Pebbles & Snowflakes [Kära Vi'dreya]

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Voss Academy
Planet Voss

It was summertime on Voss, at the heart of Silver Sanctum space. A golden-haired man could be found sat in the emerald grass surrounded by flowers in full bloom, with tiny birds chirping and bumblebees buzzing about, all contributing to instilling complete serenity in his mind and soul. The faint sounds of padawans practising in the courtyard were all but drowned out by the trees surrounding the grove he sat in, with ancient stones for company. The Force had always been strong on Voss - filled with light and darkness both, just like all who study its mysteries. Unlike places of purity such as Tython, Voss allowed for a more varied experience with the Force thanks to its duality.

There was a reason the Grandmaster could be found on his lonesome this day, with nothing but nature at his side, and her name was [member="Kära Vi'dreya"]. Ever since her sudden appearance within the Tower of Prophecy alongside his long lost brother had he looked forward to this day; a chance to reconnect with his childhood friend after decades apart. So much had happened since their time on Coruscant that he doubted he could ever find the time to explain it all, and she no doubt had plenty to share as well. So as one might imagine, there was quite a bit of butterflies flapping about inside his stomach this day.

While meditating, he could sense her draw near; so similar, her signature was, to that of her younger self. A smile reached from cheek to cheek as his eyes opened just in time to witness her arrival.

 

[Lief]

A few months had passed since Kära had visited Midvinter and met with the Father of her Soulmates. Thyrian, her light, her life, her fire... Thurion, his brother, her sole friend in the Galaxy, and the only one to ever truly see the good in her. It had been a turbulent experience, she had felt the core of her Phoenix quiver with all the resentment of an abandoned and scorned man... And flourish with the cravings of an infant. Would she react the same way if she ever saw Dranok again?

Now she found herself on Voss again, in the last place she ever expected to end up. A Jedi Temple.

Or at least, in the grounds of one. Mysa had come to continue her training under Coci, and to inform her of their departure back to Midvinter in a few days time. The poor little girl seemed torn between resuming her training, and studying under the Old Gods. The choice had been left to her, and she had been made aware that her decision would not need to be permanent. No doubt Coci would reassure her of the same.

Striding through the courtyards and out into the very nature which seeped into this planet, Kära's hand fell instinctively to her lower abdomen, fingers dancing over the very subtle bump beneath her robes, as a protective sensation took over her. Younglings were battling with dulled vibroswords and sabers set to stun, yet her mind raced with all the things that might go wrong.

Had she really been so young herself when first introduced to it all?

Away from the clamor she wandered, until the pavement was replaced with grass. She could sense him now, the greatest boy she had ever known, the kindest soul in the Galaxy. And it was toward him that she wandered.

She did not seek to disturb him, instead each step she took was light. For a moment she watched him there in his meditation, and saw how his lips twitched into a broad smile at her approach.

"How I have missed you" she breathed, her own lips pulling into one of her rare smiles. But there was a slight exhaustion on her expression too, things had changed so much since they were eight year olds running through the Room of a Thousand Fountains...

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"No more than I have missed you," he spoke as his eyes opened, smiling as he looked upon his dearest friend. Without hesitation he got up from where he sat, brushing a few specks of dirt from his robes before approaching her with small steps. For a moment all he could was gaze upon her; now a beautiful woman where once a small child stood. At times he was forced to remind himself that she was real. It took only the slightest of bravery to step forward and embrace her, first among the many Snowflakes of his life. "I thought I would never see you again, Kära. That you had gone the way of the Sith Empire when it fell." He had been but a young man at the time, when he heard the news of Sith disbanding and scattering to the winds as Republic and Mandalorian forces seized both Korriban and Dromund Kaas.

It wasn't until the embrace came to an end that he felt it. She may have tried to cover it up or hide the fact, but he was a father and knew the telltale signs when he saw them. A slight bump on her belly where before there had been none, her heart beating for two and the faintest of a second Force signature residing inside her. He looked down at her tummy only to slowly raise his gaze to meet hers, his smile widening. Laughter left his lips before throwing his arms around her once more, holding her even tighter than before. "I can scarcely believe it...! I am so happy for you!" He hadn't felt this excited since he learned Coci was with child. "Does... does my brother know?"

[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]​

 

[Lief]

She had disturbed his meditations, and for that she felt a pang of guilt. However, almost immediately he rose and moved to embrace her - his scent hadn't changed, nor the warmth he radiated. It wasn't quite Ashborn level of warmth, but it was comfortable, familiar, it reminded her of the time in her life where she felt free and able to choose her own path.

A slight smile returned to her lips at his initial comment.

"Come now, you think that I would fall with the Empire?"

It was an almost humouring thought, to be sure, but Kära had made her plans to leave the Empire long before its collapse. She had already started to take from the reserves of Cortosis and Phrik in her sector, collect further resources, tomes, students, followers... The collapse had been no surprise to her. The Empire had always been turbulent.

He let her go but his gaze traveled to her abdomen for a moment. She knew in that instance that her game was up, yet the glimmer in his eyes made her more than glad that he knew. He was, after all, her greatest friend. Even after all this time. So it was that this embrace came with additional warmth, and Kära felt herself nestle down against him.

"Not yet" she whispered; she had only recently found out herself, and wasn't so certain how Thyrian would take the news. More to the point, she was afraid of shaking up the slight foundation that had been made between she, Thyrian, and Mysa. "No one knows."

Kära was happy though, grateful for the bundle of life growing within her. She adored her Phoenix, and together they would adore this child.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Thurion was positively bursting at the seams with joy for the new life growing inside Kära. It kind of made him wonder why he and Coci never thought of having another child. Perhaps raising one [member="Théodred Heavenshield"] was enough to last them a lifetime - he had proven quite the handful, after all. Still though, neither he or Coci were getting any younger...

A nod of understanding was sent Kära's way. "I get it. He won't hear it from me," he said with a permanent grin reaching from cheek to cheek. "But I know this," he added while gently settling a hand upon her tummy. "Thyrian will be overjoyed. He always looks out for the small and helpless." Even after all this time, he still idolises his older brother. "Imagine the lengths he'll go to protect his own flesh and blood."

The two would soon find a seat in the grass where she had found him. The sharp midday sun was effectively neutralised by the combined canopies high above, allowing for only tiny specks of sunlight to reach the area where they sat. "I've always loved coming here for meditation. Nothing creates a sense of serenity quite like the tranquil beauty of nature."

Then his head tilted to the side ever so slightly as curiosity took over. "How did you two meet, Kära? You and Thyrian, I mean. I'd ask my brother, but you know how he is; not much of a talker, that one." Even as a boy, his elder sibling had been taciturn to a fault, only ever speaking when he has something to say. Sometimes it made him feel like he was talking to a brick wall, but he knew he could count on Thyrian to hang onto every word.

[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]​

 

[Lief]

She could not help but mimic the grand grin which had planted itself upon the lips of her greatest friend. Together the pair found seat among the grass, and it was there that she fully began to appreciate the beauty of this world. From the trees above came the sound of birdcall, yet it was more than that. It was more of a song, really, various voices pitching in to flourish the wonders of the forest. In the distance she could hear other native animals, but none mesmerized her more than those which soared overhead.

A wish of hers had always been to fly away and seek her freedom away from it all. Aloof, far from the worries of Sith and Jedi. Far from it all. In a way that had come true, thanks to the man before her. He had brought her to a more stable point in life, he had given her back her daughter and with that the realization that she could be so much more. That she could have so much more.

She was allowed to love. She was allowed to be an ordinary woman, with ordinary desires. Was it wrong to want a family? Was it wrong to want to forget the Force which ran within her and forsake it in favour of... Of what? A husband? Children?

Tranquility.

Both she and the Ashborn had never known such a life. But perhaps now they could.

Thurion's question brought her from these thoughts, and for a moment she remained silent yet thoughtful. Her eyes lifted, and a slightly saddened expression replaced the former grin.

She wanted to lie. She wanted to tell him something nice, something beautiful. But the truth was far from it.

And she couldn't lie, not to him. Not to her Furry.

"I was just a child at the time... Barely older than Mysa is now." The thought of young Mysa, who was just shy of nine years old, experiencing the horrors that she had by that age, terrified her, and instinct bade her to lower a hand to the life growing within her. "It was shortly after I left you, in fact. I was working for a Sith - though I swear it had never been my intention to return to them - and she had quite the complex. Full of areas for a curious mind to explore."

Kära exhaled, clutching for further ways to delay the inevitable story.

"I found him there, my sweet Phoenix... She had been experimenting on him. Though he was more ash than man. More fire." She lowered her head in shame. "I promised I'd return for him, when I could. And I did. I should have freed him, I should have let him go... But I didn't. I was afraid. Afraid of the Sith who surrounded me, afraid of the fiery man I'd just stolen from Circe... So instead I made him my own."

She didn't want to go into that. She couldn't. It wasn't right.

"He watched over me, he served and fought for me... He even died for me." To this her throat contracted, and tears welled at her eyes. "I'm not proud of the girl I was back then, of the things I made him do, of the things I myself did, and as he and I both grew I realized that I had gone too far. But I couldn't stop it, I needed him as much as he needed me, Thurion. I never realized I could have that without a level of control involved. Not until I died. Not until I became two minds in one body..."

She could see both sides of the spectrum now. The side which needed him, and the side which loved him. She could not explain the notion of being two people to him, it wasn't something she'd come to grips with yet herself.

"I love him, though. I always have. You have to believe that, if nothing else."

Truly did she feel ashamed. Not only was she speaking about another human being, but the brother of the man stood before her. Her soulmate.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]