Session export: Visiting Hours

Cole himself had spent the last few days in the hospital. The recent attack on him had left him with severe bloodloss and a need for time to recuperate before he was released. The Force had saved his life but it wasn’t able to replenish his blood count. Theyd asked if he wanted ‘someone to talk to’ and waved them off. The last thing he needed was people prying. He was weak enough as is without it being advertised.

Thankfully Cole had been made aware of the fact he was married. To Sagitta. Ruka’s explanation hadn’t really made sense and it had been a rather tense conversation but the nurse hadn’t had to deal with informing him of that bit at least. She had however had to deal with him discovering Sagitta was in hospital.

Hed known she was going on a mission soon. How the kriff had it gone so wrong?! Despite the Human’s desire to return to the Voidbreaker, he pulled the fraying scraps of himself together and clasped them in place. He could do this.

The nurse led him to the room and she gently knocked on the door and opened it, smiling to the bed bound Mirilian, “You have a visitor.”

Cole was just visible from over the woman’s shoulder.

Cole hesitated once the nurse left. Kriff, Sagitta did not.. look good. He couldn’t see the injuries themselves anymore but the amount of equipment was worrying.

Still, after that moment he crossed the room and stopped a few feet away, looking toward the door way, “Yeah apparently we are. Well. Married. I found out a day ago, apparently Lady Atriyu does.. that sometimes. We can get it annulled.”

He cleared his throat, resisting the urge to do some nervous tic and instead sitting down in the chair beside the bed.

Cole watched her delve into panic, brow creasing with concern for her.

“I’m worried.” He stated. It wasn’t a lie. “What happened?”

Cole had listened intently, regretting asking at the strain it caused. Shed given enough though, so he could let it go. If it was a proper mission he’d be able to track down a debriefing.

That scar though… it was in her heart. Black. A trace of the dark that had touched her but a stab to the heart… Cole had watched the life leak from someone’s eyes after being stabbed there. Twisted the blade and felt them go limp under it. Sagitta should be dead. The realisation shook him enough that he remained quiet through the nurse’s visit and for the few moments after.

“We can stop talking about it now. You’ll have plenty of time to, later.” Cole spoke, his tone softer than usual. He wanted to ask more details but even if she knew them… no.

He reached a hand out and clasped her hand in his. It felt wrong. He shouldn’t be trying to be a comfort to her when he should be letting her go. But she was hurting dammit. She deserved this at least.

“I’ll go when they arrive.” He said softly, still holding her hand though unsure of what to say. What could you say?

He couldn’t think of anything from his prior experiences being close to death that would be.. kind of achievable within a few short minutes.

After a few awkward beats of silence, he decided to do with a short bit honesty, if blunt, “I know you’re not stupid Sagitta and only an idiot would be okay after this. You don’t have to pretend. It won’t make it better either way.”

“You need to heal.”

Cole was on his feet, taking the data pad away from her and seeing what she was looking at. For kriffs sake, missions? Maybe she is stupid. He wanted to wince at his own thoughts. He closed it off, placing it off to the side. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Sagitta you’re a normal person. You.. no ones going to think less of you, they know you have to rest. Heal. Not.. go on a mission when you can’t handle it. Sagitta from the story book, she always had her friends help her heal up right? Support her before the next adventure.”

He avoided bringing up the before. She didn’t need to think about it further than she already was but looking at missions already? This.. No. He could handle this kriff because he’d been trained for it. Even then there were limits that she’d never learned. No. For once she had to know when to stay put. Hopefully she wouldn’t be like Zuza and just kriffing disappear when she was done in her opinion.

Measured footfalls carried the shani into the Selen Medical Center. They strode up to the concierge desk and clicked their tapered nails on the acrylic countertop to catch the attendant’s attention. A Pkorian man looked up from the pile of papers he was reviewing to address them. “How may I help you?” he said with an enthusiastic lilt in his voice that belied the tired look in his delft-blue eyes.

“Someone I know was admitted to this hospital yesterday,” Savi began, “I’m here to visit her, so I need to know what room she’s in. The name is Sagitta Armis.”

While the attendant worked on accessing Sagitta’s patient file, Savran scanned the hospital atrium’s interior. The lack of present security worried them. This was a civilian hospital, but surely it saw enough Arconan members admitted into its care to necessitate some kriffing armed personnel. This was a major security risk.

“Okay,” the pkorian attendant called out, “She’s on the second floor, room 13A. If you get lost, there’ll be placards on each floor that you can use to find your way.”

Savi nodded and gave the counter a final tap before heading to the nearest elevator.

The elevator doors opened, and they hurried through them, rounding the corner and following the numbered tiles to find their way to Sagitta’s room. Once they saw the room labeled “13A” and that the door was closed, they gave it three knocks before calling out to Sagitta from the other side. “Are you decent? It’s Savi.”

Cole had squeezed Sagitta’s hand back, a gentle motion as a quiet show that he was present.

He jumped slightly as the knocks rang out, letting go of her hand but leaving the one on the Mirilan’s shoulder as he looked to her.

It wasn’t his decision to make.

Savran entered and reached into their bag to retrieve a pair of jet-black joggers and a hoodie. “I brought you a change of clothes for when you’re released,” they said while stepping into the room. “I didn’t know your size, so I got something that was adjustable.”

They placed the clothes on the little mobile tray at the foot of her bed. Then, Savi looked to Cole and offered him a brief nod, “Cole.” They didn’t seem surprised that he was there. In fact, they’d expected it.

Savi moved to the opposite side of Sagitta’s bed and reached out to give her arm a gentle squeeze while looking at her. “How are you feeling?” Their eyes drifted down to the scar so they could make note of how it was healing.

“I didn’t, but I wanted to,” they replied in a nonchalant tone. “You’ll likely be given your clothes and other belonging you arrived with when you’re released, but they’ll need to be cleaned, anyway. So, these are yours.” Sagitta hadn’t answered their question, but they didn’t blame her. They couldn’t imagine that finding the appropriate words after experiencing what she had was easy.

When Cole stood and headed for the door, Savi called out to him. “You and I need to talk later.” Their words lacked the bite they had the last time the two had spoken; they were serious, but not scathing.

Cole paused on his way out, looking back with a slightly raised eyebrow. There was no malice there. Nothing that would suggest this was a threat or a jibe. It unsettled him.

“..Sagitta has my comm codes.”

He imagined if he had hers without them ever exchanging them, then Atriyu likely ensured that Sagitta had his. As much as he now wanted to discard the number and all current devices just in case Tyris’ wife wanted to try it all again.

There was a moment of hesitation before he turned, opening the door and stepping out of the hospital room.

Savi raised an eyebrow at Cole’s response. His change in tone, body language, and the hesitation in his voice all pointed to the fact that something they said bothered him. Unnerved him. No, it wasn’t what they said, but how they said it. The realization amused them, but they didn’t show it. Of course, it was their use of something other than mild cruelty in their address to him that bothered the man. He’d known nothing else in their entire time knowing one another. How ironic.

Savi looked to the heart monitor when the peeping quickened, and then to Sagitta. “I won’t be long,” the assured her, shooting the nurse a glance that forced the woman to break eye contact before heading out the door after Cole.

“Hey,” Savran called to him.“

He’d already made something of a distance but no where near far enough to properly ignore Savi. Cole paused his step, turning his head toward them.

“Yes?”

“How much did she tell you? About what happened?” Savi asked, folding their arms across their chest while leaning against the nearest wall.

“That you got to a village, burned out. Cultists. The general briefing you were given originally. She got electroded, kidnapping and stabbed with a dagger to the heart. She.. didn’t say exactly what happened, it’s unclear in her memory but I’m assuming she died. In some regard or another.”

The tension in him remained, he moved slightly so he didn’t have his back to them but Cole made no move to close the gap between them. He regarded the Tekuani with his usual attempt at a mask, though there were cracks today. A strain that showed in the slight creases of his brow, the tension in his shoulders and how his hands were dug deep into his pockets. It still spoke of confidence to the usual onlooker.

“This Sith, Lord Scimitar, as his worshipers call him, is a problem, Cole,” they said, pushing off the wall and stepping closer to him if only so they could lower their voice. One could never be too careful, after all. “He’s extremely old, and deranged. He possessed her and attacked all of us.”

Savi paused for a moment to let the information sink in before continuing. “When he realized that the destruction of the dagger was inevitable, he decided to kill Sagitta first.”

They sighed. “And there’s something else. The last name Sagitta called for before she died was yours, Cole.”

He wasn’t sure why they decided that that.. was his problem. Was it a request? Was Sagitta a primary target now? Did he need to-

Cole didn’t have time to react or question it before the Tekuani sighed. The words that followed didn’t register initially. His brow creased. Confusion. Shock? It was a mix of emotions that struggled to rise above and through what was already clawing at him. It was shoved down though, back beneath the tide and everything was maintained. Calm. As it should be.

He swallowed, shifting his weight to his other foot before speaking, “Why did you want to tell me that Savi?”

There was no accusation in his voice, carefully metered as it often was though a tiredness bore through.

After nearly having to argue with, and then convince the front receptionist about letting her bring her Vornskr with her to visit Sagitta. Finally they let her simply sign a waiver form for him, and gave her directions to the Mirialan’s room. Once they were in the elevator, Tahiri breathed a sigh of relief that Zuska stayed calm the entire time. “Good boy Hadzuska. You were very good, I know you want to see Gitta as bad as I do. Thank you boy,” she cooed to him in Togruti.

As soon as the doors opened, Zuska loped forward, his tail wagging eagerly as he sniffed the air for any scent of the female he sat with the entire trip to Selen doing his best to comfort her, even though for most of the trip she was asleep.

“Zuska, wait up,” Tahiri tried to call as quietly as possible after him. The petite Togruta had to quicken her pace to keep up with the sleek canine. He found Sagitta’s door fairly quickly, totally ignoring the two people just a few steps down the hall talking. He pawed at the door and then used his nose to open it. Before she could catch him, the Vornskr had already slipped into the room. Tahiri saw Savi talking with a young man, not wanting to interrupt and hoping to catch Zuska before he jumped up onto Sagitta.

She quickly knocked on the door before opening it, “Hi Sagitta, it’s Tahiri.” Entering the room, she paused for second, taking a quick glance at all the different equipment that was in the room. Getting little info on how the surgery went bothered Tahiri, but seeing the Mirialan sitting up and talking was good. As her eyes darted around for her pet, easily finding him. Just as she thought, he was halfway up onto the bed, his paws across Sagitta’s lap, while his nose gently sniffed her, giving little licks and whining, wagging his barbed tail.

The nurse meanwhile had stifled a scream by cupping hers hands over her mouth, and was now trying the shoo Zuska off of Sagitta.

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“I had my suspicions that there was something going on between you two,” Savi answered, “But now it’s clear that you mean a lot to her. So, you should know that she intends to see this business with the immortal Sith to the end. She said as much before passing out again. ”

They stared at him with a serious expression, taking note of the minutiae that flashed on his face while he registered their words.

As they spoke, Savi spotted Tahiri and her pet pass and enter Sagitta’s room. They gave her a quick nod before returning their attention to Cole.

Cole’s eyes followed Tahiri as she entered, assuming that the woman was one of the ‘team’.

“I wouldn’t expect any different from her.” He commented carefully. This was weird. What was the angle?

“And you’re okay with that?” they asked, attempting to steer him in the direction they had in mind.

“I’m not okay with her dying if that’s what you’re trying to ask. Neither am I going to try and convince her to not finish a job she’s set on finishing. Only to be careful, which she was from what I was told.” He frowned.

There was a part of him that wanted to state he’d be there for the next one. To confirm that he’d be present to protect Sagitta. Properly. A large part but one that was drowned out by so much else. Would him being present even have made a difference?

Likely not.

“Is that all?” He sighed as he spoke, purposefully focussed on not shifting position again.

Savi rolled their eyes. Why would they think he’d be okay with her dying? If that were the case, why would he visit her at all? “Yeah, she was careful,” Savi confirmed. “Could have been any of us.”

They released a sigh of their own and reached into their pocket to retrieve a code cylinder, which they handed to him. “Look, Cole, clearly we both have a vested interest in Sagitta’s wellbeing. We can’t always be with her so we might as well have a way of contacting one another in case something like this happens again. Force knows the woman is a magnet for on-the-job injuries.”

Cole took it, using it to take down the code into his own before handing the Tekuani his.

“I’ve noticed.”

They copied his comlink codes to their datapad before handing the code cylinder back and taking their own. “I bet you have,” they said flatly, before turning to head back to the room. “I’ll be seeing you, Cole.”

He hummed, a non-commital response. Not common for the Farrow but he was turning away and walking down the corridor towards the elevators.

Tahiri giggled while she watched Zuska easily and eagerly climbed into the bed with Sagitta. As she walked up to the Mirialan’s bedside, she looked at the nurse, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.” Then she turned to Sagitta, and smiled her signature sincere smile.

“Hey Sagitta, I’m doing well. Just got my new Envoy uniform, though to be honest I may still have more alterations done,” she made a small gesture to her outfit as she twisted a little. Then leaned forward to give the woman a small hug, though she ended up hugging both Zuska and Sagitta, noticing the black scar as she did. “How are you doing? Is there anything you need?”

The Togruta’s smile faltered for half a second, before softening, “I glad you’re fully healed now.” Pausing for a moment, trying to decide how to tell Sagitta. Why did this feel so hard to do. It’s like when I let a squad members family know their child isn’t coming back, or that they were severely injured enough that they’re not coming back the same as they had been before. Tahiri was glad that she could hide her hands behind Zuska’s back, as she clenched them hard, enough to leave indents of her nails.

Finally, she inhaled and then let out a long sigh, “I can either tell you the short quick version, or I can be a bit more detailed and tell you a little longer version. The reason I’m giving you a choice is cause, I don’t want to you freak or stress out. I have a feeling you want to know everything, however I, don’t want to overload you all at once. I will ask you, before I tell you anything, at any point you start to feel stressed or uncomfortable, tell me, so that you can take the you need to grasp and understand everything. We can stop, and I can always tell you the rest at a later time. Ok?”

After finishing their conversation with Cole, Savran remained in the hallway for a few moments to respond to a message that came through their datapad via a wireless connection to the comlink worn around their wrist. The message was from Celipa, informing them that she needed to go into town to acquire parts for their ship’s routine maintenance. Savi typed a message in response, informing the zelosian woman to let them know how much it would all be so they could transfer the credits needed.

Once that was done, Savran knocked on the door again before stepping inside. They nodded to Tahiri before taking a seat near Sagitta’s bed.

Tahiri nodded, gently smiling as she understood how Sagitta felt. If it had been her this had happened to, she would want to know everything that happened as well. Placing her hand on Zuska, absentmindedly petting his sleek fur, thinking of how she wanted to word everything. Although, it would be best that she hears the whole truth and not just a version of the truth, so I’ll tell her everyth-, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock, seeing Savi enter made her feel a bit better. Nodding back to the Shani, before taking a deep breath, “I completely understand Sagitta. Yes, you did hear Maricks’ voice on the ship. He personally communicated with us, especially after Savi expressed interest in continuing till all of the remaining pieces of this ‘Immortal Sith’s’ soul is found and taken care of. I have also pledged myself to be on the team till this has ended.”

Pausing for just a moment to catch her breath, she continued, “We finished the debriefing after we got you here to the hospital. To be honest, we all just gave what we knew to be relavent to the mission, no full details, so reading the debriefing wouldn’t really tell you what fully happened. So, since you want to know what happened in full, then we,” she nodded to Savi sitting on the other side of the bed. “Would be the only ones to be able to tell you. sigh” Keeping her voice as level as possible as she told Sagitta everything that happened right after she was stabbed with the Sith dagger. There were times however, where her voice cracked when describing how they had to fight her, becoming slightly angry as she described how that monster twisted the dagger in her heart so as to take her with his loss, and then slightly hurried when retelling how everyone hurried to save her and keep her on the living plane.

Zuska kept nuzzling Sagitta and looking back at Tahiri whenever he felt either of them needed a little extra support. He whined a little and laid his head on the Mirialan’s chest, when his Alpha described how he had ran forward and held her down by her ankle, along with holding onto her while the rest of the team rushed to heal her.

“I will admit, Zuska felt really bad for having to attack you, and hold you down like he had to,” the Togruta scratched his head a little, before petting his back. “He even tried to help heal you, by licking your ankle, and he didn’t want to leave your side, I had to hold him back when the hospital staff took you inside.” Grabbing a chair, Tahiri sat down tiredly.

Savi listened attentively to Sagitta’s words at first, but her words eventually faded into the background, usurped by the tide of emotions that washed upon the shore of their mind. To say that Sagitta was in a state of ambivalence was an understatement. Feelings of fear, of relief, of anger, flowed from the mirialan’s mind. It was no surprise that she was feeling that way given what she’d experienced, and Savran suspected that the depth of those emotions was greater than what this glimpse suggested. Dying and being resuscitated was no small ordeal, and she had experienced it twice in the span of an hour or less.

Although they initially parted their lips to speak, shani decided against it after picking up a few stray thoughts from the woman’s mind. Thoughts colored by desire. By avarice. Then, it was gone, bottled up and cast somewhere Savi couldn’t reach. Worrisome.

The change in conversation was a welcome one. “I can help with that,” they offered, “I know of a place where you can find a kyber crystal for yourself.”

If looks could kill half of the hospital staff would find itself one with the force from the rage Asani was emanating whenever she gave anyone a glance as she entered the hospital.

Not that anyone of the staff or patients would be able to tell under the inexpressive gaze of the beskar T visor helmet she wore. Yet the subtle things gave her away given enough time. Things seemed to be almost repelled from her as she walked the halls, her armor making gentle noises as she moved. Her voice had an undertone of aggression. She was trying her damnedest to stay calm. To not let her anger make her explode and do something unnecessary or foolish.

Having given her sisters name to the front desk she was pointed in the proper direction with a room number. She knew the way to the room though, she could feel her sister close. She was following protocol instead of dashing in like a maniac, she was doing her best to stay calm.

The walk to the room felt eternal, she longed to dash the way she knew her legs could carry her. They itched to jump off the walls to make her trip fast, to hold her sister. Yet she walked at an agonizingly slow pace. She despised the feeling, it made her legs almost protest.

Upon approaching her sisters room she let out a sigh as she opened the door. She was greeted to the sight of her sister with company. This helped ease the edge off Asani, if only a little bit. She made her way over next to the bed before hopping onto it. She wasn’t pleased an animal was there on top of her sister but given her sister didn’t mind, she wouldn’t either.

“Thank you for keeping my baby sister company” she addressed her fellow guests in the room, one of which she noticed was “Jaws” as she had recalled from their little misadventure with the cyborg.

“How are you Gita?” she asked. It was an unusually calm way for her to ask, her helmet did nothing to help give away any feeling and her tone was forcibly monotone for the sake of not causing her sibling distress.

Savran sensed Asani’s approach well before she reached the door but seeing as their attention was squarely on Sagitta and the tumult of emotions she was feeling, they didn’t bother looking to the door when the kushiban entered. “Don’t mention it,” they replied with a measured tone, letting their eyes linger on the mirialan for a moment longer before turning to look at Asani. “Figured she could use it.”

Asani hugged her sister, her embrace was lighter than it usually was, enough to avoid causing injury in any way. Her armor didn’t help as it was cool to the touch. It might be a bit uncomfortable if the younger sibling was already feeling cold in any way. She noticed the scar on her siblings chest then and inspected it intently. Personal space was not something she would afford her sister for the time being. She didn’t like the look of that scar, it frightened her.

“Im glad you’re alright, if you don’t mind I’m going to steal your guests for a minute. It’ll be quick.” Her tone was still monotone, she refused to remove her helmet too, unusual for the sibling. Normally by now she would be helmet off and yelling at her sibling about how she had been irresponsible, but not this time. She was holding back; every impulse, every comment, every gesture was calculated and even. The playful pranking sibling was gone and in her place stood something similar to their father even. A calm stoic presence, or at least the illusion of one.

She looked to Savi and the Togruta present as if indicating they should follow her outside for a moment. “If you would be so kind, Id like to have a short conversation and ask some questions.” she commented. Taking her time to get off the bed and walk to the door, her armor making noise with her every step, she stood by the door waiting for either guest to follow.

The elder sibling expected the resistance, slipping out of the grip with ease. How she was able to slip through almost anything was more of an art-form at this point than anything else by comparison.

“I know you were. But that’s not what I should be doing right now. You need to rest and even if you know what happened I want you to be safe and relaxed, rather than talking about something that will make you stressed. It won’t take long and we’ll be back quickly.” She wasn’t taking Sagitta’s protests with her usual humor and mischief.

Her behavior was unusually stoic, it seems almost unnatural. Asani was always the first to scold Sagitta, even before their Buir, about her reckless behavior, yell maybe even say she’d get herself killed but right now there seemed to be almost an emotional wall there. Asani was holding back everything and was refusing to express anything.

“You’re safe and thats what matters most. Just relax for a moment.” Asani commented from the door, waiting to be followed by either Savi or the Togruta stranger.

Savran heard the request but didn’t budge. Instead, they shifted their gaze to Sagitta to give her a knowing look before offering Asani a response. “That’s understandable but nothing we can discuss will be more stressful than what she’s already endured,” And when they reached the end of their sentence, they stressed the final word endured to emphasize that she had, in fact, endured.

“You can handle it. Isn’t that right, Sagitta?”

The shani’s gaze lingered on the mirialan for a moment longer before returning to her elder sibling.

Hearing those words made something within Asani feel indignation. A tug of anger she was keeping at bay slipped a bit with the word “disrespect” being uttered at her. Her calm little show was fading fast, it seemed. Usually she was quick to yell, throw things and place blame. Her calm façade was a way of keeping everyone happy, she knew she wasn’t the best at it but by all things imaginable she was trying. “Disrespect?” She asked, following a dry chuckle.

“Respect is a funny word you know. To me giving you time to heal, away from my yelling and what everyone expects me to do, that’s respect. I want to hear what your team mates have to say because I need to know, not just what happened from you but from everyone else.” She was approaching her sisters bed again, her tone of voice was as calm as she could keep it but she was slipping, her tone might’ve stayed the same but the way she was speaking was littered with hints of anger as the words kept piling up “I’m not about to ask you to start feeling everything you felt again that landed you here right now. I’m not about to ask you to re-live what I can only estimate nearly, maybe even actually, killed you. That would be disrespectful. I don’t think you’ve taken a moment to consider the way I might even be showing you respect.” The lagomorph wasn’t sure when it happened but she was now nearly face to face with her sister. One hop onto the bed and they’d be face to face.

Sagitta was right. It was disrespectful. She wasn’t a child, after all. She didn’t need to be censored from the conversation. But they shani recognized that it wasn’t their place to say this, so they folded their arms in front of their chest while listening to them speak. They were bickering again, just like before, and Savi knew that this was something they’d have to work out amongst themselves.

A somber procession would make their way through the entranceway into the facility as the Director of the Dajorran Marshals, dressed in the finery of his position, sighed and motioned to two Mandalorians in Blue and Gold armor to take place at the door. Another, his Clan-Brother Alexandyr, sighed and alongside Sivall crossed the distance from the nurses station to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Wulfram, they said Gitta’s in recovery. Apparently Asani got here before us. She’s got a full suite of visitors.” The younger of the men said as he took his hand from the other’s shoulder and turned to point down the hall.

“Our little girl has a lot of friends.” He chuckled as he took off with his partner ahead of the Director.

Wulfram relaxed, the tension visible beneath his suit dissipating.

“Of course she is, she’s the hero of the story, of course. Who doesn’t want to be Sagitta’s friend?” Wulfram laughed to himself as he began to traverse the halls to the room.

His arrival was met with his daughters fighting.

Of course.

Slate-grey eyes took in the Shani who rested in the room with them before he inspected the Togruta.

“If the two of you are going to fight about respect again, wait until she’s discharged, Fluff.” Their Buir called out from the doorway.

“And what if I wanted to talk to your team, Sagitta, for a full report of how the mission that nearly killed my ad'ika went down? On the record?” Wulfram demanded.

Alexandyr slid into the room behind Wulfram and tried to sneak around towards Sagitta’s side, only to be shot a glare from the elder Mandalorian.

Sivall was almost not paying attention, almost. She stuck to Alex’s side like glue, one arm brushing up against his every once in a while to remind her that he was there while she scrolled through her datapad. In her hands laid Sagitta’s file from this particular stay, all the surgeries and medications, all the doctor’s and nurses’ notes. The picture painted wasn’t pretty.

The chiss couldn’t stop the chorus of voices telling her she should have been here, should have been part of the team to stabilize Sagitta, been here for this… family? Family she was slowly becoming a part of. Should have done more, should have tried harder, should have should have should have…

Sanguine eyes snapped up from the pad as arguing hit her ears, before they had even hit the doorway of the room. She stared at Wulfram’s back as he entered the doorway and went straight into Dad Mode. She couldn’t stop the soft smile that flicked on her features for just a second– Wulfram loved his children even though they weren’t his by blood. Not everyone was that lucky.

She slipped in past Wulfram, being short and small enough to do so, and effectively bocked Asani’s retreat from the room by accident. Her gaze first fell on the initial target of their visit and her expression fell instantly. Sagitta looked… not well. The medic felt her heart squeeze in her chest and her guilt swelled. Should have been here, should have been here, should have….

No, not here.

From there she quickly took stock of everyone else in the room, which included a few people she didn’t recognize beyond maybe hearing about them. Sanguine eyes fell and narrowed on Tahiri for a moment, wondering why she looked so familiar before moving on to Asani. The Kushiban seemed obviously irritated with the discussion that was had before they entered.

“I agree with Asani that delving into your recently experienced traumatic experience might be damaging, but holding those things in can also be just as damaging– especially letting go and talking about those things in a place or situation where you might not have the help you need. If there’s any place to talk about those issues it’s here, where physicians can help with any of the fallout of the conversation,” Siv offered with a slight smile, hoping to play to both girl’s opinions.

“Sagitta is safe, where she is Asani. She’s got trained professionals and family here. I understand your worry, I understand that you just want to protect her, but there’s no better place for her to be having these hard talks.” Sanguine eyes flicked to the patriarch to her left, head craning slightly due to the man’s height because dear gods was Wulfram tall.

“As for you, Wulfram, we do not intimidate the team members who helped save your daughter’s life in a place of healing. She’s safe. Deep breaths, Director.”

Somewhere on the roof of the medical complex, Lillian sat comfortably with her rifle at the ready. Emerald eyes scanned the area around the place where her daughter rested, healing. She had settled herself here as soon as she could, finding the best position to watch out for anyone who might be here to hurt Sagitta.

She didn’t do talking but she could definitely do this.

A soft sigh escaped her scarred lips. She was wearing her helmet today, needing just the extra bit of security to keep her nerves in check. She would be fine, of course she would be fine. Sagitta was always fine. Her little candle always shone brightly. She would recover from this… right?

A frown. Damn she was a terrible mother. She should be down there– but in between not being sure if she could handle seeing Sagitta injured, and not wanting to stoke the coals with Asani, she had decided to hide.

She was good at hiding.

“Kark I’m a coward.”

Well, the mirialan was certainly popular. Though, that came as no surprise at this point. Savran had been around Sagitta long enough to recognize her uncanny ability to grow on even the most unsociable of individuals, like themselves, Cole, and even Foxen. Whether through persistent badgering to chip away one’s disaffected varnish or through earning loyalty through acts of genuine kindness, Sagitta tended to win people over. It was a skill that Savran coveted on some level, though they wouldn’t allow themselves to believe this nagging feeling of envy was due to anything other than the skill’s practical application.

They cut their musing short when a cluster of new presences appeared to them in the Force. Three of them were swiftly approaching the room while another remained somewhere vaguely above. On a higher floor, perhaps? The former two of the group were Force-wielders, that much they could glean from their cursory examination. And that was all they needed to know, for now.

Slitted amber eyes shot to the door while the shani shifted to their left, providing themselves more space to act should the situation require it. Their left hand shifted to hover over their Force blade’s hilt while they waited to see who appeared in the doorway. When they heard a familiar voice and then the face to match, Savi relaxed. They recognized him, his voice at least, from the call Sagitta had taken when she spent the night with themselves and Kerissa.

“Then you could do so here, in front of her,” Savi offered in response to the man’s inquiry, their tone bitterly aloof as they watched the three arrivals with an unblinking gaze.

The Chiss’ response began as a non-answer, an irksome attempt at mollifying both women that ultimately added nothing useful to the conversation. At least by the end of it, she had enough sense to take Sagitta’s side.

-

Her comment about intimidation made Savi chuckle, though they said nothing of it. Instead, they shifted their attention to Tahiri. “Would you prefer to recap the nature of our mission, or would you prefer I did it?” they asked before gesturing for one of the new arrivals to close the door behind them.

Hospital light gleaned off the polished metal of Erin’s helmet as she made her way down the corridor leading to her sister’s room. A quickened heartbeat beneath the dark-brown cloak, the girl was out of her comfort zone, exhaustion catching up to her while heavy footsteps took her to her destination. Erin was tired, yet her love for her siblings pushed her to keep going, eager to see Sagitta alive. Upon arriving at the room, Erin would hear unfamiliar voices. Nervously, she waddled up behind Wulfram, reaching out and grabbing his sleeve, holding his forearm close to her chest for comfort. Staring silently and cautiously at the three she did not recognize in the room, the human seemed to lose track of everyone else in the room, Sagitta included.

Tahiri remained seated as she studied the two siblings, it was interesting to her how different or similar the relationships of siblings were amongst other families. She listened intently, and then realized as the tension in room shifted. Her elder sibling senses could tell that there was going to be a confrontation.

However, before she could speak up, more of Sagitta’s family came in, quickly asserting into the conversation and trying to nullify the rising conflict. Seeing, and even feeling the amount of protectiveness from the father figure, Wulfram, while the two other members of the family was in equal modes of protectiveness and trying to keep the peace, was refreshing to say the least. The last person who slipped in, looking tired physically, and the Elder could sense mentally tired as well, remained quiet.

Sighing, the Togruta pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before leaning forward slightly, her hands coming together to form a tent shape, while her Dark Side tainted eyes softened. Gathering her thoughts she stood up, as straight and tall as she could for her short stature, looking at both Sagitta and Savi giving them both a knowingly reassuring look and nod.

Before looking confidently to the rest of the Mirialan’s family. Her tone was even and gentle, yet had an undertone of firmness, determination and authority of her own, “With all due respect, I can give a full report to you on what happened. However, I don’t like any sort of patronizing of my friends, especially of how Sagitta is being treated, as to what she can handle, stressful or otherwise. She’s already made it clear that she needed to know what happened, to understand, and I’ve already done thus far.”

Crossing her arms, she clenched her jaw for moment before relaxing again, “I will also respect her wishes on what is reported and what isn’t, and to whom, within reason.” Casting a quick gentle glance and nod to Sagitta, then patting Zuska on the head, “Gitta, I’m fine with giving a full report to your family. Zuska will stay here in case you need him.” Stepping forward, she gave a small bow to everyone and then realized something, “Oh, and please allow me to introduce myself, I am Adept Tahiri Kahn Drakon Night-Thorn di Morte Tarentae, and a di Plagia.”

Even through her anger Asani wouldn’t deny her sister a hug. Hopping onto the bed she held her sister tight, much tighter than she normally did, if it wasn’t for the injuries she might’ve held her stronger still, she made sure it was in a spot well enough to avoid further injury though, she wasn’t about to cause her any more trouble than she had already gotten herself into.

Sivalls comments didn’t go unnoticed by the elder sibling who looked back, pointing toward her, almost as a warning for her to be silent. It seemed, especially when angered, the elder sibling was maybe too protective over her littles. It was either an extension of an intense personality or a very intense anxiety. She stayed latched onto Sagitta at that point, as if letting go would make her sister vanish without a trace.