Private The Path

[Jairdain]

The amount of time Jairdain had been meditating was less than she had expected once she came out of it. Her journey had almost taken her from one end of the Galaxy to the other and then back to her body on Kashyyyk. It didn't take her too long to recover from not moving for those months and as soon as she felt confident she could travel, she contacted her brother.

Arriving on Veradune, she came off the shuttle that had picked her up and smiled as she saw Vulps approaching her. A green wolf sat on her shoulder and perked up as walked over to them.

"Good to see you, brother. What's been going on?"

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

A broad smile welcomed Jairdain as she left he shuttle. Standing on the landing pad, arms open and flanked by a set of relaxed guards, Vulpesen welcomed his sister back to her ancestral home with Ace sitting on his own shoulder, greeting his fellow wolf. "Its been too long, sis. Where the hell have you been?" His shadow black tail flicked in excitement as he awaited her answer while motioning for a speeder to take them to his main estate.

Time had seemed to slow down for the past few months. The Vitae accepted jobs and saved people. He spent time with his kids and tended the stables and affairs of state. Occasionally, he took the odd job meeting to boost moral for his general troops. But for the most part, life on Veradune had been peaceful. While peace was certainly kind to most races. To a zorren king forged in the fires of war, it was almost maddening and he looked forward to the distraction of a meeting with his family.

Jairdain

 

[Jairdain]

Walking up to her brother, she gave him the hug his open arms indicated he wanted. She wasn't at all opposed to giving one to him. They were family. Sage greeted Ace and they got into the speeder that was waiting for them. The two wolves sat together and were probably talking about their own adventures since their last meeting.

What had gone by in a heartbeat for her, had passed normally for Vulps and the rest of the Galaxy. He asked where she had been. Making herself comfortable, she rested her hands in her lap for a moment before shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"Meditating."

It was just one word, but it carried a ton of weight behind it.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

As a general rule, Vulpesen hated the mechanical. His acquired role as a wilder had only increased that sentiment. Given the chance, he avoided driving like the plague, something which currently allowed him to sit with Jair as they were driven to their destination. It was also a benefit as upon hearing her answer,, the resulting aneurysm would have sent them spiraling into a tree.

Staring at Jairdain , Vulpesen couldn't help the slight twitch in his eye as he processed her response. "Meditating... For what? Months?" Life was movement, activity, and action. Just because he could live for a few thousand years didn't mean the thought of staying still for more than thirty minutes was something that the Valde could even begin to entertain. "That would drive me insane."

 

[Jairdain]

The shock at her answer was like a beacon to Jairdain through the Force. Being as empathic as she was, she picked up on emotions easily, even if the person was trying to hide them. Her brother wasn't. Sage perked up when he sensed the surprise from his companion.

Nodding her head, "yes, I meditated for months. The Force kept me alive..."

After it was discovered she could use the Force, her studies had focused on the more mystical side of things. This included meditation. At this stage in her life, it was as natural as breathing for her.

"Obviously you need to practice. It's not hard!"

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Maybe not for you. I'm certain I could do it eventually. I would just need to lose my sanity beforehand. Also, my advisers are barely willing to let me take a two minute nap. If I spent a month in mediation, I'd wake up in a carmuuth lair." Looking up, Vulpesen noticed the spire of the Valde's estate growing larger and larger, heralding their rapidly approaching return to home. "Though, I do understand the force keeping you alive. Seems there have been many days I lived only by its influence. Anything else you've been up to besides putting yourself through a self inflicted coma?"

Jairdain

 

[Jairdain]

"Wake up in a what?"

Her soon to be husband had ensured she remained safe. He had taken care of their children and even moved her around when he had found a new home for their growing family. Even now it would grow more in the near future. Might even be something Sage had already shared with Ace. Jairdain kept her mouth shut on the matter though.

Tilting her head at what else he said, it wasn't something she was aware of.

"How is that possible?"

Not yet answering his question, she waited to hear his answer.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Carmuuth lair. Big scaly thing. Shoots spines from its tail. Generally nasty disposition." Sitting up in his seat as they started to reach the garage of his estate. "A blaster that misses by a hair. A push that was a little stronger than I thought I could do. That piece of shrapnel that missed my heart by an inch. There are many ways in which the force intervenes, many of which aren't quite as obvious as others." Rising from his seat, he offered a hand to help Jairdain out as well.

 

[Jairdain]

The animal he described didn't sound pleasant at all and when he capped it off by saying it had a nasty disposition, she shivered slightly.

"Yeah, I don't think I want to meet one of them. You mean to tell me, your advisors would put you there?"

She was one of those herself and would never dream of putting one of her charges into any danger. Letting out a little humph noise when he called the meditation a coma. He was pretty accurate in the statement, but she had accomplished most of what she had desired from it.

Listening to what he said, she nodded. The Force worked for him ways similar to her, but not in entirely the same way. Instead of causing these things to miss her, it put others in the path of such things and kept her free from harm.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Chuckling slightly at her concern, he made his way through the doors and into the main body of his home. "I've certainly heard some mutterings every now and then. But nothing overly serious. They understand why I do the things I do. Or at least, most of them do. And for all the grumbling I hear, none seem to really regret giving me the office of Valde." Upon reaching the main hall, Vulpesen would stop, his ears flicking to a stair case where he could faintly hear two pairs of small feet, rapidly heading towards them. In the force, he could also sense the two familiar lights who owned said feet and the excitement that they carried with them. "Seems I'm not the only one who's been wondering where you've been."
Jairdain

 

[Jairdain]

Walking alongside her bother, Jairdain listened to what he said and chuckled just a little.

"I have to admit, I've been tempted to do that a few of the people I've advised. The biggest part of that is one of them is missing. When I was meditating, I had an encounter with him, so I know he's still alive. Somehow he also knows of Marcus. You'll have to meet him!"

When she mentioned her son, he could tell she wanted them to meet.

"Bring him to this world though. That is a scary thought."

Turning her head at the sound of approaching feet, she was almost bowled over by the children attached to them. Giving them hugs and kisses, she wanted them to meet their cousin as well.

"What have you two been up to?"

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smirked at the apprehension and continued towards one of the doors on the side of the main hall, turning back to give his response before he opened the door. "Oh come on. Veradune's not that bad. The city is safe and my kids love the wildlife." As if on cue, Vallen would come leaping from the balcony, Running over to his aunt to hug her while sister took the more severed approach of dashing down the stairs to pile in on the embrace.

"Training and learning!" Vallen declared ignoring the admonishing gaze from his father. "Wilder Ardais says I'm really good at moving things with the force!"

"And Wilder Ulira says I've been excelling in my meditations and animal training." Daella beamed up at her aunt as the furry head of her pet Pythros peeked out from behind her, a testament to her words.

"See? Perfectly healthy. Bursting with energy, especially if someones using force leaps in the house." The last words, coaxed a sheepish smile from Vallen who angled himself a bit more behind his aunt. "I'm sure Marcus will love it here." Stepping through the doors, Vulpesen entered one of the estates main lounge areas.

Jairdain

 

[Jairdain]

"It is if you're a blind fool! Both of us are, easy prey for the animals here."

Yes, the city was safe, but Marcus liked to wander and would probably attempt to make some sort of escape. Her niece and nephew weren't old enough to take care of him, in her opinion but they were getting close. Sage had run off, but Jairdain listened to each of the kids and smiled at their progress.

"I can also help with those. Look at it this way, I just came out of a meditation that lasted for months! Not that you need to do that...or anything."

As she finished speaking her tone got less confident and secure.

"You two think you can keep a blind child out of mischief?"

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Then don't be a fool." Reaching over to a nearby decanter, Vulpesen poured himself a small drink. "The Carmuuth is among the most feared creatures of our mountains and deserts. And yet, it has no eyes. I also remember much of my jedi training being done with an opaque blast shield." He lifted his glass to his lips, enjoying the first sip while the kids spoke their peace.

"All we have to do is keep him out of the deep woods. The other sects keep the forests near the city walls safe for normal people," Vallen said as he peered at the label of his father's drink.

"Most of what's close is pretty nice. Even the Teradin's are well marked, so it'll be easy for us to keep him away from anything bad." There was a pride in Daella's voice. After all, she'd been in and out of the forest at least twice of a week, and had been in the deep woods several times herself, studying and dealing with the dangers of Veradune's wilds, even in her young age.

Vulpesen, while protective, was not the kind to coddle his children. In his young teenage years, he'd been running through the criminal underworld of Nar Shadaa. Later years he would be on the forefront of wars, fighting for his life before his twentieth year. Even before his wilder adventures, he had been helping Zarro track down poachers on Amar. Why should his children be any less exceptional?

Jairdain

 

[Jairdain]

Giving her brother a blank look, she would have pointed out the obvious if he didn't already know.

"I'm not a fool!"

Turning her attention back to his children, she nodded as they spoke. Holding up a hand, she pointed it at Dalla.

"He can't see the markings for the trees. Marcus isn't as strong in the Force am I am, but he's getting better at certain things. If you're at all into technology, then you'll get along fine."

She didn't coddle Marcus too much and allowed him to wander around, but never left him alone. At his age and without sight, he could easily get lost. If she wasn't with him, then somebody else was. Quite often that was Yuroic. Her love and soon to be spouse as well as the father of their daughter and unborn child she was carrying.

Only the two of them knew about that one. Not counting Sage who knew her almost better than anything else.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Then you should have nothing to fear. And Marcus wouldn't be the only child in our fair city. The outer guards know than to let younglings wander into the wilds." Having said his peace, Vulpesen reclined once more in his chair, watching as his kids moved to their own seats, getting comfortable on the soft furniture.

"We'll be able to watch over him. Besides, there's lots of places in the city that we can visit," Daella chirped as she curled up on a couch near her brother.

For a moment, silence would fall on the room, punctuated by a small sip of the liquor in Vulpesen's glass. Enjoying the momentary peace, he let his senses drift in the force, feeling the five presences in the room. Stopping mid-sip, his golden eyes darted to Jairdain as the realization hit him. Five? "Seems you've been holding something back, sis."

 

[Jairdain]

Her brother and his kids made a few good points.

"There will be a time when he can come. Just not today. He's on Kashyyyk right now probably trying to get into trouble. That's his nature. So much more work than I ever was."

The life she had lead growing up was a good one, she had loving parents and no siblings. It brought a question to her mind and her eyebrows came together for a moment.

"Why did our parents leave me behind?"

This probably wasn't something to talk about in front of his kids, but she voiced the question anyway. Perhaps an answer would be provided at another time. A drink was given to her and she raised the glass to her mouth to take a sip.

She could hear him also taking a drink and that it stopped quickly. Giving him a smile and finishing her own drink, she set the glass down on the table next to her.

"You really think so? I don't. You're going to be an uncle for the third time. Nothing secret there. Though not many know about this one. Sage, Yuroic, my family on Kashyyyk and now you three. Since I'm not showing yet, I haven't told anybody else."

Marcus they already knew of, but her other daughter might be a surprise to them. They just so rarely chatted, she might not have mentioned Nitya to them before today.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Widening his grin at the thought, Vulpesen mused at the thought of his younger family causing chaos in the trees. Seems it was a common thing in the males of the Torrevaso line, even if Marcus didn't hold the name. His smile however,w as put to an end as Jairdain dropped a proton bomb of a question. For a moment, Vulpesen sat, stunned as his kids glanced between the pair, not quite nervous, but certainly a bit confused.

Seeing the amber liquid rising to the pregnant woman's lips however, snapped the Valde out of it. With a lift of his hand, he shot the glass into his own hand and downed it. "Perhaps we should order you something else... as for our parents... They left us both. They left me with Zarro. They left you with your parents. We were being hunted. I found my way back after giving myself to the force. You just took a little longer. " Reaching down to a small keyboard on his seat, Vulpesen put out an order to get the aforementioned drink. "They didn't leave you behind. They lost you. You remember how happy mom was when she saw you. Had she known you were safe, I'm sure she'd have torn apart the galaxy to find you. Quite literally. I knew about them because Zarro was an Amaran and I wasn't. Also when I was old enough, Zarro gave me a holocron. You probably would have gotten one too."

 

[Jairdain]

When her brother took the glass from her hands, Jairdain fruitlessly tried to get it back. Hoping to give him a dirty look, it probably appeared to be something else entirely. Being without sight didn't help when it came to making facial expressions easy for the woman.

"Fine! If you insist, I'll have juice.!"

There wasn't any heat or anger in her tone. Listening to his answer left her a little confused and she tilted her head in a manner that was similar to what a dog would with curiosity.

"They didn't raise you either? Why were we hunted?"

She remembered how happy they all were to get reunited.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Before long, one of the butlers would arrive into the room, carrying three glasses for Jairdain and the Valde's children before bustling off once more one the beverages were dispensed so that the family could continue their conversation.

"I was raised on Amar by a beast trader named Zarro. My parents intended for me to decide between Jedi and sith. I chose jedi. Became a sith, then next thing I knew, I had left both and discovered I wasn't even human." Lifting up his glass, he peered into it, his golden eyes shining through the amber drink. "Zorrens long ago had been pushed from Veradune. Driven into hiding and hunted by a coalition of raiders who took our riches for themselves. We were animals who's tails were trophies. Alexandra and I found Veradune in that state. It was I who struck down their leader and took back our home. That's why they made me Valde."

Vulpesen and Jair were both technically of royal blood. But there was a reason beyond her lack of interest that he never feared her as a source of competition for his position. Jairdain was a lost daughter. He was a savior and it took more than blood to be Valde. Even his most annoyed advisers knew better than to question him. He had done too much for his people, even on the day he arrived. "I was never told of our people's race. I found it through the force and coincidence. Much the same as you did."