WynSocks Apartment Port Ol’val After the saloon
The crisis was averted. Mother and babe were safe and Rogon was arrested. Ruka cleared out the bar and sent everyone home.
Socorra had watched Kaled stumble over both his words and feet towards the end, which meant that she either said, did, or thought something that made him shoot up and away from her. Normally the Seeker kept both verbal and nonverbal communication under lock and key, but empathic Miraluka were her weakness.
So she had asked the youth over to the apartment, something either rarely did, except for the other Tyris’ literally down the hall. The Erinos was an introvert, highly secretive, and kept no friends, only acquaintances and family and even family was a new, and frankly awkward, concept on this side of the coma.
“Can you help me to sofa?” she asked Kaled while winking to Wyn. Socorra lovingly squeezed her partner’s hand and released to let their nephew assist her to the family room and home of Port Ol’val’s comfiest couch.
I’m also completely making up the apartment.. if wally wants to add or anything I’m cool with edits. They’ll have a nursery, Socks’ office, and I imagine Wyn’s own office/sheshed
“Sure thing.” The Miraluka said as he helped the Mandalorian. Holding her ever so careful as he navigated the apartment.
Thankfully, after a few pointers from Socorra, he managed to safely reach the sofa. He helped her as she sat down, checking ever so often if the wound opened again.
“Phew alright…” Arcanist exhaled a sigh of relief as he spoke. “Well…some day ha? Glad no one got hurt…as much.”
Socorra willed a set of pillows over to her to prop her back and feet up. She winced a little with the stretching. “He coming out some day? Sah, he better. Going to start charging food and rent.”
Kaled shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing anything about pregnancy. After a few seconds of sensing his soundings, the Miraluka determined that the floor would suffice instead of a chair and sat down, finally letting his muscles relaxe after a turbulent day.
“If there is a rent to be paid, I’ll gladly give some of my money to cover the cost.” Kaled said as he slowly untied the peaice of cloth that covered his none existing eyes. Letting his long hair cover his face as a natural gray curtain.
“Shame that I don’t know much about it… I’ll have to ask Mo-I mean Master Atyiru about some instructions.”
“She was joking, Kal,” Wyn explained as he patted the Miraluka on the shoulder. “The kid will wait until he’s at least 7 months old to start paying rent.”
The Miraluka though for a moment about the joke. Honestly he was thinking that the Sith was serious, but in the end he could help but laugh a bit.
“Well ether way, I’ll get him something nice. Hehehe.” He smiled, leaning a bit backwards.
Although one thing was lingering in his mind, not really knowing how to ask the the question. After a few moments thinking about it, he settled for a more direct approach.
“So how did you two meet? There must have been some wild advanture were you fell in love or something.”
“Funnily enough, just through being around Arcona. How did we first link up? Well, that’s a funny story that involves an extra ticket to the theater, a hotel, a bathtub, and a planet-wide blackout and assault from ancient demi gods and their monster-creatures.”
The Miraluka stayed silent for a moment, trying to process this information.
“Sorry…what? You lost me at…demi god’s and monster-creatures. How did you get involved with that?”
“The Caxqettes,” Wyn explained. “And you know, old Selenian gods. Were you here for that one? I can’t remember…but there was a BIG power outage and such.”
“Oh that…I remember. I was in Celeste City. Lower parts that was ruined by… something. It got my arm,” Miraluka raised his right hand up. Wiggling it around. “but I managed to get it by sheer luck. As for the Caxqettes….well I*was* at the template…and…. stuff…happened. ” Kaled nervesly turned his head around. The first topic was fine, but the other… It seemed like he was obviously not telling the whole story.
Wyn lifted an eyebrow. “What aren’t you telling us, Kal?”
The Miraluka twiddled his tombs, like a little child trying to keep a shameful secret.
“ Isavedsomeofthem ” He mumbled in a lower voice before biting his lower lip. Hoping deep down that he wouldn’t get in too much trouble.
Wyn blinked a few times. “Come again, lad?”
“I…may…have… saved…a few… baby’s…”
“A few?”
Wyn folded his arms and glanced at Socorra.
“Five… Alright six….It was eight…I saved eight.”
Kaled couldn’t hide the truth for much longer. I hase passed some time and he knew that only one person knew of the location. And at least that part he could keep secret.
“I came across… Master Atyiru…she begged me to take them away…and I just…ran for the beach. And then Master Skar showed up and gave me his ship, so I…took them off the planet.”
“Skar, of course…” Wyn stroked an imaginary beard and took notes.
“He doesn’t know their location!” Kaled explained, hoping to relieve Skar of any blame. “I mean…I hope he doesn’t. I just…they were small. And without knowing what to do I took them to the planet that was….nice.”
He felt shame, not really knowing if he did a right thing. But he formed a bond with the little things and Miraluka looked at them as his little family.
“They are not like…that big thing. Baby’s are nice. I play with them, sleep and look after their basic needs. And they grew up a bit. That’s why I’m not really…aroud as much. Please don’t tell anyone! I’m begging you…they didn’t do anything wrong.”
Socorra watched Kaled remove his blindfold and let his hair cover the vestigial sockets, wondering if he knew she did the same with her missing eye. Or if he even knew the eye was gone. Not that it mattered to a Miraluka.
“You can sit on couch, is certainly big enough,” she gestured to the overly large and immensely comfortable furniture. Besides Wyn and Kirra it was likely the first time Socorra had ever offered to sit on a couch with someone. And it was still awkward.
“The baby no bite…might kick, but no bite.”
The woman was reluctant to talk about the cax, although being mind controlled by them had led to a gift more touching than Kirra’s Valentine. It was her only other gift, and only an illusion, but still set the bar sky-high.
“The cax are true,” she said softly, almost solemnly. “It is good that you saved them. I wish to see some day.”
Kaled slowly nodded his head. He took his time, slowly getting up from the floor, and making his way over to the couch.
“They are…” The Miraluka said as he slowly sat down. “They are like… little brothers and sisters. I know it sounds a little bit silly, but…I don’t really…have a family.”
Kaled’s smile slowly washed away. Rewinding his early memory’s when he was just a child in slavery.
“I do have Aayala, but she is not really around. Spending time with Master Atyiru and Marick is…nice but I don’t want to be a bother. They already have their hands full with one child. And same goes for Master Ruka, Aru, and everyone else. I just… spend my time in the room with audiobooks and old data on history and Force stuff. But with them around…. It’s like I have a family of my own… just a bit different.”
Suddenly the woman cared not how much pain it caused to lean forward. She did so swiftly, her feminine body moving close to Kaled’s. Her pale arctic eye was all the seeming of a ghost, so intense was her countenance that it was difficult to look away from it, even with no eyes to do so.
“Not silly. You look out for you, because in the end you can and may well be all alone. No one will come for you, no one will save you, the galaxy does not care who or what you are and it will leave you to die. It believe it did once already, sah?”
Socorra’s voice was quiet, a whisper even, and full of her foreign, exotic accent, lulling him to listen to her words.
“We are born alone. We live alone. And we die alone. Love, friends, family.. all illusion so that we can feel for the moment that we not alone.”
She did not blink, holding him with her stare.
“Recognizing this truth has allowed me to cope with unfathomable things, especially now after waking from coma.”
Socorra broke off finally, sitting back and reaching out to pour a glass of water from the pitcher on the table, telekinetically handing it to herself as well. She drank the entire thing. It was the most Basic she had spoken outside of work. Perhaps ever. She seemed to almost relax into the couch.
“Everything or everyone that I ever considered friends, tribe, clan, family, has forgot, abandoned, or betrayed me, or all three. Blood, adopted, no matter, all have. Yes, Marick, even Atyiru. I treat little Kirra as if own daughter, but she is constant reminder that I was thrown out like trash by her father, and betrayed by her mother.”
“Kirra calls me Aunny. Is it silly that for moment, one year old allow me to feel sense of love? But is illusion. She call everyone family, no know better, that I not family. They no act like I family. I am burden at best, jilted lover at worst. I had to take extreme measure to guarantee I no coma or vegetable, never Oblyvyn again, because they abandon me. I die for or because of Marick several time. Today I almost lose baby to protect him still and he not even know it. Would no matter if he did.”
Finally she turned her raven head to her partner, not knowing what he would feel about any of that really.
“Wyndell is illusion too. He too malspriha or ke'dem for the moment. He treat me kindly. He give me baby. But alone, I expect eventually. Plan for, hope not. Stupid Human trait. Even knowing all of that I still di’kutla fall in love.”
Peace is a lie ha?
He only listened, carefully. Every word carried one heavy emotion. Sorrow. A feeling that was all to familiar to the Miraluka. Somehow, when she spoke of Marick, her tone had a sense of…pain. Kaled didn’t feel anger, just…hurt.
He didn’t didn’t know much about her and the past. The Miraluka only knew that she woke up not too long ago, and sure enough her and Wyn were together. And now the baby.
Kaled put his left hand on her shoulder. Squeezing it softly, as if trying to say “it’s all right now, you are not alone anymore.” But he didn’t say that. There was something in those words she spoke that somehow felt true even for him.
“Master Wyn is a good person. Truly. Love is an emotion that I have no experience about, but I can tell how happy you two are together. I… can’t really say what happened between you and….ummm, his brother.” He obviously tried to not speak Marick’s name out loud. “But I hope that you are at least in good gracias with them. Kirra is…a little star. Well to you she looks fine but to me, she just shines so bright. As does this little guy.” He gently lowered his hand on Socorras stomach. Gently rubbing it before pulling his hand away.
“If it is how you said, that it’s just an illusion, I’ll at least try not to be one for you and Wyn. Or any of the people of the clan that I care about. But…..I can’t help but feel that maybe the rest don’t feel the same way I do. Well at least I won’t be alone with them around, hehehhe.” He gave off a sort of sour smile, maybe even realizing the truth just as the words left his mouth.
“If I could be rude….what happened between…you know…You speak of him with pain and sorrow, but I can’t help but feel there is something more to the story.”
She shrugged slightly. “I not Atyiru.”
Kaled’s head tilted slightly. Obviously confused by the statement.
“Well…you are not. But what is that have to do with anything?”
“You asked what happened between us.”
“Did you get into a fight with her and Master Marick was in your way or?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that. Although fight be preferable. I kicked shebs back then.”
She outwardly sighed. “They were only a part of things. I have very long, good memory.. and perpetually live in past and it very hard to see future, if I can no calculate it. Baby I could. Nine months. Easy. So Wyn was completely unexpected. No amount of analysis would put us together. Somehow he always been at right place at right time, almost like he keep eye on me, long before we hook up.”
“I used to think Marick send him to eyeball but I dunno. Everything was confusing then. I do know that I try impress Wyn with illusions for Ruka after Wyn crawl everywhere as snake.” She tapped her chin with a finger. “Maybe i did like him then.. he was so kandosii.”