on Yasha. Ambrose made a move, but Kaden waved him off. This man was not threatening Yasha, he was ogling her with drunken desire.

Thanks to his time in the Netherworld, Kaden had learned how to use the nerves on a person's body well. Kaden stood, drove his thumb into the man's neck just where it met the base of this shoulder.

"Time for you to go home..." Kaden said pressing his thumb a little deeper.

The man grunted in pain and stood up quickly. He spun on his heels to look Kaden in the eye.

"A real woman needs a real man... pup... best back off before I put you in the ground."

A right fist came for Kaden which he easily side stepped. Kaden grabbed the man's wrist, placed his thumb on the back of the hand, and with an upward twist and pivot caused the man to bend at the waist. Kaden's elbow put pressure on the man's elbow as Kaden slammed the man's face into the surface of the empty table behind them. It knocked the man out cold.

All eyes were on Kaden. Some looked on with pride, and others with horror wondering just how much he had actually changed. The things Kaden had seen in the Netherworld made this encounter seem like nothing, and Kaden responded as if it were. He could have ignored it if it had not been for the fact the man was hitting on Yasha. Maybe Kaden wouldn't be okay if they stayed friends and only that. Aditya's voice came in his mind again...

"Best get to it then..."

Kaden sighed as he sat back down. The palace guards drug the unconscious man outside. Ambrose walked over to Kaden and Yasha just shaking his head.

"You had better hope he doesn't wake up soon..."

Kaden shrugged and just looked to Yasha.

"We'll be fine. We belong here now Ambrose... Katlaydr belongs here. More drink. She passed her verd'goten... give her whatever she wants today."

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

His second reaction was better than the first. Yasha let her stance as she walked be the gloat to that challenged win. She even did a cartwheel before getting into the Hall.

“Easier to drink blood than the water… tastes better.” Yasha put both elbows down on either side of her plate, guarding her meal as the drunken man shoved in. She growled and pulled her mug closer, staring at her meal.

While some Mandalorian women might have balked at their man defending her, claiming the space around them, Yasha let it be. Truth be, it thrilled her, another moment to stack up to the hundreds they’d had defending each other in intervening years. With Kaden around, Yasha could sit and enjoy her fish and vegetables.

“A real man? You’d piss yourself if you went three paces into where we’ve been. You're not even man enough to repair Kaden's beskar'gam.” Yasha muttered, loud enough for the entire table of Mandalorians to hear. Kaden dispatched the man, with an efficiency he’d picked up in their adventures. It was as impressive as it looked, the ease in him.

Once the drunken offender was removed, the place roared back to life. Yasha only cared that [member="Kaden Mantis"] defended her, even in something as insignificant as a meal. Yet, was it insignificant if in the Netherworld every morsel was worth a legion of ships, or bars of gold?

“This man needs more meat… someone get Kaden another plate, please.” Yasha inched along the bench to press her shoulder against his, dragging her plate and cup with her. There was a modicum of comfort to feeling his body heat, to seeping into his side after such an event. “If he does wake up, he’ll deal with me being angry he interrupted our dinner.”

“It true, Katlaydr? Did you and Mantis end up in the Netherworld for years?” One of the revellers asked, “What was it like?”

Yasha’s eyes flickered up to the woman, and back down to her plate. “I didn’t meet your loved ones On the Line… but yes, there is a Line… The Netherworld isn’t something you explain… it’s a personal and constantly shifting hell… yes, your morning remembrances help. No, it’s not like you get extra ammo… I wouldn’t have made it without Kaden by my side…”

Keeping her eyes on her plate, Yasha knew the woman was asking for a story, some adventure or grand hunt. She sighed and kept working on her fish. “Get me another drink and I’ll tell you about the Netherbeast we defeated after our ammo ran out… Kade and I killed it with his boot… it was epic and the size of this Palace... might even be able to act it out, eh Kade? Might be fun.”

The revellers cheered, and another two mugs of tihar appeared for Kaden and Yasha. Her fingers were beginning to buzz. Her face blushed with alcohol, she glanced over at Kaden and finally a smile began to break through the mask.

“How’s the tihar? Does it make your fingers tingle, too?”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Kaden's reward for dealing with the drunk, more meat. A smile tugged at his mouth. Yasha knew him all too well. Kaden no longer worried about whether or not he was out of line defending the honor of the young woman. She was Mandalorian, but she was also not. Their trials made them something more altogether, and they had defended each other so much it was second nature. Should someone come after Kaden with unsavory purpose it would take a miracle to keep Yasha from gutting them. This was just how they were now. They were both refined and brutal. Aditya would be proud.

Yasha now sat shoulder to shoulder with him. Everything was more normal feeling her touch. They had spent so much time back to back that things felt off when she was not close. They had been inseparable in the Netherworld, and nothing would be able to come between them now. The drunk had been an example of what would happen should anyone or anything try.

Kaden leaned against her a tad more. He wanted to, so he did.

They crowd wanted a story. Yasha's answer produced a roll of the eyes from some, but as she suggested they had killed a beast the size of Ra's palace with Kaden's boot they all leaned in a bit more. Kaden smirked, took his left boot off, and placed it on the table.

"This one right here," he said holding in a chuckle.

Kaden took another gulp from his tankard. He had more mass than Yasha, and while his fingers did not tingle he felt something. Was the room getting louder?

"Nope.... no tingle. Better eat another plate of fish... or get some bread in you to sop it all up."

He wasn't an expert, but it helped sometimes with a churning stomach to soak up whatever it was throwing thing off.

"I don't need to get you out of here do I?"

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Yasha’s cheek rested on [member="Kaden Mantis"]’ shoulder, and some of the older warriors present whispered behind their hands. Young love… the adults around could see it before those involved would have the full clue. Ramanar’s daughter was smitten, and the beginnings of a bet began to form on how long it would take for the Netherworld’s latest survivors to figure it out.

“No… no way!”

Yasha nodded with a smirk. “His aim was solid. Gave me the break point to climb up the monster’s body and stab it’s eye out.”

Acting out her part of the adventure, Yasha hopped onto her chair and pretended to punch, and stab into a gigantic eye. “And while I was sliding down the blind monster’s body, Kaden went in for the kill... but oh no! It’s massive paw went wham! He dropped his Beskad!”

Yasha jumped and flipped backward off her chair, landing in a crouch. “But he had... his boot.”

As she acted out the battle, Yasha’s subconscious was processing through the harrowing experience. Aditya has been right, left in the stillness of her thoughts, Yasha had little to go on but being her father’s daughter. Yet in motion, the teen could process and overcome the mental strains.

“And then it gets fuzzy ‘cause I smacked my head on its’ fin… and I think I fell… what happened next?” Flipping back into the bench, Yasha punched Kaden in his shoulder. She tucked in to her plate, finally beginning to loosen up enough to eat and leave her personal horrors behind. He offered to take her away, alone again for the two tragic ‘kids’.

“We’re celebrating, Kaden. We can’t celebrate if we’re away from our Mando’ade vode!” Yasha raised her mug, and the crowd around them roared again. Rocking to her bare feet, Yasha held up her mug and took another long drink. Her nose screwed up, and she shook her head with a gasp.

Tihar didn’t go down easy, not even after a meal. Another plate of bread and fish was set down in front of Yasha’s place. Chewing on a chunk of bread, Yasha laughed as a tussle broke out beside them. She kicked one of the pushing vode into the other one and watched the cacophony with a grin.

“I like this place...” Yasha gulped down more tihar, her amber eyes glassing as the space around them waxed in the steady flow of drinking, feasting and brawling violence. “Let’s not go back to hell. Never ever ever... I don’t want to, Kade.”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Yasha told the story Kaden didn’t want to remember. His aim had been true. Yasha broke for the climb and stabbed the beast in the eye. He’d kept up with her. The beskad in his hand was held with a sure grip. Kaden had run to the beast, but the massive paw had knocked him back. When the sword fell out of his hand Kaden had let out a slew of words Yasha really wished he would eliminate from his vocabulary. The boot had been a desperate attempt to survive. There had been no plan to it. He couldn’t have thought up what he had under anything but duress.

Kaden took the table.

”So Yasha was thrown off and the beast still had one eye. It couldn’t see from the wound, so I ran up it’s blindside, climbing to the base of his neck. There had been a gash near the jugular which was open. Driving the boot into it I broke deeper into the artery. Blood poured out of the neck as I leaped to the ground...”

Kaden looked to Yasha. She didn’t want to leave, but the thought was just too tempting. The tihaar was too much for her and the more she drank the more eratic she became. He couldn’t let her stay and something she would regret. The warrior did something he knew Yasha would likely make him regret, but as Kaden turned he scooped Yasha over his shoulder.

”And scooped Yasha and ran for cover...”

With that Kaden ran off to the throne room with a near inebriated [member="Yasha Mantis"].

It was dark, like Ra. The center held the massive throne which was befitting it the undying. Kaden put Yasha on the throne and took a step back. He smirked.

”Yasha Mantis... Mand’alor the small!”

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Kaden!!” Yasha yelped, tossed over his shoulder and ran off before she could decide which direction she wanted to smack him. “Put m-aah!”

While her world turned topsy turvy, she shut her eyes against the inebriant in her head, and how it swelled inside. “I’m gonna gut you with my teeth! I’m gonna end you, Mantis! I’m gonna… ooooghhh put me doooown.”

Her stomach tossed in knots, hand slapping over her mouth as she fought the urge to remind herself what she’d consumed. The room they came into was dark and empty, when it should have been the centre of the revels in the Main Hall. What was a throne room without a ruler to sit upon it? While vacant, the throne room’s hall had been populated by the Palace Guards. How they must have questioned the teenagers, if not for the beads in their ears. Katlaydr.

Only for Katlaydr.

“Oho don’t put me upside down.” Yasha gurgled, slumping down in the back of the throne. The seat was so massive she could fit herself and another upon it, built as it was for an over seven foot tall Gurlanin to sit comfortably.

Gulping hard, Yasha curled her arm around one of the arm rests and pushed to the edge of the throne, searching the emptiness, the sepulchral way stillness stole what comforts had been built into the stone and beskar. Pulling one of her feet onto the throne, she hugged the knee and set her head on the armrest.

Mand’alor the Small. She saluted and waved, cracking up in a drunken chuckle. Her nickname during the relatively happy times of hunting with Uncle [member="Silas Mantis"], and Kaden when they were kids… young kids. Eight and ten.

“Oya! Mand’alor the Small sucks for a regnal name… Mand’alor the… Mand’alor…” Yasha searched the space for a sign, seeking one in Kaden’s smirk or the carriage of his shoulders. “Mand’alor the Hell Wolf… I’ll always be known for it, won’t I? Like Ra’s known for coming back from death… my head feels tingly.”

Another empty throne for the girl to make valuable. “Let’s go back… I left my drink, there was a bunch left! I’ll race you, Kaden! I’ll race you!”

Hopping to her feet, Yasha shook out her arms and trotted to him, pushing at his chest with shivering palms. “I’ll…”

Turning to see the throne, Yasha Mantis padded back to it and ran her fingers over the armrest. “… I will be Mand’alor someday, Kaden. I will. I know it like I know you’ll be standing here… right here.” She pointed at the spot where Aryn stood, behind and beside the throne. “You’ll always be there, and I’ll always be here, and we’ll never have to go through Hell again…”

Left with nothing to distract her but the young man in the empty room, Yasha crashed back down onto the Mand’alor’s seat. Ra. She’d gone into the Netherworld to discover what happened to Ra Vizsla, and oh what they found.

Oh what secrets toppled in the back of her upset mind. Yasha's sweater fell over her shoulder and upper arm, revealing pale olive skin, and the strap of her white tank top. The sleeve pooled past her wrist, twisted from her trip on his shoulder. The softness returned, goaded by the vast chasm of the throne room, and the fact there was nothing left but to see Kaden and hear him speaking of another event, where he saved her life. “Kaden? I love that story, Kaden. I know you don't, but... it's when I knew...”

 

[Kaden Farr]

Just as he had expected Yasha threatened Kaden and demanded he put her down. The hall errupted in laughter at the sight as they all knew Yasha had not been able to handle her drink. No one would ever dare tell her to her face, and they knew danger of talking about it amongst themselves. No, it would remain in the hall, even if Kaden and Yasha had vacated it.

The thron room was as quiet as the hall had been loud. Kaden could hear the emptiness of the vacant throne. It was a haunting reminder of the Netherworld. Everything had a sound. Emptiness, loneliness, even quiet, they all had an unmistakeable sound. Kaden did not know if the sounds would ever leave him, or viewing life as he did now. Yasha had survived the Netherworld twice, Kaden only once. He would never wish the experience on his worst enemy. It was Kaden’s only fear, and he resolved Yasha would never have to see it again.

”We aren’t going back to the hall. You’ve had too much to drink...” Kaden said with a matter of fact tone. Perhaps no one else would be able to address her that way, but Kaden did. ”I’m afraid we both will always be marked by what happened. We run from it or we embrace it, but Hell Wolf... we should keep thinking about it.”

Yasha was tipsy, but Kaden didn’t care. For once her guard was down. It usually was when they were alone, but it was the first time since returning from Dathomir she had let it fall. He watched as she ran her finger on the throne, then pointed to where Kaden would be. If she would be Mand’alor he would be her Warmaster, and even if that wasn’t the case Kaden would still stand as if he were. They would always be inseparable. They both knew it.

Kaden stepped to his place, one step back, and always to the right, of Yasha. This would always be. Yasha would always charge ahead, and Kaden would always be there to watch her back. It was true what she had said earlier, he carried the fear for both of them. It was time to stop denying it and embrace it. As Aditya had said, Yasha was destined for this, and Aditya had made Kaden promise to keep her safe.

The feminine voice echoed in the hall. His name drew him out of his thoughts. Kaden came around to see Yasha sitting as she always sat on the couch. One of both legs were always pulled up to her chin. It was another marker of where they had been. He knew she loved the story. Kaden truly did despise reliving it, anything about that place. Yet here Yasha was telling him she loved it.

“Kaden? I love that story, Kaden. I know you don't, but... it's when I knew...”

Kaden quickly put his hand on Yasha’s cheek and moved her thumb across her lips before she could finish what she was about to say. He understood why she guarded this so much, but they both knew... they already knew...

”I know...” he admitted. ”It’s why I killed the beast then, and it’s why I will kill whatever tries to harm you now..”

He was saying something Yasha already knew, but neither of them had voiced their feelings, not this way anyhow. Kaden wasn’t about to let Yasha say it first.

”Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum.”

Kaden leaned forward, his aim locked onto Yasha’s lips. He was going to kiss her if she didn’t stop him.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Alright! Who stopped watering down Katlaydr’s tihar?!” Ambrose growled, as the place erupted again. Two separate people put their hands up. Ambrose pounced.

It would be a glorious brawl.

“If I want more tih-h-har, I get more booze. You can’t stop me either, crumble bum.” Yasha stared Kaden down, her pursed lips dipping into a frown. “I was gonna get into my third hall brawl. The first two were epic! Let’s go back!”

Trotting off toward the door, Yasha was stopped by the words which came out of Kaden’s mouth next. They would always be marked by the Netherworld, they would be claimed by its’ essence within them for an eternity, if not longer. “I don’t feel like fighting anymore.”

She plunked down, one knee up, and stuttered when his thumb brushed her lips. At this, the last betrayal, Kaden proclaimed he knew her as more than a warrior or battle friend. One day, they would command Mandalore, Yasha in front and Kaden beside. She was the tip of the spear and he was the force behind it. Yasha took chances, threw herself with an unadulterated faith that on the other side, she would remain. Yasha Mantis.

The Haran Ad’ika. Hell Child.

What would she be if he kissed her? No longer a child?

Yasha Mantis had no fear, so why did she hesitate? It was a very Yasha reason, and as she pulled Kaden’s hand off her cheek, she tilted her face to the side and whispered. “I don’t know what those words mean.”

How could she? A girl like Yasha Mantis. How could she know the Mando’a for eternal love? “What are you saying?”