Norg Bral

Snatching his buy'ce from the arm of the couch, Lorcan ignores Telarial completely as he lifts it onto his head and stalks from the vheh'yaim, dropping without a word into the speeder and starting it without so much as glancing at Raine. At first clutching the steering yoke so tightly it almost feels he will snap it, Lorcan slowly calms down enough that he recognizes he had lost control again, and he berates himself for handling the situation so poorly. Not turning his head so that it seems he stares only at the road ahead as they speed towards Keldabe and whatever answers lay ahead, Lorcan looks at Raine, admitting to himself if not to her that Telarial was right, she does deserve better if he is truly her father as she believes. Finding himself thinking about his feelings and feeling sorry for himself only increases Lorcan's sense of self-loathing and anger, and he pushes the speeder to its maximum speed so that they reach the city and the truth as quickly as possible . . .



Walking to Telarial's side and putting his arm around her shoulder after Lorcan and Raine have gone, Faelan, who has apologized enough for Lorcan in the past and has learned it solves nothing, does not apologize to his daughter for her uncle's behavior, instead comforting her silently for a moment before he asks in a concerned tone, "Are you alright ad'ika? You should probably get some rest. Things should calm down when there is no more doubt as to how things are."

"I'll check on Emm," Fionnuala says quietly, doubting that the boy had been able to sleep through the heated shouting, walking from the living area. Sitting on the bed beside Emm, Fionnuala shushes him gently, pulling him to her when she sees his tears, and whispering reassurances to him while she rocks him gently and strokes his hair to try and get him back to sleep.

"I should go," Raicheal says as she stands, nodding a farewell to Faelan and Telarial after glancing with a hint of disapproval at Fionnuala as the diminutive woman goes to check on Lorcan's son; to her it seems more appropriate that the family be left alone, but as she feels it is not her place to point that out to Fionnuala, holds her tongue.

*Eimhin's sobs are reduced to hiccups, his cheeks now red, having been stained with so many tears. Snot runs out of his nose and he wipes it off on his sleeve as his uncle continues to hold him. Soon, he tires himself out and his cries cease. He blinks blearily at his uncle Faelan, and as his ragged breathing forces him to pause between words, he asks Faelan for something he has not had since before his mother's passing, in a squeaky voice.*

"Ba...ba'vo...du...can you plea...ease sing me... a song?"

*He snuffles Faelan's chest and cuddles with him, one of his small hands grasping part of Faelan's shirt.*

Nodding with a smile when Eimhin asks to be sung a song, Falean says, "Of course, and after pausing to think of what song he might sing, clears his throat after selecting one he believes appropriate as it compliments the story he had told the boy earlier. You remember the Dha Werda Verda I told you of earlier? This is a war chant that reminds us of the Taung, our progenitors and the founders of our culture, so that their deeds may never be forgotten. Closing his eyes, Faelan begins to sing in his untrained yet not entirely unpleasant voice, singing not the original song, but the more widely known reinvented version of it, in Mando'a, completing the song softly even after Eimhin has fallen asleep,

Taung sa rang broka Mando'ade ka'rta.
Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,
Manda'yaim kandosii adu.
Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.

Kom'rk tsad droten troch nyn ures adenn.
Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,
Manda'yaim kandosii adu.
Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a."



Raichel lets Telarial speak without interrupting her, having always believed allowing one to vent can often be more productive than any well intentioned advice or comfort that is offered to them. Shaking her head, Raicheal speaks in a certain tone, trusting what she says as she has known both Lorcan and Faelan long and well enough to speak to their behavior with more authority than most, ::He does not hate you, Telarial. He does not like that you are bold enough to point out his flaws, that is all. His anger with you is really with himself, and it will pass. Lorcan does not respond well to not being in control, and he will lash out at anyone near him when he feels overwhelmed or frustrated as he must be feeling with so many new responsibilities being placed upon him with no time for him to take in all that it means to have become a father. Be patient, give him time, and I think Lorcan will rise to the occasion as he often does. With a barely audible chuckle, she adds, You were not out of line though, Lorcan quite often needs his friends and family to point out when he is being a di'kut.::

*Telarial finally nods as she releases a relieved sigh.*

"Good. Because I'd hate to be his enemy. I feel kinda guilty now...being so hard on him. Finding out he has two kids he never knew he had in one day...sheesh, I can only imagine what he must be feeling if I look at it from his perspective. It must be a lot for him to take in. I think...I think I know of a way I can make it up to him. I'll remember everything you've just shared with me. Thank you for listening."

*With a smile, and a slight bounce in her step, Telarial went inside Faelan's home and went straight to the kitchen. She began to bake her mother's famous recipe for Uj'alayi, or Uj cake, one that she'd memorized since her early childhood and before long...the delicious desert is baking away in the oven.*

*Telarial smiles when Fionnuala wishes her good-bye, she makes her a promise in parting.*

"Next time you stop out in these neck of the woods, I'll be sure to bake one of these just for you."

*After the other woman has gone, Telarial keeps careful watch of the time.  After about twenty minutes, she pulls the freshly baked Uj cake out of the oven, switches it off and leaves it out to cool.  The exhausted teen finally collapses on the couch and falls asleep almost immediately.*

*About three hours after Faelan had tucked him in, Eimhin awoke in the middle of the night. He had a terrible dream and he was shaking as he tried to calm his ragged breathing as his eyes darted around the darkened room as though searching for the monster that had tried to kill him. He heard a creaking sound coming from beneath his bed and in a flash, he bolted out of the bedroom and ran to Faelan's room. He whimpered as he crawled into bed beside his ba'vodu, seeking his protection, and cuddled up against him with tears in his eyes. He hated being alone...and waking up in a strange new environment, let alone in the dark, more than frightened him. His voice came out in a squeaky whisper...he had to tell his loving uncle about the monster...otherwise it might come to eat him too.*

"Ba'vodu..."

*When Faelan continued to slumber, his soft, innocent voice grew a little louder as he clung to the elder Mando'ade as though his life depended on it.*

"Ba'vodu...I'm scared..."

Reaching up with one hand to rub his eyes tiredly, Faelan puts the other around Eimhin's shoulders to comfort him, saying after a yawn, "Well, you have nothing to fear here ad'ika. I'm here, and, he sits up and brushes his long, currently unbound dark red hair back from his forehead, won't let any harm come to you if I can help it, you have my promise. After he has soothed the boy enough that it seems possible to ascertain what gave rise to his distress, Faelan asks, Now, what it is that woke you ad'ika? Do you remember? Was it a bad dream? A strange noise?"


Outside of the vheh'yaim, Lorcan looks over at Raine after he has brought the airspeeder to a stop and powered it down, rubbing his chin as he says somewhat awkwardly, "Right then, here we are, home again, home again . . . Pursing his lips as though considering what else he might want to say to the daughter he has only not so long ago learned he has, Lorcan ultimately decides that trying to mark the occasion in some way would seem forced and false, and so instead hops from the speeder to start heading inside as he cheerfully says, What a day, am I right? Let's get some rack time, huh?"