Colliding Worlds

[Silence]

Slowly Illya started to turn over in the bed. He didn't feel much of anything just yet. Illya didn't even feel the very large drool spot that had formed under his face and part of his neck. Letting out a long sigh he groaned and flopped one arm over his head as if to block out all the sounds in the ship. His thick black curls had turned into wild masses of spirals that stuck out from his head in some places and covered his forehead. There were little braids that had hidden themselves deep in his hair, though they were barely noticeable at a first glance.

As the hours passed Illya steadily grew more restless and his breathing deepened. Turning to his left Illya winced. His hip stung a little when he moved that direction, but he really wanted to lay on his left side. Giving it another attempt he moaned and peeled his eyes open briefly before closing them and rolling to his stomach again. There was a faint clanging sound and Illya groaned at the sound. He wanted to sleep longer. So far he was determined to sleep a while longer, until his stomach started to cramp and he realized he was beyond hungry and he needed the bathroom too. Illya woke to a quiet room and he could smell food. As badly as he wanted the food he had to use the bathroom first. With his eyes still mostly closed he stumbled into the bathroom and braced one hand against the wall behind the toilet while he yawned and took aim.

It was hard to tell what time of day it was because it was quiet, but Illya didn't care if it day or night, he was hungry. The more he thought about it the more he was sure that it was day, he didn't remember having Kalizda in bed with him and he hadn't checked the crib, but he would when he was done. Another waft of cooked food found its way into the bathroom and Illya decided that everything could wait. It didn't matter to Illya if he smelled like sweat and oils. Food was available and he was going to get some for himself. Whatever was cooking he would have some to help hold off the initial pangs of hunger and then he would make heaps more for himself. Stepping out of the bathroom he grabbed a pair of boxers out of one drawer and scrambled into them.

Shuffling out of the room in only his boxers Illya went straight for the kitchen. He'd already been to the bathroom and now it was time to eat. His hip was still a little sore, but it was not nearly as distracting as the constant ache for food that had built inside his body. The Chip could smell food and his eyes almost glazed over when he saw the piles of food sitting out on the counters and table. Walking straight for the nearest dish he sat down at the counter and started shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could. It tasted so good. When he was finished with the meal he finally realized that it was a snake stew he'd just devoured and he didn't really recall much more than just eating it ravenously. Still he felt starved and he grabbed the next bowl of food. it was filled the brim and Illya nearly fell on it as he held his face so close that he barely dipped the eating utensil into the bowl and it was already back into his mouth.

Thomas was sitting in the living room reading the newest chapter in the Wild Ways movie to book adaptation. It was more about curiosity than anything else and the more he read the more into the story he grew until he picked up his cup and realized there was no coffee left in it. "I'm going to grab some more coffee," he said holding up his mug to Calysta who was playing with the children in the floor. Easing out of his seat, he walking down the hall to the kitchen, only to find it was already occupied. A set of broad, tan shoulders sat with his back facing the door, scars in full view as he hunched over the table which was scattered with empty food containers. "Illya?" he said blinking in surprise.

Illya had taken one bowl after another and emptied it into his stomach. He was pulling the seventh dish toward himself when he heard Thomas walk in behind him. With his mouth half full of food he managed a sloppy answer. "Mm?" Shoving another bite of food into his mouth he almost hummed with pleasure. By now the food was starting to settle in and the hunger pains had started to subside.

His son in law looked like a cave man leaned over his food with a bowl the smallest distance possible for the spoon to travel. There was bits of food stuck at the corners of his lips and his green eyes looked absolutely ravenous as he regarded him with little more than a grunt. Thomas edged into the room and picked up the coffee pot, his mouth opening and closing several times before he managed an answer. "Uh, are you okay? That's alot of food..."

Thomas was so chatty and it was slightly frustrating when Illya was trying to focus on eating. "Mmhmm." Setting the spoon aside he picked the bowl up and slurped the last of the food out of it and then grabbed the next container. This one had some bread soaked in gravy and he peeled the lid off and immediately dug in with a fork.

"Uhuh," Thomas replied as he poured himself some coffee. He was so busy watching Illya, he missed the cup and sent scalding coffee over his fingers, causing him to hiss. Shaking off his fingers, he grabbed a towel and started soaking up the mess. "Um, maybe you'd want something to wash that down with? Water maybe?" He knew his son in law had been asleep for days, and water would probably be helpful, particularly since he had eaten his way through half the contents of the kitchen without it.

Illya only slowed for a moment when he heard the offer for water. "Eh, tea." Tea sounded good and he wanted to drink a cup, but he didn't want to get up and pause his eating frenzy to get it either. Glancing up at Thomas he saw the man's mouth gaping and he shrugged. "Why yah look so surprised? Yah never hungry before?"

"Not hungry enough to eat my way through that much," Thomas admitted to his son in law as he grabbed another mug. Was this some sort of yearly thing? Like mating season on Resta 9? Or maybe it was how they were able to live so long? Calysta seemed to know it would happen and had prepared, but he had no idea that the man would sleep so long. Steeping some random flavor of tea in hot water, he waited till it was done, then pushed the cup toward Illya who was nearly face first in a bowl of soup.

The bowl of soup was almost done when Thomas pushed the cup of tea in front of Illya. Taking one sip of the tea Illya nodded and then dumped it into his soup and sucked it down with the rest of the contents in the bowl. He wasn't so concerned about the way things tasted right now. Besides, it was all going to the same place. Just to change things up he reached for the bowl of cream and started to eat that next. It tasted good ad he nodded to Thomas. "Yah never have healing coma?"

Thomas felt satisfied to at least give the man something to drink to go with his massive meal, but his mouth fell open when Illya took up the cup and dumped it right into his bowl before slurping it down. He drank it down as if it were nothing and then continued his fork-and-knife rampage through the kitchen, his next victim being a bowl of cream Calysta had made specifically for him. "Healing coma?" he repeated, still in shock, "No, I can't say that I have. Is that a Chippeqouti thing?" He had read about people who had pushed themselves into such meditative states that they become comas for long periods of times.

"I guess." Illya responded plainly between bites of food. "Sometimes I get dem when I was sick or ef I get hurt bad enough. Den dah Ehuai make us have coma sometimes tah heal faster." With the volume of food already in his stomach it was forcing some air to the surface and he stopped eating long enough to let the massive belch out before he took another bite of food. It looked like Kalizda figured it about right and he was starting to slow down as he came near the end of the piles of food. There were dozens of dishes in his wake and it looked like a little war of its own spread across the counter and table and through the kitchen.

"Huh," Thomas grunted a bit as he thought about what the man said. He'd never seen Illya go into one of these comas before, and the man had been plenty hurt multiple times. If he hadn't seen his son in law face first on the bed for days on end, he might have called the man out for lying and wanting an excuse to eat until he was stuffed three time over. The massive belch could be seen building in the man's back and when it came up, it echoed through the entire galley and probably down the hall too. It only took one breath for Thomas to taste everything that had passed down the Chip's gullet and been reborn into the burp. "Uhg," he groaned, his lip curling at the stench, "You might want take some anti-acid pills while you're at it. Maybe separate from the food." And with that, he started to retreat from the room.

Illya only nodded and shoveled a few more bites into his mouth. "Maybeh, I tink I feel jes fine." Truth was, he felt great and the more he ate the better he felt. The only thing that the food wasn't going to fix was the little bit of ache left in his hip. That would heal with a little more rest and just some gentle and slow motion. Taking a deep breath, Illya slowed his eating a little more. Gradually as he worked his way through the last dish he almost felt too full to finish it, but he loved the last bit of cream too much. He had to finish it.

As he finished up the last of the food Illya let out a sigh and he slowly gathered all the dishes and rinsed them off before setting them in the washer. It was probably a lot of work to cook that much food in advance and Illya more than appreciated it. Normally he felt a little from being over hungry and this time he felt pretty good because he didn't get over hungry before he had something to eat. With a full stomach he felt good enough to go back to bed, but he knew that he should at least wash up a little bit. Kalizda probably slept next to him the last few nights and he knew that like any other person if he sweat and didn't shower in long enough he would start to smell and if he could smell himself then it was bad. Illya could hear the kids talking with Kalizda in the living room.

Before stepping into their room he glanced around the corner of the hallway and peered into the living room. Kalizda was sitting down and helping Cypher fix one of his little toys and Monster danced around the two of them happily. Momentarily Illya felt a tinge of guilt. He should have been there when the battle was over and instead he had just taken himself to bed and seized. She really was a very impressive woman. All hat she had survived, continued to deal with and then she brought him home and took care of him while he was sick and still had loads of food ready to go. There weren't any women that Illya knew who could have done all that and still been sitting down with her children and patiently talking with them. He needed to do something special for her.

Quickly pulling away from the hall's edge Illya made sure Kalizda didn't see him before he took himself to the shower. In the bedroom he dropped his boxers in the basket out of habit and then took himself into the shower. With a quick rinse to his hair he grabbed the soap and got it ready to lather into his scalp. The first swipe with soap was easy, but when he tried to actually massage the soap into his scalp his fingers caught and he found his hair was in wild mats. He'd never woke up with his hair like this. Grimacing all through the shower he tried to work his hands through the horrible knots. It hurt and he could have almost sworn he felt a spot or two on his head that was missing some hair. Not enough that he was going to look funny, but it felt like he had less hair in that spot than he was supposed to. By the time Illya finished the shower his whole head felt a little tender from all the vicious pulling to get the knots out of his hair. Taking a moment he thought of what it was that he wanted to do for Kalizda.

One of the first ideas that came to his mind was a bit odd, but it was the best idea he had yet. Smoothing his wild hair back Illya took a deep breath and then slowly got himself dressed in the Kaerelean tunic she'd bought for him. It wouldn't hurt to dress up a little bit for a night and make sure he gave her some time to rest. She probably didn't get much rest and he'd seen how tired she looked. The kids could go outside for a bit and he could make sure all the animals got exercise too.

When Illya was dressed and ready to go out into the main part of the ship he passed by Uriah. The other Chip gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything. It didn't matter to Illya anymore if people wondered why he would dress like he was part of her tradition. Kalizda's tradition was just as important as his and it was only right that he honored it from time to time. She tried to honor the Chippequoti tradition and it was about time he showed their children that they could be proud of their mother's tradition as well. In fact he needed to get some tunics and Kaerelean or Terran clothing for all the kids.

Stepping into the living room Illya smiled at Kalizda. He wasn't entirely sure what to say, but he walked as evenly as he could with his sore hip and offered a hand to her. Gently pulling Kalizda to her feet he wrapped a hand around her lower back pressed her tight to himself in a hug, which he only broke long enough to kiss her a few times. "Yah beautiful." Speaking gently to her in Kaerelean he studied her face for a long moment. "I tink maybeh dat yah tired. Let meh take care of yah tonight. Yah let meh cook food for everyone now and den I take dah kids outside and when dey go tah bed I give yah massage on yah back." Switching to Trader's Tongue part way through he smirked. Illya still wasn't much good at Kaerelean, but he was still trying to learn. "Den we jes spend time togeter. I tink yah make list of tings dat yah miss when I couldn't remember. Maybe, yah make list of tings dat yah want tah do wit meh. Dere will always be wars and I tink dat maybe we are dun wit dis war for a time eh?"

 

[aryamajor]

It had been a quiet and admittedly lonely last few days without Illya around. Calysta kept up with the chores with the Help of Uriah, Priscilla and her father, but without Illya the ship seemed too…big. His broad shoulders weren’t taking up the door frames and showering was a sole mission now, the actual bath feeling much too large.

At night, she checked Illya over, tucking the blankets over him and making sure he could breathe, before cuddling up to her inert husband and wondering when he would wake up. It could be days or even a week if his body needed it. She was sure with how many seizures he was having that it would be awhile. Sighing, at her barely breathing Chip, she rolled over and contented herself with playing in his hair. Rose had shown her some braids that morning, which made Illya’s hair the perfect practice area.

That night she gave her father some coinage and asked him to take the children along with Priscilla out to the small diner for lunch that day.The spot had plenty to choose from, everything from fish and sweet sauce to roasted pigeons with fried island roots. She had been a few times with Kensi with the kids along for the trip. “Take them and let them get anything they want for dinner and in the market too.” She wouldn’t be going with them, but instead cooking for the evening and the market had just reopened from the Federation attack. At least this way the children could get out of the ship and she would be able to cook a meal for Illya without Cypher putting an early dent in his father’s food.

With Lohgan strapped to her father’s back and Cypher running after Rose accompanied by a pack of dogs, Calysta saw them off and then turned back into the ship, heading toward the kitchen. Aymos and Elijah, who were nearly inseparable, padded along behind her tails wagging as they realized she was walking into the room where the food came from.

“Snake stew first, right boys?” she said to the two pups. Their only response was to sit by the cold box and wait for her to get started. She pulled the cold, still live snake from the box and swiftly went to butchering it. The thing was simply to cool to do much about it’s head being lopped up by a large knife. Skinning and boning the creature took little time and then she went to cooking it with all the herbs from their tiny kitchen planters. Once the snake stew was going, it was on to the dumplings and a batch of lemon chicken and rice soup. She pan fried fish bites and baked Illya’s favorite sweet bread while she was at it.
It wasn’t until she was putting the last container on the counter that she heard the ship hatch open and Cypher’s heavy foot falls came pattering down the hall. “Maam! Look it what I got! Mam!”

Her tan little boy burst through the galley door carrying a clear container. What in the Wilds was that? She didn’t have time to ask before Cypher was trying to open the box lid, his pink tongue stuck in the corner of his mouth for his effort. “Wait, wait,”Calysta said, bending down to open it with him. She turned the screw top for him…only to regret it immediately. A fat, hairy tarantula was sitting inside, long legs scrabbling at the plastic sides. “Yeep!”Immediately, she stuck the lid back over it having a near panic attack. Cypher giggled at the sound his mother made and her father, who had followed them into the kitchen was giving her a slightly apologetic look. “When I said anything,”Calysta sighed as she rubbed her hand on her pants, “I didn’t mean bring back…anything.”

Thomas ruffled Cypher’s mop of hair, though the boy was too busy to notice because he was playing with his chosen toy. What ever happened to the days where he wanted stuffed animals? “He wanted one and that’s what he picked Caly. Besides, it’s good for him to have pets. You always wanted them when you were a kid.”

Calysta cringed at the black shadow sitting in the box and shivered. She could cook them on Nuen but having one as a pet creeped her out. Still, he was grinning from ear to ear, entirely pleased with it and she couldn’t help but cave when his eyes were dancing like that. “Alright Cypher. Go put it in your room for now. Do not eat it. Do you understand me?” Cypher grinned and nodded vigorously before jetting off to his room, bouncing the poor critter with ever step.

When everyone was settled in the living room again, Cypher came to her with a pouting sort of face and held up his snake toy, which after nearly 5 years of rough play had finally developed a hole right over where the eyeball was supposed to be. Stuffing was fluffed out of the fatal injury and Cypher held it up. “Fix et Mam?”She smiled and kissed his head. “I can fix him.” All it took was a need and thread from Priscilla’s sewing kit and she sat in the floor restuffing the toy snake before patching him up while Cypher sat in her lap, for once watching her carefully. “There go,” she chuckled, as she wiggled the snake’s fake tongue over Cypher’s cheek. “See he’s perfect again.” He laughed as she continued her tickling, making him squeal and run. Calysta grinned and started to lean in after him when a large shadow blocked the light from over head.

Suddenly, she was being swept up to her feet by gentle yet strong hands whose touch she new well. Illya. She stared up at him from his arms, two shocked to do much more then gaze at him with his glossy black hair and in the handsome tunic between his tender kisses. Where had all of this come from? Not only had he just come out of a coma, but he was looking at her in such a way that she almost couldn't recall the last time he had done so. Whatever it was it had brought on the mood to be so attentive she wasn't going to argue with it, and yet she had to make sure he was okay and feeling up to it. Her fingers slipped to the soft curls at the nape of his neck while her gray eyes studied him carefully before she finally asked. "Mmm.. that sounds good.. are you sure?"
Kalizda was worried about him like usual. There was no hiding that look of concern that would come over her face and he knew it. The smirk on his face stayed the same as he answered, "Yah know dat I never offer what I dun plan tah do. I tink maybeh I am sure."

She looked him over one more time carefully, her hands smoothing over his arms which felt rather nice inside the tunic. He always looks that much stronger in one, and while she loved him you couldn't lie it was a bonus that he was quite so big. Thomas sighed and shook his head from his spot on the couch. "Caly your husband is asking you on a date, and go on." Sometimes she needed a gentle nudge in the right direction after so much stress. Her eyes flicked from her father to Illya and she chuckled. "That does sound nice."

When Thomas spoke it was a little difficult to tell if the man was pleased, or not. Illya frowned slightly and he glanced over to see Thomas reading a book and then he met Kalizda's gaze again. He was going to have to ask what a date was. "Eh, what es a date?" So far as Illya knew he had only offered to help Kalizda and take care of her for a night instead of her worrying about him.

Calysta smiled a little shyly and continued playing with his hair near the back of his neck. "Its how couples get to know each other before they marry, or spend time together sometimes after they marry. Its a little different than Chip tradition," she explained, "Sometimes the couples go out to dinner or go do something together or sometimes they stay in with just them." She wasnt entirely sure what Illya was saying was a date, but her father seemed to think so.
That shy smile was worth it all right there, though she seemed a little confused by the concept too. "So es dis tradition of dating good? Yah like et ef we date?" Illya was trying to very carefully press into the subject though it was a bit awkward for him. Her fingers were still tangling in his hair and it felt mostly good until he felt her nails scrape along one of the sore spots on his scalp. "Maybeh yah be gentle wit meh head. I wake up wit many bad knots and I work dem out, but meh head hurts some."

He was so earnest when he asked her if she wanted to date and the effort was more than enough to make her heart patter in her chest as she looked up at him. "Aye, would like to," she smiled, "I dont think we ever went one...unless you want to count getting arrested on Terra." When he mentioned his hair, her eyes grew wide with realization before her cheeks turned a bright pink. "Oh...um..well.." She couldnt even use the excuse he tossed and turned. "I might have played with your hair a bit."

It sounded like this idea of dating was important to her. Something that people did before they got married and he had completely skipped that part of the process in her tradition. In fact, the more he thought about it the more he realized that he hadn't quite been attentive to her traditions even when he had been learning. It was embarrassing to think that he hadn't asked her what he should be doing or what she would expect of a man before they were agreed. He just assumed that it was similar to Chip tradition and the expectations were after you were agreed. "Den we date." Mentally he made a note to ask her father what a date was. However, before he could continue his thought to ask her when their date should be she answered the mystery of how his hair got in mats. A little grin spread across his face and he chuckled. "Yah couldn't keep yah hands to yahself even when I jes sleep. Dat's terrible." Getting a little closer he kissed her again. "Maybeh next time yah try nut tah put so many knots in meh hair eh?"

Calyta smothed down his hair with a much more tender touch, feeling guilty. She hadn't quite mean for him to go ripping out his hair like that. "I missed you," she admitted, "Hopefully, there wont ever be a next time, yeah?" She made a silent vow to herself that if there were any more comas that she would take the braids out before he woke up.

"Et would be good ef I dun have anoter coma." Kissing her gently again he looked over her shoulder at Thomas and gave him the look. He was going to be talking with the man later. He really needed to know what a date was now that he was committed to it.

********

Thomas offered over the plate for drying. They were nearly done with the dishes and Calysta had already retreated to their bedroom with Lohgan in her arms. He'd never seen her looking so jubilant and content. Even after a major battle, it had only taken a kiss and one look from Illya to make her happy. "So, a date," he commented with a small grin, "You know, a man on Terra usually asks permission from the father to date their daughter."

At least Thomas was helping with the dishes, even if he didn't have to. It was nice to have some help and Illya had to admit to himself that he was tired. What was more interesting was that Thomas decided to hit up the subject of a date first. "Eh," Illya grinned a little. "I tink she said et was someting before yah agreed. I dun need yah permission now." Waiting for a reaction from the man he chuckled, "But I need tah ask yah about dates. I dun know about dese tings. Yah tell meh."

Thomas raised a brow at Illya, debating on whether he wanted to mess with the man, and then decided against it. It would mean too much to his daughter and Illya was being genuine in his attempt at pleasing her. "Alright, a date is when someone, often the man, invites the woman out to spend time with her. He might take her to dinner or to see a show. Sometimes they even bring flowers or presents. A woman can do the same, but I think in this case you'd be the one doing that. I know Calysta always likes to do dancing or exploring. Those might be a good way to start. The main point is to simply spend time with one another and get to know each other." Wiping down a dish he placed it on the washer rack and reached for another. "You may be married, but there is always more to learn."

It didn't sound like it was such a difficult thing when Thomas described dating. Illya got a knowing look and he smiled. "I understand better. Dating es way for man tah make a time all for dah woman. I cook dinner for her and I make sure she has easy day wit no work. Den I do someting wit jes her. Maybe I plan date where I have small route tah fly planned. She like tah fly and when we land I already have present ready for her." His mind had already started to whirl with ideas. "I tink dis es good. Kalizda es good woman. She already date meh for long time and I dun know et, but I date her now."

The professor had to hand it to Illya, that much about his daughter he knew well and he picked up the next dish as he nodded. "I think she would like that. It's be an year or so since she's been able to fly like that." He thought of his daughter and how she loved her first flyer. His little girl in springy pigtails looking over books and magazines on flight. Even the competitions when she was old enough, and well enough to compete. "She was the grand winner in the Kaerelean Prix 3 years in a row before going into Skycorp you know."

It sounded like Thomas thought the idea was a good one. From Illya's understanding dating was something that you did for all your life. That meant he would have to start thinking of things a lot. Perhaps a little more than he'd done when she was pregnant with Lohgan. Every few days she would need a day of his focus to be sure that she had an easier and better life. It was only fair. She did so many things to make his life better and there wasn't too much he could do to improve hers, but he could try to make her happy. "I tink about dating her now and for rest of our lives eh? Dis es dah way et es done. She es rare woman and she works very hard. Now I work hard tah make sure she has good life."

"Aye its good to do things like that for the rest of your lives," he replied, "I did the same for Henaiah when I could. It doesn't take much to make Calysta happy, but she is a hard worker and she deserves a good life." Taking a glance up at the man, he let out a short puff of air and smiled a bit. "I think you do a pretty good job of it, but a little extra attention never hurts."

Illya's eyebrows raised a little out of surprise. He had never recalled Thomas telling him anything of the sort before. How did the man figure that he was doing a good job? "Yes, but I tink dat jes because et doesn't take much tah make her happy means dat I should make meh effort less. Et means dat ef I care for her dat I help her expect more." After a moment he took a deep breath and finished with washing the dish he had. "I tink yah tell meh more about what she like since she little. I know she like tah fly and I tink dat I will get her special way tah fly soon. I jes need tah train dat bird."

His answer was met with a nod of approval from Thomas. He'd never heard Illya talk like that, and it was somewhat of a surprise, but a good one. Something about the man had changed since they left Pyrta behind, though he wasn't entirely sure what is was in its entirety. At Illya's plans for the strange bird creature Calysta was calling Pecky, sat down his last dish. "You mean that bird you two picked up on Demos? It's pretty wild I don't know how that would work. Calysta tells me it's going to get much bigger. Still...that sounds exactly like something she would try. No fear of heights at all. I can't tell you how many times I pulled her out of this old omne tree on the Edge. She's sit right over it. As a kid, she was always finding treasures and bringing them to me. She loved to go out when she could and she would make things, particularly forts. One day, she made this fort out of old seed pods and glue, then hid behind it with water balloons. As soon as I came home, she made her little attack, running right up and dousing me, all brave and fearless until I came running right back. That was when she felt well of course."

The fact that Kalizda liked trouble didn't seem to be terribly surprising. In a way it made things easier. Add a little excitement and risk and it would be all the better. That was entire concept behind exploration anyway. She would always say yes to an offer to explore and Illya fully intended on seeing to it that she got to do plenty. "She tell meh how many of dah people treat her when she was little. Et makes meh angry tah tink dat anyone would treat her like dat, or dat anyone would tink et was right tah treat any child dis way. She dun have many friends growing up?"

Thomas' jaw tightened, though it was hidden under his beard when Illya mentioned the purists and how she was raised on Pyrta. In reality, it was something that made him feel guilty as a father. "It made me angry too. She was just a little girl and there will be people out there who will treat your children that way too. It's part of being a half breed and it isn't limited to Pyrta or even Kaereal. This sort of prejudice exists everywhere, some places more than others, but it does." He let out a long sigh and took a drink of his coffee which was setting to the side. "I wanted to move her from Pyrta, but all of the doctors were on Kinte and living there was too expensive without tenure. Raising her on Pyrta where that influence was stronger wasn't my first choice, and because of that she had very few friends. Most of them were other half breeds she met the sickwards in Kinte...and most weren't so lucky to have lived like her."

"Yah do what yah have tah for yah children. Dere es nut anyting dat I wouldn't do for mine, or Kalizda." No matter the misery he knew that he would do whatever was necessary. "I tink dat life es better for half blood in Pytra now and I tink dat Chippequoti can help wit some study ef Pytran's are nut greedy. Ef dey can wait I tink dat maybe in time meh people would help dem find cures so dat all dere half blood children can be healty. Meh children are healty and dey will learn tah demand respect. I dun want dem tah tink dat dey should expect tah be treated less because dey are not all Chippequoti. I'm not all Chippequoti eiter."

"Aye, you do what you must for your children," Thomas agreed, "You protect them and love them. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Calysta, or my grandchildren...you might be older, but technically you're my son in law, so that puts you in that category too. I tried to raise Calsysta that way too, but I am full terran. I think it some ways it was harder for me to understand. You may not be full Chip, but its a good thing. You will be able to guide your children in a way, I never could help mine. " He didn't admit it often, and this was probably one of the only times he ever would. Not that it was the most graceful way to say he cared, but it would have to do. "I think if the Chips and Ehaui could help the Kaereleans it would be a good thing. Calysta would be proud of that and given the amount of Terrans living on Kaerelean planets now...sorely needed.

What Thomas said made sense and Illya nodded along till the end. "I tink dat the dah best way tah see dah Terrans and Kaereleans help es for Chippequoti tah understand dem more. I find out dat I dun know so many of Kalizda's traditions and et es nut good. She understand more of meh traditions because she wanted to. Now, I will learn Terran and Kaerelean ways too. Dis way our children know all traditions of dere family and dey will be better for et."
Illya was talking like an entirely different person than the man he'd met years before. It used to be "That is not the Chippeqouti way" this and that. Now, he sounded rather like his wife and it was a good thing, if not great. What was more is he wanted the Chippeqouti as a whole to learn them. "I think that would be a wise decision, Illya. And a good step of the Chippeqouti too. If you want a good start to that, maybe try Thanksgiving coming up and Christmas too. I've been working on how to celebrate those with the kids. It will be Lohgan's first Christmas and we missed last years celebration. There are also a few Kaerelean holidays, one of which is coming up soon. "

The entire conversation was entirely too amicable and Illya started to feel the first tinges of ornery settle in. A broad grin spread over his face and he snickered a little. "Yeah, we teach dem dese holidays, but first dey need tah learn tah summon dah bird. I show dem how tah make incantation and be like animal dat we eat."

When their conversation turned to thanksgiving, that look in Illya's eye should have clued him in that his little mishap regarding the 'bird summoning' might be dredged up. He was never going to live that down. Illya would be sure that for the next 200 years he would hear of the dreaded incantation to summon the bird's dead spirit. Shaking his head, Thomas' mouth twitched and he sighed. "Oh I don't think they need to learn about that at all," he replied half heartedly. He was fairly sure his daughter had already taken to doing it as tradition anyways.

After a moment of thought Illya grew more serious again. "Dis will be complicated. Ef we teach dem all traditions dey will learn about dah moon god, dah four winds, seven god's of war, and den dey will learn about dah God dat I have now." There were so many and Illya knew of at least two of the other's he mentioned. He liked some of the old ways of things with the four winds and it might be nice to teach them that, but he wasn't sure how that would work out if he wasn't supposed to worship other gods now.

The next thing that came out of his mouth was something he hadnt considered when he had said traditions would be good to learn. He'd just expected they would continue in the faith. How was he supposed to get around this? He knew what Calysta might want that answer to be but he had a chance to guide here too. "God requires full faith to him," Thomas said, "But for cultural study they might need to understand the other religions. They learn to love God and respect the others."

"Et es all for study, but we dun make dem choose any god. Dis was someting dat Kalizda and I agree before. She dun like any god and she know after she agree wit meh dat I had four gods. So, we jes agree dat dah kids choose what dey want." That was one point that Kalizda had stayed solid on and he wasn't about to push it. "We get blessing when dey are small and when dey grow up dey choose for demselves."

Thomas' eyes widened at a bit at what his daughter had decided, but how long ago had that been? "You know that may have beem what she decided in the beginning, but you decided on God and I believe she might have some different views on things now. It might not hurt to ask."
Why Thomas would even try to push this was beyond Illya. "She knows what I tink and et es her decision. Kalizda dun need meh tah run around asking her tah tink dah same as meh. We dun talk about dese tings tah make oter tink same way. Ef she wants tah ask meh I tell her, but I know dat she dun like dese questions. Et's jes no."

He sighed and held up a hand in surrender when the man got a bit gruff about. "You're right...it's your decision. I just thought maybe it would be a good idea. I love my grandchildren but I'm not their father."

"Mmhmm." Illya nodded in approval and finished with the last dish and handed it off to Thomas. "Tanks for yah help. Now I go have date wit meh agreed and I give her back massage." Taking himself all the way to their room he carefully opened the door and then closed it behind himself and grabbed a little tin of oils and got his hands ready to rub over her back. "Hey, I tink about someting tahday. Yah ever tink about yah fater's god? Maybe yah wonder ef dah blessing he had on yah when yah little baby still works?"

Calysta had put Lohgan to bed after gently rocking her to sleep and then stripped down, putting on her silk kimono. He had said back massage, and she though he might like to see a bit more. It was some what wild, and she was excited when he opened up the door and went to setting up the oils...then asked her the most random question she had ever heard for such a moment. God? A blessing? She hadnt really thought about it before and her lips worked as she tried to summon some sort of response. "Well, I suppose it did. I lived through being sick, and the purists, skycorp work, being an international criminal...I met you...had babies. That's a good life," she replied, "I think about God when...when I pray for you. Why?" It was an odd confession but she felt like it deserved a decent and honest answer.

Kneeling on the bed Illya moved a bit closer to Kalizda and he rest one hand under the edge of her kimono and then gently peeled it back with the other hand. Straddling her, he started to rub her shoulders gently while she answered his question. The fact that she prayed for him sounded very strange for her. He didn't think she prayed at all, but he found out something. "Oh, I jes wonder. I was tinking dat I want tah learn more yah culture and dat et would be good for dah kids tah know too. Den after all dat I tink dat den we teach dem many gods. I teach dem about four winds, dey learn about dah God I have now and den yah teach dem about moons and oter gods ef we teach dem all dere culture. Et makes tings complex yeah?"

His hands on her shoulders felt absolutely wonderful. It has been a long time since she had a massage in the pleasure house, having no time to go after Logan was born and being unable to really go when she was pregnant. The warmth of his palms combined with the oil made her practically melt into the mattress of their bed. The only thing she wasn't quite sure about, was the fact that he suddenly seemed interested in learning more of her culture. Both of them at the same time we'll also talking about religion. He suddenly seems so concerned about how complicated it would be to teach their children. Not that she didn't think the topic was important or wasn't glad that he was asking. In fact, it was probably something they needed to talk about anyways, but she wondered what had brought it up at such an odd moment when they were trying to relax. Lifting up a little, she turned her head to look back at him. "Well, maybe it is. But that's part of having different cultures. It's not a bad thing. I think it will be important for them to know all about where they came from. And then they can make their decisions from there. I wouldn't deny them any part of their heritage. Terran, Kaerelean, Chippeqouti, or Tannas."

While he kneaded her shoulders as gently as he could Kalizda started to push up against his hands and Illya let her rise up. She started to talk and it was about as expected. Of course they were going to teach them all the religions and Illya didn't mind the idea, but he was a little more hesitant to introduce them to anything Tannas. Of all the races and things to disdain it was the Tannas. However, it was the typical sort of response to expect from Kalizda. With a nod he carefully pushed her back into the bed. "Good, den we have dat settled. Now I tink ets about time I talk someting else to yah." Switching to Kaerelean he started off, "I found a rare woman. She has beauty like no oter. Dere es nut wise men dat can describe her because she es beautiful in her heart and body."

He seemed more than satisfied with the answer because he was already putting an end to their conversation and slowly guiding her back down to the bed again. Not that she needed to be encouraged too much. His hands felt too nice as they continued their ministrations on her shoulders. Why was he suddenly being so attentive? Why was she even asking that? She felt like she should be doing something for him too but...he started talking in her language. It was rare that he did it, and his words had a strange lilt to them. And she loved it. Her head dropped to her arms and a contented smile slipped to her lips. Apparently those few night lessons of Kaerelean had stuck just a little and he said she was a rare woman and beautiful, making her smile grow broader. "Your Kaerelean is getting better," she encouraged, though her voice was starting to grow a little wispy, as she relaxed a little more.

"I have good woman tah show meh Kaerelean." Illya didn't remember the word teacher, so he haltingly got another phrase out and it sounded just fine to him. While he worked his way down her shoulders he could feel her start to drift off and he tried to think of anything else he could say in Kaerelean with relative confidence and ease. There weren't so many words or phrases that he knew so well. However, he did remember the song and he started to hum it to start and then sing it quietly so he wouldn't wake Lohgan up.

He started to him their song in a his low tones with a slight rasp and she sighed. She would never forget that sound for as long as she lived. Before she knew it, Calysta was drifting off, her eyes started to flutter as she fought of the relaxed sleep long enough to let her hand drifted over in search of his. "C'mere."
Illya worked until he felt her tug at his hand and he moved over to her side to hold her. He knew that she liked to be cuddled when she slept and he liked that too. "I love yah." Still speaking in Kaerelean he tried his best to make it meaningful, but he didn't know the next part in her language so he went back to Trader's Tongue because he couldn't think of word for it in Quoti either. "I date yah for dah rest of our lives."

He pulled her into his arms, and she let him, more or less relaxed as a little rag doll draped over him. Her eyes were closed but she could hear him whispering to her. He wanted to date for the rest of their lives and while, she wasn't entirely sure that's how it was supposed to work, spending time like this....just being sweet with each other...made the idea sound like a perfect one. "I love you too, Illya..." she said, her smile evident in her voice, "I'd date you for as long as I live."

***********
The next morning Calysta spent a long awhile next to Illya in bed. There was no need to hurry to go anywhere. There had been no Federation soldiers left to quarter, the Agan’s and Silx had thoroughly wiped them all out. It hadn’t been Calysta’s first choice to do that, however, the Demosian planet was not an Alliance bound one. They could and would so as they saw fit. The Kaerelean outfit on the moon would stay, manned by the Silx. It would be Rayshe’s responsibility to ensure the people knew how to use the equipment to prevent further attacks. She had already seen to the details on that. Rayshe would be both a leitenant and a diplomatic envoy since he had already become accustomed to the people and fought with them.

Calysta slipped a hand over Illya’s chest and sighed happily before nibbling on his ear. They had fallen asleep bound up with each other, staying that way the whole night. She had missed him…not just when he fell into a coma, but something more. This was a different feeling that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. As she laid over him, trying to understand what it was, Illya’s eyes cracked up and she smiled. “Good morning, love.” Smoothing down his hair, she looked him over before bringing him into a kiss. “I think it’s time to have that vacation, hm?” He had already mentioned wanting to go and Calysta had scoped out the perfect planet while he was asleep. Her Chip needed this break and so did she.

*******

The next day, she made the Silver Mountain was in perfect flying order, cleaning the exhaust vents and the off board camera from any ash build up. She charged the sun cells and stirred the fuel tanks while Illya made sure they had everything they needed for the short flight. He also tended to the animals without question, petting on his head and inspecting the strange bird creature which had grown a bit. Calysta had made it a little pen rather than the crate and surrounded it with a big mesh over the top so it couldn’t fly freely in the animal bay. At least that way it had plenty of space to move and had it’s own food bowl and water bowl. Illya went to go toss it some of the meat pellets and Calysta called out to him. “Pecky wont eat those. There’s some left over meat bits in the cold box for him.” Whatever meat scraps they had, Pecky ate without question.

In a way, she was almost sad to be leaving Demos. Despite all of the stress that had been endured here the terrible weather sometimes the people were good. As she lead Cin up the bay doors someone called her name and she turned to find Kensi, her children, and Bentil coming up the docks.
Bentil stood on the edge of the docks alongside Kensi while their children milled around, playing with puppies and talking to Rose and Cypher, though the depth of the conversations varied. The small, fiesty Agan man was grinning ear to ear despite the fact that he was leaning heavily on a crutch made of bamboo reeds. The bullet wound he'd take to the shin had very well broken his bones and passed through the other side, but with a healthy dose of hallucinogens and pain pills, he was feeling just fine enough to come out and say goodbye to the Innas family. "You sure you go?" he chuckled, " I dont need guardian anymore, but we got plenty roofs need fixing now, huh?"

With the little Agan man there at the docks Illya found it hard not to smile. Bentil always had some kind of insult lurking behind his eyes. It was nearly palpable. Shrugging a little Illya answered. "I fex yah roof because yah crippled midget now, but I tink dere are plenty of Agan strong enough tah fex dere own roof. Dey dun need Silx tah do all dah hard work. Dun tink I'd make yah run in dah jungle witout expecting yah tah get stronger eh?"

"It be fine. Not cripple forever....but if my wife keep loving on me I might wish I was," he snickered, holding up his wounded leg. The Agan didn't realize he was saying that quite so loud in front of not only Calysta but Kensi too. His wife gave him a sharp look before tapping him in the back of his head for such a comment. The sharp pop only made Bentil grin wider. "See? She love me." Calysta bit down on her lips fighting a igiggle, and refused to look at Illya which would cause her to burst out into full on laughter. "Agans are much stronger now thanks to the Inna-" He paused, thinking over what he was saying slowly. The cogs could almost be seen turning in his hazy mind until he grinned again. "Agans are much stronger thanks to Il-yah and Kalzda. You no longer Innas to the Agans and Silx."

They were so close to exchanging the usual insult, but instead Bentil actually used his name. Illya's smirk grew a little wider. In a way Kensi reminded him of some of the Chip women and the way they treated their men when they didn't come back in the best of shape. "Den I guess ef we have names dat I give yah proper name too. Now yah graduate from midget tah little warriors. I tink yah become terrors dat dah fringe never see before."

At the Chip's words, Bentil started to chuckle as his hand came over his stomach to steady himself. When he was done with his giddy giggling, his head lolled over giving his wife a naughty grin. "I be a terror likes of which Demos not see before," he told her proudly. Kensi's dark brow raised up, and Calysta almost thought another smack would be in bound, but the Agan woman simply scoffed and shook her head. "You terror alright. Terror in my kitchen." Having rolled her eyes at her husband, she stepped up to Illya with a square jaw, but her eyes had softened slightly. "You Guardian still too big," she shook her head, "But you help protect my home. For this I over look it." Then she tugged on his shirt, pulling him down low and kissed each of his cheeks.

In a way the Agan were easy to amuse and that was nice. They used to think of the Silx as the way to demand respect, but they were far more fun with their pride restored and thinking of themselves as tough little people. They were plenty tough if they were out sniping from the trees. Illya was about ready to say his final goodbye and then Kensi came over and tugged on his shirt. Slowly he leaned over and held very still while she kissed each cheek. "Well, den ets good ting I'm nut yah guardian. Kalizda peck meh cause she like how big I am."

Kensi gave him a look that told him not to push his luck, as she shook her head and Calysta nudged Illya's elbow gently before sleeping her arm into his. She would miss the tiny people in a way. Kensi and Bentil, while different from Kaereleans and Chips were still good people. She might even go so far as to call them friends. Bentil shifted forward toward her and patted her arm a bit sloppily. "Goodbye Kalzda, you good woman," he said before looking to Illya, "Good bye Illya. If you need Agan terrors or silx guardians you know where to find. You be welcome here."

Pushing his luck was something that Illya was good at and he only grinned bigger when Kansi shot him the look. Nodding to Bentil he waited for the man to make his goodbye and then Illya responded, "I hope not tah need Agan or Silx, but I call ef I need yah."

"You still come visit," Bentil said with a toss of his hand, "You not need but if you do call. Maybe bring more chickens, huh?" Calysta let out a giggle finally and Kensi caught Bentil's arm as he wobbled some. "I take him home now. Goodbye, Kalzda and Il-yah. Our thanks." The woman turned to go, and a quick whistle sent her children running behind them, calling and waving as they left.

“I hope they stay safe,” Calysta said quietly as she squeezed Illya’s hand, “Maybe we will get to see them again some day.” Planting a kiss on his cheek, she walked back up the ramp and finished their chores so they could lift off.

************

The trip to the small planet on the fringe took little less than a day’s jump. Cypher had already forgotten he could just run down the ramp and open the door, but after that small fit of sadness was over, he brought his father the tarantula box and held it up to him with a big grin. “Dah, look et! Play wifth the monster!”

Calysta was more than happy to sit with Rose and Lohgan well away from the hairy legged critter to allow Illya some much needed time with his son. When the autopilot alert when off, she got up and took over the controls, guiding them down to a planet that was covered in green land and large seas. Jackobi was a planet that had yet to be explored fully, but its inhabitants were few, limited only to a settlement of pacifists and nature lovers. They preferred to leave their surroundings untouched and most of the planet was wilderness besides the small, self sustaining and communal settlements peppered over the continents. As far as she knew, it was a boring enough place that even the Federation would find little use for it, so it was likely to be safe. She landed them on a small docking pad, having been given permission from the locals after stating their purpose was to simply rest, refuel and sightsee.

As soon as the landed, Cypher was dancing at the door, his heavy feet pounding at the floor panels in tiny circles. "Open door! Open door Mam!" Rose was ready to exit as were the 7 puppies, all waiting anxiously. When the hatch opened, it revealed a small town of neatly kept houses and beyond that a sprawling forest of trees as far as the eye could see. The sky was blue, dotted with wispy white clouds and a soft breeze tickled over them. Calysta closed her eyes and took in the scent of the trees wafting on the air and then took Illya’s hand. “Are you ready?”

 

[Silence]

They were finally on the way toward the location that Kalizda had chosen. Anything to get away for a while and just be alone with his family would be worth it. Illya was tired out from the war and it had barely begun. Part of him wondered if he was even right to do this. Wasn't it the same as being a coward or running away? He could help change the war, but he was tired of changing the wars. Illya wanted to be selfish and just run away with his family and forget that there was a war raging. Wishing those they left behind well was all the better it was going to get for now.

Kalizda had them in flight in almost no time and Illya waited in the co-pilot seat. When it was time to take off he slowly went over the checks in the routine fashion and then sat back and let her bring the Silver Mountain into the air. Illya let out a sigh of satisfaction as he watched Demos disappear beneath them. "Oh, dis Silver Mountain es great ship." Sometimes he liked to compliment himself on picking out the best ship and having her confirm that it was indeed the best on the market. It was like a luxury flying fortress. He hadn't lived in this kind of luxury since he could remember and it was satisfying. Especially satisfying to think that he had been able to purchase it for her and she was pleased with how well he'd been able to provide for them.

Little Cypher was terribly dismayed when Illya stepped out the cabin door. Apparently the boy had discovered that when the doors shut and they were in flight he couldn't just run outside anymore. "Eh, ets alright. We land again soon. Only short fly dis time." Cypher still had his little head lowered and then he raised it suddenly. "Dah, I show you!" Running away down the hall he giggled the whole way while Monster chased after him.

The dogs seemed to have all bonded to their people quite well. Elijah stood faithfully at Illya's side and followed him until he sat down. When Illya sat his dog settled at the side of the couch and looked at Illya for a few minutes before it settled down and figured it could be a while. Only a few moments later Cypher came running back out of his room with a large container held tightly to his chest. "Look et!!!!!" Yelling the words happily he launched himself at his Dah and landed right in Illya's lap. Illya grunted a little when his son's knee hit him in the solar plex and a little elbow dug into his neck. "Yah be careful." The boy gave him an apologetic expression that lasted all, but a moment. There wasn't much time to be sorry when there was a box with something exciting inside of it. "Look et!" Yelling the words again Cypher thrust the box into Illya's hand and waited for his Dah to open it up.

Taking the box from Cypher he carefully opened one end and peered inside. "I dun see anyting." Illya could see there was something hiding from the light, but he didn't know what it was. Reaching in with his hand he felt something furry and then it began to crawl up his hand and arm. "Ooooh, yah get..." Before he could finish the boy excitedly yelled, "Monster!"

Just for fun Illya jumped and gave a little squawk. "Eugh, et's gonna get meh!" Plucking the spider off his arm he pulled the back of Cypher's shirt open and dropped it down his son's shirt. Cypher jumped up and squirmed as the furry spider legs trailed down his back. When the spider fell out the dog, Monster tried to eat it, but Cypher snatched the spider up and dropped it down the front of Illya's shirt. While the spider scurried around under Illya's shirt he pretended to try and trap it. A few seconds later he'd move his hand and raise his eyebrows. "I dun feel et move," then he'd nudge the lump and the spider would start running under his shirt all over again. After a few minutes of the game Illya took the spider out from under his shirt and put it back into its box. "I tink we get food for yah spider. Maybe we capture little bugs and drop dem inside so yah can see yah spider eat dem."

Having Dah play with him and the spider was great. Cypher loved having his Dah get so excited about the spider. He giggled and laughed whenever his Dah would make the spider move. When the game was over he shook his head and leaned back on the sofa and pushed his little stomach out. "Drop it in meh shirt." He wanted to try the same game that Dah just showed him.

Instead of feeding the spider a decent meal the boy ended up trying to play the same game, but it was much more difficult because the spider took up too much space on him. When Dah did it the spider was much smaller looking. Finally, the game wore out and he had Illya help him pick the spider up and put it back in the box. The two of them started a hunt around the ship to find little pests and things to feed the spider. Cypher loved hunting out little bugs for his spider to eat and when they found the bugs he would chase them around till he caught them and then he would drop the bugs into the box and make growling sounds for his monster while it ate the offerings. Leaning closer to the clear end of the box he would examine the grotesque image of his spider's mandibles spreading and then clamping and pulling the squirming victim into its mouth. "Eat dem!" Squealing with delight Cypher watched as his spider ate bug after bug that he fed to it.

Spending a day with Dah and seeing what his monster could do made the time on the ship pass quickly. If anyone knew about monsters it was Dah and he always knew what to do with animals. It was almost nap time and Cypher seemed content to sit quietly with Illya while his Dah flipped through a picture book for him. Eventually Cypher fell asleep with his spider box tucked under one arm and his little head resting on Dah's chest.

It took a while for Cypher to be sleeping deeply enough that Illya could get up. When he did, he set the pad aside and then held the dozing boy close to his body and carried Cypher to his little bedroom. Laying Cypher down he took the box and set it up on a shelf where the spider would be safe for now. As he was headed out the door he saw the dog, Monster jump onto Cypher's bed with him and take up position there. It seemed that his children had encouraged their dogs to sleep with them. As long as the animals didn't let anyone in to hurt them he figured it wouldn't hurt. He could try to train it out of the dogs, but the dogs wouldn't learn not to sleep on the beds because Illya was sure the kids would get the dogs right in bed after he left anyway.

When the time came to land Cypher was up. He had a little second sense that seemed to tell him when the ship was slowing down for landing and he was dancing by the hatch with the dogs. All of the animals seemed anxious, especially the large lion bird. Illya waited with Cypher and the animals until Kalizda gave the word. "Yah got tah listen and wait for dah Captain eh?" It was a funny and pleasing sort of thing to say. Feeling Kalizda's little fingers slip into his hand he winked at her. "Aye, Captain. I tink I'll be ready whenever you are." Leaning a little closer he kissed her on the lips. "Dis es dah part where et gets good." They were free of the war for now and they could be whatever they wanted. It was safe to be a family.

***********************

Calysta sat down in the small couch in their bedroom and looked over the box in her hand. She knew she wouldn't have too long before the boys came back and Lohgan woke up from her nap. This was something she had been wanting to do for awhile, but had never had the chance to start once things happened so fast on Pyrta. Still, she caught herself staring at the hologram box for a long moment, hesitant to open it again. What else might she see? She wouldn't know until she turned it on. With a long breath she turned on the box and the first image displayed was of the last one played at the party. Illya running butt naked out into the sandstorm. His little tan behind looked familiar, as did his mop of wild curls. Their son, though lighter in skin color was the spitting image of his father...and with any luck...he would turn out as just as good of a man. She decided to simply press play, and let the images continue with whatever came after that, hoping to see more holograms of him as a child.

It was mostly dark outside and Yvonne carried a large bundle in her arms. She stood outside the door of the house and called inside before stepping in. Asha walked around the corner in a long flowing night gown and her hair was out of its usual braid, or bun. Yvonne passed the bundle off to Asha. "I have to go back and take care of Markus." Asha nodded slowly and held the little boy in her arms. Her agreed stepped in behind and he peered over her shoulder. Illya's little brown legs hung out the bottom of the blanket and dangled haphazardly and his little head was tucked under the blankets. "I'll just take him to Maks room." Whispering gently Asha carried Illya toward his nephew's room. "Do we still have his clothes from last time?" Her agreed nodded and then the two of them tucked Illya in before heading back to their own room.

The next few images to flicker to life were not what she expected. She had hoped it would be another video of Illya dancing for snake stew, but instead a slightly younger looking Yvonne appeared at what seemed to be Asha's door. Why was this recorded? She kept wondering, though she recognized what was happening. Markus, though she had never seen the man in such a state, had been a drunk at one point. He had viciously beaten on Illya at least once and it was often times why he went to stay with his much older sister Asha and her agreed, Ryan. At he mention of Maks, Calysta's heart twinged and she bit her lip, trying not to let it bother her. There was nothing she could do to turn back the hands of time. She let the image play out, then skipped to the next.

Over the next several days Illya appeared to be happy enough, but there was a considerable sized welt on the side of his face. There wasn't much that could deter him and there was even less that could keep the boy from smiling. He romped around the house happily, threw himself out a window in the larger dwelling and landed the brush below it before stripping and running out into un-manicured desert. When he returned it was later in the day and he looked tired, but satisfied. He cast his sister a look of disgust when she ordered him to wear his clothing before she would feed him, but he complied. After he ate the meal with gusto Ryan plucked Illya from his seat. Despite the boy's kicking and squealing the big man held tight and took him over to a large round chair and sat Illya down on his lap and then he started to tell Illya stories of Little Bird and her mischief. Asha watched from the kitchen for a while. It was clear that she approved of the fact that Ryan had taken it upon himself to be sure that Illya had a mostly positive image of father type figures. Sometimes her little brother forgot and he would call Ryan dad the same as he did when he was falling asleep this time. When Ryan saw that Illya was finally asleep he took Illya back to the bedroom and then helped Asha finish cleaning before bed. The next clip wasn't until early one morning. Illya was playing in the desert with at least his shorts on and he spotted Yvonne. Throwing his arms wide open he ran toward her and jumped into her arms so hard that they both hit the ground. "Look what I found!" Holding up a snake he practically shoved it into her face. "Mmmmmm!"

Calysta watched several different days pass, but when she saw the welt on the size of her Illya's head, she knew what incident had occurred. Seeing him call Ryan his father struck him a little bit with her. Markus had been a general and so had Illya. Seeing her child version of Illya talk to Ryan, mistakeningly calling him father, made her glad that Illya retired in a way. She didn't want the same thing to happen to Cypher but Illya loved his children so much, and he was so gentle, there was no way their son could not know his father, right? Possibly the best scene was Illya tackling his mother with the snake in his hands. His fat hands pushing the snake up into Yvonnes face with such excitement, while the creature wiggled violently. "At least it wasn't a spider," Calysta whispered to Yvonne. She missed the woman, and it was in moments like this, she felt the woman's absence. Yvonne hadn't liked her at first, but they had grown on each other. Calysta wished she were there to see her grandson and grand daughters. To see her son too. The image faded and rolled to the next one.

Several years had passed before the next scene came into focus. There were dozens of children sitting in a room all together and pouring over books. Illya read over the text many times. He was still chubby, but there were some signs of him growing into his width. When his turn came to give report on the history of the Chip people he was taken into a little room with a school master and he had to recite the history, but primarily the battles all while standing. Each mistake earned him a sharp sting from a rod across his backside and he'd jump a little, but continue. By the end of the day he walked home with books tucked under his arm. A young woman watched him walking home and at first that appeared to be all that would happen until he fell over and began seizing. There were plenty of other students that walked by and most ignored it, but the young woman stepped away from her house and picked up his books and knelt next to him till he woke up. After he was awake she helped him off the ground and handed his books back to him. It was clear by the expression on his face that he had decided she was beautiful. Her long dark hair was still down and that meant she wasn't a woman yet, or at least not 17. "You wait for me?" Almost dazed he looked at her and she smiled at him. "Only if you become an officer by 17."

Calysta watched the scene with a mixture of feelings. Was all they talk to children about war? It certainly made her feel better about knowing they had been able to attend school on Pyrta now. Even if the first day had been disastrous and look like a mistake. She could see Illya as a little boy running home with his books and it did make her smile. He really did love to read and though he had difficulty doing it after his brain injury, it was a task that she would have no problem helping him with for the rest of his life. When he fell into a seizure she set up a little straighter and watch as a beautiful girl walked over to help him up. Isla. The look on his face made it clear he was stunned by her. She had only seen the woman once before in a hologram many years ago and it was different seeing her now that it was back then. Will you wait for me? Those of the same words he said to her.

Over the next two years Illya finished his school and then began to train furiously. The young woman kept her hair down a symbol that she had yet to choose a man. Illya was slowly growing a little taller and he marched proudly into her house every couple of months to show her stripes on his uniform. He had nearly as many bruises to show for it added on a daily basis. His usual grin from childhood had faded and he started to look more serious. There were more men leaving everyday for war and less returning. All the while he continued to grow a little taller and worked longer hours. He would train all day with the men and at night he would work on building a little house. It started out poorly several times and he would clear the foundation and start again. There wasn't much patience in the effort to start with and he broke several of the stones in fits of rage before he would return to the work. Some days he looked tired enough to go to sleep before he got to the house he was building, but he would cast a look toward the home of the woman that he intended to agree with and then he would straighten his shoulders and continue working into the night. When it all faded into the next scene it showed all the young men of age. Some of them were just 17 and others were a few years past. Girls that had not chosen an agreed yet lined up and started to walk along. Some of them teased the young men. Most of them already knew who was going to to be agreed with whom by the end of the day. Isla looked over the young men and walked slowly as if she were examining each of them before she stopped in front of Illya and then passed him by. Illya's jaw clenched and he reached out and grabbed one of her hands when she brushed past. "I am officer and I build you house." Raising one eyebrow she looked at him for a long moment and then pulled her hand out of his grasp. The young woman took the band from her wrist and pulled her hair up before she took his hand this time and nodded. "Then we are agreed." A few of the bystanders had looks of disgust that he would be so bold as to grab her hand like that and speak to her when it was her place to ask him, but he hadn't technically asked her. It was also no secret that he had worked to meet all her demands and she'd waited for him.

Calysta watched on with the random clips and she could see the change in him. It was probably more obvious to her with such fractured images than it was seeing him everyday like the people in the images, but that happy smile fading out to a more surly look was...in a way heart breaking. She loved his smiles. And when he worked hard for so long, Isla had still passed him by before he reached out to say something. In part she commended him for go after what he wanted...but it also flared a bit of irritation for Isla. Who told a man these things if they didn't love him? Why be so false?

The house seemed to become less and less of a scene with time. At first Illya came home frequently and then Isla was by herself more and more. She sat in the kitchen of their little home chopping vegetables. Every now and then she would reach down to hold her stomach where a little bulge was growing. She appeared to hear something and got up to move over toward the doorway. Shuffling to the side she made way when the men drug Illya into the house. He was so badly bruised and beaten even on the one side of his face that he didn't quite look like himself. Isla waited till the men left and then she made tea to take him. Only one of Illya's eyes could open at the time and he glowered at her. "I don't want the damn tea!" Stepping back a little she simply poured it over his legs. "Fine. You don't have to drink it. If you want anything from me while you recover you'd better be nicer." Dropping the cup in his lap she walked out of the room and stood in the kitchen with her jaw clenched and eyes watering. With her back toward the hallway she wiped at her eyes and then went to sit back down at the table again. Only a few minutes later Illya came out and he looked like he was ready to fight. One of his fists were balled up and Isla tilted her head. "I'm pregnant and if you even lay a hand on me I'll beat you to death the rest of the way. Looks like it wouldn't take too much." Sliding a chair from the table a bit closer to herself she lifted it with a warning glance. She knew he could take her if he wanted to, but he seemed to get the point and instead started to scream and yell and limp around the house as best he could with the braces he was in. That night she took herself to the spare room and spent the night away from him. Isla didn't want him, but she knew most of their people would end up in the war anyway and she might as well have a man strong enough to do what had to be done. So far he hadn't hit her like his father would hit Yvonne sometimes, but she was trying hard to keep that from happening.

She watched the next few scenes unfold, not realizing she was biting her lips for a long moment until she tasted blood. She knew what must have happened when they dragged him into the house with Isla standing there, a growing bump on her belly. Illya had passed that sickening Elite exam. She felt tears well up when she saw him and then yelled. He was snapping at Isla, and she knew he could be harsh. She'd seen in happen, but would it be so wrong for Isla to make sure he was okay? "Don't walk away...he's in pain...for you..of course he's short tempered." Instead, she dumped the tea over him and stormed out with a cold look in her eye that set Calysta's fists to clenching. She would never had done that for a simply smart comment or even a raging one. Illya followed her and looked like he might hit her, for just a moment, making Calysta's breath catch. Isla delivered her words, which with faced with being hit from Illya, Calysta could under stand. She had to lay down the law with the Chip once too...but not because she had been disrespectful. The more she watched, the more sad she became. She could tell by the looks Isla gave Illya...she did not love him when she chose him.

She watched the next few scenes unfold, not realizing she was biting her lips for a long moment until she tasted blood. She knew what must have happened when they dragged him into the house with Isla standing there, a growing bump on her belly. Illya had passed that sickening Elite exam. She felt tears well up when she saw him and then yelled. He was snapping at Isla, and she knew he could be harsh. She'd seen in happen, but would it be so wrong for Isla to make sure he was okay? "Don't walk away...he's in pain...for you..of course he's short tempered." Instead, she dumped the tea over him and stormed out with a cold look in her eye that set Calysta's fists to clenching. She would never had done that for a simply smart comment or even a raging one. Illya followed her and looked like he might hit her, for just a moment, making Calysta's breath catch. Isla delivered her words, which with faced with being hit from Illya, Calysta could under stand. She had to lay down the law with the Chip once too...but not because she had been disrespectful. The more she watched, the more sad she became. She could tell by the looks Isla gave Illya...she did not love him when she chose him.

There was nothing until the baby was born and Illya seemed to be pleased, but distracted. He didn't spend much time holding the baby and even when he did it seemed like he was distant. Isla would watch him hold the baby. They were both still very young and Illya had become a little less moody at home and instead stared listlessly at things. Carefully placing a hand on his shoulder she rubbed it gently and then kissed the top of his head. "Is she asleep yet?" Suddenly Illya seemed to realize where he was and he looked down at the baby girl and gave a grunt before handing her off to her mother. He had asked to hold her, but he didn't have much interaction with the baby when he did. Gradually there was a little more interaction between Illya and Lahna. The older their daughter got the more the girl seemed to demand his attention and he started to gradually soften up a bit. Isla always stood nearby, or sat in the room with them and watched the girl play. Sometimes she would look over at Illya and try to smile. It was hard times and they both knew it. They seemed to be stuck in a lull with nothing happening with the exception of the growing number of prisoners and the eventual arrival of their own to keep. The man was gentle, he seemed to like Lahna and he would give her little candies until the day came she got the candy laced with poison.

She had never seen Illya quite so distant with a child or anyone else for that matter...except for once. When he had lost his memory. What had been done to him in the Elite? She watched the beautiful little Lahna grow. She was a sweet child with eyes like her mother and a smile exuberant like her father's once was. She had already seen the death of their little girl and finally knew what Lahna said to Illya. She had no desire to see it again. It would only serve to make her own heartache. So she skipped ahead to a time past that moment to save herself the pain of seeing a dead child and her Chip in pain.

After Lahna was gone Isla was see standing outside the door of their home most of the time. She would watch when the men came home and wait for Illya to come up the rear. He always took the back to be sure that the men under him were home first. He didn't like to look her in the eyes so much and she'd feed him, but neither of them said much. There wasn't anything to say. He lived on the battlefield and she lived at home. They didn't see each other except for the time between campaigns. She'd had 1 stillborn baby and multiple miscarriages now. As hard as she tried to look him in the eyes he didn't seem interested. Years passed like that and she would sit with him while he was staring at nothing most days. Isla kissed his cheek occasionally and she'd give him a shy smile when he glared at her. In time it started to work. Scenes seemed to remain the same with her waiting outside until there was a night that his men came home and he didn't. The woman ran back into the house and she packed her things and took a tent from his gear. For days she lived out in the tent near the medical pad, until she got word he was on his way home and then she rushed back to the house to make it ready for him. When the men arrived with a small transport outside the house she cleared a wide path and watched with wide eyes as her agreed was taken into the bedroom. He was bandaged heavily, his face was cut up and swollen, His entire right side was bleeding through the bandages and he didn't seem to register anything at all. Her eyes watered and she knelt next to the bed. "I'm right here." It only got more difficult when she looked into the cabinet a few weeks later and saw that his medicine was nearly gone. Walking into the room she swallowed hard and helped him sit up a little. "I'm going to the docks to see if the Ehaui have a medical base set up again. If they don't maybe I can get more medicine." Illya barely managed a hoarse groan. The cut on his neck had changed his voice some and the rasp was so heavy at the time that he couldn't even form words properly. Isla's hand hovered near his shoulder and his head and she seemed to wonder for a moment if she could touch him without causing pain and then started out the door. At the docks she wandered aimlessly and asked everyone possible for the Ehaui medical base and then resorted to begging for any of the medicines.

Calysta watched when they brought Illya in from the front. It must have been after he was blown apart on the battle field and the sight of it made tears spring to her eyes, and she held a hand over her mouth, her mind instantly flashing back to watching Kent blow his head open. A wave of nausea hit but she swallowed and wiped at her eyes as a much more tender Isla tried to take care of him. Even going so far as begging. Calysta would have begged if she had to too. It was awful to think that she had to beg at all. As the scene faded out she made a vow that something like that would never happen again if she could help it.

It almost became routine that Isla would go out to get medicine for Illya. There was no Ehaui medical base. The war was nearly over, their army was crumbling and world being crushed into a little ball. Trader's came to the planet less often and she was always there to buy any drug that would help with the pain. Returning home she would find Illya sweating, sick, and most of the time shaking from the pain. It started to get costly and then the trader looked at her out of the corner of his eye one morning and smiled. "I know what you're here for and I know what you pay with, but I want something else this time." Looking at her he beckoned for Isla to come closer. "This time I'll give you a deal. I don't need the gold, but I do have another method of payment in mind." Isla was disgusted and she turned away, but after two nights of Illya having no medicine she went back.

She watched the days after Illya's return turned into a display she remembered from his near death on the Ekram. Sweaty, bloated and shaking from pain was how Illya spent his days and Isla...Isla took care of him properly, which she was grateful for. Even going so far as to trade what would be otherwise unthinkable. She thought back to Elian's mouth mashed against hers for a brief moment, the crushing, sour taste she could still remember. Calysta couldnt help but let out a small sob this time. Not just for herself but for Isla too and turned off the projector.

********************************************

The day had been long and Illya tried walking his lion bird with a harness outside. A few times it tried to chase the kids, but their dogs seemed to keep the bird at bay. If nothing else Illya had discovered what the bird didn't like. As for the bird's taste for meat that was easily remedied. Illya was going to make sure it received meat from his hand for a while. It would learn that he was a good person to please. Carrying a little satchel with meat Illya would approach the bird carefully and he would offer it tiny scraps of fish. "Quraz," that was the name he gave the bird and the animal's clear eyelid would peel back from it's golden eyes and it would screech at him. "Yes, yah listen to meh. I get tah be close when yah want tah eat. Yah learn tah trust meh."

Day one of the intense training Quraz was difficult. Illya earned a few nips from the bird, but it started to walk closer to him instead of fighting the harness. It was thankfully still small enough that it didn't try flying. When it got bigger it would be able to pull him right off the ground if it wanted to. Cin wandered behind them and bellowed loudly until he got sufficient attention and Elijah ran in circles around Illya, Quraz and Cin. None of the animals liked to think that one was getting more attention than the others and it appeared to stress the bird some, but it would make it ready for combat if need be.

Illya fully intended on training the bird to be ready to fly in dangerous areas. No one would bother a magnificent creature like this if it was fleeing the battle field and it could be a method of escape for his family. One that no one would likely check. All he needed was to train the bird to enjoy the company of his family and to protect the children. Hopefully the bird had some kind of protective instinct, its mother certainly had. If nothing else, it was going to be a great gift for Kalizda. She could have a trained bird to fly and feel the air through her hair as if she had the wings herself.

With the first day of training done, Illya started walking back to the ship where he would put the bird back to its crate. It was safer to keep it indoors until it was old enough to fly and protect itself. Then the bird would willingly come inside, but it could be let out during the day to hunt and fly as it pleased. When he finished putting the animals back into their crates Illya stepped into the bedroom to get washed up first. He was sure he smelled like animals, if he could smell it on himself then he knew others could for sure. While he was showering he heard the bathroom door open and then close before Kalizda slipped into the shower with him. Grinning a little he kissed her. "Ooh yah couldn't let meh get naked by mehself eh?"

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta stayed in the room for a long while thinking over the things she had seen on the box given by Asha. Did she know what was on there? Probably not in some cases and there were still several more frames on the projector. Those would have to wait for another time when her heart wasn't aching so much. She sat on the couch, wiping at her eyes and trying to gather herself enough to go back into the living room where Loghan and the others were waiting. Illya would never have to know what she knew about him. It didn't change anything other than she understood his life a little more deeply now. Rising to her feet, she walked into the bathroom and splashed some cool water on her face before reaching for the soft towel nearby. Her cheeks had grown hot from her tears and the cold water felt refreshing over her skin, cooling her down in more ways than one.

Once her face was dry, she hid the projector box again and then went back into the living room where the hatch was open letting in the warm breeze from outside. She could see Illya working with the bird from Demos on its heavy leather tether while the dogs were sniffing around and Cin lumbered the dockyard. Her Chip had a glint in his green eyes as he worked with the animals, something she had seen before a long time ago though she couldn't remember when the last time was. The same sort of spark he had in some of those holograms too, as a young boy. More than anything she wanted to go out there and bind him up in her arms. Took look at those green eyes and kiss him, but he was working with the animals and as if on cue, her boy came running up the ramp steps looking entirely breathless and with big tears in his eyes. His long curls were jammed with sticks, leaves, and clods of dirt as well. What in the Wilds had be been doing? Rolling in the dirt? "Mam! Monster es gone!"

Her hand settled on her son's shoulder as her eyes scanned the yard, spotting Monster as he was digging up a storm in the grass. "Cypher...Monster is right there."

Cypher tugged at her tunic and shook his leafy head. "Nooo...monster es gone! Rose did et! She did et!"

At that moment, Rose came walking up the ramp looking red-faced and her shirt was hanging off her shoulders. "Kalizda! Cypher stuck that nasty spider down my shirt!" She shuddered and brushed past him and headed for her room. The little animal boy had snuck up behind her while she was reading and plopped something horribly hairy down her shirt right at the back her neck. She'd torn at her shirt to get the scrabbling insect out of her top, dancing and squirming while she squealed...only to look down and find the fat tarantula looking back at her from her tiny cloth bra with pincers chomping. She smacked the creature off her chest, sent it sailing into the yard and had not a care for where it landed. "I'm going to take a shower right now!" Rose seethed as she stomped down the corridor.

"Cypher, why did you put the spider down Roses' shirt?" Calysta demanded, "That was not nice."

Cypher's blue eyes filled with tears as he tugged on her tunic. "Dah played with Monster. I want Rose to play too."

For all the Wilds, that sad look on his face was more than she could stand. It sounded like Illya had been teaching their son some things about animals...namely how to put tarantula's inside shirts. "Fine et Mam. I want Monster."

Calysta let out a long breath and nodded. "Come on, lets go...find it..." As she guided Cypher back into the dockyard to go look for the spider, she half hoped they would find it and another part of her hoped that gross critter might be lost to the planet forever. At least then she wouldn't have to think about it crawling on her at night or when Cypher neglected to put the lid back on its cage.

She combed the yard in a grid after showed her to the spot where Rose had been sitting, but they had no luck. Either it had crawled away or Rose had flung it far enough that they were looking in the wrong spot. Still, she looked high and low for the nasty bug as Cypher helped, tossing up sticks and leaves to make sure Monster wasn't under there. Calysta even went to far as to check the trees and under the bay doors of the ship. Any nook and cranny she could think of.

Finally, she had to come to the conclusion the thing was gone and bring Cypher inside for a bath before dinner. "C'mon little man we'll keep looking tomorrow, yeah? Maybe he just likes playing hide and seek?" Her boy sniffled and started to cry over losing his pet Monster which only made Calysta feel a bit guilty for being glad it might have disappeared.

Calysta picked him up under the arms with great effort and let him cry on her shoulder as she hauled him to the shower. By the time she got him cornered in the tub, his puppy had followed them inside and barreled past her legs, licking at Cypher's tear-stained face in an attempt to make him happy. It worked of course and it wasn't two minutes before the two were wrestling in the tub with suds, leaves, and dog hair everywhere. "Okay...okay...oh fine." Calysta hosed the both of them off at the same time, as her son giggled wildly as he grabbed a happy Monster around the neck. The site was altogether wonderful, despite the fact her son was bathing with his puppy. He was happy, and for once, she had nothing hanging overhead. This was the first time ever she was playing with her son without worry. His father knew him, her councilwoman duties were suspended for now, and they were safe. That revelation hit her and she stared at Cypher for a long moment until he started dancing. "Mam! Cold! Cold!" Someone else had turned on the hot water and the tank needed to time heat up more. Blinking a few times, she found that her son had run out of the shower and tackled her legs in a hug. "Mam! Cold!" He was so heavy, that she tumbled backward and landed back first in the bathroom floor where she was immediately set upon by Cypher crawling up her and Monster trying to lick her face too. "I'm gonna get you!" she laughed, capturing her boy up in her arms. "No! I get you!" he replied as he tried to escape. "Nope, I'm using tickles!" With that, she let loose her fingers and tickled his round belly under he was absolutely breathless.

After the bath turned play session, Calysta wet to work trying to comb out Cypher's hair. The curls were past his shoulders and there were still leaves trapped in the ringlets. Getting him to sit down was one thing but getting him to sit still while she worked was another. He kept jerking his head and crying that she pulled too much. The solution was becoming apparent, though she didn't want to do it. With a slight bit of sadness, she walked into her father's bathroom and took his hair clippers from the case. "It's time for your first haircut little man," she sighed. Before starting on the haircut, she took a hologram on him with his beautiful black curls bouncing around, then sat him down in the animal bay to him a decent buzz cut. A few steady swipes with the clippers and then a crooked one when he turned his head to look at Monster left him with a slightly strange cut, but at least there wouldn't be things catching in it now. The last shining curl fluttered to the floor and Calysta hoisted him down to the deck as she dusted him off. "Go on and play now," she said. Her boy didn't have to be told twice. Cypher was off and running as soon as his feet hit the floor with Monster nipping at his heels.

Now that Cypher was clean, Calysta was in desperate need of a bath for herself. She was covered in dirt, dog hair, and now the remnants of Cypher's curls. Sweeping the hair outside, she quickly cleaned up and then headed toward the shower where she found it already occupied. Illya was already in there. A small smirk came across her lips and she had the naughty little idea to surprise him. He wouldn't say no...or at least she didn't think he would. Wiggling out of her boots and leggings, Calysta tossed them quietly to the side and peeled off her tunic before pushing aside the shower door.

She was met by a saucy grin and a gentle kiss, though she was certain she probably smelled like a Monster. "I definitely couldn't leave you to be naked all on your own," she replied as she snuck her arms around his back. "Someone has to be here to appreciate it." It was as bold of a joke as she'd made with him and even still her cheeks turned pink as the water rained down on them. As her grey eyes looked him over, she couldn't help but feel like he looked different. What was it? She was quite familiar with his naked self, and yet something was different. His back felt the same as she washed it for him, still scarred from his injuries and whippings...his arms were the same strong and muscle-bound. His hair was a mop of curls plastered to his forehead, flopped over his ears. Her fingers played at the ends of his curls. He needed a haircut too though she loved it long like that. There was more to play with that way. The only new thing was the spot from his bullet graze on his hip. And yet...he was brighter. It wasn't just his tan from Demos either. This war had been so hard on him.

Her arms wrapped around his waist as she pulled him close in the shower and kissed him again....and again...She didn't want to stop but it was as if Cypher knew Mam and Dah had a moment alone. "Mam! Dah! Food!!!" Papa had cooked dinner and asked for him to inform is parents, which he had done in the best way possible by slamming into the bathroom door only to find it locked.

"I think dinner is ready," she chuckled, kissing Illya's cheek, "Lets go see what dad cooked up. I think he mentioned spaghetti."

They meandered out of the shower, dressed in their comfortable clothes and met her father in the galley as he was ladling out a bowl full of noodles and meat sauce for Cypher. "There you two are," Thomas grinned as he handed her a bowl, "Spaghetti and meat sauce, just like your grandmother used to make."

Calysta took the bowl gratefully and sat down across from Rose and next to Lohgan who was sucking on her bottle. "Thanks for dinner dad, this looks great." Dinner passed in relative peace, though she kept looking up to Illya, studying him while he wasn't looking and then dropping her eyes back to her food. What she failed to eat, Cypher gladly took and inhaled. With his belly filled to the brim with noodles, Cypher settled into his father's lap while Calysta held Lohgan in the living room. Rose was reading her newest story out loud, and even showed off the accompanying pictures. It was a continuation of the little girl and the wolf boy...only now after visiting the ocean, they had gone to the mountains and found a baby fox to add to the collection. The fox wore a daisy in his hair and followed them wherever they went on the journey. Cypher clapped happily at the conclusion of the story along with everyone else with praise. Rose grinned, and thanked everyone but gave her brother a suspicious look before retreating to her room, done for the night.

Calysta picked up Lohgan and ran a hand over Illya's shoulders as he sat on the couch. "I'm going to put Lohgan to bed and then I can give you a haircut if you want, yeah?" It didn't take long for their little girl to go to sleep. She always was a good sleeper and with a full belly, she slept even better. Calysta held her close, bouncing her softly and rubbing her back in gentle circles until the cooing sounds stopped and Lohgan fell asleep tucked against her shoulder.

Once Lohgan was asleep, Calysta laid down a towel underneath their chair, retrieved the clippers and a few oils, then waited for Illya to finish tucking Cypher into bed. When he finally came into the room, she patted the chair, inviting him to sit with a gentle smile. "C'mon over here and let me look at you."

 

[Silence]

Kalizda's little finger brushed over Illya's back and he grinned at her. He couldn't feel her touching his back in some places, but he could tell where she was because of where her hips touched the back of his legs. "Maybe I help yah get washed up too eh?" When she finished with his back he had her stand with her chest pressed to him. It was a comfortable place to be. They played kissy face while he slowly massaged the soap into her back and rubbed across her shoulders. Whatever it was that had possessed Kalizda to be so naughty the one day and ask him to shower with her he would never know, but it had been a great idea. Now he was forever corrupted by it and he didn't mind too much.

While Illya was busy massaging and washing Kalizda's back a resounding thud sounded as Cypher made contact with the bathroom door. In a way it was good that they had doors. To some extent there was a bonus to that particular custom of her people. It did provide a little more privacy. The added bonus was that Kalizda was far more bold when she knew they couldn't be interrupted. In theory the idea worked, but Cypher found a way to ruin even the effect of a door. "Hmm...I guess we jes hurry a little more and den we eat."

In reality there wasn't such a thing as hurrying so much with a shower. It just meant that there was less play time. When the two of them had finished rinsing off Illya let Kalizda dodge out the bathroom door first with her towel. She looked kind of funny wrapped up in the towel and her tiny little feet leaving drip marks all the way across the floor toward the bedroom. He had been so caught up in watching her little feet and legs that he missed the fact her towel had been dropped when she went over to the dresser to get changed. It wasn't till she said something that he realized he was just staring at her feet. "Ohh. I jes let yah get head start. I tink I'm faster anyway."

Since he figured it was his only chance to beat her in the race to get dressed Illya took his towel off with a dramatic flare, flashed her, and then threw his towel at Kalizda and dashed over to his dresser. In a flurry of motion he tore about 3 pair of boxers out of the drawer in one grab and scrambled into one pair and then danced his way into a pair of pants. By the time he had socks on she was almost dressed, but he was far faster at getting a shirt over his head than she knew. Illya flailed his arms about almost wildly as he fought to get into the nearest shirt. It wasn't till after he pulled it on over his head that he realized the shirt had been set out for him and she was watching him. "Oh..." Smirking a little bit he wiggled his eyebrows. "Yah like dah show?" Illya figured that was about the only half way decent out he was going to get for making such a fool of himself. It certainly could have been worse.

Slowly he sauntered his way over to Kalizda and offered a hand. "We go eat now eh?" Despite losing the race he was still grinning from ear to ear. There was nothing quite so funny as stripping naked and throwing his towel at her. For whatever reason it was still a funny image. She looked almost shocked when he'd done it. She should have known by now that he would do something like that.

*****************************

There wasn't really a good time to get his hair cut until the kids were in bed. Cypher was unwilling to go to bed, but Illya stayed in the room a few minutes longer. It was long enough that despite Cypher's attempts to prove he was still wide awake, the boy crashed into his pillow and started to breath more deeply. Carefully sneaking out of the room Illya took himself to the galley. Kalizda had a chair set up and a few other things. It would be easier to clean up the galley floor from his hair when they were done anyway. Strolling over to the chair he sat down on it and grinned at her. "Hmm....I dun have such a bad view mehself." It was fun to tease her a little bit. "Yah cut off enough dat I dun have tah brush et away from meh ears and face eh?"

Calysta chuckled a little when he made his comment, and shyly tucked a lock of her own hair behind her ear. That grin lit up the whole room and turned her cheeks pink with it. "You'll be able to see it better when I get all of that hair out of your eyes, yeah?" She let him sit down and then draped a towel around his neck before running her hands through his hair. She loved the feeling of the curls between her fingers, and she couldnt help be lean down and kiss his cheek. "Aye, I'm keeping your curls." Picking up the siccors, she went to work snipping here and there, the bigger curls had to be cut first and then she could use the clippers. Gently, she uncovered one ear and then the other while she hummed, though her mind kept wandering back to the holograms. She could see the faint scars under his shirt collar...feel them under his scalp..had he been like that when they first met? He was in that much pain when he asked her to wait? "Illya... are you happy?" The question came out of her lips before she could even think it through.

"Oh, I tink et will be good tah see. All dah better tah catch meh little bird in meh mind's eyes eh?" Giving her a cheeky grin he settled into the chair a little more solidly before she got started. There was no need to rush things. The kids were in bed and he didn't really want a bad haircut. Not that she could do worse than he would for himself, but he didn't like horrible haircuts either. With the first snip of the scissors Illya could hear the blades scrape together and then the thick black curl tumbled down his shoulder and to the floor. For a moment he thought about looking to see how much hair she just chopped off, but he knew that would end in disaster. He would just have to be patient. While she worked at one side he strained his eyes to glance at her and he grinned whenever he caught her gaze. After a few moments she blurted a random question and Illya grinned. He wasn't quite sure where that question came from. "Eh, yes. Yah ask meh dis sometimes and I dun know why."

She snipped another curl, wincing at her sudden out burst and his reply. How did she explain? How could she? Sighing a little, she moved in front of him to begin working on his bangs. "I ask...I ask because I love you very much, Illya," she said, clipping another curl, "And for a long time you didn't know me. I had to...I had to learn how to help you when you couldn't remember me and I sometimes had trouble understanding if you were happy or not. I didnt just want you to be with me for tradition but because you wanted to be. So, I ask sometimes." Her voice was catching a little and she snipped off another curl.

The question made sense, but he felt badly when she explained herself. "Et was tradition for a time, but I am happy dat I stay wit yah." Shifting a little he tried to get a better look at her. "Kalizda, I am nut so happy for many years even before I met yah. I tink dat witout yah I would nut be alive and maybe I would nut have such good life." Carefully slipping his large brown hand to rest on her forearm he pulled her hand away from his head. "Yah dun need tah worry about dose kinds of tings. Dis, meh family es what bring joy to meh. I love yah and I want tah be wit yah."

His warm hand slipped over hers, pulling it away from his hair and she looked at him, a million different things running through her mind. War...injuries...Isla...so much pain...Illya's shot to the head and that blank look he'd given her when he came home...the way he was looking at her now. He wanted her. He remembered her. She didn't have to worry any more? What was that like any more? Her chin was trembling as he held her hand, and she sniffled as his image blurred with impending tears. "I'm glad you're happy now, Illya," she managed to mumble.

There was something wrong. Kalizda looked so shaken. Her lips were trembling and she couldn't seem to hold his gaze. Frowning a little bit he sighed. "Kalizda yah upset. What es et botering yah?"

"I..I don't know," she replied, though it was a half truth. Why was she falling apart? She was better than this, wasnt she? Her hand was trembling as she looked at him. "I'm sorry...I just...I don't..I missed you." About the time she choked out the words, her pathetic explanation, she began to full out cry. She didn't do it often, but she couldnt stop either.

Whatever was going on Illya didn't know. Carefully standing he gathered her into his arms. "Kalizda, yah very upset. I tink maybe yah jes need some little time wit meh. We maybe spend tonight and tomorrow togeter. I ask yah dad tah watch kids and I take yah out exploring. Yah tell meh what happen eh?" He didn't really understand what she meant by missing him. "I been here long time. How yah miss meh?"

She found herself gathered up in his arms and she dropped the scissors to the floor and buried her face into his chest, gripping at his shirt as she cried. He was talking to her and she registered the words but didnt fully comprehend them so much as she.sobbed. "i'm sorry...I'm sorry..." she repeated into his chest. She was sorry for crying, for what happened, and for worrying him. It was pathetic really but more than anything she wanted to be right where she was. "No.. I missed...you. You havent ...looked like that in so long."

Kalizda still didn't make sense and Illya took a deep breath. She kept apologizing and he didn't know what for. Staring ahead in bewilderment he glanced around the kitchen while she still clung to him. "Eh..." glancing down at her again he carefully pushed her far enough away that he could see her face. "Kalizda, I dun tink I look so different. Unless yah tink about meh hair being long. Et nut often I let et get dis way. Yah upset tah cut et?"

He pushed her back gently and was met with her red rimmed eyes and tear stain cheeks. She sniffled and looked up at him, lip quivering because she couldn't help it. "The haircut will look fine...when...when I'm done. It's not the hair..." her voice trailed off and for a moment her throat clamped up. More tears spilled out and she wiped at her eyes in shame. "You just...for the first time in a long time...you looked like before you were shot and before this war..and I couldnt help it."

Somehow her explanation made a little sense, but Illya wasn't entirely sure he understood where it was all coming from. "Ok?" Pausing for a long moment he tried to figure out how he looked different. "I jes dun understand how I look different. I'm nut trying tah be difficult, I jes dun know what yah mean by all dis."

She knew he wasnt trying to be difficult. It was her that wasnt making any sense and she didnt know how to explain it to him. Her hands gripped at his shirt and she swallowed. "I...you were my best friend Illya...the only friend and lover who looked at me and saw me. And then this war..you went on that mission and you promised to come back...but you came back different. It wasnt your fault....and I loved you more than anything. I missed you and this war....this crazy war..just made everything worse. I kept going and today...you looked like yourself for the first time in so long...I.didnt know what to think other than to ask because I had to make sure. I had to because I don't want that to go away again." She was fumbling words as they spilled from her mouth...fear...anger...hurt...it came like a water fall and when.she was done, she dared to look up at him.

There was a whole heap of things and Illya wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it. Panic gripped at his heart when she looked at him after the entire spout of information. "Well, I'm nut going away. I still want tah be yah friend. Et would be lonely ef I dun have a little bird tah talk wit." Searching her face for a long time he finally stepped in closer to her again and kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Et es long time for yah tah wait for meh. So long I tink maybe ef yah had lost yah memory I would be afraid dat I would nut have yah again. I tink meh little bird carries someting too heavy. She needs tah let her wings rest and let her wolf carry her for time eh?"

She felt a bit guilty for suddenly spouting all of that out in front of him when it was supposed to be a simple hair cut, but yet...he didnt seem to shame her or find her weak. Instead, he kissed the top of her head and came closer. He didnt understand all of it and she wouldnt want him to know her lonliness ever. First the time ever, she found herself not apologizing for not being enough. Illya had not carried his burdens alone and neither could she. Not anymore. Slowly, she sank against him and hugged him close as she nodded into his chest. "Together, we rest together."

Illya felt her lean more into his body and he sighed. "I still tink dat I ask yah dad tah watch kids for day. I jes take yah on date. Tomorrow es good day for dis?" If a date was about focusing on her then it seemed to be the right time for something like that. She needed attention and he knew now that it had bothered her for a long time that he had been missing his memory. It was possible it had been lonely. It sounded like she'd insinuated this was the first that she'd seen of him being like a friend to her in several years now. In part he could understand. Illya knew what his memory had been like and he didn't like it much more than she did.

Calysta raised her chin up to Illya, her stormy grey eyes meeting his. A day for just them? They had that on Pyrta, in the form of the Fertility Festival some year or two ago, but this was different. He wanted to do something with her and it wasnt tradition. He wanted to take her on a date. A tentative smile crept to her lips and she nodded. "Our first date. I would like that very much, Illya." More than anything she wanted to spend time with him and see that glint in his eye again. Her hand slipped up and brushed at his hair. "I should probably finish that up first, yeah?"

Since she went for it Illya figured that for now the problem was fixed. "Eh, et dun matter ef yah leave meh hair. I know yah fex et. I tink et would boter yah too much tah leave et only little bit done."

When she finished with his hair Illya helped Kalizda clean up his mounds of curls on the floor. It looked like someone had just killed a dog or some poor animal. There were heaps of hair. Cautiously, Illya ran his hands through his hair as if testing to be sure there was still some left. It was amazing how much lighter his whole head felt. "Hmm...dat was more hair den I taught I had." Grabbing another handful he shoved it into the open bag and snuck in a quick kiss while Kalizda was close. As soon as she was done with her part he shoo'ed her off to the room. "I take care of rest. Yah get tah bed a little early. Tomorrow es day of rest for yah."

While Kalizda was off getting ready for bed Illya stopped at Thomas' bedroom door. Knocking quietly on the door he waited for the man to answer. "Kalizda es needing date. I take her tomorrow and yah watch kids eh?"

*****************************************

It felt good to sleep a little longer in the morning. Illya figured that Kalizda needed it too. Carefully rubbing his hand along her back he waited for her eyes to open and he kissed her. "Et es date. I tink I know what yah like. First I spend little time in morning like same, but den we get dressed and eat some food before I take yah outside. I see mountains when we fly and I want tah climb one wit yah." Kalizda probably missed adventuring. He knew that she loved it and it was about time for another adventure to start. Aside from that, he'd seen his bird, Quraz tilt it's head toward the ground a few times. There wasn't a particular spot either, it was all over.

Perhaps there was a sound that this planet made. Some planets made sounds that people could hear and others of them didn't. If it did make a sound it would be like one of the singing planets. There were stories about them in the Quoti legends and Illya liked the idea. He had always thought that he wanted to visit the singing planets when he was a boy and this could be his chance. If she didn't know about them it would be fun to show her.

Shifting to lean over her a little bit Illya peered into her eyes. "I tink a lot about yah and what yah say last night." He had a semi serious expression on his face while he tried to think of how he wanted to say this. "Et proves to meh dat yah are nut like any oter woman dat I ever met. Dis es good ting." Carefully resting his arms on either side of her he held himself over top. "Mmmm." Kissing her lips he hummed a little and then grinned. "I dun know any oter man dat gets so lucky. Dere es beautiful woman in meh bed, she knows meh, she waits for meh many years ef she must, she es gentle, and she likes adventure." At the last word he could see that perhaps she was catching onto his meaning. "I tink I already talk about dis adventure, but we need tah hurry." He was sure the more he thought about it that this was one of the singing planets.

With a little more time devoted to talking with her, sneaking kisses and loving on her Illya felt satisfied. Kalizda seemed much more calm than she had been the day before. Since the kids had already eaten breakfast Illya made lunch while Kalizda got breakfast going for him and herself. "I make sandwiches eh." Tossing some meats on the bread and a little sauce Illya figured it looked fine an shoved the sandwiches into a sack before he collected some fruit and a few little bread snacks to go with the rest of the meal. Finally, he packed up some bottles of water. Mainly he would be the one carrying them. She could carry a small pack of her own if she wanted, but there wasn't anything else necessary for the afternoon. Skipping the town would be easy enough and that was what he intended to do. They could stop in the town on the way back to the ship. When they were in the town he would get some food with her to take back to the ship for everyone.

Despite the fact that they both finished breakfast at the same time she was still taking a few moments longer than he did to get ready. Illya stood by the bay door of the ship with his dog. Elijah wanted to come and Illya knew it, but this time it was all about Kalizda and he didn't need any other distraction. "Elijah, yah stay." The dog lowered its head slightly, but remained where he was at.

As soon as Kalizda approached the doorway Illya grinned. "Lets go." She already knew what he planned and he kicked himself mentally for it. He really wasn't any good at keeping secrets or surprises from her. When he got excited about something he couldn't contain himself. Walking to the far West side of the port he skirted around the water edges and then pointed to small mountain range. "We climb dah first one and den we listen. I tink we might be on singing planet. Do yah ever hear about singing planet before?" It was best to ask before he assumed that she had or had not.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta enjoyed her time in the shower with Illya, letting him kiss and soap her up without a single hesitation or thought of what she had seen earlier in the day. It was relaxing to be held so close and have him rub her back gently. She was reluctant to slip out of the shower when Cypher came calling, but she knew the boy wasn’t going to let up at all. Rather than risk a dent in their bathroom door, she called out to him. “Alright, I’m coming! Go tell Papa we’ll be there!” His pattering steps thundering out of the room, growing fainter and fainter as a soft rumbling. Chuckling, she finished rinsing and helped Illya rinse off too, before grabbing a towel to wrap up in. Leaving the confines of the hot shower she made her way over to the dresser and began pulling out a soft pair of leggings along with a tunic top.
As she was getting dressed, Illya came trotting into the room and she turned to ask if he wanted his soft t-shirt or his camp shirt. Instead, she was treated to a full frontal flash from her husband who had no problem displaying everything he had before tossing the towel at her face. Despite the fact that she was just in the shower with him, and quite privy what he looked like without clothes, the dance made her turn pink as she let out a confused giggle. She caught the towel at the expense of dropping her tunic and watches as Illya made a show of getting dresses. Like a mole he was digging through his clothes and sending them everywhere. What in the Wilds was was he doing? She tossed the towel into the hamper as he finished his rooting around and got dressed, his curls fluffing out of his shirt like duckling fuzz sprouted on his head. She was going to have to cut that mop for sure.

As if everything he did was perfectly normal, he waggled his eyebrows and sauntered over to take her hand. "Oh that was a show, huh?" she laughed as she put her hand in his. "If I get a show like that every time I shower, it's worth it." She hadn't seen him so chipper in so long...when was the last time? Chuckling, she squeezed his hand and led him into the galley where dinner was waiting, all the while stealing glances at him.

*******

The next morning Calysta woke to Illya holding her close and for a moment she couldn’t quite remember where she was. The need to get up and get moving struck her as she thought about how many things she had to do…feed up the kids…feed the animals…go into the village and train- They were not on Demos anymore. She did not need to get up yet to check on the children. Or feed the animals. In fact, she was going on a date. Her first date with Illya. It was both a relieving fact and an exciting one. She would get to spend the day exploring with him. Closing her eyes again, she snuggled back down with her warm Chip. She hadn’t bothered to put on pajama’s that night, opting to join Illya sans clothing between the sheets. It was actually..pleasant. More so when he pulled her close and there was nothing between.

When they actually started getting up, Illya seemed excited as he listed out all the things he wanted to do in more or less an itinerary fashion. The way he said it sounded like a list of schedules events. Raising a brow at him, she giggled and gave him a peck on the lips. “I can’t wait.” He was trying to make it a good day for her and she knew that the more military mind he had could still sometimes show through. All through breakfast they talked on and off between little kisses and hugs until it was time for her to pack a few things for their hike. Since Illya insisted on carrying the lunch pack, she only packed the essentials.

She would make sure they had some water, their machete and some ropes just in case. She also strapped on her wrist link so she could be contacted by her father if something came up with the ship or the children. Luckily, the environment here wasn’t so hot or so humid as Demos so rather than slathering up in sun screen, she opted for her old baseball cap from Terra. The NY Yankees would be proudly represented in a planet light years away. Tucking her pony tail through the loop, she pulled on her pack and smiled to Illya. “I’m definitely ready.”
The dogs wanted to come along, and Calysta almost called for Aymos to join them, but Illya was commanding Elijah to stay. Maybe he thought they would run into to some terrain that the dogs could handle. She looked to her puppy, who was nearly up to her knees now, and held out a hand. “Stay.” Dutifully, the pup sank to his hindquarters, his tail wagging and ears perked. He expected an incoming treat, but that wouldn’t be happening. She kissed the children good bye and then headed out of the door with Illya. “Maybe we could check out the town on the way?” Apparently, Illya was a man on a mission and he skirted around the town and past the lake with his long strides. Shrugging, Calysta figured they could check out the town later in the afternoon, though sometimes it was helpful to talk to the locals. They knew information that visitors didn’t and could help avoid pitfalls or point out anomalies. Illya was on his mission though and they were headed up the mountain.
The landscape was truly beautiful in Calysta’s opinion. It was not the flat, almost treeless plains of Pyrta or the stuffy island on Demos ensnared by blue waters. Here, it was more like Reylia. Beautiful rolling hills of green grasses peppered by forests and meadows leading all the way into the mountains

As the made their way into the foot hills, traversing the small creeks running off the mountain, Illya asked if she had ever heard of the singing planets. For once, she hadn’t. Normally, she was well read on these things and she knew of different planets the their quirks, but Illya had been to places she had never seen. Particularly on the Fringe. What were the singing planets? Intrigued, she smiled up at Illya. “No, I’ve never heard of them before. Are they rare?” Now, she was all excited to see what a singing planet was. While they walked, she tried to listen to see if she heard anything but there was only the rustle of their boots in the foliage as they climbed into the trees.
They followed the stream further and further, picking their way through the rocks and trees. On occasion, Calysta would stop and point. The entire forest was full of beautiful little birds zipping around, almost like humming birds, and all brightly plumed. Their songs were fairly pleasant too, chirping and twittering. “Look, Illya. There’s another,” she pointed, “I think there is a nest there.” She titled her head back, trying to see if there was a pile of sticks in any of the branches but it was hard to tell. Illya kept right on going sometimes too until finally, she got a little wily feeling herself and poked a hole in the top of her water bottle. Squeezing it, she made a jet off water spurt at him and then took off running with a laugh. Someone had to distract him from his mission and this felt like the time.

He could easily catch her with his long strides and had no trouble wrapping her up as her blood pumped loudly with excitement in her ears from the chase. They had to come to a halt on their own though, because now they were looking at a near vertical rock face, extending in both directions. She could already see the sparkle in his eyes. He wanted to climb it and sure enough he was already shifting his pack and telling her to climb on. Partly, it made her nervous because he couldn’t feel anything with his leg, but she trusted him. Climbing to his back, she was careful not to bump his scars and held on tightly. She could feel his broad muscles working underneath her as he grabbed his next hand hold. Every now and then, he would ask if his foot was in a good place, and she would have to look down to check. “To the left a little..right there. Perfect.” She would instruct him where he needed to go, and they made a pretty good team, despite him losing a bit of his footing once near the top. Calysta clung to him, heart racing as he grunted and recovered hauling them the rest of the way.
He crawled up the rest of the way and sat her down on the ledge, beyond his breathing she heard a loud gasp. Turning around, she found several people with packs and hiking gear looking at them with wide eyes, having walked up from an easy looking trail from the opposite side. Beyond them was a rope bridge that lead to the summit. Calysta’s eyes shifted to Illya, and she started to giggle. “Well, we did it our way, didn’t we?” Standing up, she dusted herself off and offered her hand. “Lets go.”

 

[Silence]

Calysta was normally a bit more knowledgeable about these things and Illya tilted his head slightly. Maybe she knew them by a different name? Still it was a good time to tell her the story as he knew it and then the likely explanation as he had learned later on. "Some of dah Chippequoti are afraid tah visit dah singing planets. Dey are considered sacred." Illya smirked a little. "I tink about visiting dem many times. Dey are sacred because dey are battle ground of dah winds. Dah land es divided etself and dis es why ef yah press yah year to dah mountains yah can hear dah voices of dah winds. Dey take up council in dah mountains of dah singing planets. Here dey fight and plan dere battles wit dah spirits of dah dead." Illya set one hand on his knee and he glanced back at Kalizda as she worked her way up the hillside toward him. They were getting closer to the mountain he wanted to get on top of. The mountains made it easier to hear and he wanted her to hear it fully. "Den when I read about dese singing planets I learn dat et could be because dah land has rapid changing polar. Et es changing and it makes da center of dah mountains shift and dey never fully harden. Et es why dey never have mines here and et es safe land. Et changes very quickly and not all mountains will be same in hundred years."

Calysta followed Illya up the the hillside listening to the story of the Four Winds, noting his grin when he said they were sacred and some of the Chips were scared to go to them. She thought that would be the end of his tale, but it wasn't. He continued talking about something he read. It was a scientific explanation, regarding the swiftly changing poles causing shifting in the mountains themselves. There was nothing like that on Kaereal but a planet in the Beta quadrant had been found with similar affects, though sound had never been recorded. Her eyes lit up in surprise and she grinned. "I read about something similar in the beta quadrant. There's a planet that has "crawling mountains." The reason for the phenomena is similar but I dont think anyone ever heard the sounds they make. Do you think we'll be able to hear them?"

Since they were talking science and math it was far more comfortable and Illya enjoyed this sort of small chat. "Uh, yes I tink we hear et better here." He grinned more broadly yet and offered her hand up the next little ledge. "Quraz hear someting in dah ground all dah time and dat es why I tink we are on singing planet. When yah get to dah mountain tops yah lay quiet and yah press ear to dah ground and yah hear dah voices below." It was exactly as it had been described and he knew that it had to be true not only because of what he read, but because if Quraz could hear it on the usual ground level without getting his head close to the ground then he would know that it would get louder as they got to thicker mounds of ground.

Calysta took his hand and braced her foot on the ledge so he could help pull her up. He picked her up easily and her grin matched his as he told her about their newest collection into the Menagerie could hear the sounds. Titling her head, with a bit of a coy smile, she kept his hand as they kept walking. "I didnt know Pecky could hear the sounds. Pretty smart bird. Makes me wonder if all the wild life around here is able to live with the sudden shift in polarity."

"What?" Looking at Kalizda he shook his head a little. "Quraz es smart because he can hear? What happened to meh being smart because I know dah region we in and I know dat when dah bird tilt his head dat he hear sounds under him?" He had to poke a little fun at the moment, but he was slightly shocked that she hadn't acknowledged he was smart enough to know this part. "Here I tink yah would have been impressed wit meh. I learn dese tings and I read so I can be smart and talk about tings wit yah."

Calysta's coy smile turned into a broad one and she tugged on his hand, stopping him from climbing the next ledge just yet. Her grey eyes met his green as she chuckled. He had read about things just for her. "Illya, I knew from the minute I saw you looking out the window at Qouti as we left it behind that you were smart," she said honestly, "It gleams in your eyes. I am always impressed by you, and especially now." She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his wrist. "I like that you read...and you are showing me things I've never seen before."

Turning a little bit at the tug on his hand Illya met her gaze and he could see now that she'd been teasing him on purpose. "Oh, yah very sly." Then she did the one thing that he always felt a little nervous about and with his memory he knew why. "Ah..." Nervously he nodded and then started back on his little mission. It all worked out fine until he felt a sudden splash of water across the side of his cheek and then splatter across his right shoulder. Kalizda was shooting him with her water bottle. "I getcha!" Giving chase he ran after Kalizda. She was giggling the whole way and he knew he could catch her before the climb. Wrapping one arm around the front of her, Illya pulled her close to himself and stumbled a little to the side before falling to the ground with her pulled on top of himself. Looking up at the mountain face above them he smirked. "We climb et eh?"

Calysta wasnt sure what she'd done to make him retreat like he did, with a simple acknowledgement, but she didnt get the chance. He had already started walking away, leaving a strange feeling in the air. Uncertain as to what to do she grabbed her water bottle, poked a hole in the top, and gave him a good spritz before taking off running. Of course it didn't take long for him to catch her and when his arms wrapped around her flipping them over to the ground she couldn't help but laugh. Propped up comfortably on his chest, she twisted her neck up, rolling to lay over him on her back so she could look up at the rocks above. Her pony tail, long as it was flopped out over Illya's face. "Aye, we can climb it, I think. I brought rope."

Letting out a long puff Illya pushed her ponytail away from his face and he sat up a little. "Oh, I tink we jes climb et. No trouble." Carefully plucking her off himself and setting her aside he started to get himself up and adjust his pack so she could hang on. For the climb up the side of the cliff Illya didn't talk till he had to ask her a question of where his footing was. When they reached the top he heard a woman gasp and he looked over at her before glancing back to Kalizda. "We had more adventure. Dis makes our trip better."

"Crazy tourists..." the woman mumbled before continuing on her way. Calysta snorted and held her stomach as the locals walked away. It was just too funny. "Aye, I like our way better. I got to hold onto you."

Winking at Kalizda he leaned in closer to her and gave her a big kiss. "Mmhmm. I like et dat way." He didn't care who saw that they were kissing. It was fun to see if anyone would object to it. Catching one man staring at them Illya grinned. "We jes on date. Nut married long."

Calysta grinned under his lips as he kissed her, still chuckling from the irony. When they finally bothered to pull apart, one of the passing hikers was staring and Illya had an answer for him. In truth, they had been married for awhile...but in a 300 year life span...it was nothing. They were newly weds practically and she felt wiley for the first time in a long time. Like when they were first married, though it was different. She felt much more sure of herself now. "Oh yes, not married long at all," she giggled, " and it's our first date." That comment earned a wide-eyed look from the man, as he stared and then shook his head.

Another short pang of guilt rose in Illya's mind. This was something he was supposed to do with her before they were married and it had already been a few years. Had he really been so neglectful in his duties as her agreed? A few instances where he had shut her down in the name of Chip tradition almost made him want to cringe. Illya knew that he could be a bit overwhelming at times and he hoped that the Chip tradition hadn't been his way of bulldozing through some of their life. Perhaps he had not been quite as faultless as he had thought. All this time Illya had considered himself in a rather generous light and he thought that he had done quite well. She was not taken care of nearly as well as he thought now that he looked at it. Her culture and ways had been neglected and he hadn't really looked to remedy that or ask her before now. They weren't so far down the road that he couldn't look to change some of that.

A gradual grin came to his face and he looked down into her grey eyes. "I tink we jes go to dah top and have food eh?" His stomach was grumbling at him and he knew that if he was hungry she had to be. Illya raised an eyebrow at her and swept her off her feet before she could respond. "I carry yah to dah top." While he was carrying Kalizda he decided to try something new.

With each step Illya paused and then he spoke. "Dere," taking another step he grinned at her, "es," and another step. When he got to about five words he could tell she was ready to just about tear the phrase out of his mouth. Just for fun he decided to end it, but not with the grand finale he had in mind. Momentarily a flash of mischief darted through his eyes. "A big fat beetle...right dere!" Taking a leap forward he stomped on the ground and Kalizda shook in his arms slightly. The look on her face was priceless and he started to laugh. In the back of his mind he chastised himself. He really should be teasing her like this, but he couldn't help it. She was a fun person to tease and he was desperately trying to think of something to say to her that would be romantic. Comedy was a good stalling tactic right?

Starting out methodically he took the next step and drew another blank so he kissed her. For the next step he started laughing and finally he just settled with racing up the hill to get it over with. He couldn't bring his brain to any great romantic statement no matter how hard he tried. Illya had his days like anyone else and he would rather make a fool of himself than stand there and have an awkward moment on top of being an idiot.

Finally, they reached the top of the mountain and Illya set her down. He was grinning from ear to ear. "We set pack between us and we lay on dah ground and listen." Illya laid on his side and pulled the pack open on top. "We have mashed sandwiches for dinner." Passing a badly mangled sandwich to Kalizda he chuckled and then grabbed one for himself. With one ear pressed to the ground he closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound. Deep underground it sounded like a rumbling and then a slosh sounded. "Yah hear dat?" Sitting up a little he looked at Kalizda. She appeared to have heard it too and Illya practically pressed his face to the ground again. Sometimes the sound was almost like a whistling and he listened to the deep rhythm. Every now and then Illya would raise the sandwich to his mouth and take a bite. At some point the sun had started to heat up the ground and the area. Illya began to feel a bit drowsy and he smirked at Kalizda. "I tink we need tah start moving again. Maybe we go look at dat town."

Picking the pack up off the ground Illya took a step forward and then offered his other hand to Kalizda. "I tink about some tings while we here. Maybe yah tell meh more about yah culture? Yah tell meh about dis dating. What kind of tings do yah tink dat yah want when yah date meh? Maybe tings dat yah tink about when yah young?" He could only assume that since this was expected she would have thought about it when she was young. "Yah tink about dating when yah little?" It was a lot of questions and normally he didn't ask so many questions, but he wanted to know and especially now after he'd realized that he could have inadvertently crushed many of her dreams before this. There would be plenty of time too since he intended on taking the rope bridge back across.

When they reached the bridge Illya let Kalizda go across first and when she reached the other side he was on the other. He didn't want to start at the same time as her because she would get pulled toward him. With each step the bridge would wave and he felt a little nervous when he looked below. Of course as soon as he looked over the edge the bridge it started to tip and he gripped it tighter. Illya's weight set the bridge off kilter and the built momentum tipped the entire bridge. Flipping over the edge of the bridge Illya gave a yip and he held onto the rope for everything he was worth. Hanging over the canyon he looked down between his boots at the distant ground and started to laugh. It was close and he hated rope bridges for this reason. He always got nervous and this happened every now and then. Sweat started to form near his hairline as he moved one hand over the other and swung himself toward the edge. Every burst of laughter made it harder to hold on, but his heart was racing and he couldn't help it. It felt like a decade passed before he swung his feet up to the edge of the cliff and slowly drag himself up on the solid ground with Kalizda. Still chuckling nervously he skittered away from the edge with her before sneaking in a kiss. "We jes hurry to dah village now eh?"

**********************************************

Asha landed the Ombrey on Pytra and she watched with weary eyes as her people unloaded. She'd made a call and there were those of them that hated her for it. With Ehvan too badly injured to give the order she took control of the Chippequoti forces as the next General. There was no one left with enough experience or military background to rival her claim and she was going to take it. She hadn't left one single Chip on the planet to die and they were under order to return to the planet with her.

As quietly as the Chippequoti had disappeared from their homes they returned. It was a silent, grief filled return to the planet and little refuge that they had once occupied. When the people were unloaded she stood guard as the Ehaui prepared to move the severely injured to the hospital. Ehvan would stand a better chance and Ahvah could perhaps have some relief from the burns. The woman had barely eaten anything, her hair hung loosely around her face and her cheeks had almost sunk with the lack of nutrition.

**************

With her people safely off the ship and returned to their homes, or placed in the hospital Asha turned her attention toward Jaiyme. "I'll escort him to the General myself." Dragging the man out by his handcuffs she marched him through the town. It didn't matter to her who saw his shame. Jaiyme was here because of his own poor choices and he ought to be seen for the snake he was. When she arrived at the office the General was not there. Instead she was informed that he was at home recovering from a surgery. Surgery or not, he was going to have to deal with this man. She was going to ask only out of respect.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta certainly hadn't expected to be carried to the top of the mountain, nor would have ever asked, but there was hardly a moment to protest being swept up by her Chip. Not that she would ever protest being in his arms like that. He still had the ability to steal all the thoughts from her when he swooped her up as gently as he did, making her the sole focus of the moment. Suddenly, he started saying something with each step. One word, then another..."Dere...es..." He was being so silly and she had to stifle her giggles in order to focus on what he was going to say...if he ever got around to it. Staring up at him, she waited eagerly for him to take another, ever so slightly hitched step until she was hanging by a thread trying to see what he was going to say. "A big fat beetle...right dere!" They launched up and slammed into the ground in a mighty leap as Illya shook her in his arms. Her initial reaction was to squeak at the sudden move and then start laughing as he rattled her. "You got it! You got it!" she laughed in a billy goat voice as she shook her. Even when they had first married he hadn't been this playful. Mischevious, yes, but this sweet and fun loving...this was something new.

She laughed all the way up the mountain in his arms, only cut off by a kiss as he started off into the summit. By the time they reached the top, the sun was out full blast and the warmth felt good on her skin. He sat her down and then put the pack between them before rifling through. She was taking her time, looking out at the view from the rocky peak. As far as the eye could see there were lush green lands in every direction and the glittering on the horizon told her that there was probably a lake or river there as well. A soft wind rustled through the trees below them and Calysta took in a deep breath this is a sight worth seeing, even if they didn't hear the mountains actually sing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Illya passing over what looked like it had once been a sandwich. Now it was a mashed square of meat and bread with crumbly edges. Still, at least he had been kind enough to pack something and she unwrapped it to take a nibble before joining him on the ground. Pressing her ear to the mossy rock beneath them, Calysta closed her eyes and listened carefully. At first she thought the sound was the wind whistling around them but the more she listened, the more she realized there were other sounds accompanying. Soft swishes and a few creaks and groans from the rock. Her eyes widened as she pressed her ear further to the mountain top, her mashed sandwich forgotten. She could really hear the mountains! It wasn't so much singing as listening to an old man's stomach gurgle, but it was still rather amazing. Illya sat up and asked her if she heard the noises, and she nodded with a grin. "Aye, I can hear them."

For a long while, they sat listening to a song much older than anything they knew until Illya announced they should probably get back. Calysta nodded and then chuckled as she tossed the remainder of her squished sandwich over the edge into the canyon while he was turned away. He didn't need to know she hadn't quite finished it. "I'm thinking maybe we should use the bridge instead. Might make it a little easier on the downward trip anyways." She took his hand as they made their way down the much clearer and well beaten path, passing by more hikers on the way.

It had been a good day so far and it sounded like Illya still wanted to check out the town too which would be fun. His big hand was warm and engulfed hers as they walked toward the bridge in tandem. She was content to walk alongside him while they listened to the breeze a bit but, he started talking almost like he had the night before. "I tink about some tings while we here. Maybe yah tell meh more about yah culture? Yah tell meh about dis dating. What kind of tings do yah tink dat yah want when yah date meh? Maybe tings dat yah tink about when yah young? Yah tink about dating when yah little?”

The questions came pouring out and she wondered where all of this was coming from again. He was so interested in her culture and dating, though he had never been before despite being respectful more or less. Still, she wasn’t going to discourage him from asking or trying, even if it was a bit strange. Her eyes titled upward for a moment as she actually thought about the questions. What had she thought about as a child about dating. She remembered some of the things she’d thought about love and the thoughts brought a blush to her cheeks. “Well, even when I was sick, I didn’t think about it too much, but when I got older there were things I always wanted to experience. There’s a few traditions on Kaereal for dating and just in general I suppose. Kaereleans worshipped the twin moons for a very long time, many still do. Many of the Yurian’s do. At the start of the, Lyenuena, new Lunars Year, which is always the 100th full moons in a cycle, there are big dances all over Kaereal on one night. It’s a masquerade, so everyone wears a mask and they dance traditional dances in celebration. People say that if you meet your match at the Lunar’s and part ways, that the goddess’ will bring you together again.”

She knew it probably sounded ridiculous to him, but that was what little girls thought about. A fact he would soon be discovering with Rose, if she ever admitted it. As a girl she used to make a mask and learn the dances so she would be ready when she was old enough to go. There was no way, she would admit to Illya that when the time came she hadn’t been welcome to Pyrta’s party and most knew who she was of course. No one wanted to dance with a half breed.

“So, I used to dream about going to one properly. I never got the chance when I moved from Pyrta and went to Skycorp training though. As for dates, as odd as this sounds I like walking together, or going to carnivals. Have you ever ridden a rollercoaster? It’s this Terran ride they have in amusement parks. I’ve only ever ridden one once when I was on Phalazi 4 but they’re fun. There’s a Terran colony there….Oh! And there’s this thing little tradition called the Kissing Caves. It was this spot on couples used to go to deep in the Seyraisan continent. It’s filled with these little glowing crystals, but otherwise it’s pitch black. I’ve heard it’s supposed to be…romantic?” She felt a little odd saying that, mostly because she still felt a little odd about being romantic. Illya was her only experience in the subject and she wasn’t entirely sure that qualified given how they both were.

They came up to the bridge, and Illya sent her across first. Her weight barely made the bridge move as she walked foot over foot over the canyon to the other side. There was more concern when it came to her ‘date’ walking across the bridge. He was much heavier and the bridge would pick on that momentum. As long as he moved slowly he would be fine though. Waiting patiently, she watched as he inched across until he reached the near middle of the bridge which was beginning to sway precariously. Suddenly, the entire rope dumped upside down, his weight having finally tipped it and Calysta yelped. Illya was dangling over what might as well have been a bottomless pit for all the good his Chip bones would do him at the end of such a fall. Her heart was crawling out of her throat as Illya began swinging his way across, feet dangling over the air, and she bit her lip to keep it from coming out of her mouth. Was he laughing? It wasn’t a laugh of joy or adventure by her reckoning, but the kind you let out when you’re about to panic. She’d had those before…in near death experiences while on missions.

After what seemed like ages, he pulled himself to the otherside, stood up, and gave her a quick kiss with a wild laugh. “Huh…” she swallowed, “You know dates can also mean staying in and spending time with someone…getting to know them inside and out…”

***************

Thomas sat in the galley feeding Lohgan her favorite real food of mashed sweet potatoes. She had just gotten old enough where a bottle could be given and the girl could taste different kinds of real food, so it was with great delight that he bent over his granddaughter’s chair offering her a tiny spoonful. “Open up, buttercup,” he grinned. Of course, she never had to be told twice. The baby wasn’t a finicky eater like his daughter had been at this age. The feeding was interrupted when a bellow from down the hallway rumbled through the ship. What in the world was going on? Putting down the spoon, he walked over and opened the galley door just in time to see one of the dogs trotting down the hallway covered in something green from head to paw. His tracks left slick green prints behind and Thomas dove to catch the puppy by the collar before it entered the living room where all the furniture was. “Whoa there what happened to you, huh?”

No sooner had he caught the dog did Cypher come running out of Rose’s room stripped down to his underpants and covered in green too with his older sister hot on his tail. There were tear stains cutting down the boys face as he made a beeline for the living room. In a mad scramble, Thomas opened and arm and caught Cypher by the waist, preventing him from getting into to the living room. Of course, as soon as he caught the boy Rose was marching up with what once was a full container of green paint left out on her desk and a livid look in her eyes. “Cypher went into my room and got into my paints,” she snapped.
Thomas’ arms were occupied with one squirming dog, a crying 5 year old who weighed 70lbs and he could hear Lohgan begin to start getting fussy because she was left alone. He’d watched the children before on occasions but most of the time Calysta insisted on doing her work and watching them at the same time. It was like a circus more or less and he blinked up a Rose with a sigh. “I thought you two were playing outside.”
“We were and then I came in and-“

“Okay…okay…never mind. Can you just help me get the dog to the animal bay,” Thomas asked, cutting her off. That was all he needed for Calysta to come home to a green dog, a green son, and a destroyed ship interior.

************
Kirit cracked open his eyes when he heard Tabit's voice coming from in the living room. She sounded a bit annoyed, maybe a bit more than annoyed, and he wondered vaguely if one of the children had spit up over the couch again. There seemed to be someone talking to her and he frowned. Was Clark coming around again? Another of his men? He felt more or less like he had been trampled by an entire squad of nyte beasts, but Tabit could only handle so much by herself. He hadn't even been able to tell his mother that he would be having the surgery. All formal lines of communication between the Alliance planets had been cut off, reserved only for back channels. Groaning, he forced himself to sit up and winced at the pains in his ribs. Those along with his legs and spine had been by far the most sore and movement of any kind was probably the worst pain he'd ever felt, at least on a consistent basis. Clambering to his feet, he shuffled his way over to the door which lead to the living room like a little old man and silently thanking Tabit for fixing their downstairs spare bedroom for him to sleep in so he didn't have to climb to go to the bathroom. Opening the door, he found a sight that was both expected and unexpected at the same time. Asha was standing there with a miserable and disheveled looking Chief Airman. "Admiral Asha, I didn't expect ye t' be here," he said straightening his shoulders.

When Asha reached the door of the little house she beat on it with the heel of her large brown hand. She didn't care if it practically shook the door in the frame. The General was here and she wasn't going to leave without some kind of answer. When it took too long for someone to answer she beat on the door again. Eventually Tabit appeared in the doorway with her blonde hair sticking out of its braid in whisps and a baby on each hip and one holding onto her leg. "I'm here tah see dah General." Asha ignored the kids for the moment and waited for Tabit to call for Kirit. Tabit turned around at a surprising pace despite having 3 babies on her at one time. It felt like a slow carousel of little miseries while she watched Tabit disappear and Kirit shuffle toward her. Looking the man over she gave him a sharp salute and then continued. "I brought yah dis man. He disregard meh autority, try tah mutiny, and I bring him here for discipline. Yah General of dah Alliance and I give yah first opportunity. I am dah Admiral of Alliance and I am next en line tah discipline dah man ef yah refuse. I am, also General of dah Chippequoti."

Kirit was standing there in his sweat pants, undershirt with his black hair a wild mess and circled under his eyes as he stared at Asha for a moment trying to process what just occurred. He'd manage to steal a nap and that had been short lived. As his brain caught up, he finally gave her a nod. "Admiral..ah General? Asha-" he said, attempting to get it right. That was a new development he hadn't been aware of. "I already brief Chief Airman Keyl about ye trouble with th' Airmen with ye. He will be turned to th' Kaerelean Fleet, where his commission start t' receive his discipline." He stated it as simple fact before looking at the woman without real issue. "Ye report him t' the field office an' he be taken t' th'base on Kinte f' his detainment."

A moment of relief washed over Asha. She had thought that perhaps there would be more argument. Granted, the General looked terrible. Whatever had happened she didn't know, but at least the man had been able to see the need for military discipline even if it was going to be against one of his own kind. Not that they were exactly the same, but Asha knew that the Chippequoti were more foreign than this trouble maker. It also served as a confirmation that she had chosen rightly. "General, I request permission to promote as I see fit. I have officer chosen to take his place and I will make promotion wit yah permission."

Before Kirit could answer Asha, Jaimye bowed up, even with his hands cuffed behind his back and glared at Kirit. "You're going to discipline me? This...Admiral...woman...left with the rest of them. She calls herself an admiral of the Alliance but she was just as bad as the rest of them for leaving the Omebrey and the Alliance unprotected in a blatant show of betrayal. Didn't she tell you that there are those who came back with us who want to take down the Alliance? Imperalists? I watched them split myself...I followed my orders but how can we trust them?" Kirit stared and Jaiyme silently as he raved enough and then held up his hand once he'd heard enough. Shuffling closer, Kirit met Jaiyme nose to nose and looked him in the eye. "Aye, and you try t' take command when it was not yours t' take when ye officer..who is Alliance citizen...go on her command orders. Ye abandon Alliance citizens t' die when ye cause a scene. How ye protect th' Alliance that way?"

He words were colder, much more stern than most had ever heard the man speak. He had always been quiet unless necessary and this was necessary. "Ye shame ye'self an' ye men who fight f' all Alliance." Jaiyme huffed and puffed as he started pulling at his restraints, though Kirit didn't back down. "You backwater, Reylian...imperalist ...child!" The youngest top General in Alliance history didn't regard the comment with a reply as his eyes shifted to Asha. "Ye get this man t' th' field office please. If ye need t ‘restrain him more t' keep him calm. Ye do as ye see fit. You are commanding officer on th' Omebrey an' ye make promotion as ye see fit. Make paperwork with th' Fleet an' m'self for th' file. We talk about ye returning civilians once this...man...is in custody."

Asha held the man back as he strained against her grip and tried to make his case. She let him speak. Men like this didn't usually do themselves too much good. Mutiny was far more serious than anything she'd done. The Alliance needed the Chippequoti and the Chippequoti needed the Alliance. This was just a fact and she was going to do her best to be sure it was done right. Nodding to Kirit she jerked Jaiyme toward herself and started walking him down the steps of the porch in front of herself. When she reached the small road she turned and gave salute to Kirit before nudging Jaiyme. "He's still yah General. Salute him and when I transfer yah to yah new post yah will salute meh as well."

Jaiyme grit his teeth as Asha lead him down the stairs, he would fight this tooth and nail. His career wouldnt be going down the drain for the likes of Alliance traitors, and that included the child-General who was ordering him back to the fleet. The nudge in his back from the woman only made him jerk away harder. She wanted him to salute? Jaiyme growled and turned his head back to the road. "That's no Alliance General that's a child pretending to be a man." Kirit watched the two go, already feeling the bones his legs ache from simply standing, but he managed a salute back to the Admiral as she lead a furious Jaimye away. At least that was one problem down, and he might get to finish his nap before she returned to deal with the rest of the incoming civilians. All the infrastructure was there, but that was not what his concern was.

When Jaiyme refused to salute Jaiyme the woman kicked him harshly behind the knees and sent him sprawling in the dirt. "I help yah show proper respect."
Jaiyme hit the dirt with a pained thud and a heavy grunt before rolling over to his side. An absolutely violent look was shot at Asha as he rolled up to his knees and wobbled to his feet. He was sure she'd keep right on kicking him with those mamoth feet if he didnt do something. Giving Kirit a nod, he jerked his shoulders back around to keep walking. Kirit paid little attention to Asha's roughness and nodded back before retreating into his house. "I back 't lay down, Tabit," he sighed as he grimaced his way back to the bedroom where his puffy blanket waited.


********************

Calysta talked a little while longer, telling Illya anything and everything as he wanted to know about dating as they descended from the mountain. “You know, we can do things you like to do too,” she mentioned as they entered the town, “I’m you’re date as much as you are mine. What are somethings you’d want to try? Or do you have things you like to do.” She’d asked him things like that before and had always gotten mixed results. It occurred to her now that Illya had never had an opportunity to do things like she was speaking of and she wanted to change that. Maybe he could try tons of things and they could figure it out together.

The town itself was quiet, clean and well organized into districts mean for visitors, residential, and more commercial areas. Thunder clouds were starting to build up over head and the first peal of thunder caused some of the locals to skitter inside. Calysta watched them for a moment before her eye caught on something neither of them had seen in awhile. Intrigued, she pulled Illya over to the side of the street to a clean looking building of what stone and opened the door which was marked in traders tongue. As soon as they entered they were met with a pleasant smell of herbs and soft music playing. A receptionist greeted them with a pleasant smile as her eyes traveled up the length of the Illya with a raised brow. “Welcome to the Greentree Day Spa. How I help you?”
Whatever other plans Illya had made could wait for a bit. She was going to see to it he had a massage. It was probably not Chip quality, but he could use it and so could she. Plus, this place looked decent. “Two full massages if you have time for a walkin,” she told the receptionist, “Make his a male masseuse if you can.”

 

[Silence]

Asha was tired out, but she didn't see any sense in avoiding the conversation with Kirit. So far the man had been reasonable and she could only hope that he would continue to be. Jaiyme was about as much trouble as she expected. He was a nasty one. When she reached the small hut on the outskirts of the town again the Chip woman beat on the door loudly and then waited for the very slow response she knew would come.

The door creaked open slowly to reveal Kirit still looking miserable as before. As he had asked she had returned but he wished it had been a little longer. Getting up and down right now sent his back alight with bone spasms and his feet were tender too. At least Jaiyme was dealt with. "Admiral Asha " he nodded, "We talk out here m' boys are loud an' I want t' talk with ye freely." With that, he offered her a wooden chair at the long end of the porch and slowly began making his way there. Even sitting in his own chair was painful and he turned a grunt into a cough as he eased onto the bench. "Now, ye say ye bring all th' Chips back. Ye not leave them t' die. It's good thing. I know some dont want t' be here an' I need t' know if ye think they alright."

There had to have been some kind of news that she missed. Asha had never seen Kirit look this terrible before and she frowned slightly as she made way and watched him hobble over to his chair. Slowly she took her seat and waited for him to sit down. No matter how hard he tried to hide the fact that he was in pain it was impossible. "Mmm." Nodding a little she listened to his question. "Dey will be alright. I'm dah General now and dey will do as I say. Et es dah Chippequoti tradition."

"If they not cause problems for ye then there be no objection t' th' return of all th' Chips," he stated carefully with a nod, "They still Alliance citizens." He knew of the chip tradition, having been part of their forces for a while now, but in this sort of situation he wasn't sure what would happen so his next question will probably be offending but he still needed to know. "I know Ehvan is critical condition. He was m' friend an' we train t'gether years, but if he survives what will happen to ye position as General?"

The indecency of the question was nearly enough to send Asha into a flurry of curses, but she was going to try and be civil about it. "Ef he survives I will still be General. Yah dun understand dah injuries. Ehvan's body will nut make full recovery for many years. He cannot drill and so he cannot lead dah Chippequoti. Et es war and we need leader dat es well enough tah go into battle ef need be. I dun recommend dat yah ever speak dat way again in front of dah Chippequoti. Ehvan es good man and friend of many."

He knew the question would rile her. The look in her eye betrayed her anger but Kirit kept his dark eyes squarely on hers without wavering. "I know Ehvan is good man. He was an' is m' friend an' he teach m' many things. I respect an' honor him as that. M' question is fair an' I had t' know what would happen." He words were calm, clear and sincere as he looked to the woman. "I know ye heart sore f' ye people. I am too."

Rising from her seat, Asha stared at Kirit for a long moment and then gave a salute. "Ef dere will be any concern for yah or dah Alliance in regards to meh people I will tell yah. For now many of dem grieve. Dey split and I force dem togeter again. I go now." That was the closest she could get to having a semi graceful exit. There hadn't been much time to even get herself unloaded from the ship and back to her little home here on Pytra. It felt so odd to return to a place that she might have scorned years ago when the Federation had been defeating them. Instead they were here with allies and it was strange. Part of her was overwhelmed by the fact that when she'd called for help the ship had come right away and it saved a good number of the Chippequoti.

In times of trouble they had never been able to call on anyone for aid. Perhaps it felt like a bad time, but there were only so many ways to make amends for the sort of situation that they had found themselves in. Asha knew that her mother and Edgar would have both gladly died for this chance. Yvonne had, but Edgar was still here and he would be the most help to her for this.

There was nothing easy about this, but they had to integrate a little more with the Pytrans. So far that was one thing that the Light Chippequoti had learned and hey seemed to do better. At least the Light Chippequoti acknowledged their blood, but they were happier by a long ways. The Dark Chippequoti were filing silently and sullenly back into their homes. Quietly the woman skirted around the edge of the Chip district until she reached Edgar's home and she stopped outside the door to knock. After several moments her grandfather opened the door and the man looked her over tiredly before welcoming her inside.

Asha followed Edgar into the house and she sat down in the large, puffy, red chair opposite Edgar. "It is time that the Chippequoti acknowledge our allies. They will be on edge, but we must do something. Maybe we declare a holiday. We forgive Illya and bring him back. Then we hold a festival in honor of those who risked their lives for us. That would be all in the Alliance, but we may have to keep it only on Pytra. if we do it every year then it would be a tradition and we could celebrate our good fortune in friends." Carefully she shifted in her seat and waited to see what Edgar would say. He would know the hearts of many of the people. Despite the fact that everyone knew Edgar was not in favor of the Empire they all valued his opinion and wisdom. The wisdom was what Asha needed now. She had not been prepared to lead the people as a General and especially not in a time of war. Asha needed all the help she could get from the Elders.

******************************************

There were so many things that Kalizda had dreamed about. Illya smiled a little in confusion. How was it that she had so many things as a child that she wanted and did not get? So much because she was half breed? In part he felt sad for her. So many people had shunned her and she was a wonderful person. At the same time a selfish little thought came to mind. If they hadn't been so cruel someone else would have had her and he would not have likely ever got the chance to meet her. As they worked their way toward the town she continued with more stories and little desires. Finally, they were on the edge of town and she got a little more quiet. Illya glanced at her and he grinned.

She was asking him about the things he wanted to do. "Oh, I uh...." Pausing for a long moment he took a deep breath. "I tink maybe I like tah try eh...I like dah idea of some of dose little jet packs. Yah fly around like rocket eh?" That was about the only thing he could think of for the moment. "Den I tink we try tah get yah to dat dance on Pytra. I get yah dere proper. I wear a mask of black wolf and den I find meh little bird at dah party. She will be beautiful and I know dat all men who shun her before are ashamed. Dey should be." Giving her hand a gentle squeeze he walked through the town with her. Most of the stalls were not that impressive, but there was one that had a few things he was interested in. Mostly they were things for Kalizda. She liked to wear pretty dresses and he wanted to get her another one. Perhaps he could get it for her tomorrow when he got up early and hide it in her dresser. It was more fun when she discovered things by accident. Then she'd never know when he put it there.

The two of them rounded another street corner in time for a peel of thunder to ring out. Walking a little more quickly, Illya followed Kalizda into a small pleasure house. It was nice and clean looking. Instead of getting just a towel, they were both sent to little private rooms to change and Illya had a whole robe laying out in the room for him. When he emerged there was a male masseuse ready.

At first Illya half expected the man to start rubbing his back in preparation, instead the man started to lay hot stones along Illya's spine and then after a few minutes he peeled the robe back and took the rocks off before laying hot damp towels on Illya's back. It felt good and it was so relaxing that Illya almost fell asleep before the man had moved to the part of gently working along his shoulders and down his spine. There were a few points that it hurt, but Illya would barely tense and the man would let his hands off and replace them with a hot stone or another steaming towel. With so much heat treatment Illya's back had started to loosen up. At the very end the man rubbed a sort of oil into his back with a cooling effect and Illya remained on his bench for a while longer.

Kalizda must have finished her massage first because she was waiting for him. Illya rolled his shoulders a few times as he walked toward the doorway with her. "Oh, dat felt good. Yah know meh and yah know I miss good pleasure house." This one was different, but he liked it. "I tink yah already know how tah date meh. Now I jes try all dese tings yah like and we know dere are many more tings we do togeter. Maybe we talk more eh? I like tah hear about dat tings yah like and I want tah know what es important to yah."

Strolling past the food market section he breathed in deeply. "I tink et es important dat meh Kalizda has night tah relax. We jes get food again tah eat. Yah dun need tah cook and we have enough for dah kids. Maybe tomorrow we take dah kids out to dah town and let dem look. Et es safe here." Cypher and Rose needed some time out. Lohgan was young enough she didn't seem to notice too much, but she would be in a few years from now.

 

[aryamajor]

Illya's answer to her question wasn't entirely what she expected. He somewhat tried to describe something he wanted to try and while the image of her Chip trying to fly a jetpack when she thought of his skimmer skills was cringeworthy enough that she almost missed what he said next. He wanted to go to the masquerade with her? No, he didn't want to just go. He wanted to go and show her off to everyone. The thought of it brought a blush to her cheeks and yet she couldn't help but grin with excitement. Illya wanted to take her to these things and enjoy them with her, an idea that was amazing to her. She couldn't wait to show him what the party looked like under the light of the twin full moons and dancing the traditional dances all night hand in hand. It would be incredibly fun. Fun. Now that was something she hadn't thought of in a bit and she couldn't remember the last time she actually had gone out with the children and Illya for a plain fun. Sure there were beach days, but there was always the shadow of war clouds in the back of her mind.

Grinning broadly, she met the receptionist in the spa and ordered a full massage for Illya and herself. It looked clean enough and she knew Illya wouldn't be putting up with any situations that would involve a 'happier ending'. If it turns out that the place was reputable, and Illya enjoyed it, she might just bring him back every day while they were there.

She let herself be lead into a private room where the massuse, an older woman with silver hair, invited her to undress before slipping onto the table. Calysta hadn't been to a spa like this that wasn't Chippeqouti and she wasn't entirely sure what protocol was, but the woman left her alone to get undressed with calming music playing. As soon as she was undressed, Calysta slipped into the warm table and could immediately tell it was heated. Sinking into the heat, she sighed in relief, letting it make its way into her bones as the woman entered and asked her where she was most tense. "I'm not really sure," Calysta admitted, "I'll let you decide what needs the most work." Unless she was feeling a specific area, she usually let the Riyan decide. He was pretty good at pinpointing too.

The woman got to work rubbing her back with a minty smelling oil, starting from her shoulders and working her way down. The longer she worked in circles and then broad strokes with the tips of her fingers, the more Calysta relaxed. The best part came when the woman works on her neck, massaging up into her scalp and then her face along with her temples. Apparently, there was alot of tension there and the masseuse took her time working it all out. By the time the hour was up, Calysta had fallen asleep and it took a gentle wake up call to get her moving again.

Feeling better than she had in a long while, Calysta woke slowly and smiled before getting dressed to meet Illya. They handed her cups of water infused with fruit while she waited for him to emerge. "Drink plenty of water and you'll feel right as rain," the woman said gently. Calysta sipped on her water patiently waiting for her husband and wasn't disappointed when he came out with a big, satisfied looking grin. This place had been good for him and she decided then and there he would come back tomorrow. "I'm glad you liked it," she smiled, taking up his hand. "Maybe we can come back tomorrow, yeah?" He continuously surprised her when they started walking through the market. The rain had stopped, leaving behind a fresh scent and the delicious smell of food lingering in the air. "I tink et es important dat meh Kalizda has night tah relax. We jes get food again tah eat. Yah dun need tah cook and we have enough for dah kids. Maybe tomorrow we take dah kids out to dah town and let dem look. Et es safe here."

He hadn't really ever talked like that before. Sure, he had taken care of her when she needed it, but as part of the Chip community, she knew the workload was expected. Usually, he was the one she was having to remind to take a day off, which was a challenge in itself. Then he also wanted to spend some time with the kids tomorrow too. Who was this man? This was her Chip without the war, without an empire, and the Federation and everything else in between. Smiling up at him, she squeezed his hand and nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. If I'm getting the night off, then you're coming with me. Let's have some dinner and then we can talk some more. I think there was a little petting zoo area that Cypher would like with some of the local animals. Maybe we can just take everyone out for a stroll, and to the zoo, yeah?"

She pulled him into a little cafe off to the side where one of the delicious smells was coming from. It was a spot outdoors and the menu was made of all local items, which was exciting because then she got the chance to pick at random and hope it was good. When the food came it was this strange pot of hot oil with a variety of things to place on skewers. "Interesting," she smiled, skewering a meat cube, and dunking it into the sizzling oil, "I've heard of things like this, but never tried them."

She ate happily, talking a bit about Kaerelean traditions. "It's a bit strange, because there are so many cultures on Kaereal, but there are some main ones. The masquerade is one, and then the Flight Festival is another. I would like to same day teach all of the children to fly. That's a tradition everyone on Kaereal has."

She talked about the different continents and some of her travels with Skycorp, describing some of the planet she had been to. " There were these twin planets with opposite gravitational pulls and they were so close that they shared an atmosphere. Then there is a planet in the Beta Quadrant where liquid water floats, the atmosphere is so dense. I was slated to be commissioned to the Beta Quadrant exploration before I crashed on Qouti. It was a new sector. One day, I'd like to go. On Nuen, I had an entire trip planned for both of us. I still have the itinerary somewhere. I could show you."

After dinner, she took his hand and lead him to the ship. By then, the children were asleep and all was quiet. Calysta sat him down in the living room and slipped quietly back to the bedroom. "Stay here," she smiled to him She wanted to talk with him and a little more than that. He had been so sweet and it the day had been so good she was quite in the mood for some nice, long hard work.

When she made it back to the bedroom, she pulled on her little night gown and pulled down her hair from its pony tail. A small spot of color on her lips made her look quite nice as she arranged her long, black waves over her shoulder. As soon as she was ready, Calysta slipped out of the room and wandered down the corridor with her best sashay. She may have been skinny as a rail, but she could still put in the work to make what little hips she did have sway. Walking over Illya, she smiled a coy little smile as she watched the grin spread on his face. He liked what he was seeing. Feeling bolder still, she thought of what she might do next...she hadn't exactly planned this far but it had worked out fine the last time right?

Making her way over to him on the couch slowly, Calysta thought about what she wanted to do and decided it would be something she had seen in the movies that had been quite...sexy. Tossing her hair, she put a hand on his shoulder and then crawled over his lap, straddling him on her knees so that she was still taller than him. "Hmm...Hey there..." She wasn't exactly sure what to say, but that sounded like a decent start. When she was steady, her arms slipped further around his shoulders, leaning into him as her hands wrapped around him and hung over the back of the couch some. His hair was smooth and the ends of where she clipped it prickled over her arm. "This is a night of relaxing and I can think of a few ways...." Her voice trailed off as the hairs on her arm began to itch almost like they were...crawling. A surge of panic struck her as she peered over Illya's shoulder and came face to face with a tarantula. It was staring at her with all 8 buggy black eyes as it crawled from her hand to the back of the couch. "Ahg! Ewewewew..." Her hand flung outward as she scrambled off trying to get rid of the thing crawling up her. Monster landed on Illya's lap with a sickening plop and Calysta wiped off her hand as she danced, trying to ride herself of the prickly sensation. "Ugh! Catch it!"

***************

The next morning, Calysta woke early and slipped out of bed and got dressed quietly. After the spider it had been a good night. They had made love and talked a long time more before finally drifting off in his arms. This morning, she had a little plan and he was going to like it. At least she hoped he would. She let him sleep as long as he liked while she cooked a big breakfast of bacon, eggs, and fresh bread. When that was done, she wandered into their bedroom with a plate filled to the brim with food and sat it on the bedside table before picking up Loghan to get the baby's milk ready too now that she was awake. Illya began to stir and Calysta smiled happily to him as his eyes cracked open. "Good morning, love," she smiled, "I thought maybe while you were getting your massage that I could get the kids ready and we could go to that petting zoo, with everyone huh?" Lohgan blew bubbles on her lips, making herself laugh as Calysta held her to her hip. "See, even Lohgan approves."

 

[Silence]

Kalizda seemed to have misinterpreted what Illya meant, but he didn't mind too much. Initially he had thought that they would just get food to take home and spare her father the duty of cooking for the kids and let everyone have a more relaxing night. However, it was her dad and she knew what would be appropriate. Slipping into the little cafe with Kalizda he ducked at the doorway. That was something that Illya had at least gotten accustomed to. Even their home on Pytra had short doorways and if he didn't remember to duck he'd hit his head. Once they were inside a little man showed them to a table and Illya sat down on the chair, slowly. After the time on Demos he felt cautious about any furniture that was not built with someone of his size in mind. The midget people had such tiny chairs.

Despite the fact that these people were bigger the chair still groaned in protest as Illya sat down. He was tempted to just perch himself on the floor, but he knew that wouldn't help. The table was actually taller than most. No sooner was Illya seated than the little man pushed a large pitcher of a juice of sorts into the center of the table. There were two straws in it. Taking one of the straws Illya took a sip and he felt the slight burn of alcohol. It wasn't going to be enough to make him anywhere near tipsy, but he could enjoy it. Along with the drink came a menu. It was written primarily in another language with some titles in Trader's Tongue, but not one dish sounded familiar.

Studying the menu for a long moment he frowned. Illya didn't particularly like the fact that he had a hard enough time reading, but then adding to issue that he didn't know what any of this was. Even he had to admit that he didn't have a very well rounded diet. Snake and gravy were his favorite things besides Chip alcohol. He had always liked the sweet berry alcohol best, even as a kid. At parties that was what he was given along with the other children to put them to sleep early. Kalizda's talking suddenly drew him out of his thoughts and he glanced at her from over the top of his menu. "Eh?" Apparently she didn't know what anything was on the menu and she was excited to try something at random. "Oh, I tink eh....Dat means I jes ask dem for someting different too. Make sure et doesn't have corn first." He had to remember to specify no corn whenever he stepped out of a Chip community. So many other people used corn and that was always a bit rough on him. There wasn't a single Chip that tolerated corn well. Perhaps Lohgan could tolerate the corn, but she wouldn't likely want to eat much of it even if she did.

When they finished ordering Kalizda continued talking about all the things they were going to do. It sounded like she had a lot of plans. Perhaps enough to have made up for the fact that he didn't have that many. With the wars he'd never had that much time to plan stuff. The waiter came by a few minutes later with two platters of food. One for Kalizda and one for Illya. It seemed that they served their meats raw and each person was expected to dip the meats in the little pot of boiling oil that had been slid into the center of the table.

While they ate the conversation started to gradually turn toward traditions. Kalizda wanted to teach the children to fly. Taking a little piece of his meat Illya dunked it in the seasoning that it came with and then gave it a little nibble raw before putting it on a stick to cook it. "Mmm...ets good meat." Nodding a little bit to himself he shoved the meat onto the skewer without much grace and then dunked it in the oil pot. "Yeah, ets good dey learn tah fly. Maybe dey be better students den meh." There was no doubt in his mind that he was a semi terrible pilot. It was the primary reason he stuck with being co-pilot. As a benefit, she seemed to enjoy being the one doing the piloting most of the time and he didn't mind that.

In what might have seemed a logical jump of conversation Kalizda moved almost immediately to the idea of some plans she'd made. Illya remembered almost everything, but he couldn't quite recall this trip she was talking about. It was something from Nuen. "I remember when yah kill dah scorpion, but I dun remember making dis plan wit yah. Maybe we look at plans again and yah tell meh about dem." Even if it was hard to admit that he didn't remember something he was trying to be honest with her. In some ways it felt frustrating and disappointing to discover yet another gap in his memory. That was something that he couldn't fix and it seemed that he had plenty of gaps even if he had recovered most of the memories. In a way he had expected that Kalizda would be upset that he couldn't quite remember all the plans, but she seemed not to be terribly upset by the fact that he asked her to tell him about the planned trip into the Beta Quadrant. He almost wanted to say that she'd shown him the map once. That she'd tried to remind him of it, but the memory was a bit vague. All he could remember was that he felt lost and cold when she told him about it. Somehow that didn't seem like the first time because she said they made the plans on Nuen. It was just a scrambled mess trying to retrieve that particular memory.

Thankfully the conversation moved on to other things. When they finished the meal it was time to get home and put the kids to bed. Illya knew they would be likely be needing to get the kids something new to wear. They were all growing and he thought it wouldn't hurt tomorrow to get a little more than just a trip to the zoo done. Kalizda had a good idea and he liked it.

*******************************************

After helping to get the kids in bed Illya went out to the couch. He wasn't really wanting to think of anything at the moment. Just a few minutes to sit and think of nothing would be nice. It had been a good day, a long one, and eventful. At the same time he was a little worried about having time to think of nothing. There were sometimes images that would bleed into the nothing moments and become a mirage of horrors. Sinking into the sofa he stared ahead blankly for several minutes. The nothing was peaceful for the time and his breathing got deeper and more even.

The peace was broken in a most pleasant way when Kalizda came sauntering into the living room. Her little nightie would slide up her thighs with each sway of her hips in a scandalous display. It was impossible not to smile a little bit and especially since he knew he would get to put his hands on those thighs. Illya was thinking about getting up and just carrying her back to the bedroom, but she stopped right in front of him and then moved in closer as she moved to straddle him. Looking into her eyes he grinned. "Hmm...I can tink of..." Kalizda started to get a funny look on her face and he cut himself short. What was wrong? A sudden panic strode into her voice and she leaped off him while flailing her arms like a little maniac.

As evidence of her panic a giant tarantula catapulted and landed precariously in his lap. Illya glanced down at the spider and he held a protective hand over it. "Jes dun hit dah spider. I'll take care of it." Even if she was terrified there was no reason to hit the spider. Cypher would be glad to have his other 'monster' returned to him. Carefully plucking the spider from the crotch of his pants Illya started to laugh. "Ets jes spider." Getting up off the couch he stood near Kalizda and moved to hold the spider behind his back before he leaned over to kiss her. "I take et tah Cypher's room and put dah spider in ets little cage. Den I meet yah in dah bedroom?" Hopefully the spider hadn't ruined her mood. It certainly hadn't diminished his mood, or readiness.

Brushing past Kalizda after the kiss he started down the hallway and took the spider into Cypher's room. The boy was mostly asleep and he only opened his eyes briefly when Illya put the spider into its little habitat. "Yah monster es back. He be in dere when yah wake up. Mum find him for yah. "

Little Cypher tiredly mumbled a little and sat up to peer into the cage to see his monster was indeed returned. A grin spread across his face and he dove back into his bed and curled up tight, but faced the spider in the cage. Monster, the dog adjusted to lay his chin on Cypher's legs and lick at his knees. Illya leaned over the bed and gave Cypher one little kiss on his forehead. "Yah sleep now eh?" Stepping back out the door he closed it and waited for a moment. He could hear Cypher was whispering to his spider, but those little whispers grew more faint with time and Illya knew the boy was falling asleep.

By the time he made it back to the bedroom it had been enough time for the panic from the spider to wear off. Kalizda still seemed ready and that was a bonus. With a broad grin Illya walked over to Kalizda and he set each of his hands on top her hips. "Yah look pretty in dis little ting." He didn't know what to call it, but it was nice looking. "Maybe I jes be bad and let meh hands wander little." Kissing her on the lips he let one hand slide to the edge of the nightie. Her skin was always a little cool to the touch, but he didn't mind too much.

************

Normally Illya would have gotten up earlier, but he felt like he'd been drugged. It was a good night's rest. His back hadn't hurt nearly as bad as it normally did and the little lozenges were something that Kalizda made sure he took every night before bed. Now that she knew it wasn't a big deal, but he hadn't initially wanted her to know about it. There was no reason for her to think that he had a lot of back pain. Mostly he didn't want her to have one more thing to worry about. At least with the leg the worst of it was gone and the pain was non-existent most days. There was an occasional day when the upper leg would hurt, but it wasn't often.

The smell of food got a little stronger and Illya began to shift in the bed. His back felt well rested and he wanted to sleep a little more, but he had to get up sometime. It just felt so nice to be able to lay in bed and actually feel good. Slowly peeling his eyes open he turned onto his side and pushed himself up on one elbow. Squinting a little he saw the food was actually sitting right there on the night stand. He didn't have to get up just yet. Everything was slow registering after having a deep sleep like that. Gradually his eyes shifted from the plate to Kalizda and Lohgan. When did she get up? He didn't even remember her getting out of bed. Then again he should have figured on that one considering the fact that there was food on his night stand. "Huh?" The usual rasp to his voice was stronger than usual due to the deep sleep. Despite the fact that he'd had a haircut the hair on top of Illya's head still stuck out in odd directions with wild curls. Combined with the dumbfounded expression and tired eyes he almost looked like he was still sleeping.

Calysta tilted her head at Illya as he woke up slowly, hair looking a wild mess of duckling fuzz on his head. Lohgan was still blowing her spit bubbles and tugging on her hair while she let him figure himself out for a moment. Chuckling, she sat down on the edge of the bed with their baby girl, and reached out, rubbing his arm gently. As always, his skin was warm under her cold fingers as she smiled up at him. "Have a good sleep?" It.must have been because he looked like he wanted to keep right on going though it was near 11am galactic time.

Blinking a few more times Illya nodded slowly in response to her question. For the sake of decency he made sure the blanket still covered his waist when he reached for the plate. Sitting up in the bed a little bit he set the plate on his lap and then grinned lazily at Kalizda. "Tank yah, smells good. I uh....I tink more about dis zoo. Rose es getting tah be woman soon. She needs tah learn tah manage money. We give her money today. I know prices en town after yesterday. We give her some of our money, enough dat she can buy her way into zoo, buy food, and buy oter tings she like. Jes nut too much tah start. What yah tink?"

Calysta reflected Illya's lopsided smile with one of her own as he reached for the plate. His suggestion surprised her. Usually, it wasnt him thinking of the children's education, it was her or her father. Still it was a good idea by her reckoning and a much needed life skill for Rose. "Mm..Aye. I think that would be good. She helped out a fair bit on Demos and an allowance is more than warranted. She can learn to budget her day and funds."

Since it sounded like Kalizda was in agreement with the idea he nodded and took another bite. "I tink we jes give her little bonus. She likes tah shop some. Et would be good for her tah learn tah shop for special tings too." Rose was his little girl still and he wanted to see her face light up when she brought home her first purchase. "Since ets safe I tink we let her take herself shopping ef she likes eh?"

Rose had been brave and very strong through everything, something that absolutely was deserving of a little fun run money. It was also something every girl should get to do anyways. Smiling, Calysta nodded to Illya an approval of the idea for a bonus. "I think that would be good. She likes to shop, and she should get something she likes and can be proud of for fun too." Her smile grew broader and she winked at Illya playfully. "So long as its not a spider."

"I dun tink et would be a spider." Illya gave her a sly expression from the side of eyes. He was thinking of other things that they should be able to do for Cypher and Lohgan too. "Maybe we jes let Lohgan learn about dah animals dat are gentle and Cypher gets tah learn about walking wit us and behaving." Their son was a bit monstrous at times and he knew it. "I tink we let him choose his food for fun. Anyting he wants. Ef all he wants es sugar dats all he eats and he learns dat we feed him good food after many days of eating only berries." Illya knew that only berries would be the choice, but eventually the boy would want more and he would be happy for the food that Kalizda fed him. "Et es good lesson for small child tah learn. Dat es how I learn tah like snake so much."

She caught the sly look and chuckled to herself as she listened. All of these ideas for the children were coming out all at once and Calysta couldnt help but take a moment to consider each one. Lohgan had little interaction with the animals besides Daisy and Cin who were the most protective and gentle of there Menagerie. It would be good for her to learn a few things and not be afraid of animals so much like a Kaerelean child might be. Her name was "Brown Shepherd" after all and that bespoke of someone who knew animals well, at least in her opinion. As for Cypher, she couldn't help but agree with him on that one. He can be a handful when he got to going like a bulky little juggernaut storming through the ship. It was even harder to keep him under control and public by herself sometimes because he was so heavy. Fairly soon he would weigh as much as she did and he his father's penchent for trouble. "Aye I think Lohgan would like that," Calysta said, looking to their baby girl who was giving a gummy grin at her father, "You think we should let Cypher just eat whatever he wants? He'll just eat a big bowl of berries and be hungry an hour later."

Illya nodded when she mentioned the bowl of berries. "Mmhmm..I tell him dat he will have lots of stinky shet and he'll figure dat out too. He's old enough tah learn." If Cypher was anything like himself he knew that it would necessary for the boy to go through this process. "I learn dis lesson when I was little. Et was good lesson eh?"

Calysta's eyes widened at the comment as she considered what Illya was suggesting. Cypher was stubborn as a mule sometimes and she knew it might take a week or more of only berries. The poor would be getting his fiber in. "The boy would nearly turn into a blueberry before he figured it out. I hope you're in for a long bathroom trip. Even if he does need to learn. Dont tell him about the stink part of it..." She didnt need the boy running around talking about 'stinkeh shet' when she's just gotten him out of the habit of counting to 'sex'.

"Why nut tell him about dah shet? He needs tah know dats a real ting. Et will happen and I tell him why et happens." Illya was entirely positive that it would be best to tell the boy. "He'll know dah first day. Yah eat as many of dose berries as he wants and yah would know et."

It was a decent point but Calysta still had reservations about it. "Fine, then tell him, but dont use the word shit...use poop...he knows that one. And I think if he eats that many we'll all be knowing it. " Lohgan finally decided she wanted to see her father and held out her hand grasping for him smacking her gums to get his attention.

"Poop et es." Illya chuckled a little and shoved another bite into his mouth before taking Lohgan. Taking the little girl he held her under one arm and then offered her a bite of bacon. "Yah like dis?" Lohgan reached for the little meaty bite and started to gnaw on it. "I tink yah like et. Dat's meh girl."

Her relief over Illya agreeing on they're stipulations and what to do about their sons berry habit was quickly doused by the fact that he gave entire chunk of bacon for their daughter to chew on. Calysta blinked at Illya in total shock for a moment before reaching for the bacon. It was too hard for her to chew yet. "Illya, she doesnt have all of her teeth yet. I'm afraid she'll choke."

The little girl mashed her gums and nommed along with the bacon until her mother plucked it from her fingers. A string of drool ran from her little gums to the bacon strip and she grasped while fussing. Illya looked at Kalizda and took the bacon. "Et's fine. I jes slap her on dah back ef she starts tah choke."

Calysta's mouth slipped open and she shook her head. "There are ways to clear a baby's airway without smacking them," she said quickly, "I read how to do it from a book that I can let you have too." In no way did she want Illya's gentle, but large hand smacking the baby's back.

"I'm sure, but I tink she's fine tah have little taste." Illya held his hand out for the bacon. By now he and Lohgan were both holding their hands out for the bacon. Then when Illya's attention was drawn away the little girl dove for what was left on the plate and snatched up a fist full of the potato. "Oooh." Illya started to laugh and he helped her sit up again while trying to sort out the potato mashed in her little fingers. "Yah eat dem slow ef yah eat et."

Calysta looked at Illya's hand which seemed to be expecting her to place the bacon back in his hands. Luckily, Lohgan took the moment to grab at Illya's plate and sent everything scattering. Her hands were full of potato and she looked entirely delighted over the mushy food between her fingers. Her Chip's attention turned right to his little girl and Calysta chuckled. "I'm going to get some more juice and make sure Cypher is ready to go. Then we can talk about how much to give Rose I think 100 credits is a nice round start." As she spoke, she slipped off the bed and wandered over to the bedroom door. "I'll be right back." Leaving her daughter in her husbands hands, she slipped out of the door and down the hall, a slimy piece of bacon in her hands.

Getting Lohgan to eat the potato bits only a little bit at a time instead of by the fistful was a challenge, but it gave Kalizda enough time to get the other kids ready. She would take a little while feeding Lohgan the rest of the way and getting the girl ready and in that time Illya could go have a fast massage, but first he had to get up. When he finished with the food he set Lohgan aside on the bed and threw one of Kalizda's pillow on top of her while he scrambled out and got into a pair of boxers real fast. Lohgan pushed the pillow off her face and laughed when he threw it back on top of her. It was a game while he was trying to get dressed. Eventually he had his pants on too and his boots and he was ready to take himself for a fast massage. With his shirt slung over his shoulder and Lohgan in one arm he walked her out to her mother. "I'll be back in half hour eh?" By then the kids should all be ready and he could get them started toward the zoo.

******************************

When Illya got back the kids were all rearing to go. He knew that the credit amount mentioned by Kalizda would seem like a lot, but it was surprising how much things cost too. "Before we go, I tink Rose dat yah old enough tah start carrying yah own money. Kalizda talk wit meh about dis and we decide togeter." Nodding to Kalizda he let her give Rose the money. "Now, yah buy yah own meals today and den yah have money tah go to dah zoo wit us and enough tah buy some special tings for yahself." Almost as soon as he finished Cypher came up to him and held out his little hands asking for monies too. A grin came across Illya's face. "Yah nut old enough for monies yet, but I have dem for yah. Yah sister es getting tah be woman now and she learn how tah use credits eh?" Though Cypher was not pleased with the answer he didn't do much besides give his father a big frown.

With Lohgan getting so big Illya strapped the baby pack to himself and he had Kalizda help him load her in. The girl was constantly peeping out and squeaking with delight. Her little feet kicked furiously while she was watching the world in front of her. She knew the pack well and she liked riding in it with her back to her dad's chest. Lohgan knew she was safe there and she liked going places.

The entire little troop stepped outside and immediately Rose asked if she could take off toward the market. It seemed she was anxious to be finding ways to spend her money and shop. Illya knew it was nearing lunch time because he had slept a good portion of the day away and the preparation just to get outside had taken long enough. "Yah go, but we all meet at dah zoo in 2 hours." That was the time frame and he was going to be strict about it. The rest of the day was hers and there were very few restrictions to it. She needed to learn to rein herself in if there were many or few boundaries. "Rest of us get snack."

Cypher was practically bouncing with glee at the announcement of a snack and he waltzed his way through the narrow streets chanting, "Berries! berries! berries!" It was almost comical when the boy saw a stand with his favorite berries by the bucket. He stopped short and stared in wonder. Gasping loudly he pointed before resuming his chant. Illya walked up behind him and ordered a large serving of them. "Now," handing the bucket to Cypher he spoke calmly. "Yah only eat a little bit of berry. Ef yah eat too many of dem yah will have lots of stinky...eh....poop." He had to think about that word for a moment. "Jes a little berry. I buy yah lots so yah can have more later. Learn tah keep pace." It wasn't quite the word he wanted, but it was good enough. Naturally the boy grabbed a large fistful of the berries and shoved them in his mouth before grabbing another fist full. Illya stopped him at the third. "Dat will be too many. Yah dun eat dat many. We save some for later eh?" He was going to try and teach Cypher the easy way the first time, but there was a chance the boy would do he same he did. Chip parents often had stubborn children and the children learned some small lessons like these the hard way and then learned to listen when their parents would give little directions as they got older.

For himself, Illya decided to visit the little cream station. He liked cream and it was nice to see someone had a stand only for cream and ice. "I like cream witout dah ice." The man behind the little counter stared at him for a moment with confusion. "It doesn't have ice in it. Just ice cream." Illya frowned a little. "I jes want dah cream." Again the man gave a confused look, but seemed to relent. "Alright, what flavor would you like?"

Illya was stunned. Cream came in different flavors?! "What ones tah choose from?" Gradually his eyes got wider when he saw that the man motioned to an entire case full of different creams and in so many colors. Finally, Illya pointed to one. "I tink I try dat one." It was a deep red and it said it had cherries in it. A cherry cream would be good. At least from what he remembered. Illya had cherries once a long time ago. Then the man asked if he wanted it soft or hard serve and Illya stalled for a moment. Who would want hard cream? "Eh....soft." This was all so strange. After a long moment the man handed him the cream in a cracker cone and Illya paid for the cherry cream before he started to walk back toward Kalizda. Lohgan tried a little bite of the cream first and she kicked wildly with glee. It must have been good. Bringing the messy little cone to his lips Illya bit the top off and then froze in place. "Ets cold." He'd never tasted cream like this and it had certainly never been that cold before. A deep ache settled into his brain and he winced. "Et makes meh head hurt." After a few seconds he hesitantly tried another little bite and decided it was alright. Lohgan kept right on squealing until she got another bite too. On the way toward the zoo Illya would let her take a bite and then he would take a bite of the cream. It was good. He was going to have go back for more later on. The next stop was lunch and then they would all go to the zoo.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta rubbed at her hand, trying to get the prickly feeling off of her skin as Illya got up with the spider in hand. "Aye, just take it to his room..." she sighed. She was more than happy to let Illya take the hairy spider back to Cypher's room. So much for trying to be seductive. Nothing was sexier than flinging a spider at your husband mid taunt. While he was taking the monster back to their son's room and hopefully locking it up nice and tight, Calysta shook off the shock and wandered her way back to the bedroom, hoping to try the whole thing again, feeling slightly less confident.

Apparently, her disappointment wasn't noticeable because Illya came right in with a grand smile on his face and walked right over to her without hesitation. With a lingering kiss, his hand slipped to the edge of her little silk gown right at her thigh before he stated he liked it on her...and that he might just be a bit bad. He always had the ability to make her feel desirable...skinny...or pregnant... or dancing away from awful spiders. The comment recovered her confidence some and she bit her lip before smiling up at him. "Hmm... I think you're living dangerously on the edge..." She put a hand over his and guided down a little further, just letting his fingers brush over the skin of her thigh. "C'mon."

**********

Getting the kids up and moving was an easy task at this point, things going together like a clockwork of usual obstacles while Illya got his massage. Rose changed outfits a million times, trying to find just the right one. Cypher managed to escape down the hall in the nude only once and her father was there to catch him, already prepared with a shirt and pants at the end of the corridor. Priscilla handed her a cup of tea as she fed Lohgan her bottle with one hand and gave instructions to her dressed son that he should eat his berries more slowly. He had the tendency to gobble them up and if he kept eating them like that he was going to get sick. Yet, that seemed to be the idea behind Illya's plot to get him to eat something besides his favorite fruit. "You can have as many as you want. But you have to eat them slowly, Cypher," she told him. The plan was there now, and if it worked, maybe it wouldn't such a bad thing. Cypher was so stubborn and sometimes Chips need a good boot in the pants to get their attention. By the time Illya came back all the children were ready to go and she was ready as she stepped up to the hatch with the whole crew, except that her father was giving her a strange look. "Caly, you're missing something." She looked at her father puzzled for a moment before realizing she was infact missing something very important. In her hurry to get the kids ready, she'd forgotten to put on shoes. "Oh." Quickly, she helped put Lohgan into Illya's harness for her and then scuttled back to the bedroom to get her shoes.

Finally ready, Calysta gave Rose her funds for the day while Illya explained and the girl seemed more than ready to go shopping with her funds as she ran off toward the market. There were so many things she had in mind for her money.Armed with her 100 credits, Rose stepped out in to the square and looked around to see what store she would enter first. There weren’t as many shops here as there were in Kinte but there were still more than Demos had and she was more than ready to go browsing. Stepping into the first store, she found rows of clothing, hiking gear, and boots. Not finding much, she wandered out and found herself in a massive book store. The shelves were lined with every kind of book imaginable from science treatises to fantasy epic series. She marveled at the sheer size of the shop which even had a second floor along with an accompanying coffee bar.

A worker walked by, a young man with dusty brown hair and easy going smile, and stopped in front of Rose. “Can I help you find anything, Miss?”
Rose nodded to the shelves. “Can you show me the best books you have?”

The attendant grinned and waved her over. “Yeah! We’ve got some great series with the last shipment. I’ll show you my favorites.” She followed along eagerly as the young man showed her this grand series of books called the “Well of Tides”. Immediately her interest was captured when he explained it was all about the journey of a woman through worm holes in space. She goes to many different places and times periods learning to adapt to each one and helping people along the way. “Can I get the entire series?” she asked brightly. The young man nodded and began stacking them into his arms to go to the check out counter. “You know we also have digital copies if you want.”

Rose thought about the offer and then shook her head. “No, I would like the paper copies.” She wanted to start building her library like Papa had.
When the books were purchased, the attendant gave her a basket to carry them back to the ship with. On the way back the ship, with every intention of going straight home to put her books away. Instead, she found a beautiful scarf on a rack on an open air stall. It was pale pink with pearl designs on it, and she couldn’t resist stopping to see how much it cost. “It has real pearls from Demos,” the seller smiled, “Hand stitched and it would look lovely on you. It’s expensive though. 45 credits.”
Rose looked to the 80 credits in her hand, quickly figuring in her head what lunch would cost as well as her zoo ticket. She could do it if she figured the zoo ticket and lunch to be around 20 credits. “I’ll take it,” she smiled to the vendor. The woman selling the scarf looked absolutely pleased and even took the scarf from the display, folded it neatly and placed it in a fancy pink bag with tissue paper decoration.

Satisfied with her purchases, Rose made her way home to put her books away. By the time she was done with that, the two hours had nearly passed and it was time for lunch. She met Kalizda and Wolf at a big restaurant with an outside patio, which seemed to be a favorite thing for Jackobites. This restaurant was quite nice and she ordered spinach, mushroom and chicken rolls along with a delicious berry lemonade and a dessert of chocolate cake. The total came to 17.50 credits, which she gave over without question.

Finally it was time to go to the zoo and everyone headed over in one large group up to the ticket booth, Cypher leading the way, almost rabid to get to the ‘monsters’.
Calysta walked up to the ticket counter of the petting zoo with Cypher bouncing at her heels and Rose behind her looking ready to go inside. She had even brought her sketch pad from the ship so she could doodle some of the animals from Jackobi. Calysta counted up the amount of tickets she needed. "I need four adult tickets and one child please." Cypher's fee would be small, Rose was paying for herself and Lohgan was young enough to be considered 'free'. The attendant handed over the tickets and Calysta handed her another few credits. "Can we get some of the feeding tokens too?" Cypher would have a ball if he got to feed some of the animals in here. Already, he was standing on his toes, looking around the corner of the booth and tugging on her sleeve. "Mam...mam...monsters!" Calysta chuckled and captured his hand up in hers while she took the coins in the other. "Aye, we're going to go see them, but we have to wait for Rose, yeah." Calysta lead Cypher off to the side and began handing out tickets while Rose walked up proudly and sat her credits on the counter. Arranging the money just so, she handed it over to the attendant who began to count it carefully, then shook his head. "You don't have enough for an adult ticket here," he said. Rose looked up to the ticket prices, eyes widening and then turned to Illya and Kalizda looking crestfallen. "I don't have enough. I thought I had enough!"

It looked likeKalizda was going to be the one handling the money for this part. Illya didn't mind since it was easier for him to hold onto the kids. Cypher was large enough he about pulled any of the other adults over when he got excited. So, instead Illya held the boy's hand while he bounced and tried to get a head start on things. Just to be sure that everyone was good to go he waited in the back. It was habit for Illya to take up the rear on any event to be sure that everyone else was safe. When it was Rose's turn he could see her counting out the money. She was going to be short by just a few credits. It wasn't uncommon for a little mishap the first time. It just meant that he would get to show her how to budget money later on and give her money then to buy her clothes that she was going to be needing. Except the second time he wouldn't be bailing her out. This time, however, Illya pulled a few credits out of his pocket and handed them to Kalizda. "We jes cover et dis time, but we talk about how yah plan credits later eh?"

Rose looked at Wolf almost ashamed for having come up short as she took the credits from her father's hand and shuffled back to the ticket booth. She knew what her mistake had been. Rather than checking the price of entry for the zoo first, she had gone on her shopping trip and gotten herself the best dessert at lunch too, leaving her shorter than she should have been toby her ticket. Rose would explain her mistake to them later, though she doubted she was going to get around the money management talk. Poking the extra credits through the window, she gave the attendant vague smile before receiving her ticket and coming alongside Wolf and Kalizda. "Thank you."

The hint of shame was clear on her face, but it was a necessary part of learning. "Yah welcome." There was no need to say anything else for now.Instead, they started for the zoo and Cypher wanted to get his chance to be with the animals. At every little spot they stopped, he would bounce with glee and yell about the monsters. So far his favorite were the penguins. The boy loved to watch the funny birds waddle around. They were his favorite until he discovered the little goats and then he wanted to go the petting zoo to play with the goats. "Look dey climb trees too!!!"

Cypher was nearly wild with excitement when he saw the animals. His hands automatically looped around fences and plastered against glass. Calysta had to remind him to slow down several times, but all thoughts of propriety went out the window when he stumbled upon the goats in the petting zoo. He danced excitedly as Calysta opened up the gate and then the second gate to let him through. As soon as he was in the yard he took off running, causing several of the goats to scatter, even one to faint. "Cypher Markus!" Calysta called. "Come here!" Cypher knew his mother meant business when the second name was used and came trotting back over with a pout stuck on his lip. "You have to be slower around the goats okay? Pet them soft like Monster at home. C'mere. Lets get them some food, huh? You want to feed them?" She put one of the coins in the food dispenser and had Cypher hold his hand under the slot for the pellets to pour into his hands. "Can you help him, Illya?" she asked as she was turning the crank

Their child went crazy as soon as he was let in the pen with the goats. Illya had half a feeling that one of the goats would decide to show their son who was boss. The goats had a tendency to scatter at first, but Illya could see one was coming over rather boldly when it saw the boy was going to turn into another little pellet feeder. With Lohgan strapped to the front of him he wandered over and stood next to Cypher. "Yah wait here and dey come up. One of dah goats I tink might try tah hit yah wit his head. Jes ignore dem when dey are rude or push dere head away. Dun hit dem." Cypher listened to his dad and he tried to get good and close to the goats. One of the goats lowered its little head and bumped Cypher right in the head. It was a spectacular view watching little Cypher go head over heels and tumble back. Illya chuckled and went over to pick his boy up off the ground. There were little pellets scattered everywhere. Cypher blinked wide eyed and then saw the pellets scattered and he started to sniffle. Illya pulled him off the ground. "Yah dun stand steady dats why dey knock yah over. Meh little man should be like wall. C'mere, we get more and I show yah how tah stand." One of the goats thought it would get Illya's attention and tried to butt his prosthetic leg and instead the little goat ended up shaking its head and feeling stunned. When Illya got more food for Cypher he showed the boy how to hold his ground i a solid stance and then stood behind him. While he was behind he also made sure to help direct the more ornery little goats away. Eventually the critters figured it out and they became a little more calm. Some of them chewed on Cypher's shirt and his shoe laces. All of it was exciting and Cypher got comfortable enough to start wandering their pen with them. Since it all seemed to be fine Illya knelt down so that Lohgan could see some of the goats. He held one hand on the ready in case he needed to block her from getting butted, but the little goat that came to see her was a baby goat and Illya picked it up and held it under one arm. The little goat nibbled at Lohgan's curls and the baby giggled while she tried to pet his chin. That was all fine till Illya heard Kalizda call for Cypher by his full name again. It almost made Illya cringe and then he saw Cypher was up in the tree with the goats. "Ooh, dats nut so good." Illya set the little baby goat aside and he walked over to Kalizda. "Yah hold Lohgan and I get Cypher eh?"

Calysta managed to get the pellets to come out and then let Illya take over showing him how to feed the goats. He was always better with animals anyways and for once she was content to Simply watch her son have a good time. There was no particular concern until her little boy met with a very determined goat which head-butted him and sent him head over heels. It must have been a hard hit to send someone as heavy as Cypher tumbling like, but his father didn't seem worried. He picked Cypher up and dusted him off, making pitiful sniffling sounds. Calysta was half tempted to pick him up and help him with the goats, but she let his father take the time with him and teach him how to deal with the animals, showing him a better way to stand. Eventually, Cypher was roaming around the yard quite comfortably with them offering them little treats we're reaching out to pet them. She watched him play contentedly with the animals almost in the same way Illya might have, with an air of unreserved enthusiasm and curiosity. She was glad that he wasn't afraid of the animals but actually enjoyed them. While he was playing nicely, she took a moment to glance over at Lohgan who was happily being nibbled on by a much smaller goat while she tried to reach out to hold it like she did her puppy, Daisy. The goat was leaving stringy bits of spit between wandering nibbles, and callista knew their little girl would be getting a bath that night without question. Even she had to admit that the amazed look on her daughter's face was well worth it though. This is a good sort of day but they didn't have often enough with a family. It was the Wild and giggle that alerted her to turn back to Cypher...who was nowhere to be found. Her eyes scan the yard quickly, not finding her tan little boy, until she heard another giggle from above and saw him sitting in a tree with at least three goats who are all enjoying samples of his clothing. How in the Wilds had he even gotten up there? "Cypher Markus! Dont move an inch!" She didnt want him to fall even if he was built like a tank. Illya came over and offered up Lohgan so he could get Cypher down. "Aye, I got her," Calysta replied, taking their youngest in her arms, "You're taller anyways."

With a little wink Illya leaned over and kissed Kalizda. "Of course I'm taller. Dat's what yah like about meh." He liked to give her a hard time especially when she looked so serious. It really couldn't be that bad. Cypher was in a tree and that was bound to happen at some point. The worse that could happen was Cypher could fall out of the tree. As Illya got closer to the tree he heard a little whoop and looked up to see Cypher come flying out of the tree at him. "Whoa!" Running forward a few steps Illya twisted a little to catch Cypher before the boy hit the ground. It would hurt and Cypher was far enough up that a little launch like that could hurt him. He didn't have full blooded Chip bones and Illya wasn't ready to find out how much of an impact those little bones could take. The sudden over extension and the twisting ran right through his arms and Illya felt it pull through his back when the weight of his little boy hit. Tucking Cypher chose to himself, Illya tipped forward, curled and rolled with the fumble. Cypher was protected by one arm over his chest, his dad's chin resting on his head and knees creating a cage in front of him when they both flipped into the dirt a few times. When they stopped Illya laid flat on his back and groaned. "Yah dun do dat again, Cypher."

Calysta kissed Illya, shaking her head at his comment. "I like Fair bit more but I daresay the height is a bonus." Illya started over to Cypher and Calysta sidled away from a goat tugging on her tunic sleeve. "Shoo...shoo aooh!" She saw her son springing, legs poised and arms outstretched before Illya noted the move. Little war cry was only outmatched by the sound of her squeaking when he left from the tree and at his father, taking them both for a tumble into the dirt. "Cypher!" Somehow Illya managed to catch their acrobatic son and rolled him safely to his chest, where Cypher was grinning. "Dat was fun! Dah! DAH! Do et again!" When Illya made it clear that he was not to do it again, Cypher pouted before bouncing off of his dad's chest. Calysta scurried over with Lohgan and shot firm instructions to Cypher to go stand next to his Papa for 5 minutes before leaning over Illya. "Are you okay?" Judging by his face something must have happened because his brow was drawing into a deep frown.

The boy felt a little heavy when he bounced on Illya's chest. Since there wasn't any immediate danger aside from a few goats prancing around Illya decided to let himself lay still for just a moment. Long enough to determine if it was bad, or tolerable. While he was trying to figure that out a little shadow formed over his face and he looked up atKalizda. Momentarily the frown got deeper and he attempted a joke."Well, I tink besides dah fact dat I might have rolled in some goat shet I should be alright." Despite the frown he still managed a confused looking smirk and then slowly sat up. His back popped a little and he let out a long breath. At least the pop felt good. Slowly getting to his feet he chuckled. "Well, I talk to him about jumping at people now too. Almost missed him."

He was joking but she knew him well enough to know when he was putting a brave face in some moments. He got to his feet slowly, and she kept a close eye on him, raising a brow at the odd smirk. "I think we'll quite a few talks to make today," she chuckled. AlreadyLohgan was asking to go back to her father's arms with a happy laugh. Calysta almost started to hand her back when something dropped from Illya's side, plopping to the grass. "You did get into some of the of...poop," she said, pointing to his elbow, "Maybe we should get you washed off?"

It was true that the list of chats they were going to havewere growing. "Oh, I tink he gets dat from yah. I never met anyone wit so much trouble packed in small space. Yah only had all dah Alliance and Federation after yah when we met." Illya didn't really care that a little dropping fell from his elbow. Instead he brushed at his pants and found they were mostly clean. "Eh, I jes stop in restroom and wash meh arms off when Cypher es done here, or maybe I go wash up and come back in a few minutes eh? Den I can hold her again."

He made his sly point about her being wanted and shecouldnt help but smile. "Aye, I was. I'm absolute trouble packed into 5ft of little bird. Some of it was bound to pass over. He did get your good looks though." He started wiping on his pants trying to rid himself of the goat droppings and she was glad most of it had peeled off his elbow and not his clothes. Glancing to Cypher she saw he was doing exactly as he was asked...standing by his papa...with his hand outstretched to a baby goat as it licked his hands. "Best go wash off. I dont think Cypher is quite tired of the goats."

"Eh, I'll be back in a few." Illya continued wiping his pants and shirt. Bits of straw and flecks of dust permeated the air around him, but it helped to cover the fact that he was moving a little slow. Once he got to the restroom Illya washed his arms off and stood at the sink for an extra moment. His back hurt after that one. Not as bad as it could be, but it wasn't real great either. He knew he was going to need one of those lozenges tonight for sure. Since he was safely out of view he let out a long breath and slowly stretched as best he could. During the stretch his back popped again and then he paced the length of the men's room a few times till his hip popped too. "Ugh...Dat hurt." Mumbling under his breath he took another deep breath and then took a sip of water from the sink. It would be tolerable. Wasn't bad, but it wasn't ideal either. This time when he stepped out of restroom he resumed his usual stride and stepped back into the petting zoo with the family. "Dere, I look better now."

Calysta watched him meander toward the bathrooms, and watched him carefully. He was hitching just a little, and she made a note to haul him into the shower that night to see if she could help loosen whatever damage had been done. While he was gone, she walked over to Cypher and knelt down, nudging aside a goat to look her boy in the eye. "Cypher you are not to climb the tree again or jump down on Dah. Do you understand me? You will sit in the corner if you do it again." Cypher stiffened and nodded solemnly. "Yes, mam." He hated sitting in the corner, because he had to stare at the wall and it was boring. He couldn't even play with his puppy when he was in time out like that. Calysta smoothed down his hair and nodded. "Alright then. Go on and play." By the time Illya came back Cypher was running along in the herd laughing as he patted at the animals. "There you are," Calysta smiled, "Somebody missed you." She offered up Lohgan, because he was going to want to hold her anyways.

No sooner had Illya rejoined his family and Lohgan was holding her hands out. She wanted him to hold her again and Illya took the little girl into his arms. "Oh, yah gonna get too big soon." Smiling at her he held the little girl close. "Yah know Dah loves yah and he es gonna hold yah for as long as yah let him. We jes make sure everyday es someting special and dere es good in every day." Lohgan squeaked and kicked her feet merrily as he knelt again so she could try and pet the little goats that got close enough. Glancing at Kalizda Illya nodded. "Yah meet some goats too. I tink ets good for yah tah learn nut tah be afraid. Maybe we get goat someday."

Calysta relinquished her daughter to Illya and the girl was more than happy right there, letting her dah hold her next to the goats. It was actually wonderfully sweet to hear him talk to his baby the way he was. He had so rarely gotten to enjoy things like that,calysta could hardly make an objection when one of the braver goats decided to step over and begin nibbling at the Hem her dress. When Illya made his suggestion about her trying to feed the goats she gave him a small smile. Now, he wanted a goat. They were kind of smelly, and yet they were kind of cute, particularly the little fainting ones in the corner. Plus they did have the ability to make milk and cheese to. Would a goat be so bad? It couldn't be worse than trouble the rooster. Just to prove that she could deal with a goat on top of everything else, calysta knelt beside one of the babies and offered it a few of the spare pellets from her hand. It gave a soft bleating sound and began to eat from the palm of her hand with gusto. Her eyes went way up to Illya as she patted the creature. "They're not so bad."

Patiently Illya waited forKalizda to get some little pellets to feed the goats. He smirked some when she braved touching one of the creatures and then started to talk. "Oh, dey're good animals. Dey're useful too." Any small animal like this that was useful were good in his opinion. "Dey have horses, camels and elephants here too. I tink maybe we go to dah riding section and yah learn tah ride all dese animals." Illya loved riding elephants especially. They were huge and it was satisfying to sit n top of such a massive animal. "Et will be good for dah children too. Dey need tah learn nut to be afraid of animals no matter how big. When yah afraid et makes animals afraid and den dey attack."

Her eyes widened when he mentioned horses. She remembered the horse race from Alpha Centauri very clearly and while she had done it simply for the money, the ride had been less than enjoyable. She knew exactly how big elephants were too, having seen them in holograms of Terra her father let her watch as s child. "You want to ride them?" her voice was a little hoarse and she cleared it before dusting off her hands, much to the goat's displeasure. His reasoning was sound....though she wasn't entirely sure if it worked on things like tyrei...He was better with animals and that was pure fact. If he wanted to take the kids riding on some of them, she would meet the challenge. At least Cypher would enjoy getting to tide something bigger than Cin. "Alright lets go to the riding section. I think Cypher would like it, yeah."

After all this time Illya didn't think she'd show her fear so openly. "Kalizda, ets nut someting tah be afraid of. Dis es natural. Maybe I jes have yah ride wit meh too after dah kids try." A mischevious smile came to his face and he winked. "Den yah could decide ef yah sit in front and I hold yah around dah waist or ef yah want tah get close and hold meh.

He called it natural, but on her world it was deadly to play with animals. She didnt mind animals so much, in fact for a Kaerelean she was quite good with them. It still made her nervous, though with Illya there it wouldnt be like the race horse and he was already giving her little winks and suggestions on how they should ride them. "Best if you sit behind me, I think. Your arms are stronger than mine and I don't want to go falling off," she replied with a smile. They collected Cypher, who was hesitant to leave the billy goats until he learned he was going to get to ride a big animal and then he was leading the pack toward the riding ring.

Riding behindKalizda wasn't such a bad idea. Illya thought either option was fantastic, but this one was better because he would prefer to hold her. "Alright den." With a grin he got up and started toward the gate. For the time he was going to get them started until Cypher was suddenly fumbling with the gate and trying to race ahead. This time Illya caught his son by the arm. "Nah, yah stick wit meh. Dese animals are big and ef yah scare dem yah might get stepped on, or hurt. Ef yah dun listen to meh dis time den yah will nut ride dah animals." Cypher looked at his Dah with wide eyes and then nodded, but he was still anxious and he pulled on Illya's hand and constantly tried to urge his father forward. He wanted to get to ride the big animals. When they came to the riding area Cypher pointed to the camel. He wanted to ride the camel first and Illya nodded. "Yah try riding camel wit meh, or by yahself?" Cypher got a big grin. "Myself."

When they came up to the riding area, Calysta's eyes widened. There were Terran camels, and horses along with a massive grey elephant with blunted tusks. Several other children were there with their families taking turns already and Cypher was rearing to go, headed right for the camel. She stared at the strange creature, with is long neck and floppy mouth chewing at cud as itloped around with a child on its back. Cypher wanted to ride it by himself and was already trying to wiggle his way to the front of the line, tugging Illya along. "Cypher, wait your turn." It was a simple command that stopped him in his tracks. "Be patient and you'll be up soon." With every passing turn of the camel, her little boy grew more and more excited until finally it was his turn. Illya sat him in the odd saddle strapped to the front of the animals hump and the worker leading around the camel nodded. "Make sure he holds on to the rope on the front." Then he began the ride with Cypher sitting there grinning from ear-to-ear. The never was a happier boy than the ones swaying on of the camel's back and pointing to all the things he could see at that height. After the first pass, he suddenly decided he wanted to go faster, and Papa had shown him how to make a pony go faster before on a hologram. With a determined kick of his heels, he jabbed the camel and yelled. "Giddeh! Up!"

Illya waited with Cypher in line and he couldn't help grinning back when his boy was on the camel. It was only natural that a boy would like to have that sort of adventure and it was healthy. When Cypher kicked the camel it only grunted at him and continued plodding. Camel's were stubborn creatures and this one was no exception. It was used to the routine and it knew exactly what it was supposed to do. No matter how many times Cypher tried to urge the animal to go faster it simply ignored him. At length the ride was over and then it was Rose's turn and lastly Illya, Kalizda, and Lohgan. Camel's were large and they were made to bear heavy weight. The horse was the only one that Illya wouldn't be riding, so Kalizda would have to take Lohgan for a ride on that one.

Riding the camel wasn't so bad and neither was the horse. She found that this horse was much more gentle than the race horse she had ridden on Alpha Centauri. Lohgan seemed to like the ride at least and tugged at the horses white and brown mane happily while they took their turn around the yard. All the while, either she or her father would capture holograms of the children riding the animals. Rose would wave into the camera with each pass but Cypher could have cared less about being filmed he was full force grinning as he focused solely on the animals. After his turn on the elephant was over, the handler went to help him off the animal's back and found the boy to be difficult to lift. He struggled for a moment, staggering under the unexpected weight before planting his feet and giving a solid grunt to hoist Cypher up. "Eh, he's pretty solidly built," the trainer commented sheepishly. Calysta just chuckled. "Aye, he's like his father on that one." The handler glanced to Illya, looking him up and down, then silently nodded in agreement.

When it was her turn, Calysta looked up...a long way up...to the elephants back. The animal seemed gentle enough with its big eyes and long leathery trunk. She could ride that, right? Climbing up the stairs that lead to its back, she walked through the gate and ventured out on to its broad back. Her legs were too short to really settle behind its ears and she felt more like a doll sitting on a large, hairy carpet more than anything. Settling in, she tried to scoot forward to give Illya plenty of room to climb aboard behind her. The elephants flapping ears brushed lazily against her leg and she laughed, somewhat out of fascination and partly in nerves. "Not so bad," she grinned at Illya, offering her hand.

Illya waited till it was Kalizda's turn. The kids wanted to go by themselves again. They were reveling in the glory of riding such large animals and having Kalizda take holograms of them doing these amazing feats. Since Illya was sitting behind he let Kalizda get onto the elephant first and then he started up the steps. First, he handed Lohgan to Kalizda and then he set one of his hands carefully in hers. It was more for making contact than it was for balance. "Mmmhmm. I like riding dem. Dey are one of meh favorite animals."

Calysta tookLohgan and nestled her gently in her lap. As soon as the elephants ears flopped back the girl giggled in delight and reached out for the fanning ears. When Illya climbed aboard, she nestled back against his chest, enjoying the feeling of his broad shoulders behind her and his hand coming around to settle on hers, almost securing her in place as the ride began with a lurch forward. She held tight to Lohgan and leaned into him more to keep her balance. When he mentioned the elephant being his favorite animal, she titled her head back and looked up at him. "I didnt know that. Or that you had ever ridden one before," she replied, then with a chuckle she gave him a nudge. "It's actually fun.I dont think this one would fit in the cargo hold though." They took a turn around the yard and Calysta looked out over the zoo with a bit of awe. "So this is what its like to be tall. I could get used to it." On the third trip around, the handler looked up and grinned to Illya. "Want me to rear him up?"

"Eh, now yah know." With a smirk he met her gaze and then focused on what he could see. It wasn't quite as much fun to ride an elephant so slow like this, but he didn't mind either. It was better than not getting to sit on one anyway. Whoever the handler was must have heard that Illya had ridden elephants before and he asked if they wanted to have the elephant rear up. With a big grin Illya nodded, "Yes, dat would be very good." The elephant trainer walked around to the front and he guided the animal to stand on its hind legs. Illya hadn't though tot even let Kalizda answer and instead he chuckled while he held onto her. Little Lohgan had started to squeak with joy and she kicked gently until the elephant set back down on all fours. With the ride almost done the trainer looked up at the dark man and he smiled. "You ride them before? Ever work with them?" Illya nodded again. "Yes, I work wit elephants some years ago. I used tah help take care of dem at a base." The man got a thoughtful look before he grinned. "After the ride do you care to get closer to the elephant?" Once more Illya nodded. "Aye, I'd be glad tah get close and talk wit et."

Calysta didn't have a moment to reply before Illya was giving the trainer the go ahead to rear back the animal. With a small 'yipyip' the trainer grinned as the elephant obeyed the command suddenly pitching them backward and higher into the air as its trunk curled over itself in a grand display. Calysta's first reaction was to hold onto Illya's hand, heart pounding as they went up. For once brief instant she looked out over the view and grinned as the breeze swept over them, before they landed back onto all fours in a resounding thud. Lohgan giggled and kicked the entire time, happiest baby to ever ride an elephant. Once they were ready to disembark, Calysta handed Lohgan to her grandfather then slid onto the stairs while Illya took the trainer up on his offer to get closer to the animals. She hadn't know he had been the keeper of elephants. When had that been? During his time on Terra? Curious, she waited along the fences while Thomas took Cypher and Lohgan to see the camel one last time.

When the elephant ride was over Illya got down first and then offered his hand to help Kalizda and Lohgan down. He waited next to the trainer until Kalizda was safely by the gate. He knew she wasn't quite as comfortable with animals. The trainer had a bucket with some fruits and Illya took one of them before walking over to the elephant while he spoke gently to the animal. "Yah jes like nice sweets eh?" The elephant's trunk snaked out and it wrapped the fruit and part of Illya's hand. Instead of recoiling the Chip walked over closer to the elephant's mouth and let it feel its way around until it got only the fruit. While the creature munched on the fruit it felt around Illya with the trunk and the Chip kept on talking and rubbing gently along the trunk and near the center of the elephant's eyes. "Hmmm...yah still young."
Calysta watched at the side gate as Illya took a piece of fruit from an offered bucket and calmly walked over to the large creature. The was something in the way he could be so gentle, even with a large elephant who on the whole seemed quite kind. In the afternoon sunlight, she realized her Chip looked at ease for the first time in a long time as he fed the elephant, whispering and petting at it. The elephant used its trunk to feel over Illya's shoulder and hand in search of another piece of fruit, giving him a breathy snort when it found none. Her chin drifted to her hand as she propped on the rail simply watching rather than recording anything, marveling that this memory would be hers to keep.

After several minutes of just muttering to the elephant and being close to it Illya turned to go. The animal followed behind him for a few paces and still draped its trunk over his shoulder and played with his hair before he reached the gate. Flashing the trainer a quick grin he thanked the man and then stepped out to join his family. It felt good to have just a little time with an elephant. They were large and calming creatures to be around. Illya had always liked them and it was something he wasn't sure he was going to get to do again, to pet an elephant, talk with one, and ride it.
*********

After their visit to the zoo everyone was hungry again after so much running and Thomas offered to cook dinner. "I found the ingredients for pizza in the market," he grinned as he started into the kitchen, "I haven't had a decent slice of pizza since my last visit on Earth years ago." It was true. Kaereleans had adopted the dish in some more international areas, but they still shied away from meat and nyte beast was no substitute for a slice of pepperoni with mushrooms. Excited to get started, he opened up his info pad and started out making the dough. This would be a family event and everyone could help. That the way his mother had done it and his grandmother before him. His grandchildren would have a dinner night as helpers too. Calysta smiled at her father as she pulled the block of cheese from the fridge before reaching for a grater and bowl. "Cheese please," she grinned at Rose. The girl went to her task as her father belted out the same ridiculous song he used to sing when she was a child and they had their father daughter dinners. Grinning like a goon, and feeling better than he had in years, Thomas handed over a thick link of pepperoni. "When...the...moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...its amore!"

His way over to the counter top again. As he sang, it occurred to her that Illya had no idea what her father was rattling on about. Sidling over, she nudged him with a chuckle. “When I was younger, he used to do this,” she whispered in Qouti, “He used to have nights where we cooked dinner together, just me and him. He would make it a show. I haven’t seen him do this since I was a child.”

Thomas kept right on singing as Calysta sat down with Illya and helped him slice up the pepperoni. Occasionally, she would look up and offering him a slice between her pale fingers. “Like to try?” Priscilla was helping wash the mushrooms and Cypher was offering him help as the official berry taste tester while sitting next to his sister. Whenever his Papa came around with another verse of the song, he would laugh at his grandfather’s silliness. At one point, Thomas danced right over to Lohgan and nibbled on her cheek, sending her into a fit of giggles. “That’s amore!”

When he was ready, Thomas balled up the dough he had made and began trying to spread it out, spinning it in his hand and keeping up with his song. Priscilla started clapping and Calsyta reached over to Lohgan’s little hands. “Like this…clap..clap..clap..” Her daughter kicked and giggled as she was shown own to make the most wonderful sound with her hands. Soon she was smacking her tiny hands together with a big grin. Cypher joined along and away they went, making a merry ruckus in the kitchen. It wasn’t until she saw Uriah lope by the open galley door, that she slipped off of her stool and walked after him. Poking her head out of the Galley door way, she called out to the Chip in Qouti. “We still need someone to stir the sauce, you know,” she smiled, “ Join us?”

********

Later that night, Calysta laid down Illya and propped her head on his chest, her long black curls fanning out over his chest. Her fingers trailed over the arm wrapped around her waist, her nails traced lightly at his skin making lines that were just a bit lighter than the rest of his deep tanned forearm. She was full of pizza and enjoying the time with Illya. Was this what having a family was like? She’d seen it with the Chips at Illya’s family reunion, but this was something different. She wasn’t Little Bird getting to peep into the Chip family and their close lives as the wife. This was her family. Her agreed, her children and friends too. She had those things and it amazed her. Chuckling to herself she sighed in contentment and tilted her head up to kiss Illya on his jaw, the only part of him she could reach without moving too much as her mind meandered through the events of the day. Her curiosity was piqued about something and she couldn’t help but ask. “Hmm…you said earlier you worked with elephants before, taking care of them. Will you tell me about them?”

 

[Silence]

Illya was determined that nothing was going to ruin his day and especially not after the elephant ride. Even if his back ached a little bit he loved every second of the fun in the zoo. Cypher was still darting about the little paths and bouncing outside cages and pointing at various animals. He loved to see them all and Rose walked about with a fine scarf slung over her shoulders and wrapped around her neck. It was one of those moments when Illya could look over his family and feel like he'd done the right thing. They were well taken care of. His children were all healthy, his agreed looked happy, his second father was pleased, the woman, Priscilla appeared to be at least a little more comfortable and then of course Uriah always followed at a distance.

As the day drew near an end and the zoo was closing Illya helped round up the kids. Lohgan was easy, she was still strapped to him and she'd fallen asleep. Cypher was hungry and tired and Rose was starting to move a little slower. After they were barely out the gate of the zoo Cypher started to pull on Illya. "Dah, pick me up. Pick me up." Illya looked down at his boy and he knew that Cypher wouldn't ask if he wasn't tired. The boy almost never asked to be held like that. It was difficult to say no and Illya decided he didn't want to say no. Soon enough his little boy wouldn't be so small and easy to carry. Lohgan was their last and she was growing fast enough. "Alright, yah have yah mum help." Getting on his knees Illya prepared to have Cypher ride piggy back style.

Once Cypher was on his back Illya held onto Cypher's legs. Lohgan was sleeping comfortably strapped to the center of her dad's chest with Cypher's feet on either end of her. Illya could feel his son's little fingers curl into his hair and he grinned. "Yah ready?" Before the boy could say anything he gave a lurch and jumped about while snorting like a wild animal.

With the sudden lurch forward Lohgan's little arms shot out and her head lifted as she stared about in alarm for just a few seconds. After it occurred to her that her dad was being silly she started to laugh and kick. She wanted to let him know she was playing too. Cypher laughed merrily and let go of Illya's hair with one hand so he could slap the top of his Dah's head and tell him to go faster. By the time they reached the ship the youngest two were in a frenzy of laughter and starving. Everyone was hungry, including Illya. Illya also felt a little lazy and he wasn't quite feeling up to cooking, but he was going to need to. The kids needed food and it wasn't fair to leave Kalizda to do it all since her day had started even earlier than his. She'd let him sleep most of the morning away and almost starting into the afternoon.

Instead of having to rush through dinner Thomas announced he wanted to make a strange dish. There were a lot of new things. Illya was reminded briefly that in earlier days of their agreement he tried more things like this food they were making, though he didn't ever recall have this exact dish. Thomas made it even more foreign feeling when he started to dance and sing while making the food. Quietly Illya took the meat to start slicing and he sat down and began slicing it in a large chunk before Thomas corrected him and showed him that he wanted to have the meat in tiny slices.

Whatever this Pizza was it took a lot of work to make and a long time. Even Uriah helping with the sauce didn't seem to make it go any faster. However, it smelled good and tasted even better. Illya ate nearly an entire pizza by himself. The cheese would spread out in a long string between each bite and then the savory meat on top with the hint of onion and peppers made the food taste even better. There wasn't any corn and that made it twice as good. Cast several glances at Kalizda during dinner and even winked at her a few times. He was doing his best to flirt with her and tempt her to kiss him after dinner. She looked so pretty sitting across the table from him and she even ate the pizza with grace. How she managed to make such a messy meal look like dainty fare he would never know.

***********************

A little relaxation after the long day felt good. Illya decided to lay on his back and just direct her to lay on top of him. That was probably the best and easiest way to curb the growing ache in his back. It might feel better by the next day, but he wouldn't count on it feeling as good as it did when he woke up just this morning. In many ways that was the singular frustration of the day. There were a lot of thing that could have gone wrong. At least it wasn't something truly terrible. If it had been anything worse he might have complained. While he held onto Kalizda he breathed deeply and just relaxed. Not every moment with a person you loved had to be filled. Sometimes it was nice to just lay there and be quiet with them. While he was enjoying the quiet it was also a good time to talk and Kalizda seemed to capitalize on that idea. Illya felt the little kiss and then heard the question. He paused for a long moment before he glanced at her. "Ooh, yah want tah know about dat. Et was meh first work in dah military. I was onleh 15 when I started tah take care of dah animals. Meh fater ship meh off to anoter planet and I dun remember where. He dun tell meh where I go for dat time. He jes say I go to anoter base for while. I learned tah clean after dem first. Elephants made plenty of mess, but I found out dey were good workers and I train dem tah help meh and den I learn tah ride dem." Sometimes he wasn't the best at describing everything, but he figured if she wanted more than that she would ask.

Calysta listened as her little fingers kept their smooth ministrations over his arm, enjoying the calming and almost methodical feel. He had done this in the military? She was surprised to say the least, and she slipped her hand over his playing at his broad fingers absently as she thought over the rest of his military experience which had been...horrific. Ignoring the other images that came to mind from the holograms she had seen, Calysta smiled. "It's sounds like you liked being with them. I couldn't imagine learning to ride and train them like that. You made it look natural today in the zoo. Did you have a favorite elephant when you were training them?"

"Mmhmm. I like working wit animals. I go from being boy dat clean dah stalls and feed dah animals tah officer of animal care taking. Et es how I earn meh first stripes." Even if it sounded pathetic he still liked working with animals. "Meh favorite elephant was Stu. Et was big dumb elephant, but he was nice elephant. Dah elephant would pick meh up wit his trunk and den I would crawl up his head and sit on his shoulders."

She glanced up at him with a giggle and somewhat fascinated grin on her face. The image of him being picked up like that as a boy is something she could see easily and it made her smile. "Stu sounds like he knew how to have fun," she chuckles, "I didnt really have a favorite animal growing up but I will tell you ones that I did like. I was on Rauxis, a planet close to Zkree. They have many oceans and these creatures the locals called...roughly translated...'water birds'. They lived in the ocean and were nearly flat with long, wing like fins and tails. The water birds could glide through the water so easily it looked like they were flying and they came in all sorts of colors and patterns. One was fond of coming around when I went diving and would nibble at my toes." Just remembering her mission to that planet made her smile grow broader.

Illya had to admit that deep down inside he had missed that dumb elephant. It was a giant lumbering creature with a brain the size of a nectarine, but it was still a good elephant. While he was lost in thought Kalizda started to talk about water birds. Illya had never heard of them and he titled his chin slightly so he could see her better. "Water bird? I never see one before. Yah have pictures on yah pad?"

"I lost the pad with the holograms on their when the Gylcryn was taken on Qouti," she admitted, "But I can look one up in the database. Hold on." She stretched her arms toward the bedside table, fingers brushing over the corner of her pad before she finally managed to snag it and bring it over. With a quick swipe of her thumb, she opened up the device and pulled up the Kaerelean Skycorp database. She still remembered the mission number and its corresponding database entry fairly clearly and it only took a moment before she had the mission up. There was a picture of her at the age of 21 standing in a standard bathing suit on the edge of the water. Wyn, the long gone Terran man and terrorist was standing beside her with a broad grin. The next images were of landscapes and topographic maps. Calysta scrolled through until she found the image she wanted and held it up for Illya. "There, that's a water bird." The creature was flat, triangular in shape with brilliant colors and fan like finds on either side. It's long tail trailed behind it in the water, making it almost look like a kite.

A slight tinge of pink spread to Illya's face when she told him where her original pictures went missing. He knew that technically it was hers, but someone might still have it. Maybe it was thrown away because it wasn't worth much to anyone, but Kalizda. However, it was nice to know that she could still show him a picture. Sitting up a little bit he still held onto Kalizda and waited for her to show him the image. "Maybe yah take meh dere and I see dese water birds eh? Since we talk about travel now, yah remind me of dese plans tah see Beta Quadrant. I know yah tell meh once long time ago, but et es small memory dat I struggle tah know."

Calysta smiled, excited to think that Illya wanted to go see them with her. "I think it would be a fantastic idea. There are little submersive boats people can take when they can't dive. We could go in one of those and take everyone." She was a bit surprised to hear him remind her about the travel plans to the Beta quadrant on top of admitting he remembered very little about it to begin with. "That's alright," she replied lightly "I still have it here. I used to work on it when you were training as General on Nuen and I was in our house there. I thought I might get the chance to take you. Most it is uncharted territory and still is, but I also made this trip before I knew I could have children to consider the safety of too." She wasn't about to tell him that she had shown it to him before right after he lost his memory. Thumbing through the files she came to a star map and projected it into a small hologram which routed the trip perfectly. "We would take the jump gate to Ursia Prime, then head for the nearest moon Vayrs. Then we'd go to Alysaia where the atmosphere is so dense there that liquid water floats in the air....then we'd go on to the twin planets Mikal and Hetan. She share this gravitatonal pull with each other that creates massive tides and brilliant Auroras..." She went on talking about each stop, and describing each port, then looked up to the strangely quiet Illya to see if he had fallen asleep while she spoke or not. "What do you think?"

Somehow it was far more meaningful when Kalizda said she thought she'd get a chance to take him. Illya started to see something different. It was more than just going somewhere different and taking their family. His brow started to crease some and he watched the hologram with an intensity that remained even after she finished showing it to him. When she'd finished he gazed at her for a long moment before answering her question. "I was reminded dat we are good friends first before we are agreed. Dat es someting important to meh. Makes meh glad." Illya leaned back in the bed and he pulled her on top of himself. "How do I get so lucky. Have a woman dat wants tah fly meh around quadrants and share dah worlds wit meh. I tink we travel for long time and settle in nice places tah rest sometimes. Like we do now. Ets good."

She was waiting for him to tell her that he thought the trip might be good for the future sometime and that someday they should go. Rather than brushing it off as he had when he had no memory, he was giving her a strangely intense look as he gazed at her. Had she said something wrong? Sure, she mentioned the house on Nuen, a part of their past that he didn't always like hearing about, but she thought it would be fine to talk a bit more about it now. When he finally spoke she blinked at him in surprise. He remembered being friends with her now, but he didn't know quite what that felt like anymore. There was a subtle difference, and yet it had made the most impact on their relationship for the last years. She had missed talking with him and to find that he wasn't shrugging of the past or her memories was an utter relief so much that she didn't know what to say as he pulled her onto his chest. After a moment to settle into his warm, broad chest, she gazed into his bright green eyes and smiled without restraint. "I don't know how I got so lucky to have a man willing to let me fly him through the galaxy," she whispered. Her hands wandered up to play with his air as she relaxed against him.. "I like that idea. Maybe one day we can just go...take off into the stars, yeah?"

It was all getting far too serious and Illya had a moment of humor strike him. Holding Kalizda's gaze he delivered his statement with as serious an expression as he could manage. "I tink yah have man dat lets yah fly him trough galaxy because he es bad at flying."

Calysta gazed at him as he grew quiet for a moment then he admitted what was probably the most honest statement she had ever heard regarding his flying and it made her grin grow before she quickly hid her face his chest. Snickering, she tried to cover her response and manage a coy look as she met his gaze again. "Oh, is that so? And what if I insisted on flying anyways because I wanted to?" she couldn't resist trying to poke a little at him.

There were little puffs of hot breath against his chest and Illya knew she was giggling. It wasn't any great secret that he was terrible at flying, but she seemed to find it funny. Kalizda started into her own joke and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Ef I was better flyer I would jes pick yah up and move yah over. Easy when yah have little bird for agreed."

***************************************

After chatting away into the night Illya started to drift off to sleep. He didn't mean to start falling asleep while she was talking, but he was tired. Most of the time when he was sore it wore his body out faster and he'd get tired easier. The weight on her on his chest felt good. Slowly his word faded to a little place in the dessert. Illya was laying out in the sun on a pile of rocks with his pack laying on top of him. It was hot outside. Overhead he could see the birds flying and then he caught a glimpse of Kalizda trying to flap her arms fast enough to keep up. Somehow she managed to fly without wings, but she still looked funny flapping her arms. "Flap faster." Mumbling the words in his sleep he tried to turn over, but his back hurt a little too much. With a frustrated sigh he settled back into his position and moved his other arm over his pack.

Illya decided to try and roll the other direction, but his back lit up with pain again. This time he opened his eyes briefly and he saw it was Kalizda, not his pack laying on him. He'd already had his lozenge, but it felt like it was going to be a semi uncomfortable night. At least with her on top it kept him from moving too much and he wouldn't wake up feeling worse. Sometimes laying on his side would put his back at an odd angle.

Off and on through the night Illya woke up, but he tried to keep from waking Kalizda. It was hard to tell if his bad sleep was affecting her. Most of the muscle spasms ended about an hour before Lohgan would usually wake up. Illya still wasn't sleeping well and when the first little coo sounded he opened his eyes. He didn't particularly feel like getting up, but he knew he wasn't going to sleep very well if he stayed in bed and in some ways that was more frustrating than just starting the day. If it was a lazy day his back might sort itself out and he could go back to the pleasure house. The pleasure house would help work some of the problems out of his back. At least it was half way decent establishment here. Most of the foreign pleasure house experiences he had were overshadowed by the one where people tried to offer their bodies. That was a horrific event and it lived large in his mind.

Carefully moving Kalizda off himself Illya tucked her into the blankets and pushed the heated one against her front. Maybe it would keep her from feeling that cool sensation of losing his body warmth and she could sleep a little more. Yesterday was a long day for everyone and she probably needed some sleep. Illya grabbed his clean boxers by his side of the bed and slipped them on before walking over to Lohgan's crib and taking her back to the bed to play while Kalizda still got some more sleep.

No sooner had Illya laid down on the bed again and set Lohgan on his chest than their bedroom door slid open and Cypher came running into their room with Monster and Monster. Racing over to the bed he lifted the covers and shoved the spider underneath them on Kalizda's side. Illya's eyes got wide and he shook his emphatically. "No..." Hissing the words at his son he leaned over Kalizda and winced at the twisting in his back. "Girls dun like spiders." That was going to be the easiest way to explain it to Cypher. Rose didn't like the spider and neither did Kalizda. If Cypher understood that it would be fine. "Get et out of here."

With a sad look Cypher lifted the covers again and caught his Monster before it moved too far into the bed. With a sad little nod he started toward the door and then he got another idea and darted out of the room. Illya wasn't too worried about Cypher would do for the next 10 minutes. He was a good boy and most of the time he just played quietly in the morning.

Cypher took himself down the hall. If girls didn't like spiders he knew boys did. Dah liked playing with the spider, Uriah wasn't scared of it, and Papa had let him get the spider. Maybe Papa would like to play the find the spider game. Racing down the hall the boy stopped outside Papa's room and then carefully slid the door open. It would be a surprise for him to wake up and try to find Monster. Lifting the edge of the blanket he thrust his spider under the covers and then watched with anticipation as the spider scurried around underneath the covers and made its way toward Papa.

 

[aryamajor]

Once the sauce and dough was ready, Calysta let Cypher help spread the ingredients and Thomas placed them in the oven. While the pizzas were cooking, Calysta looked to Illya every now and then with a smile she couldn't quite temper. It was one of those rare grins that no matter what she did shone through all the way to her eyes. Now, that they were all waiting for the food, Cypher was ready for some attention from his Mam and made that clear by attempting to climb from his chair to her lap in would have been a disastrous move had she not caught him under the arms and hauled him up. "Ooh, C'mere," she puffed as she sat her heavy boy in her lap and encircled her arms around him.

Thomas came over with a cup of water in his hands looking pink cheeked and merry, giving him the glow of a much younger man while Priscilla and Rose sat playing with the new pink scarf with pearls. Rose was more than happy to show it off. As soon as Papa looked as though he wasn't busy, Cypher grinned up at him and grinned. "Papa! Do deh bear hunt!" His Papa had the funniest stories sometimes when Mam and Dah were out and he wanted to hear one while he was picking berries out of his bowl. With a fat berry rolling in his cheeks, Cypher bounced in his Mam's lap excitedly. "Do et! Do deh bear hunt! Pease!" The please was tacked on as an after thought, but at least it had been said and that should have been enough.

Unable to resist his grandson's request, Thomas set down his water glass, then plucked Lohgan from her little seat, making the baby squeak for joy. With his grand daughter held over the table he wobbled her back and forth as if she were walking. "We're going on a bear hunt...gonna catch a big one," he said in traders tongue. Cypher clapped his blue stained hands and cheered when it was his turn. "I'm not scared! I'm not scared."

Thomas chuckled and Lohgan chewed on her hand merrily as she was 'walked' over the table. "Uhoh, we found some grass...tall...tall... grass! Can't go over it, can't go under it, We've got to go through it!" Papa swished little Lohgan's legs as if she were walking through a field while Cypher chanted, his feet kicking at her mother's shins. "I'm not scared! Going on a bear hunt! Mam! Go on deh bear hunt with me!" Thomas grinned at his daughter and nodded. "Aye, you remember this one."

Shaking her head with a smile, Calysta took up Cypher's hands and guided them through each part of the song singing along. She remembered the game from when she was little and in the hospital. It had been fun then, but this time it was different. They could be as loud as they wanted, and there wasn't anything holding her back. "Going on a bear hunt!" she chanted with her son with a laugh. His Mam joining in made the game all the better as they walked through grassy fields, swam through lakes and climbed a mountain to a big cave where the bear was sleeping. That was the best part and Cypher was more than ready when Papa began to whisper in the cave.

Thomas crouched low with Lohgan peeking just over the table. "Shhh....shhh.....there is the bear....sleeping sleeping....there is the bear...sleeping." Cypher looked to his father and held his finger to his mouth. "Shhhh! Dah!" They tip-toed closer and closer to the bear as the anticipation built until Papa snarled a mighty growl signaling the bear had woken. At that sound, Cypher jumped a near inch from Calysta's lap and squealed. " Run! Run! Run! He got sisseh!" Thomas picked up Lohgan and growled into her neck eliciting a wild giggle from her. It was one of her favorite games too because Papa always made her dance along with the motions.

When the game was done, the savory smell of cooked pizza had filled the air and Thomas announced that they were ready. Calysta helped slice up the pies before serving Illya two big pieces and cutting up pieces into small bites for Cypher. Having been told he was allowed to eat as many berries as he wanted, her son ignored the plate of pizza bites and opted for his never-ending bowl of fruit. She wondered how long his berry eating streak would go and if she would have to be giving him some medicine for a backed up gut later on. At one point, Calysta's eyes caught on Illya's mid-bite. Stringy cheese lead from his pizza slice to his lip and she chuckled at the sight of him slurping up the neverending tether. He gave her a cheeky smile and a wink, flirting with her at the table which caused her to smile back a bit shyly. She had never been much good at flirting and had only recently tried the art of seduction. Maybe she would try it again on him when they went to bed if they were feeling up to it.

After dinner, Cypher had no trouble settling into his bed and was passed out in a matter of minutes with Monster flopped over his legs, his nose nuzzled under the boy's hand. Calysta found her daughter to be just as easy to put to sleep, yawning only a few times after her diaper change before smacking her tiny lips and closing her eyes. By the time she was stripping down for the shower, she found that she was dragging just a little bit. It wasn't necessarily a bad tired though. The feeling was a satisfied...and contented one. The kind of day they still marveled her if she was honest with herself.

Slipping into the shower behind Illya, she ran a soft hand around his hip to his back as she leaned up to kiss him. They had spent the whole day with the family and giving him some special attention was something she wanted to make sure to do too, especially when she could tell his back was hurting. Without a word, she picked up a washcloth from the side and spread some oil on it before washing over his chest first, occasionally giving sweet kisses over places. Her hand slid further up to his shoulders and washed his neck as she gazed up at him through the steam building in thick clouds. He seemed to enjoy the feeling and she continued, slipping around to his back to wash there, as much as she could reach anyways, and then circled her arms around him to plant a kiss on his spine. The entire time she worked they never spoke a word between each other, but it felt like a whole conversation between the two of them which sent them into a relaxing mood. When the shower was done, they dried off and slipped into bed without anything but themselves.

*************

Calysta shook her head at his remark and wrapped her arms around him tighter. "Oh, I think I'm strong enough to resist," she teased as she kissed his jaw in trailing little nibbles. She talked with Illya off and on through the night but eventually, she yawned and her eyes began to close. Rather than sliding off to the side or letting him move her, she stayed draped over his broad chest where it was warm in his arms. A few times through the night, she felt the mattress shift but her fingers curls around Illya's side, determined to keep steady and enjoy his warm chest out of half asleep instinct. At some point, he said something to her and she didn't reply other than to nuzzle down into his chest, hoping to keep sleeping for as long as possible. It didn't take long for her to drift back into an even deeper slumber than before. Her mouth slipped open slightly and her head lolled despite any movement Illya made, even when the heated blanket was slipped into her arms to replace her Chip.

Thomas slept in the same fashion, sprawled out and in a deep sleep, he hardly noticed his grandson slip into his room with a breathless giggle. Rolling over, the professor mumbled something to the familiar voice of Cypher, then kept right on snoozing only his snores were louder in the new position he found himself in. It wasn't until he felt something itchy that he kicked a bit and flipped to his back. A strange sort of prickling sensation set up his leg with the false knee as if old nerve damage pains were flaring. Frowning in his sleep, he couldn't quite figure out why those would be back. He hadn't had pains like those since the bone marrow surgery. In an effort to adjust his leg to alleviate the sensation, Thomas slid the same leg up into a bent position like he used to. That seemed to do the trick and he settled down again for a few minutes more...before the same feeling returned. Only this time it was on his stomach.

Growling a bit, Thomas sat up some and tossed the covers off of himself to get up. He might as well start his day if old pains like that were going to pop up. He flicked on his lamp and started to rise when he noticed an odd lump under his t-shirt. "What the..." The professor stared at the lump and slowly raised a finger to give it a poke, trying to determine if it was a figment of his half awake mind or not. When his finger prodded at the spot, it began to scurry over his stomach and towards his chest. "What the hell?!" Thomas leapt out of bed, sending his info pad sailing and desperately trying to get his shirt off. Wrenching at his clothes, he stumbled back into his bookshelf with enough force to send a cascade of books along with an entire box of photos and a few hologram coins scattering across the floor. "Get. OUT!" he half bellowed as he tossed his shirt to the bed with the lump included. No sooner did it land on the mattress, did Monster the Spider escape his warm confines and raise his long forelegs with an accusing hiss.

 

[Silence]

Papa didn't play the game right at all. Cypher jumped back from the bed with a startled gaze. Tears started to form in his eyes and he watched helplessly. The boy's lower lip quivered in fear for his spider, Monster. What if his Monster got squished? He just wanted to play with his spider and Dah told him he couldn't play with his spider in his bed. Mam didn't like the spider and neither did Rose. If he wasn't so sure that Monster would get squished he would have run away. Cypher never saw Papa get so mad before. He'd never seen anyone jump around like that. Finally he saw Papa tear his shirt off and throw it on the bed. The spider wiggled out from under the shirt and hissed at the man before Cypher had a chance to snatch his spider away.

There was crashing and yelling in the ship and Illya bolted upright. Setting Lohgan down with Kalizda he didn't stop to explain. He just shot Kalizda a warning glance and grabbed his cane out of the closet. It was the closest item and it could be used as a weapon if need be. Darting into the hall in his boxers he started straight for the noise. When he came to Thomas' room he heard the man say 'get out' and then he poked his head around the corner to see Cypher scrambling to capture his spider. The poor little boy's lower lip was pushed out and his big eyes had gotten watery. Almost instantly Illya flared up. He didn't yell and throw stuff around his kids cause he knew what that was like when he was tiny. Setting the cane outside the door Illya stepped in and he beckoned to Cypher. "C'mere." When the boy came over to him Illya checked him over to be sure he was fine. "Yah go sit in yah room for a little bit. Yah nut in trouble. I jes say some words tah Papa." When Cypher was safely out of the way Illya growled at Thomas. "What dah hell yah tink yah doing trowing stuff around like dat and yelling at Cypher. Dere es no reason tah do dat."

Thomas leaned against his desk running hand through his greying hair and trying to catch his breath from the sudden wake up call of a massive spider in his shirt. It wasn't until he heard Illya's voice outside his open door that he saw Cypher scuttling over to the bed to collect the hissing critter in his plump hands with big tears gleaming in his eyes. Swallowing, he sat up little straighter and rubbed at his face before he started after his grandson to check on him. He probably scared the hell out him, but the feeling was mutual and they were going to have to have a talk about going into people's rooms when everything had calmed down. Just as he was starting out, Illya stepped in with a fierce set on his brow and a growling at him. Thomas blinked up at Illya, meeting his eyes, and sighed. "Hold up just a minute," he said to the Chip, "I didn't know he was even in here. I woke up with his spider in my shirt and was half asleep."

The explanation was about as pathetic as they came. Illya grit his teeth and he pushed Thomas back into the room a little more. This wasn't an argument that needed to be where everyone could see or hear it. "I dun care ef yah half asleep and spider crawling on dick. Never trow tings around yell like dat around meh children again. Ets nut good for dem and dey dun need tah get beat tah learn lessons. He dun have bruises, but ef yah ever do someting like dat again and yah hurt any of meh children I'll beat on yah mehself. Et dun matter ef yah Kalizda's fater. Dere es nut ever good reason tah hit child."

Thomas stepped back, matching Illya's paces forward more out of habit to allow the man room enter, but he more his thoughts cleared, the more indignant he got about the idea of what Illya was out right saying. Squaring up his shoulders, he met the man eye to eye with an equally fierce gaze. "Let's make something clear, right now. I have never and would never raise a hand to a child. I didn't to it to my daughter, and I sure as hell wouldn't do it to my grandchildren. I saw the spider and jumped up knocking over the shelf. Nothing was thrown but the shirt with the spider in it and that landed on the bed. If you really think I would something like that, then you don't know me as well as you think you do." His jaw squared as he finished. As of late he had been giving Illya a few passes on somethings and trying to bring them together as a family, but he would be damned if he'd let an insult like that pass.

As it turned out, Thomas just suffered from the same skittish Terran mentality that many of his kind had. Sometimes the man would still grate his nerves. This was one of those cases. It took a lot not to make comment about Terran blood at this point. Technically he had an agreed that was half Terran, the former Terran President's wife on board and an adopted daughter that was Terran. All things considered it was wiser not to make Terran statements. The people he had with were exceptions for the most part, but Illya still hated most of the Terrans he encountered. "Yah...." Catching himself short he growled. "Yah get nervous too easy. Ets nut good for children. Dey need stable temper and I never assume tah know yah. I learn long time ago dat yah never know anyone. Dey will do tings dat yah never tink dey would do. I talk wit dah kids and see ef dere es trouble. Ef dere es nut trouble den I believe yah. I dun like surprises like dis. Yah jes keep away from Rose and Cypher till I talk wit dem."

Thomas frowned at the man's reply. Did he seriously think he would raise a hand to his grandchildren? His daughter had enough grief when she was a child and he never corporeally punished her. Not once. He wouldn't have thought to do that to his grandchildren either, but here Illya was accusing him of something sickening and it made his blood boil a bit. "I didnt exactly like the surprise of my grandson stuffing a spider into my clothes either," Thomas replied, "And they need a stable temper and to be told not to be going to people's rooms on top of that." His mind flashed back to the green paint incident and he shook his head. "Those are my grandchildren too and I'll be checking on Cypher too. I didn't mean to scare him or throw his spider, though the fact that I'm having to explain myself to you over something like this is a pretty deep insult." At that point, Calysta poked her head around the corner trying to assess the situation and a frown formed on her face. "Is everything okay? Are you alright, dad? Illya?"

It wasn't such a big deal to ask Thomas to stay away from the kids till he could talk to them and Thomas was acting like Illya was asking him to do something impossible. It was best if the kids could talk to Illya without fear of repercussion from Thomas. If Thomas talked to them first Illya had no guarantee that he would get an honest answer. "I'm..." Kalizda stepped in the door just in time to interrupt Illya and he glanced at her and then at Thomas. "No, yah dad needs tah stay away from dah kids till I can talk to dem."

Calysta had Lohgan on her hip and by the looks of things, it seemed as though someone had gotten on to her father's book shelves, though why he didn't have a shirt on she didn't know. At Illya's statement Calysta met her Chips eyes, scanning over his face carefully in an attempt to understand why he might say something to that degree. Her father broke her concentration and stepped up. "Illya seemed to think I hit Cypher," he said, "Now, do I have to tell you that I didn't too?" Her eyes snapped to her father as she held on to half asleep baby and she thought through how on earth she could answer something like that when she knew why they were both understandably upset. "No, you don't dad," she replied carefully, "Why don't you go make us some coffee and I'll talk to Illya and the kids, yeah?" Thomas looked like he might have some sort of answer to her but relented, because he wasn't going to upset her if he could help it. Snatching a shirt from his closet, he nodded and started pulling on the garment. Having calmed down her father, she motioned for Illya to follow her into the living room and where Cypher was sitting on the couch looking forlorn. Rose popped her head out of her room looking confused, but Calysta motioned for her to close the door again. "Go back to sleep," was her short order and Rose never had to be told twice for extra sleep. When they got into the living room, Calysta sat next to Cypher whose face was tear stained and she wiped at his eyes. "Your Dah wants to ask you something, and I want you to be honest," she told him in Qouti.

It seemed that Kalizda had a semi reasonable answer and she got Thomas out of the way for now. However, when they got to the living room Kalizda dismissed Rose and Illya wanted to ask her because she was older and then he could verify both ways what the kids said. He frowned a little, but kept quiet for the time. Cypher nodded quietly when his mother said that Dah wanted to talk to him. Illya sat down and pulled the boy onto his lap and just held him for a few moments. He wanted to be sure that Cypher was alright and he felt safe before he talked. Glancing down at the spider in Cypher's hand he held his out and let the boy push the hair monster into his palm. To keep it private he spoke to Cypher in Quoti. "Did you play with monster a little bit today?" The boy nodded and gave a sad 'mmhmm." Illya dropped the spider down the back of Cypher's shirt and the boy started to wiggle and grin a little through his tears. "What did you play with your monster?" Illya knew it was easier to talk with children when they were slightly occupied. The little boy finally caught his spider and he thrust it onto Illya's chest. "I put him in papa's bed and then papa got scared and he yell and throw my spider on the bed. He scared my monster." The poor spider was thankfully a hardy creature for all that it suffered at the hands of its little owner. Illya listened. So far the story checked out. "Mmm. Your monster was scared? Then what?" The boy's eyes lit up as he chased his spider all over his Dah's chest. "I got scared he would hurt my monster. So I picked him up. Papa was angry." At the last sentence Illya got a little more serious. "Did your papa hurt you?" Cypher shook his head. "No, he just yelled at my monster and it got scared." With that settled Illya felt a little better and he slouched into the couch despite the fact that it made his back hurt. He figured it wouldn't hurt for Cypher to get a little more time to play with his spider with someone. "Hmm....Its almost time to eat. When we're done maybe I lay on the floor with you and I put on a shirt so you can let monster hide eh?" Cypher's eyes met his Dah's and he nodded anxiously before he snatched his spider up and took it to his room to lock it up so he could have breakfast and Dah could get dressed. While the boy scampered off Illya looked at Kalizda. "Now I tink I have tah apologize to yah dad."

Calysta let Illya talk to Cypher while the boy was cuddled in his lap. His story sounded about right and in part she didn't blame her father for reacting the way he did because she would have done the same thing nearly if she woke to the thing crawling on her. On the other hand, she knew where Illya might have gotten the wrong idea considering the mess that was made. Mostly she felt bad that her little boy got the daylights scared out of him along with the spider whom he was rather attached to. As he scuttled off to go put his spider away, Calysta's eyes caught on Illya's as he offered his next step to take as an apology. She rubbed at Lohgan's back as she felt a gurgle building in the girl's stomach and nodded to him. "Aye, I think an apology would be good. Maybe afterward we can talk to Cypher about not going into rooms besides ours as well." It wasn't altogether his fault he had done it. She didn't want her son to be afraid to go anywhere, but he did need to learn a bit of courtesy and caution. Her hand drifted to Illya's hand and she gave it a gentle squeeze. "Then after breakfast, maybe instead of just you and Cypher playing you can teach us all how to play with the spider properly so no one is scared of it any more. We don't want monster to get hurt, yeah?" She could learn to tolerate a spider for her son if it was important to him...and the life of the hairy critter.

Sometimes the simplicity of Kalizda's answers was a bit astounding. Her idea was actually a very good one and Illya nodded. "Aye, I tink we can do dat. I have a wise little bird tah give meh advice." With a smirk he got up and took himself to the kitchen. Stepping in he glanced at Thomas and gave his apology. "I'm glad dat I tink wrong dis morning. Now I apologize."

Thomas had taken himself to the kitchen grumbling, now in entirely foul mood. Woken up by a spider in his shirt and then accused of something disgusting. Hadn't Illya known him a bit better than that? Just the thought of it sent his blood hot with anger and he popped the mug down on the counter to start pouring himself a cup of coffee. When the cup was full, he took his first sip, not caring if it scalded his lip, and swallowed with a long sigh. He would have to go make sure Cypher was okay after awhile, whether or not Illya approved. That was his grandson after all and he didn't want the boy afraid to play with him or upset. As he took another gulp of his coffee, Illya's frame took up the door way and Thomas sighed before putting down his mug in anticipation of another square off. The man was going to see reason even if he had to knock it into his skull. Instead, Illya apologized for his accusations and threw him entirely from what he had already worked up to say in his mind. Working his jaw, he leaned against the counter trying to think about how to respond. Did he want to fight this out? "Aye, well I'm glad you thought wrong too," Thomas said in a somewhat flat tone, "Though, to be honest, I don't know why you'd think I do that in the first place. I don't hit children."

Even if Illya hated saying it he knew by the tone of Thomas' voice that there was some sort of explanation due. Working his jaw a little he glanced at the man and then posed a question. "Yah know who meh fater was. Yah tink Markus would hit children ef he was alive?"

Thomas looked Illya over, and it dawned on him that there was more to the reaction the man had rather than just being an ass. Though given their rocky history sometimes it was hard to tell when things were more serious instead of just asinine. "I know who your father was but I wont pretend to know what he might or might not have done. The important part, is that he is gone and I am not him. Mainly I'm not like him because my father was a mean son of bitch too. So, I'd like to think I've earned a little trust rather than you to judge me and jump down my throat, threatening to keep my grandchildren from me and to beat me tell hell while you're at it." Now that he'd said his peace, he nodded to the man and set out another mug and reached for the kettle which was starting to tap with the the sound of boiling water from the inside. "Now, I made you and Calysta some tea while I was here" he added, in a more congenial tone.

The apology and half an explanation was all the better it was going to get for the time. Illya shrugged a little. "Trust takes long time. Like I said, dere es nut many men dat really know each oter. Yah earn little more trust." Stepping over to the kettle Illya poured two cups and then started to collect herbs to make teas for himself and Kalizda. "I show yah and oters how tah play wit dah spider tahday and den I talk wit Cypher about nut going in room. Et es nut ship made like Chippequoti house. Doors are for reason."

Yah earn a little more trust. An irritating reply at best. Thomas could tell this argument was probably going to resurface later, but after the morning's jump start, he simply didn't have the want to battle it out for now. He could learn to deal with a spider so long as it wasn't shoved down his shirt while he was asleep, and it would serve Cypher well to learn some more manners, something he was sure Calysta had mentioned to Illya. Wilds knew Chips didn't know many of the common courtesies, something had learned over the years. "Hmm...that would be a good idea." Cypher came bursting into the kitchen in anticipation of his promised berry breakfast. He was more than ready to eat so he could play with his monster with his Dah some more, but as soon as he flew through the door his bright blue eyes settled on his Papa and Dah, bringing him to an abrupt halt. Without hesitation, Thomas knelt down, his fake knee giving a painless but loud crack as it was apt to do from time to time, and offered his hand out to Cypher. "Come here big man. Papa didn't mean to scare you."

When Cypher came into the kitchen Illya turned slightly to see his little boy had paused and was staring at Thomas with his wide blue eyes. It wasn't upsetting to see that Thomas apologized to the boy. It was a good thing. There was no reason for him to have made such a ruckus over something so small. Illya had saved Kalizda only because he knew about it. As for shoving spiders down people's shirts in their sleep that was a bit problematic. As soon as Thomas finished his apology Cypher jumped up at the table and asked for a big bowl of berries. Illya served him as many as he'd like and repeated the warning. "Even ef yah like berries very much, yah have tah be careful. Dey are nut good tah all by demselves. Dey are a treat and yah get lots of stinky sh....poop ef yah keep eating dem like dis, but I let yah learn."

Thomas ruffled Cypher's hair as he jumped up the table and grinned expectantly as he asked for his favorite snack. Much to Thomas's surprise, rather than correcting their son and telling him he needed to eat something else, he was told that he could have some with a minor warning that even a child wouldn't care about. To no surprise, Cypher beamed up at his father while his little feet kicked hanging off the edge of the chair. "I want berries, Dah. Pease." At that remark, Thomas looked to his son in law with a raised brow, waiting to see what Illya would do.

Illya wasn't really surprised to hear Cypher's declaration and he served up a large bowl. "Dat enough berries?" Cypher shook his head and Illya gave him more till the boy nodded and then he went on finish making the tea. "Yah gonna start getting tired and yah bones start hurting too. Yah need more den dat. Yah body grows and et needs food like yah mum makes." Cypher didn't really pay attention, but Illya knew it would start to make sense when the boy was either pooping his pants consistently, or after a few days when he developed the aches.

Thomas started for the cold box to start some sort of breakfast for the boy since it seemed Illya wasnt going to insist on anything but berries, he would do it. "What if I make some pancakes for you, huh? I can put berries in those instead," Thomas said as he rummaged for the milk. Calysta came into the kitchen with Lohgan cooing in her arms, the look happiness after a freshly filled and then cleaned diaper on her face. She smiled up to Illya, glad to see things were back to normal, and kissed him on the cheek. "What would you like for breakfast, hm?"

"Huhuh." Cypher shoved another fistful of berries in his face. When Dah said he could have berries he could have berries and he knew it. Illya was thinking about putting some more clothes on and then he saw Kalizda step into the kitchen. Stepping over a little closer to Kalizda he pulled her in tight and kissed her. "Jes a few more kisses and den I help yah cook someting after I put on some clotes."

Calysta felt herself being pulled close and kissed Illya gently as she slipped an arm around his bare back. "Mmm...I'll take those kisses and steal a few more before you go," she said between pecks. When she pulled away, Calysta gazed up at him with a soft smile, her fingers trailing down his back being the last thing to leave him. "I love you." Thomas was already half way through the works for pancakes and he was going to see to it that Cypher ate something else no matter what. Glancing up, he saw his grandson going for another fistful of the fruit and shook his head at Calysta. "You know he's going to get a belly ache from doing that. I'm not sure he's even chewing those."

*****************************************

After breakfast Illya went with Cypher to the living room as planned and instead of just playing with the spider he had to go over some rules about the spider. "Yah monster es jes little. He could get killed or squashed too easy." The boy having been witness to a near death experience for his monster only a few hours before got wide eyes and nodded. It was good that Dah was telling everyone to be careful of Monster. Rose was not nice to his spider and Papa scared it. Then it all took a small turn and Cypher frowned with deep concentration and a bit of frustration too. "Cypher, yah have tah ask ef someone wants tah play wit yah and Monster. Rose dun like playing wit Monster when yah put et in her shirt and Mum dun like tah find Monster in dah ship where et doesn't belong." To add to the offences he paid a small homage to the morning's excitement. "Papa dun like tah wake up wit Monster crawling on him. From now on. Yah knock ef a door es closed. Ef yah sick or yah in trouble yah jes come to meh and mum's room. Yah dun need tah knock ef yah sick. Yah need tah knock ef yah go to any oter room. Ef yah start going in Rose's room witout permission or Papa's, or Priscilla or Uriah's room witout permission den I will have tah put yah in time out."

That had been the most reasonable plan that Illya could come up with and still preserve some of the better parts of the day for their boy. Cypher would feel like he'd been cheated if he didn't get to have some kind of fun. "Now, we gonna show Papa how tah play wit dah spider. Rose and Kalizda can watch, but dey dun have tah learn." Beckoning to Thomas, Illya made some room in the middle of the floor and he sat with his legs crossed and ready for Cypher to shove the spider down his shirt.

Gleefully the boy pulled his Dah's shirt open and thrust his fat little fist in with the spider and then chased the spider under Illya's shirt. When the spider finally worked its way out of Illya's shirt he handed the spider back to Cypher and the boy ran over to Papa with the massive spider and fully prepared to shove it into his papa's shirt. Before he could do that Illya stopped him. "Did yah ask Papa ef he wants tah play wit yah and Monster?"

Cypher brought his hand back to himself and he looked at Thomas. "Yah play with me?" Some of the words he slurred like his father, but most of them he got out a little more clearly.

***********************************************

They took 2 more visits to the zoo for the kids and Illya made sure that Cypher learned not to climb the tree and jump out of it. With the little pleasure house Illya was feeling better too. However, a few things had started to weigh on his mind. He was here and comfortable only in a physical sense. The war was starting to bother him. Even when he spent time with Kalizda he found himself worrying about Asha and the Chippequoti. He had got the news that she was the self proclaimed General and he knew she wasn't keen on that kind of position. Ehvan had been badly injured and there hadn't been any word on his friend. It was hard to know if Ehvan was even alive, or if he was just lingering in that horrible limbo.

Even now the Alliance was being pressed. If the Federation wasn't outwardly pushing the Alliance they would be finding ways to cause subversion in the territories. Demos had attracted attention from the Federation and it had become a major loss for them. Every bit of territory the Federation lost could be a victory. Perhaps it was better to keep on fighting on the fringe and working his way back toward the Alliance. They didn't have to be Alliance territory, but they could be friendly toward the Alliance as long as they were hostile toward the Federation.

Illya knew that he was responsible for what he knew and with the war as it was going he was perhaps one of the few that actually had enough knowledge to truly be responsible for what would happen. If he didn't take any kind of action and simply disappeared what would happen? Was it false pride to believe that he could make that much of a difference? He wanted to say that he couldn't make that much of a difference and at the same time he did. It was good to be important, but it was also costly to be important in the war. If he did take action would he do it as part of the Alliance, or would he do it apart from the Alliance. So far it was easier to operate without the Alliance and it had its own risks, but was it better? While he was sitting on the couch looking at a recent news reel he spaced out and lost track of time and what he was watching on the hologram. Someday Kalizda would have to go back. She was the council woman. Then what? He wasn't part of the military anymore and he wasn't sure he could sit back and do nothing about the war if he did return to Pytra. How did he face his people? They were all together, but he had failed them and he didn't want to go back. It was easier to hide and work behind the curtain. Wasn't it better to be the unknown figure? He had worked this way most of his career. No one had to know what he was doing.

*******************************************

Finally, she'd been released from the hospital. Ahvah slowly made her way into the familiar town. She felt so ashamed to have left like she did. She and Ehvan had agreed to take care of Gyllie and his mother. They'd taken the two of them in and then abandoned them. Surely the people of Pytra wouldn't care to have them return. The entire Chippequoti had essentially betrayed them. There were many that hid outside of the town in little huts that they built, or tents. All of them were afraid of what the Pytrans would do, or say.

Ahvah didn't have a choice. She was not in condition to live by herself, Ehvan was still in the hospital and he was miserable every day. Her hands still worked, she could provide for herself and Amil if she had to, but the burns to her legs left some nerve damage and discomfort with long hours of standing. Shuffling up to the doorway of her old home on Pytra felt bitter sweet. She loved the house and she liked living there, but she was still terrified that the Pytrans would treat her with disdain. Had the roles been reversed she knew that the Chippequoti would not have forgiven the Pytrans. In her position the best she could do was pray that they would let her work off the cost of the grief, loss, and material that it would take for her to build a small hut for herself and Amil. Surely Gyllie and his mother would not allow them back into the house. By all rights it was theirs after she and Ehvan left.

Lifting her hand she took a deep breath and then knocked timidly. She was not a small woman, but she felt like one and lower than a slave. With her eyes lowered she waited a few moments before knocking again. When the door didn't open immediately she started to lose her courage. Looking around she tried to tell if anyone had seen her come here. Even if they had she couldn't change it now, but she suddenly had the urge to run away. Then the door opened and she stared at Gyllie's mother wide eyed. "I...I."

 

[aryamajor]

Breakfast was a much more peaceful affair than how the morning started. Cypher ate his fill of berries along with some pancakes on top of that before sitting back in his chair and rubbing his plump belly with sticky hands. "I'm fat, Mam. Meh big, belly!" he grinned proudly. He was always ready to show off his round bump after he ate, knowing full well that he would get even chubbier before he grew tall again. His Mam had always told him so anyways and sure enough, she was about to do her favorite thing when he announced he was fat. She leaned down with fingers wiggling in an attempt to tickle him. Before she even touched him, he threw his head back and squealed preemptively as he kicked his feet. Those poking fingernails always managed to find his most ticklish ribs and the anticipation of being attacked was often worse than the attack itself. She came at him again, and he drew his feet up into the chair giggling and squirming out of reach, trying to evade her. "No, Mam! No tickles!"

"Oh you mean like these?" she laughed, brushing at his neck his ribs.

Cypher soaked up the attention with false protests until his Mam was kissing his cheeks just to make him giggle all the more. She went for another poke at his ribs and he tried to scoot away, his face red from laughing so much and not having caught his breath. The move made him pull away and his big belly had a response to all of the playing. A loud and long jet off gas escaped him, rumbling the entire chair. Cypher froze from the sheer shock of such a sound coming out of himself as a horrible stench filled the area around him before quickly filling the room.

"Oh...Cypher..." Calysta mumbled as her lip curled

Rose choked slightly as her hand clamped down over her mouth in horror. "Cypher they told you not to eat so many of those stupid berries." Without so much as a second thought, she picked up her plate and tossed it into the sink before scampering out of the room. Thomas made for his own exit by scooping up his coffee cup and shuffling toward the door. It was going to take a minute to clear out his nose enough to taste properly again. On his way out, he gave Illya and Calysta a pointed look that shared a sentiment that none of them needed to say out loud. Too many berries.

Calysta looked at her boy and shook her head. His eyes were wide and watery from what was probably a combination of the surprise and the staunch odor of eggs and poop. "You stink because you ate too many berries, Cypher. Dah warned you." Her little boy nodded slowly and then his eyes shifted to his father. "No more berries, Pease."

********

After breakfast, everyone settled down in the living room and Illya had his serious talk with Cypher about going into people's rooms. He seemed to understand what was being required of him, much to Calysta and everyone else's relief, and then they were able to move to the more 'fun' part of the day's lesson. Playing the Spider Monster. How in the Wilds Illya could stand to let Cypher shove the hairy critter into his shirt and let it crawl all over him? Just watching how the two of them made her itch all over and she kept scratching her arms, feeling as if something were scrabbling across her skin.

When the spider flopped out of Illya's shirt, Cypher immediately collected it with absolutely no fear and took off towards his Papa. Thomas saw his grandson fast approaching with the arachnid in hand and he could already feel himself tensing up. He hated these kinds of things. Snakes and spiders were creepy crawlies that belonged on the ground outside, far away from him. That day in the market when he had bought the spider, he had intended to give the boy something he was never able to do for his daughter, which was to have a pet of his very own. Sure, he had Monster the dog, but he had wanted to do get one personally if he could. It just so happened, the boy liked the spider and Thomas hadn't counted on him actually playing with it outside its container...or making him play with it for that matter.

Cypher was stopped by his father just before he reached out for him with the spider sitting stiffly in his grasp, but Illya stopped him in time, making him pause to ask permission. Thomas stared at the spider and then looked to Cypher's eager face as he asked politely. He did not want the thing down his shirt like Illya seemed to think was oh-so-fun. Just the thought of it being back inside his clothes made him give an involuntary shiver and he wasn't sure what to do, but the lack of immediate reply was making his grandson's eyes start to shine.

"Why don't you put it in Papa's hand first," Calysta suggested, "Show him how to pet Monster like that first."

That sounded like a far more tolerable idea and Thomas sent a silent thanks to his daughter before nodding to Cypher. "Aye, I'll play with you and....eh Monster," he said offering out his hand. Cypher rushed forward with a grin and plopped the spider into his grandfather's hand like it was the best thing in the world, ready to show him all about how to play with Monster. He could show him the funny pincher's and count the beady eyes, and how its hairy legs would tickle when it was searching for something. His grandfather didn't seem as excited at first. Thomas shuddered as the spider circled in his hands and he grimaced further when it started making its way up his arm with all eight hairy legs. Calysta watched on, giving her father encouraging smiles as the spider went on its merry way. It was kind of funny to see her father giving such a look she'd only ever seen him make a few times, as if he had opened a bad can of spam and swallowed a slimy piece in a sandwich.

"He likes Papa," Cypher grinned, "Look et his eyes Papa." It was all Thomas could to not to give in to instinct and toss the creature far, far away from himself as he glanced down at the creature that had made a path up to his bicep and was now mounting his shoulder. The hairs on its body plucked stiffly at his shirt and it was the scratching sound that sent him nearly to the floor when the creature stretched out two hairy forelegs and climbed into his hair.

"Cypher...come get it..." he said hoarsely, "Come and get it now."


Cypher giggled as he scuttled around his grandfather and scooped the spider from Thomas' hair without hesitation. He couldn't help but shoot his daughter a look from across the living room. All those smiles and now it was her turn. Scratching at his head, he gave her a grin and scooted Cypher in her direction. "Now it's Mam's turn. I know she wants to learn to play with Monster too." Running over, he started to dump the spider in her hands before catching a look from his Dah and managing to stop. "Mam? Will you play with me?"

Calysta grinned and held out her hand. "Of course, put Monster in my hand, alright?"

Soon, she was holding the insect and letting her son show her all the strange things about it. He pointed and talked all about the things his Dah had taught him to do with Monster. "He eats bugs right here.." Calysta nodded and continued letting the spider crawl over her hands, slowly taking a path over from one side to the other.

"It's not so bad," She commented to Illya as she held up Monster to return him.

Once her turn was over and monster was back in Cypher' s care, Calysta kissed Illya's cheek and excused herself. "Going to the bathroom and it will be time for Lohgan's bottle."

Slipping off of the couch, she made her way to their bedroom and went inside to the bathroom, where she immediately shuddered and washed her hands from the prickly feeling of the spider. She really didn't want to play with it again but it was inevitable that her son would bring the critter around again. In comparison to the discomfort over the look of Joy on a boy's face, she would choose her son's happiness every time. And so long as he didn't stuff it into her shirt she would manage.

When everyone seemed well acquainted with the spider it was time for lunch and they all gathered around the table took a meal together again. It wasn't until after lunch and everyone was well into a sleepy state of contentment that she found her Chip leaning back on the couch his eyes trained on the ceiling in deep thought. She knew the look well enough and took a deep breath before walking over.

Leaning over the back of the couch, Calysta slipped a hand to his shoulder and placed a kiss on his forehead gently. "What's on your mind?"

She knew it was a simple forwarded question that would lead too much more complicated answer in some ways, but she wanted him to talk with her about it so they could work on it together.


***********

Pyra heard the knock on the door and a frown set on her lips. They werent expecting at this late in the evening and Gyltram was in the back room trying to rest his eyes. She put down the paring knife beside her half cut bushel of caryn grasses and wiped her hands on the apron hung around her hips before walking over to the door and pulling it open. Out of all the people in the Wilds she expected, the woman standing before her was the last person she thought she would ever see. Her eyes, one of which was slightly scarred from the burns she had endured nearly two years before. She blinked the tall, tan frame before her, trying to get a clear image. One thing was for certain, she looked a wreck. "Ahvah." The word came out more of a general statement than anything before she slowly slid to the side. "Do you want to come in?"

It was both a relief and terrifying that Pyra had opened the door. Ahvah didn't know what else to do and at the same time she wanted so badly to just go back to Nuen or Quoti and die with Ehvan. He would be furious if he knew what she was doing and it was contrary to the way she had been raised. She still needed help and now she was standing here. There wasn't any turning back, she had to ask for help. Carefully the woman nodded and shuffled inside with her head hung in shame. Ahvah didn't even attempt to take a seat or assume any kind position that would indicate she was an equal. At this point she had come to beg.

Pyra raised a brow as the woman shuffled in and stood awkwardly near the door as if she was a dog preparing itself for a beating, and Pyra wasnt quite sure what she was wanting. She knew the Chippeqouti had returned but they hadnt wanted anything to do with the Pyrtans they left behind so far and had kept to themselves. She carefully considered the woman before her and the opened a scarred palm, before gesturing to a seat. The woman looked altogether ill and she wasnt sure what to say other than to let her sit at the table. "Come and sit," Pyra said simply, "Have you eaten any dinner?"

Even if it wasn't proper Ahvah couldn't hold back the tears any longer. At first it was just a trickle that ran down her cheek and she quickly sat down and tried to hide her face, but Pyra asked if she'd had dinner and it made it all the worse. A great sob shook Ahvah's shoulders and she shook her head. "No..." Sniffing she wiped a hand under her nose and tried to stop, but she kept right on crying. It had all gone wrong and nothing was right. She wasn't hungry, but she was desperate. In many ways she hated how desperate she must look. "I don't need food..." Between her sobs she gulped and tried to force herself to say what she must. "I came to ask if I could serve you so I will have a place to stay with my son.

Prya watched for a moment as the woman sat into the chair and then fell apart, sinking into the seat with a heavy sob of sorrow that Pyra was all too familiar with. That heartache of having lost everything and the fear that went with it and a certain measure of shame. She croaked out a no to the food and then offered herself as what sounded like a slave in exchange for shelter. What kind of place did she think this was? Pyra stood there for a moment trying to figure out what to say for such a thing and then sighed some. "Ahvah. Ye room an' Amil's room is right where ye left it. Ye seats are still at our table an' ye left one of ye skirts behind in th' laundry. It's folded on th' bed. This is a home an' it doesnt need a servant. It needs for those rooms to be filled by those they belong to."

Still wiping at the tears that ran down her face the woman lifted her eyes slightly. She wasn't sure if she could believe that the house had been left the same as when she and Ehvan had abandoned it. Bursting into a new set of tears she shook her head. "Yah dun understand. I must pay dah debt. Ets nut meh home anymore. I abandon et."

Pyra watched as her reply caused a entirely new flood of tears to spew forth. It wasn't unexpected for her to cry but the reasoning seems a little skewed and again she found herself unsure what to actually say to the woman. "No, ye dont understand," Pyra said finally as she slipped slowly into a chair across from the woman. "Ye make mistake and ye lose much Ahvah, but ye dont owe a debt t' me. This is ye house too. Ye take me in when I was hurt, ye take care of m'son when I couldnt. This is no different from what ye do f' my family."

It felt too strange for the woman to be kind and Ahvah carefully nodded though she wasn't sure if she could believe that Pyra would be so kind. Still trying to hold back the tears she wiped her eyes again. "Then I'll get Amil. We'll work hard to make sure dat we do our part." Ahvah knew it would take extra work on her part because she still tried to go see Ehvan when she could. "Meh Ehvan es very sick. I will go back to see him after I bring Amil home." Taking Pyra's hand she kissed it many times with her tear stained lips. "Tank yah, tank yah."

She wasn't exactly sure if the woman understood what she was trying to say still. She was still going on about hard work, but seems more settled about bringing her son and her husband back. Suddenly, Ahvah reached out and took of her hands kissing them over and over and over again as if this were some Moon worshipers meeting. Pyra sat there awkwardly, but didnt pull away from the gesture, too stunned to do much other than pat Ahvah's other hand with her free one. "Ye go get ye son and bring him home. All I ask is ye not open the shade in his bedroom." Gyllie and Amil shared a room and the sunlight, even dim is it was as the sun was setting, what irritate her sons recently repaired eyes.

Ahvah nodded and she slowly got to her feet and still muttered man thanks and graces under her breath as she shuffled back out the door. She felt relieved in so many ways. How was it that just a few months of caring for this woman had cancelled such a massive debt. Even if Pyra refused to be paid, Ahvah would find a way to pay.

**********

Pyra rose early the next morning and grabbed her grocery cart before setting out to the market. Avah had returned that night with Amil, and that meant they would be doubling their food needs, which is more than what she had prepared the week for.

As she walked into the market, she noticed the sky was already clouding up, a sign of the incoming rainy season. That was going to be a problem for the Chips on the edges sleeping in tents. While she shopped down the aisle, picking up her usual items when she ran across the heavy set Terran woman and the skinny redheaded one along with her. Their cart was full to the brim with food.

"Do you think this will be enough?" Dora commented, "We are cooking for a pretty big number."

"I think they should just stop being stubborn and come to town," Michelle replied pointedly.

Pyra heard the comment and stopped. It sounded like those two were going to try to help some of the Chips who had created a sort of tent town without moving into the real residential areas. She started to walk away, but she had seen the state in which are two housemates have returned. It really was their own fault for leaving and that was how some of the people saw it, but was she the kind of person that would let a child go hungry and cold with the rainy season coming? No.

Sighing, she turned around and look to the two women. "They won't come 'T town. If he cook for them, ye have t' bring it t' them. Stubborn."

Dora nodded in agreement, her point having been made and then offered her hand. "We haven't met, but my name is Dora. I don't suppose you would like to give us A hand? It will be the rainy season in a few days and we could use all the help we can get."

Pyra hesitated, unsure of the Terran custom before reaching out and gripping the woman’s plump hand awkwardly. “I do what I can.” They were going to need a lot more help if they were going to cook for all of those people and she knew how to get people going. Some of her friends wouldn’t help, being purists and xenophobic as they were some of them were actively avoiding the Chips, but others would help and she could call on them.
******
Later in the evening, a cool mist of rain settled over Pyrta, making everything damp and chilled. The weather was no deterrence for the men and women who, by and large, were willing to help. A crowd of some 200 Pyrtans had gathered to cook, prepare and wrap food. Some of them were nervous as they walked into the ramshackle tent city with stacked up plates of food in their hands. Would they meet hostility? Did the Chips want to be left alone? It was a dumb idea to think they could stay out here forever and so was leaving in the first place, yet here they were trying to help them pick up the pieces. Pyra picked up her own stack of plates and set out alongside Dora to the first fire pit where some of the Chips had gathered to stay warm.

“This is only th’ start of th’ rain season,” she said, “Ye gonna need more than that. We bring ye food, an’ ye should bring ye’selves back t’ th’ town. A cold Chip is a miserable one, yeah?”

With that little pronouncement, she offered the food to any who would take it. She hoped they would. If they were smart it would be a much better invitation than to be sitting in the fields covered in mud and looking so forlorn after what had happened. It was up to them to decide how they wanted their lives on Pyrta to be.

 

[Silence]

After breakfast Kalizda stepped over to poke at their son's rather large stomach. Momentarily Illya wondered if he really looked that fat when he was that age. His mother told him he'd always been a fat looking baby and little boy. Thankfully he didn't remember looking at himself that much in the mirror. Perhaps it was vanity, but he didn't like it when he gained weight and looked chubby. Still, it looked cute on little kids. Just as long as Cypher grew into his chub and then learned to take care of himself. Illya wasn't going to raise a son that would be lazy and filthy like Arse. Looking down at his plate he shoved the last few bites of pancake around the perimeter of the dish to collect the last of the syrup.

The giggles were suddenly interrupted by a loud and explosive sounding movement of air. Illya's head snapped up and he met the gaze of his equally shocked son. Slowly, Illya set his fork down. He wasn't sure he wanted to look, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut that it was more than a fart. By the smell of things it was likely that his son just filled his pants and it was probably going to be running out his pant legs any minute.

Since there wasn't going to be a lot of time before there was a mess Illya got up and walked over to where his son was seated. "Well, ef yah haven't shet yah pants by now et'll be coming. Better get yah to dah toilet." Grabbing Cypher under his arms Illya lifted the boy up and started quickly down the hallway. Illya was almost to the bathroom with Cypher when he felt the boy start to squirm and then another toot trumpeted from his son's rear end. "Ugh...I tell yah dat et would be stinky sh..." Illya paused and then realized that look Kalizda gave him when he collected Cypher was because he said 'shet' earlier. "Yah got stinky poop now and dere es gonna be a lot. I tink maybe we open toxic fan valve for yah." Setting his son down he peeled the boys pants off and plopped him on the toilet. There was some evidence of the berries in Cyphers little boxers and Illya opened the garbage can and threw them inside. "We jes get yah different boxer eh? I'm nut washing dah crap out of dose pants." Cypher looked at him with wide eyes as if throwing the boxers away was a horrible thing. "Well, do yah want tah scrape the poop out and den wash yah boxers?" Illya chuckled a little when his boy shook his head at him. "Alright, den we jes trow dem away and dun tell yah mum."

Only a few more loud gasses sounded and both Cypher and Illya had watering eyes. Illya was trying to open the extra valve for fresh air and fan work. He wasn't going to leave his kid in here to gas himself out. It was terrible and he knew that this kind of smell would permeate the bathroom, hallway, and a few of the bedrooms too if it was left alone. After several more attempts he finally got the valve open and then turned the fan on. "Ok, I got dah fan going. I'm gonna leave now and yah jes stay dere till yah dun. Make sure tah flush sometimes. Dun need yah plugging dah toilet eh?" That wasn't such a difficult order. "Call meh when yah done."

That final order was perhaps the worst one of them all. Illya would barely get himself seated and Cypher would yell, "Dah!!!! I"m done!" Each time Illya would go back and wipe Cyphers rear end flush the toilet only for the boy to scramble back onto the white throne. It took until nearly lunch for Cypher to be done with his sudden and frequent bowel movements and that was good.

Though it took a while, when the berries were finally through his system the boy was far more willing to consider other options for food and he was more modest in picking berries for himself after lunch. At least it hadn't entirely ruined his appetite for his favorite food. Illya half thought that it wouldn't affect his love for the food, but he learned an important lesson. The lesson of moderation was one that the earlier it was learned the better. With Cypher monitoring his own intake of blue berries Illya flashed a grin at Thomas. Maybe teh man didn't think he knew what he was doing when he let his son eat all the berries he wanted for as long as he wanted, but it paid off. There was a benefit to doing some things in the Chippequoti fashion.

*****************************

Illya could feel Kalizda sink down on the sofa next to him and he gazed at her for a long moment before he answered. "Eh, I jes tink about dah war." A short answer was probably the best and he didn't really know how to tell her what he was thinking. It was complicated and he didn't want to sound like he was wanting to run away from his duties. In part he was and in part he wasn't. Illya didn't know what he should do with this circumstance and he wasn't comfortable with that feeling at all. Then there was always the chance that he would sound like a coward. Even if it was true to some extent it sounded bad and he didn't want his agreed to think that about him.

Calysta settled in next to him as he gave his short, almost General-like, reply and she gazed at him for a moment. Which war? The long ago one or the present one? Considering he didn't flinch or twitch when she had kissed him or sat beside him as if he were lost to memory, she guessed that it was the present conflict. Her entire thought process made her cringe however. It was awful that she was having to ask herself 'which war' when it came to Illya and it made her chest ache slightly. With a small sigh, she tucked her feet under her and leaned back before putting a hand on his knee. "Aye, I know," she replied, finally, "We will have to make a move sometime., as much as I wish we didn't have to."

He hadn't even said anything further and Kalizda started into a similar thought process. It was almost frightening. Even she knew they had to do something and he didn't want to. "Mmhmm." Leaving it quiet for a while he just stared at her little hand on his knee and then placed one of his big brown hands over her little fingers. "We jes keep on wit dah plan. Go to dah next planet and work our way trou dah fringe."

Her hand turned over under his so she could grip his fingers as she kept her eyes on him. He was avoiding even looking at her, much less actually having a real conversation with her and this wasn't going to be easy. He was maddeningly stubborn sometimes. "We could do that. The tactic was highly effective on Demos and we could expand that to others on the Fringe. We also may be needed on Pyrta as well with all of the Chips there again."

While the answer seemed to be sufficient in his mind, it wasn't for her. Kalizda's little fingers entwined with his and he could almost feel them trying to squeeze the answer from him. When she spoke again he looked at her and tried to keep a neutral expression. "I dun tink we needed on Pytra so soon. Kirit es dere and meh sister es dah General. Et will be fine."

"Kirit is there and has the permission to do what is needed, but I am the councilwoman and that means a great deal to not just the Pyrtan's but the Kaereleans as a whole. It may cause problems if I don't go back sometime in the near future at least once," Calysta reasoned. She wasn't particularly arguing for or against. Both had its advantages, and she had her responsibilities too. "Eventually, we will have to return."

Of course she was going to make the point that she had to go back. "I know dat yah have tah go back, but ets nut so soon dat we can't do more here first? Dah Federation will watch dah fringe and make jump as soon as dey can ef dey tink dey can. Maybe yah leave wit Uriah and den I stay at next planet. Yah come back when yah can, or I come to yah when I'm done eh? I can fly little ship dat Uriah bring here."

Calysta could hardly believe he was talking like that or even suggested it. Splitting up? He clearly wasn't thinking straight and she shook her head, mostly trying to calm herself after that little comment. "And leave you alone out here? Absolutely not. You said so yourself that the Federation will be watching now and I'm not doing that. What about the children? Illya, look at me," she said, "We are not separating. What we do, we do together. And we have to decide. We can stay on the next planet and prepare them on how to fight the Federation and then make a trip to Pyrta. Once I have things settled there, we can come back to the other planets." It was as good a solution as she could come up with for the time being.

She sounded so determined and Illya worked his jaw. "I dun tink ets good idea for meh tah go back tah Pytra. Kalizda, dere esn't anyting dere for us. We stay at port in dah ship and yah take care tings dat yah need to and we leave. I..." Pausing there he looked away again. "Et would be better ef I jes dun go off ship when we're dere."

This time, Calysta sat up her brow furrowing with confusion. Why in the Wilds was he talking like this? He had been so worried for his people and now that they were together and safe. Was it because of the banishment? They had already flown in the face of tradition a million times and she was still under the firm belief that Chips or no Chips, Pyrta was still a place they would walk free. It wasn't like him to talk like that at all and she ducked her head under, to capture his attention again. "Illya, we may be gone for much of the time from Pyrta but it is our home too. Your people are there and so are mine, and whether or not we are exiles, that will never change. You will walk freely on Pyrta just as you would here, unless you really believe that they would stick to tradition so closely that they would try to break our backs for returning." She needed to know if that was how they might react. It wouldn't stop her from going back, but it would certainly change her approach.

It was hard to not to be annoyed when she was dunking her head every which direction to get his attention. Finally, he met her gaze and he stared at her for a long moment. "I dun know ef dats what dey would do. Kalizda, dere are a lot of tings I should be doing. I can't jes sit here and I can't run away from dah war. Maybe ets nut right and yah call meh a coward, but I'm tired of fighting dah war, tired of dah Alliance, and I want tah jes leave. Go somewhere dah Alliance and Federation dun exist. Den I know ef I leave dat I never forget dah war and so et will always be wit meh anyway. Dis es nut easy life dat we have tah live now. Wars make even strong men afraid for tings dey never consider before."

Illya was dodging her left and right, and she didn't understand why this was suddenly so hard to talk about. Was it because he still had issues trusting her in some ways and didn't want to tell her? His explanation came as a bit of a surprise in some ways and yet...in others in made perfect sense. What was she supposed to say to this? Her expression softened as a long, heavy silence settled between them as she gathered her thoughts, trying her best to sum up how she felt. "Illya, you aren't a coward and I would never believe or call you such a thing. I know you are tired of fighting. I'm tired of fighting too. I got framed for murder in a plot to start this war in the first place and I never wanted that, yet here I am. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, neither is it right for you to have to shoulder like you have done for so long." She inched closer and slipped a cool, soft hand to his cheek. " I don't know what the right answer is and I am tired of the Alliance and everything else too. What I do know is that if we don't try to end this, it will be our children who suffer. The Federation will come for them...Lohgan has green eyes and Cypher is your son. Either way they will become entangled in a conflict that neither of us want them to ever have to worry about." She brushed at his cheek while her eyes met his, warm and gentle. "We don't have to do this for the whole Galaxy, Illya. We do this for our babies and our future." It might have sounded selfish, but the burden of the entire Alliance was too great a task for either of them, but her husband and her children, and her friends were enough to make her go back.

Sometimes Kalizda had just the right words and this time she hit it spot on. Illya let his cheek rest against her fingers and he listened to her before a smirk started to spread across his face. This was one of those moments he could use to break away from the intensity. Regardless of the fact that they still had to do something that didn't mean that he had to spend the rest of the night thinking about it. "Hmm...Yah know meh so well. Yah already know at I dun care tah do dese tings for dah rest of dah galaxy. Most of dah rest of dem are jes ugly. I only like meh little bird and her cheks." Grinning at her he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "Maybeh I play game of hide and seek wit dah kids before bed and den we try playing hide and seek in bed?" It was always fun to see what kind of reaction he would get from Kalizda with those comments. She was easy to make blush and he was pretty sure if she'd be turning beet red.

Later in the evening, after dinner Illya had the kids go hide. "Yah hurry up and find good place tah hide and den I'll find yah." It wasn't actually difficult since Cypher was busy giggling everywhere he went. Just the thrill of hiding was too much and he couldn't contain himself. His favorite hiding spot was in the kitchen, under the sink. Illya found the dozens of cleaning solutions pushed out onto the kitchen floor and Monster, the dog was sniffing at the cabinet. To make it all the more obvious the boy would push the cabinet open to see if anyone was coming, or to be sure his Dah wasn't looking at him. Illya ignored the little hand that would bat at the dog every now and then. There were little hisses coming from the boy as he tried to shoo his dog away.

Illya let the suspense build and then he walked away and found Kalizda somewhere out of sight of the cabinet and kissed her. "I jes can't find him. Such a tricky little man." It was a good way to sneak in a few kisses while the kids weren't looking. "I look in dah kitchen one more time." It was about time to find Cypher since he could hear the boy losing patience. Wandering back into the kitchen he started opening the cupboards above the sink and thumped the cabinet Cypher was in with his feet. When he finally made his way to Cypher's hiding place he jumped back as the boy roared at him.

The boy practically danced with glee as he saw his father's reaction. Cypher knew that he was tricky and very scary. Throwing his hands in the air he made himself as big and as scary as possible and ran after Illya all through the ship. It had changed from a game of hide and seek to a game of chase. When it was time for bed Cypher was a ball of giggles and completely worn out. He flopped into his bed still giggling, but he appeared to be exhausted. Rose hadn't played very much of the hide and seek, but she still participated. Her door was closed like usual in the evenings and Illya could hear her tapping away at her little pad. "Good night, " Opening the door a little Illya poked his head inside. "Yah sleep well eh?" Peering over her shoulder the girl grinned and got up to kiss Wolf on the cheek. "Good night." She liked having Wolf home with them, it felt safer and he seemed to be happier too. After the good night kiss she went back to her desk and waited for the door to close before continuing her typing.

*****************************

There was plenty of groaning and grunting and a large cart appeared and the Chippequoti started to push the little ones behind themselves. For all they knew it could be some sort of sick trick. Pytrans were going to bring a little bomb to the edge. It would be enough if they left it that the entire population here would be blown to bits and if the chunk of land they were perched on didn't fall off the main continent at least the kids would have a chance to get away. Instead of behaving one little boy peered around his parents and then ran toward Dora. "Doora!" With a giant grin he ran over to see what she had made for him. "Cookies?" He remembered that much and he gave her an extra wide grin. If she saw how happy he was a lot of the time she gave him extra.

Dora walked along side Michelle as the woman trudged through the muddy field pushing along the cart filled with plates of freshly prepared nyte beast roast and bowls of caryn grass soup. There once would have been a time when the former First Lady of Terra would have been terrified at the sight of a Chippeqouti resident, but over time she had grown used to them, particularly the children who she had loved to see every day. The moment they left, her home had become a vacant and empty one, so much so that even her grown son said it was just too quiet. As she trudged along, she noticed most of the Chippeqouti were dirty, ragged and refused to look her in the eye as they shifted away warily. What had happened was awful and she didn't blame them for being scared, but they had only brought food and if that was all they wanted, then they didn't have to do anything else beyond accept it. It wasn't until she heard her name being called by a tiny voice over the tents. The plump woman looked around, recognizing the child barreling towards her immediately without a single beat missed and knelt down to catch him with a warm smile. "Oliver," she grinned,"Oh I think I might have made a few chocolate chip cookies for you." As he came nearer, she held out her hand and smoothed down his uncombed black hair gently. "If you eat some real food first I'll give you two cookies."

Some of the other children could hear the boy's voice chime over the murmuring of the adults and they started to try and get closer to the woman, Dora. Oliver soaked in the attention while he had it all to himself. He knew Dora was well loved by the other children and he wanted to be the only one she had attention for and he had it for just that moment. Nodding enthusiastically he took a plate and bowl from Dora. Without hesitation he plopped down at her feet and started to eat. Many of the parents and adults were reluctant, but they couldn't very well say no to a good hot meal. One woman limped forward with the aid of her agreed. Without a single word they came and got some of the food and then slunk away with their heads lowered in shame. Some made two trips to collect food for those that were too badly injured to walk themselves to Dora and Pyra. Each time the Chippequoti would duck their heads and avoid gazing at the women. With a mumbled and slurred thanks they would return the empty dishes. The only ones that seemed to readily accept the gift and were not ashamed were the children who all begged for cookies after they finished their meals.

She was more than pleased to see Oliver take up the food and sit down at her feet to start eating with gusto. Judging by the way he was wolfing it down, she could tell he had to be hungry and the looks in the eyes of the other children told her they were hungry too. "Come on," she chuckled, trying to herd them close as the peeked out from behind their mothers skirts, "I brought too cookies for everyone." She began passing out meals to the children patting each of them on the head and letting them sit where they liked around her as the adults inched closer like a school of scared fish. "We brought enough for everyone," she commented, offering a bowl to the nearest Chip woman. The woman took the bowl and shuffled away with her head down without a word of thanks or otherwise. Dora simply went straight for the next plate and handed it to the nearest Chip without skipping a beat. Hungry people didn't think of much else besides food. The hundreds of Pyrtan's dispersed around the camp giving out food were met with the same silence of shame, though they ignored it for the most part except for Pyra. The woman had brought a few medicines with her too, in pouches on her tunic belt, and she was utterly annoyed. Such stubborn shame. Sighing, she went to work, giving out as much food as she could and collecting plates to bring back to the cart when she was done. "Ye really should come back t' th' town. Shame or no shame, it makes little sense t' be out here an' nobody will bother ye in ye homes. Most of th' Pyrtans take t' come out here an' help ye. Least ye could do is come closer an' make th' effort a bit easier ye know. "

The Chippequoti stayed silent, except for the children. The little ones gobbled the food and some, like Oliver remembered their lessons in manners from the school and Dora. One by one the children chimed out a thanks and a quick bow before scurrying back to their little fires and tents. In the meantime Asha and Edgar made their way toward the front. None of the adults had wanted to speak without their leaders. Edgar and Asha arrived shortly after the runner had returned. To be safe the Chippequoti had a few designated runners closer to the town. Edgar walked sliwly over to the women and he bowed. "Some are saying et es safe tah return to dere homes, but dah Chippequoti are nut sure of price tah purchase homes and freedom. Et es a matter we must discuss wit dah Alliance. Until den we tank yah for dah kindness yah show and et will nut go unpaid."

Dora started handing out cookies to the children, two cookies for each child and many extras in case some of the adults might like one two or the had underestimated the amount of children to begin with. It wasn't until she handed out her last chocolate chip cookie and began opening a pack of molasses cookies that she saw an older Chip, one who she knew was considered the Elder, and then Asha come up to her. Pyra paused in giving out her meal and stood stiffly as the tall woman approached. The two of them looked very formal and she wasn't about to be told to leave. After they said their peace, the two women exchanged looks of confusion. Pay for houses and freedom? Pyra raised a brow at the elder and put her hands on her hips as she shook her head. "Why ye believe ye not free?" she asked, "Nobody here puttin' ye in chains, and ye bathhouse an' other things are sittin' empty while ye cold and miserable in th' field."

The response was confusing at the least and Edgar frowned. "Chippequoti have debt tah pay. Yah dun have tah keep dah houses as dey are. We abandon dem and dey are nut ours anymore." Asha wasn't even sure it was true when she'd gone back with Riyan to look at their little house. It was there, but she hadn't been quite confident enough to move in all the way. The two leaders met gazes and then looked back at the women. Edgar sighed a little and he shook his head. "Yah explain dis custom den. Why yah bring all dis food when we have broken trust?"

Dora blinked at them entirely baffled as to why anyone would choose a field over a perfectly good house and Pyra sighed. This was the same issue she had run across the Ahvah and Amil. Why were they so stubborn? Better yet, why was the council woman not here to deal with them? She supposedly had been exiled and had taken off to deal with things with the war. That was all anybody knew and yet it was still annoying she wasn't around to do her job. "Ye abandon and break trust. We already know that. But ye lucky Kaereleans allies. Ye still people of the alliance an' ye never stop being that, even if it was dumb t' leave," Pyra said flatly, "Citizens of Alliance mean ye live as such. We bring food because ye hungry an' ye to stubborn t' come into th' town for yeselves."

Somehow this woman seemed to be offended by the way they did things. Edgar wanted to try and help this make sense to her. If they were going to try to integrate he would have to understand them better and help her to understand the Chippequoti. "In our custom ef yah break trust yah should be considered enemy. People should despise yah and do what dey can tah drive yah out. When yah abandon home et es property of whoever wants et and whatever es inside is dere's. When Asha called for help et was out of hope, but nut one we expected response for. When we return we expect our homes tah be gone, Dat we would work tah earn property again. Chippequoti are nut afraid tah work tah pay debt."

"Well, that's not the way it works in ours," she replied with a raised brow, "Ye leave, ye come back. But unless th' councilwoman of th' home planet say ye no longer citizen then ye have right t' be here in ye home. It never stop bein' ye home. Nobody say ye aren't afraid t' work an' ye still loose trust from some. But ye half-bre-...ye councilwoman...not declare ye enemy of the Kaerelean or Alliance, so we bound t' protect ye just as ye help protect Kinte..an' m' family too. Ye not owe a debt f' the food or ye houses back."

A hushed murmur waltzed across the camp and spread to the other sections as the Chippequoti began to quietly talk among themselves. Edgar glanced to Asha and he blinked a few times. It was not what they had prepared for and he didn't know quite how to proceed. For a moment he stood flabbergasted and gape mouthed. Finally, he had come up with a solution of sorts. "Den Chippequoti will make dere home here once more. Et would be our pleasure tah serve Pytra as friends. We will help protect dah people as before and we will help dem work dere fields, repair dere ships, and work in all trades tah make Pytra great. Chippequoti will share secrets of our work wit Kaereleans." He had to remind himself not to say anything about a debt, but they were only alive because of these people and it was only right that the Pytrans and Kaereleans had everything that the Chippequoti had to offer. "We have Ehaui harvest some bone for treatment of yah ill. Et will nut be much tah start, but in time dere could be enough tah cure many illnesses."

For whatever reason this seemed to come as a shock to the old man and the rest of them for that matter. Pyra glanced around at the growing murmurs coming from them, before circling back to Edgar and letting him talk away about being friends. " As friends I think ye have good start t' being good Alliance citizen if ye do that," Pyra replied, "I'm not th' council woman so ye best talk with her about all that, but ye should do it from th' comfort of ye homes with full stomach." She wasn't anyone official and she couldn't make policy, nor did she care to. That was what the little half breed woman was for, whether the Chips liked it or not. If she had to put up with a less than genetically pure Kaerelean woman as her leader then they could get over whatever their issue was with her too. Turning to the cart, she pulled out to plates and offered them to Asha and Edgar expectantly. "Now, are ye hungry?"

Slowly Edgar nodded when the woman offered a plate. His agreed was going to need more than she'd had today. She had the cough and with her injury it was necessary that she eat a little more. "I will bring back yah dish when et es empty." Carefully he took the dish in his old shaking hands and started back toward his tent. Only a few seconds later one of the younger Chippequoti stepped forward and took the dishes so that Edgar could walk without worrying about dropping or spilling the contents. Asha had spent a little more time around the Kaereleans and now she could speak a little more freely. "Please, I need 2. Edgar's agreed is ill and injured. He did not ask for himself. I will take one for him."

Pyra handed off the plate to the old man, and watched him as he toddled away. When the stern looking woman stepped up, she expected the woman to take the plate and walk away like everyone else did. Instead, she relaxed slightly and asked for two plates instead, making Pyra pause for a moment. Stubborn and still so proud as they walked back to a tent...Pyra reached for the cart without hesitation and pulled out 2 more plates on top of the one she was already offering, bringing the total to three. "Ye take these two him an' his agreed." She knew of the term from living with Ehvan and Ahvah for so long at least, and she knew that the Chip man must have been fairly old to look like he did. "Ye know, we have many Pyrtan's here giving out food. Ye people should move back into the houses. If we here ye might as well take the help an' move back tonight if so many are injured."

"Et would be easier ef dey accepted help." Asha smiled slightly, but with a sad hint to her smile. "Some tings are nut so easy tah understand. Meh people have been enslaved, beaten, murdered, betrayed, slaughtered, and suffer many tings at dah hands of foreigners. Dis es first dat foreigners were kind, dat dey come to our aid and den care for us when we are broken. Tings do nut change so easy in Chippequoti mind and et takes time. I will move tonight because mehself and meh agreed only have minor cough. Den some oters will come back en time. Dere are some dat are too ill tah move much and et will be difficult for dem tah admit dat dey need help and dey will nut want yah tah witness dere weakness. Dose of us wit enough healt will help dem move tomorrow and den I will tell yah where dey are. I tink yah be careful ef yah visit."

The much smaller Pyrtan woman listened and then shook her head. It was stubborn pride alright, but that was up to them. She couldnt make them move, only say what she thought, and what she thought was that it was ridiculous that they would be so stubborn that they wouldn't accept help when it was offered freely and available. "That's up to them," she replied, "Ye may have had rough history with forigeners, but ye see on Kaereal, we all were once foriegners, we learn to work with each other after many war. Ye learn too. As f' being careful on m' visit back..I deal with grumpy Chip'qouti before."

Snorting a little Asha met the woman's gaze and took a bite of the food. "I keep company wit yah. Meh moter would have liked yah talk. She wanted tah see many changes because she knew dat Chippequoti do nut live well wit oters ef dey dun change and I dun tell yah tah be careful for yahself. I tell yah tah be careful for dem. Chippequoti have many more fears den yah know. Et takes long time for meh broter tah trust his little bird. Kalizda woman es special dat way. I tink she es good for Chippequoti and I bring her back soon. We need her here."

Raising a brow at the woman, Pyra could hardly believe the Chip woman was talking so normally. Speaking with sense. "Th' only way they learn is t' let us come," Pyra replied, " I grow up in purist house hold an' I learn...different later..Th' way I see it is she been good t' ye so far an' even it make no sense not t' bring back ye ally. Make th' woman do her job, eh?" The latter part of the comment was said more as a small joke than anything.

Asha chuckled a little. "I'm dah General of Chippequoti now. I make her come back." Some of it was in jest in return, but she knew that it wasn't entirely funny either. "Dere es a lot of change dat will be difficult. Ehaui are easier tah see change and dey are already back in dere homes. I tink we work tah put children back in school again. Dey need tah learn ways of our ally and friends. Dey make better today den many of dose of us who are older."

She thought to Gyllie when Asha mentioned the children. Her boy, who if she was honest had grown so much in recent years and was nearly a man, had a far more open mindset about things. He was always learning things, and showing her what he had discovered while always being brought and thoughtful, even if he had the occasional rebellious streak. "Children always learn better than elders. But I think that is good thing...they learn from our mistakes an' we try t' make them better than we were. That's pride as parent. M' Gyltram is better than m'self an' he will raise children t' be even more."

"We like tah tink dat dey are better den us. Nut all of dem are better. Meh son was better, I hope dat I will have anoter child again and I can raise dem tah be better." Taking the last bite of food she smiled again and nodded to the woman. "Many thanks for your help. Someday you will be an honored guest and dah Chippequoti will serve yah."

"Not all of them are, but ye can only keep tryin' Gyltram is m' second son ye see," Pyra replied casually before she let a twitch of a smile come to her lips. Smiling wasn't so easy with some of her face suffering from the scar tissue of second degree burns. "Now that be somethin' a Pyrtan like me an' honored guest. Next thing ye know I will sittin' with th' council woman." The woman wasn't stuck up perse but her former friends would find it awfully gossip worthy and she would be the scandalous talk of the town among the purists anyways.

It seemed that perhaps this woman understood the difficulties that came with ward too. Asha nodded carefully. "I tink Illya es like having second son for meh. He es more like son den broter. Many times he stay wit meh and he play wit meh first son. Yah tink he's trouble now. Should have seen dah tings he would do when he was smaller. He was dah same, only dere was less experience and so he did more crazy tings and did nut tink so careful before he do someting." Gradually the woman started to talk about the sight it would make if she was the honored guest and Asha grinned broadly. "Oh I could arrange for yah tah sit next to dah council woman. When she hears what yah do for her people den I tink dat yah might be invited tah dah pleasure house and Chippequoti arrange for yah tah have oil bats tah smoot yah skin. Et would help make burns hurt less. Yah ask Ahvah, she will show yah. Et es her trade and work. She will be treating her legs for long time tah take dah pain away. Ahvah will treat Ehvan ef he recovers. He never escape a single treatment of any kind and he complained plenty, but I tink dat he liked et."

Pyra let out a chortle and shook her head, trying to imagine the stern Ehvan allowing himself to particularly show that he liked something besides a little alone time with his wife. Though she hadn't done anything for a reward, she had to admit having a nice spa day where the often tender burn marks were taken care of sounded pleasant. Even if it was in the strange shared bath house. It wasn't like she had much to look at anyways. "I'll be sure t' ask. Ehvan be stubborn, he make it an' come home I think, though he might have it tougher with Ahvah when it comes to medicine than he did with Ehaui, eh?" Shifting her weight off of her more sore side, she wiped her hands on the front of her tunic and glanced at the near empty cart. "Ye take of ye people, an' call up the Pyrtans when ye need help movin'. Dora says she plans on cook f' ye tomorrow too."

"I take care of meh people, but I dun expect dat any of dem will want help." Asha didn't want the woman to assume that because she could see reason in the offer anyone else would. However, Asha was one of the people that actually didn't need help and so it didn't do her any good to have the understanding of the Pytran's offer. Nodding to the woman she started back toward her tent and then stopped part way there and turned around, "Tank yah." She was almost as bad as the rest. It was difficult to remember to thank people. It was just assumed that everyone would do as they felt they should. As long as it did not break laws, customs, or tradition it was considered appropriate behavior and there was no reason to thank anyone for choosing to do anything that fell within those bounds. Even asking for help and receiving it didn't warrant the need to give thanks. If the other person helped it was because they had a desire to and they expected nothing. It was one way to discover who your friends were. In many ways the gratitude of foreigners seemed cheapened by the fact that they gave it so freely, however, this time what they had done truly deserved a display of gratitude and they were going to get it in Chip fashion.

****************************************

Even if it was going to be their last day on the lovely little planet Illya wanted to make sure it was a good one. Naturally that meant they were going to the zoo again. It was Cypher's request. Everyone got one request for a final stop on the little planet before they had to move on. Going to the zoo had been a nearly daily event, but it was worth it to see the smile on Cypher's face. He loved animals and Illya was going to show him how to train animals properly. That was something that perhaps he could share with his son without ever taking him into the wars. Cypher could share something better than Illya had with his father. The thought that one day the war could be over and Illya really could share that peaceful future with his son was a little bit encouraging. Just maybe he could see an end to this war.

As they stepped up to the gate with the penguins Cypher saw the same keeper as usual and he waved. The woman waved back and stepped over to talk with him. She always talked with the cute little boy. Hi!" Enthusiastically Cypher greeted the woman.

The keeper nodded in return, "Hi." He came almost every day with his parents and he loved everything about the zoo. "You're back again." A knowing grin came to her face. It was no surprise.

"Guess what I did last night?" Cypher had so many things to say to the woman. She was nice and someone that didn't know everything he knew and so it made it all the more exciting to talk to her. Before she could ask him what he did he started off into his answer. "I played hide and seek with mam and dah. I'm super sneaky and I'm scary. When dah found meh he ran away and I chased him."

Chuckling a little bit the woman nodded. "Is that so? What else did you do?"

"I went to bed and then mam got to play hide and seek with dah." Cypher got a thoughtful look on his face for a moment and then blurted the most graphic part of his tale. "I need to teach mam how to hide better. She just hides in bed and when dah finds her she sounds disappointed he find her fast and she makes sounds like uu..."

Illya hadn't been paying much attention to his son's conversation till he heard something about Kalizda hiding. He'd been in the middle of swallowing saliva and ended up choking when he heard the next phrase come out of his son's mouth. Reaching in front of Cypher he clapped a hand over Cypher's mouth. "Ehmmm...Dis es nut good time tah talk about what yah Mam sounds like." On second thought Illya realized he made it worse and he continued to cough and hack as he shuffled Cypher off to the side. All the while he could feel a hot burning sensation run across his cheeks and cover his ears. When he could finally breath in without feeling like he was going to choke he looked at his son and took a deep breath. "I tink we need tah have talk about maybe giving yah small music box in yah room for bedtime eh?"

 

[aryamajor]

When Pyra returned home that evening, she found that the entire house was rearranged. Shelves were stocked, the floor swept, windows washed, the furniture had been moved slightly to allow cleaning in the tough places and what looked like pot of some sort of dumplings were on the stove. Ahvah was standing at the oven bent down with a cloth in her hand and reaching for the fold out door as if to check on something inside. From the delicious smell wafting through the air, she could tell it must have been some kind of sweet bread. Shirking her mud-stained boots off at the door, Pyra put down her basket and walked into the kitchen shaking her head. "Ye been too busy t'day. Ye should have rested ye body."

She'd had just about enough of stubborn Chips for one day, well-meaning as some of them were and as aching as her own feet were. "Ye should go sit down an' tend to ye boy." Amil hadn't said so much as a word in the small time that he had been back in his old home, not even to Gyllie. Her son was not as active as he normally was yet, but soon his eyes would be feeling better and would want to talk with Amil. Perhaps being here at home would help him. Taking the rag, she scooted Ahvah over from the stove, not giving her any choice but to move along and opened up the oven door, allowing the sweet scent of bread to escape. The golden tops puffing out from the pans told her the bread was almost ready. Thinking back, it had been a strange sight seeing the Chippeqouti so stoop-shouldered and quiet. Sure, they were usually prideful, to the point of annoyance on some days, but this was entirely different. She doubted some of them would last long out in the fields if they didn't come back to town. If they didn't, they would have no one to blame but themselves for any more deaths that weren't related to the attack.

***********

Playing hide and seek through the ship was a wild affair that Calysta couldn't resist getting a little giddy for, though the idea of playing the game in other places with just her and Illya still brought flashes of heat to her cheeks that she couldn't quite quench. While Rose and Cypher hid, Calysta put a blanket over Lohgan's crib, so she could 'hide' too and then scuttled off to find a place for herself. The best place was the hall panel just down the way from the galley, and she had no problem slipping into the shelves and closing the door behind her to wait for Illya to be done counting. She could hear his slightly raspy voice echoing through the ship. "One...two...tree...four...five...sex..." When he got to ten, there were subsequent boot falls coming down the corridor and she held her breath as if that would give her away.

Even from inside the closet she could hear Cypher giggling from inside the kitchen when Illya passed by. Her boy was about as stealthy as a steamroller, and when she thought about it wasn't such a bad thing. He got into enough trouble that it was good he made such a ruckus wherever he went, so she could keep track of him. All that needed to be done to find him was follow the trail of displaced items in the ship and the giggling not far behind it. Still, he was a precious little boy full of happiness. The same kind of glee his father had as a young child and she wanted to keep it that way, to see it reflected in every smile he made and every step he took. Whether it was a thundering run or not.

Calysta was so lost in thought over her son, she jumped when the cabinet door opened and popped the crown of her head on the shelf above her. "Ow," she chuckled, rubbing her head. Illya's tan face poked inside as his arms hauled her out from the dark space and into the corridor with a playful series of kisses. "Oh..you found me...whatever shall I do now that I'm captured?" Sneaking in another kiss, Calysta wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled as her lips met his again. "You haven't found Cypher yet? I wonder where he could be? He's such a sneaky boy that I don't know how you'll find him." She said the words loud enough for her son to hear and in response they hear another chuckle from inside the galley. "You'd better go check the kitchen one more time and I'll help find Lohgan. She's a tough one too."

She let Illya go long enough to for him to flush Cypher out of the kitchen and then dodged into the bedroom to check on Lohgan while getting ready for a little hide and seek of her own. Pulling the blanket from the top of the crib she laughed when her girl's plump cheeks were shaped into a grin. "I found you!" she cooed, "So good at hide and seek!" Lohgan squealed for joy at the sound of her mother's voice and seeing her face suddenly appear over her. Her her little hands came up, grasping at the air, begging to be held and cuddled as her mother continued the game, putting the blanket over her again. Where did her Mam go? She was gone again! Lohgan stopped giggling and waited with wide eyes to see if her mam would come back. Suddenly, the blanket moved and...there she was! "I found my Lohgan, girl!" Calysta grinned at her baby who set off into peals of laughter again at the sight of her mother.

Unable to resist the urge to fill those grasping hands anymore, Calysta scooped up Lohgan in her arms and held her close. Her little girl was always so warm and went straight to grab her braid down her back because it was fun to tug on, like a little reminder to her mother that she was there sometimes. "There's my girl," Calysta whispered nibbling on her neck. "Mam loves you so much..." Her words were cut off by a rumbling through the ship which was accompanied by roaring and raucous giggling. "Oooh, sounds like Dah found big brother," she chimed to Lohgan, "Now, its my turn to hide again soon, yeah?"

She rubbed on Lohgan's back gently and did the usual bounce combined with a rocking motion back and forth. That always made her sleepy enough to let go of the fist of hair she was guarding and to fall asleep easy when she was put into the crib. While Illya was being sure that Cypher was in bed and the ship was locked up, Calysta rocked her sweet baby girl until she could tell slumber was on its way. Her breathing evened out and her grip slacked after about 7 minutes of the constant motion combined with a small lullaby hummed in her ear. Ever so carefully, Calysta supported her baby's head and laid her in the crib and tucked her into the soft pink blanket. "Good night." Placing a delicate kiss into her girl's hair, she covered Lohgan's crib and then dashed around the room trying to beat Illya to the bed with a little surprise in mind.

Shimmying out of her tunic and her underwear, she tossed all over clothes into the hamper and quickly undid her braid, her fingers catching on a tangle or two as she worked out the plait too fast. She could already hear Illya's footsteps coming down the corridor again and she nearly let out a squeak of excitement before she dove under the blankets over their big bed, covering herself entirely. As soon as he stepped into the room and locked it she held her breath and watched his shadow appear on the other side of the blankets, moving around before settling on to the bed next to her. Wiggling a little she rolled on her side and draped her hand on her hip in the most sensual...what she hoped was sensual...pose that she could think of. When he pulled back the covers to discover his surprise, she met his gaze with a growing grin. "Oh, it looks like you found me," she laughed, her cheeks turning pink at her own display. "Now, what in the Wilds are you going to do with me?"

*******

It wouldn't be too long, now that she and Illya had talked, that they would be leaving Jackobi. As much as Calysta didn't want to leave their false paradise in some ways, she knew they had to move on. At least they had managed to unwind some after such a long road to and from Demos, something they had all sorely needed. They had really needed time to simply be a family and in some ways it had helped her reconcile a few things, though she still had her worries. The next planet Illya had picked would be a much harsher environment from what little the Kaerelean scout had reported, so she spent part of the morning of their last day on Jackobi making sure everyone had what they needed along with plenty of feed supplies for the animals, which would be scarce for where they were going. She had asked to make sure that's where he wanted to go, and vaguely wondered if he knew the entire planet was basically one big iceblock, but he seemed to know what he wanted. The best she could figure was that it would be the next most likely planet that the Federation would target or retreat to.

In an effort to make sure they had everything they needed, Calysta went into the little town and bought winter wear. Everyone got a set of thermal shirts along with fleecy pants, boots, toboggans, mittens with internal warmers and jackets with the same sort of tech on the inside too. The sizes weren't exactly made for Chips so she had to grab the biggest they had, a 5x big and tall in forest green, for Illya and hoped the puffy jacket would fit properly. She also picked up feet protectors for the animals and a sled along with plenty of food items which included coffee, hot chocolate, and several types of tea. If the entire place was full of snow and ice, they were going in prepared.

While she was having all of the supplies delivered to the ship, Illya made it a point to take Cypher back to the zoo one last time. He adored the animals, much like his father, and they had brought him half a dozen times to the place for him to see the critters just because they could. She had promised to meet up with them later once the shopping was done, and had Lohgan strapped to her back as she finished up the final invoice order for delivery at their ship, then scurried to the zoo. It only took a few minutes to find Illya with Cypher. He loved the goats and the penguins, so he would invariably be at one of those two pens. Sure enough, she had found them at the strange, waddling birds pen talking to the pleasant-looking zookeeper without a care in the world.

"I went to bed and then mam got to play hide and seek with dah. I need to teach mam how to hide better. She just hides in bed and when dah finds her she sounds disappointed he find her fast and she makes sounds like uu..."

The comment was only stopped by Illya launching forward and clamping his broad hand over Cypher's mouth as he choked. Calysta's face turned crimson and her mouth slipped open in utter shock. Why in the Wilds was he going around saying that?! Had he heard something? She stood back and let her husband usher their son away from the zookeeper without walking up behind them just yet. At least he hadn't decided to tell them he could count to 'sex' but she didn't need Cypher running around telling them all about their bedroom activities. Calysta waited purposefully until Cypher and Illya were out of sight before trying to catch up with them. The zookeeper probably already knew who she was, but wasn't going to stop her from trying to avoid the awkward stares.

That night, Calysta made sure Cypher was well into sleep before she slipped into bed and settled down close to Illya, still feeling a bit strange. "Maybe we can just cuddle tonight?" she offered shyly. It sounded like as good a plan as any at the moment as she burrowed her head into his shoulder and sighed.

************

Calysta got them into the air early the next morning, on their way to the designated planet Illya had chosen. There wouldn't be any stops needed to refuel their ship before arriving, so there was no problem in making a straight jump to their next destination. Making sure they were well underway, she launched them into the jump and checked the readouts on the engines before determining the levels of energy intake versus output were well within what she would consider excellent. Cypher was the first to unbuckle his seat and leap to the ground once the transition to the jump was done. He was ready to go play with Monster the dog in the animal bay, since it was made clear to him that he couldn't go outside for a day or two. Calysta let him run along, though in his hurry, he half ran into the bridge door, his head making a loud thud against the metal panel. While she winced at the hard hit, Cypher simply shook his head and kept right on running to the stairs. There was something to be said for her son having a hard head, and she was thankful her little tank of a boy had inherited more Chip bone than anything else.

Once Rose and Priscilla had slinked off to find a movie to watch, Calysta started to get up to join them, but not before giving Illya a broad grin from her captain's chair "She's still as fine a ship as ever. My Chip chose his little bird's nest well." Sliding her feet to the floor, she leaned over and cupped his cheek in her hands, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Mmm... what do you say we watch the movie with Rose and Pris? I have been promised they won't choose Wild Ways." She said the name of the movie with a little smirk creeping to her lips. "Of course if you wanted-"

Her words were cut off by hard jostle rocking the ship and a proximity warning blaring. The moment the alarm went off, her playfulness vanished and she launched herself back into the captains chair to pull up the sensor array on the screen. Off board cameras wouldn't work in a jump, but the sensors did and they were picking up objects all around them, scattered over the space they were jumping through. Debris. There was an entire field of it which hadn't been logged or charted in the data base, nor warned about on the local channels, which meant it was brand new. Another, harder hit sent a shudder through the ship, and she grimaced. That was going to leave some damage. "Shit...Illya...go get the kids strapped down. I have to take us out of the jump. "

She didn't have any other choice but to pull them out of the jump and face whatever they would find outside the field. Bringing their speed down, she swapped to the main engines and brought the off board cameras online again. They revealed an ugly and still very active scene. A large field of metallic debris spinning through space, combined with what were clearly dead bodies amid the wreckage, expanding from a center point. Her eyes searched every camera angle, trying to see what sort of ship it had been and if there were any signs of who destroyed it. Eventually she found the commission number on a half charred piece of hull. "It's a Terran transport. " It was probably a transport from one of the colonies that were stationed along the fringe. In the distance, skirting along the edge of the debris cloud was another ship, clearly a war vessel. While there were no outer markings to indicate it was Federation...the fact that it was making a move toward them put no doubt in her mind thats what it was. If they got close enough, they would try a boarding portal and she couldn't allow that.

Gritting her teeth, she made a snap decision as her heart began to pound. What they needed was distance and she was going to do just that. "Hold on, Illya. Make sure the kids are in tight."

Slamming on the throttle, she took the controls manually and began weaving them through the field at the top speed of the regular engines. Weaving and bobbing, she cut them around the remains of the ship and its crew while the ship pursuing them attempted to do the same. Every ounce of concentration she had was poured into identifying the best route while keeping track of the constantly moving objected that could puncture their hull at the right place. She made a quick drop to the left, sending objects all over the ship flying and managed to dodge a bigger piece, though she hit a body instead which took out one of her rear cameras, wedging itself in the hull. "Damnit." The hostile ship grew closer and if there was any doubt that they were the enemy, they opened fire, trying to pepper their ship with a spray of bullets. She ducked behind a big piece of the destroyed ship, but they would catch up if she didn't pick up the pace. Her Silver Mountain was armed, but it was no warship.

Shaking her head, she made the only decision she could, which was to force them into a jump despite the debris field. The engines responded to her the millisecond she pushed into a jump and her wake sent the chunks of ship flying in all directions, including into the hull of the ship following them. Bits and pieces hit here and there, rocking their home and no doubt causing damage she would have to assess when they landed. She didn't take her hand off the throttle or put them into a course heading until they were clear and she sat back against her chair looking to Illya. "We have some damage to the exterior, but nothing breached, so as soon as we land I may need your help assessing what I need to make repairs. We'll be there in 4.0 hours if we continue the jump. Would you mind looking after the children for a moment? I think we're safe for now and I need to use the bathroom."

She lifted herself out of the Captain's chair and stalked back to their bedroom, before hauling herself into the bathroom and ducking her head into the total as her stomach heaved. It was one thing when it was only her life on the line when it came to flying and exploring but the thought of the Federation coming so close to her children made her sick after everything she'd seen. Bitter bile rose up and she spat out the last of her returned breakfast into the toilet. Flushing the contents down to the recycler, Calysta grabbed a towel and wiped her face, then took a deep breath. The Federation would have undoubtedly tried to tighten their grip on the fringe after their little stunt on Demos and it wasn't unexpected, yet she wished it wouldn't have been so fast. So much for vacation.

 

[Silence]

By all calculations the day would be a fast one and packed full of things to do. There wasn't much, if any information on this planet and it was one that even the Chippequoti had not bothered to ever visit. However, it could be a potential target for the Federation. Illya sat down in the copilot seat and checked engines and set the course while Kalizda made the rest of the flight checks. His primary task was just to mark the trajectory of the ship and make sure they were on the correct route. He liked running the math all by hand rather than rely on the ship, but he did use the ship every now and then to see that the navigation system was still working right.

Once they were ready to take off Kalizda asked him to get the kids strapped in and he glanced at her. It felt somewhat odd being the one taking orders after all this time. For a moment he paused and then he leaned over her and kissed her gently on the lips. "Aye, Captain." Wandering back into the main cabin of the ship Illya winked at the girls and gave a playful growl to Cypher. "Yah all get buckled up eh?" Rose could take care of herself and Cypher had to be wrestled into his little seat, but the boy giggled the whole time and he seemed to enjoy it. After that was done Illya carefully strapped little Lohgan in. She grinned broadly at her Dah and tried to talk to him. The only thing she got was a few smiles and some talking in return. He must have understood her because he looked just as pleased as she was. He was the best person to talk to. He made great faces and she liked his voice. Dah made her feel safe.

Suddenly Illya felt the ship lurch and there was a horrible scraping sound outside. Shifting in his seat he reached for the buckle and started to scramble back to the navigation panel. He couldn't have made a mistake, he didn't make mistakes like that. When he got back to the room Kalizda was already there and telling him to go back and be with the kids again. It was all too fast.

Whatever it was, clearly the Federation had decided to take action. In part Illya felt guilty, but he knew they would have done it whether he was on the move, or not. Were they going to head to the peaceful planet that he'd just left? None of the questions he had were doing any good. Instead he rushed back into main room and tried to close all the open viewing portals. There was no need for the children to see what was outside. Kalizda was trying to navigate things and then he heard her say that they were going to jump and he had to get the kids strapped up again. It was a good thing they were still strapped in their seats. She was moving on adrenaline obviously because he didn't get time to strap himself in before he found himself sitting on the floor. It would have been helpful if she gave a little more than a five second warning. After a moment he got back to his feet and wandered into the cabin to check on her. She was on her way out and mumbled an approximate time that they would land. For now he was given the next order to just make sure they were steady on the course.

When Kalizda returned she looked almost grey, but he stuck with her orders for now and went back to take care of the kids. With four hours to go and a turbulent ride he was going to have to get creative with lunch, games, and ways to keep the kids from hurting themselves. The hours passed by semi quickly since he had the two smaller kids watching a little hologram while Rose helped him make lunch. She was big enough to mind her step and have privileges of wandering the ship as long as she was careful. By the time they landed Cypher had grown tired of the holograms and the little game of finding his spider. It was almost a relief to be landed except that Illya knew it was going to be cold outside.

The blast of cold air was enough to make Illya cough even if he was already bundled up to his eyeballs in scarves, gloves, layers of coats, 3 pairs of pants, 5 sets of socks his boots and a hat with the hood of his coat pulled over his head as well. It was just too cold. "Krmmhaha," his voice was muffled underneath the layers and he shook his head at Kalizda. After a moment he pulled the multiple scarves away from his face long enough to talk to her. "No, we're gonna leave dah kids in dah ship for now." The kids were all bundled up and they wanted to go out, but he was positive he'd seen a Pithian when the door first opened. "I tink dere are damn Pitian's here." No sooner had he finished saying the name when a sharp spear like instrument screamed through the air and hit Illya in the left femur. It hit with enough force he fell back on the ramp of the ship with a grunt. Stunned, he stared at the harpoon in his leg for just a moment before he launched himself forward. He was still in enough shock that he hadn't felt the pain yet. "Yah bastard I"ll rip yah arms off." Limping down the ramp at a fast pace he ran down the Pithian and grabbed it by its hood and threw the trouble maker on the ground before Illya started to pull the harpoon out of his leg. Ripping the harpoon out he yelled and cursed. It had damaged his bone and he could feel the ache starting, but he was determined to get the Pithian back. When the Pithian saw him pulling the harpoon out of his leg the man started to scramble back and try to get up, but the Chip kept coming at him. Illya took the harpoon and thrust it into the Pithian's leg. It sunk past the muscle and tissue and pinned the man to the ground. Grabbing hold of the harpoon Illya prepared to pull it out and thrust it into the other leg of the PIthian, but instead he lost all feeling and dropped to the ground. Another Pithian punched him in the nerve spot in his back. Even if he wanted to move Illya couldn't and he cursed and screamed from where he was laying on the ground.

Calysta pulled on her gloves as the hatch opened, and frigid wind buffeted against them, carrying snow flurries every which way in the air. The kids were dancing anxiously behind her from both excitement to exit the ship and the sudden cold combined and Cypher lurched forward to run past them before his father shuddered and put them all to a halt. "Pitians?" Whatever they were, she had never heard of them in or outside the Kaerelean database on the farside of the fringe, but it sounded as if he knew exactly what they were. Ushering the children into the ship with the hand held behind her back, Calysta started scanning the area for anything that would be a problem. Thump. A heavy, meaty sound met her ears and she blinked, trying to find the source before realizing something had just been thrown a them and Illya had fallen back into the ramp of the ship. "Illya!" the name ripped through her throat, as she turned and shoved the kids further away out of sight. "Dad! Take them inside. Now!" Her father grabbed Cypher's arm and began hauling him away which caused him to start crying. Not only had his Mam pushed him, but she looked very scared and Papa was taking him away from her. Calysta didn't have time to process her boy's terror as she turned back to Illya just in time to see him rip out what looked like a harpoon from deep in his leg. No sooner did he have it out was he chasing after the pink skinned attacker growling like an animal, pinning him down with the same harpoon he had been struck with. He was so focused on the one squeezed in his hands, another appeared from the swirling snow and struck him in back. Like a wounded animal he screamed and toppled over into the snow. What had they done!? Pure instinct took over as she pulled her pistol from her coat, Calysta ran forward into the snow, gun leveled at the tall man standing over her husband. Her blood roared in her ears as she grit her teeth. "Get away from him right now," she demanded in traders tongue.

The Pithian on the ground grunted as he struggled to get to his feet and he took the harpoon out of the Chip's limp hand. Since the owner was here he couldn't really do much else, but he did give the Chip a good thump in the head with the butt of the harpoon. It made a nice gong sound and he spit on the Chip before looking toward the woman. Both the Pithians shrugged at the gun she pointed toward them. "Its our job to make sure anyone who lands complies with the local code. You didn't have your beast under control and he isn't registered. Before landing here it is required you report all beasts aboard and register them. I suppose we could get the warden here now and he'll be more than happy to be sure that you get him properly labeled." Illya tried with all his might to move even a little bit and he couldn't do so much as wiggle a toe or finger. If he had known that this was where the Pithians retreated to he would have possibly considered letting the Federation have them. Half of his face was freezing while he laid in the snow. It was the right side of his face and it was hurting a little from what he could tell. If he could feel his face then he knew it would take another good while. They hit his nerves hard. "Give meh dat harpoon and I'll shove et up yah warden's ass." One of the Pithians shrugged and laughed a little. "Not if we throw you out on the lake. It froze over, but sometimes a big one will weigh enough to drop through, or produce enough heat to warm the surface and freeze to the lake." They knew Chippequoti couldn't swim and they figured it would be enough to make the Chip shut up for now.

Calysta kept her gun trained on the first one who had hit Illya in the back, but she was only one person and both of these attackers were much taller. Still, she held her ground, stepping closer to Illya as he cursed in every language he knew and his leg began staining the snow red with blood. The amount of blood wasn't enough to suggest a punctured artery, but the mere thought that it happened sent a wave of anger though her which was only accented when one of them hit her Chip in the head before spitting on him. Just hearing the spit wad being hocked back into the man's throat made her stomach churn against old feelings and she swallowed, standing her ground. No sooner had they spoken did she understand somewhat. Beast. They thought Illya was a slave automatically, like at the fight pits, another thought which made her blood boil. She stepped even closer to Illya, her foot arching over his legs so she put herself between one of them and her Chip with an icy stare in her grey eyes. "It might be your job, but it isn't your job to scare off good trades when they come by assaulting their person or their property, whichever is the case," she replied flatly, "Now, I said it once..I'll say it one more time. Back off, both of you. Warden or no warden this man isn't a threat to you and anything else you do to touch him will be answered."

One of the men raised his hand and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you're beast did attack. We'll just wait here till the warden comes and then we'll let him take care of things." Glancing down at the Chip the one that Illya had harpooned chuckled despite the deep frown on his face and the pained hint staining his voice, "Don't move." Illya gave a guttural growl at the statement. They knew darn well he couldn't and they were going to make fun while they could. If he could move he would have probably killed them both by now. It was a service to anyone and everyone if you could dispense with the Pithians. Within a few minutes a tall blonde haired man dressed in a thick fur coat came skiing down the slope and then over to where the ship was. Taking one look at the situation and the injured Pithian he sighed. "You'll have to pay a fine for not registering the Chip and damages for his attack. Until you've had him registered I'll put him in a holding cell." Both the other Pithians gave Kalizda a smug expression. The holding cell was cold and it would make her Chip quiet. They kept very cold holding cells for the Chippequoti because they seemed to behave better when they were too cold to respond to things. Instead they would huddle in the thin blanket from the bed and shiver. It took severe temperatures to actually kill them, but they didn't usually put themselves in anything that bad. Often they were miserable far before they got to deadly temperatures.

Calysta stiffened some when another approached on a set of skis, sliding down the icy slope without much issue. She could only assume that was the warden the two attackers had promised. Maybe she could get some sort of sensible answer for this mess out of him. She didn’t lower her weapon, but kept it trained on the other two, holding them at bay while her eyes shifted slightly to inspect the newcomer. Whatever hopes she had for more reasonable answer were dashed when he opened his mouth. “Absolutely not,” she replied, “He’s not going anywhere with you and I’m not paying anything. You attacked us with no cause on the ramp of our ship and expect some sort of fine for someone who just landed on your planet? What sense does it make not to have an amnesty zone or time frame in your port? You will not be depriving me of my crew.” She hated talking as if Illya was just some object, but they wouldn’t see him as more and it wouldn’t work to her advantage to have them know he was her husband right now, especially when she was outnumbered. Her grip tightened on her pistol as she stood there with her hard eyes on the warden. "I am open to making a deal though."

The warden kept his eyes on the three of them making a stand off. It looked like the woman had plenty of money, probably enough to have pulled this Chip out of deep trouble. At least that was judging by her ship. She was certainly going to put up a fight too. A fee wasn't such a big deal when you had a ship like that, unless it was stolen. After a long moment he sighed. "There is no deal. The law is the law and you're going to put the gun down. We'll impound the ship, confiscate any goods to pay for your release, the Chip's release, and pay the fine. These two aren't excused either." Looking at the two men he grumbled. She'd found one of the loop holes. Most folks just paid the fine when they found out how small it was. She didn't even ask and instead accused the Pithians of attacking them and it was likely that they had. "I'll drop charges of hostility if you can prove that these two made the first move. Your ship looks like it would have cameras to show the incident and if they attacked then I'll wave the fees. All of them, but you'll still have to register him." When she lowered her weapon he took a deep breath and knelt on the ground next to the Chip. Illya growled when the Pithian got close to his face, but he couldn't do anything about it either. The warden put one hand on Illya's shoulder and the other on his hip and then shoved him over to lay on his back. "No reason to freeze half his face." With his gloves he wiped the melted snow from Illya's face. "You get that proof for me and I'll stay out here and make sure no other problems come up."

She didn't budge even after he told her to lower her weapon. There was no way she was going to let them impound the ship and its contents either. Too many precious things were aboard it for her to ever consider that an option. It was only when the warden stated that he would drop everything upon proof that she lowered her weapon slightly but didn't holster it. When the Pithian warden bent down to Illya, she stiffed again, ready to defend him from any abuse the man might come up with but instead, he helped flip Illya over and wiped off his face, something she wouldn't have been able to do with the ice under her feet by herself. "I don't have to go anywhere to get the proof either," she replied, watching them all carefully. With her left hand still gripping her gun, she brought her right wrist to her face where the interfaced wrist link was sitting. The sound would be slightly muffled because of her coat, but when she called for her father, he answered. "Caly? Caly! Are you okay?" Her eyes cut up to the warden as she spoke back to Thomas calmly. "Aye, listen to me. I need you to pull the security footage from the aft 4, the secondary ramp from 10 minutes ago and send it to the link feed." Her father sounded confused, but obliged and went to work doing what she asked. "Sending now." As soon as he gave the word, she dared to take a step closer to the Warden and held out the screen on her wrist. On the video footage, he could see the back side of the ramp as she stood next to Illya, back turned to the camera. They could be seen speaking to one another as what appeared to be two children and another man stood next to them, holding the smallest childs hand. As the ramp came down, she and Illya stepped out, the Chip's shiver becoming obvious just before he threw out a hand pausing them all. Everyone in the party stopped split second before the harpoon buried into Illya's leg, toppling him backwards into the ramp. Calysta pushed back the children as Illya wrenched the harpoon from his leg and took off down the ramp out of the camera's sight, his captain following close after. "There," Calysta said firmly, "Now you have your proof. I'll play it again if you like."

Suddenly the little woman thrust a little wrist video in his face and the warden watched it till the end. Rolling his eyes he got up and brushed his pant legs off from where he'd knelt on the ground. "Well, it looks like I'll have to waive the fees. You'll have to take him down to that little office there by the docks. Probably take about half hour for him to be able to get up and then they'll give you directions to get him to the old woman in the glen. Old woman in the glen knows a fair bit about his kind. She might be able to help patch his leg up and we'll see to it that these two pay for the damages to your Chip." As badly as he wanted to call the Chip a beast he couldn't. It wasn't right and those that owned one were often proud of them. They weren't real common to run across as property and they were powerful allies/slaves to own, not to mention loyal to a fault if they had agreed to the deal. "If he bleeds too much just pack some snow in there. Keep the leg cold and he'll bleed less."

Calysta listened, her eyes flicking down to the small red painted building sitting in the distance, half covered by a curtain of snow. At least the ship wasn't going to get impounded and the children were safe for now, as for her Chip...that was a different matter. The Warden would still want him registered of course. She met his eyes with a steely gaze of her own, but didn't argue the point of the registration or the need to get Illya some help. Instead, she relaxed slightly, as much as she could possibly with her husband laying on the ground, bleeding, and nodded. "Alright, but I want you to explain to me the purpose of registering him. Why is it you want him to register and not me as well, I'm as much of a newcomer here as he is."

He'd barely gotten his skis flat on the ground again and the woman was asking him about the registration."He's a Chip, that's why. All Chippequoti have to be registered if they're going to be here. It is for the protection of the Pithians and for the Chippequoti. The one that registers them has to be responsible for all actions of their Chip." Looking Kalizda up and down he shrugged. "You're obviously not Chip and that means you don't have to be registered."

The answer made her stomach churn and she resisted the urge to tell him off as he fists clenched together some. The bottom line was that Illya needed more help than she could patch and the only way he was going to get it was if she went to that office. Bringing her wrist link to her lips again she called for her father, this time asking him to bring the new sled she had bought on Jackobi, then she turned her attention one last time to the warden. "Alright. Then I'd like to know your name, Warden. If I am responsible for my Chip's actions then I assume you are the one responsible for the Pithian ones and I would like to make sure to thank you properly for dealing with these two." Her eyes flicked to the other two perpetrators, one of which was still bleeding from having been speared in the leg by the harpoon.

Slowly the warden looked to the other two men and then he nodded to them. "You two get down to the station and pay the fine. I'll put in the order now. If you don't get there in half hour I'll have the search warrant put out for disturbing the peace." The two other Pithians grumbled and headed down the little snowy walk way. Once they were out of hearing distance the warden turned off his radio and other devices before he looked to Kalizda. "My name is Terrence. My mother lives in the glen and I pretend to be radical like the rest of them, but I'm not. Look, I'm doing what I can to help. Tell me what his name is and I'll do an out of office registration for him. In extreme circumstances we can do that."

Calysta looked at the Warden, Terrance, weighing what he said with caution in her eyes. Sure, he had turned off all of his radios, but that didn't mean he didn't have something else on him. They had already been entrapped once and she wasn't about to let it happen again. Gazing at him for a long moment she decided on the best course of action she could take while also getting Illya the help he needed at the same time. "His name is David," she said automatically, "And my name is Monroe." She would have to use her actual last name in case someone ran the registration on the ship which was in her name. At least that story would check out and Monroe was a Terran name rather than Kaerelean one, so it was doubtful someone would know her as the council woman from this far out. "And thank you, Terrance. Will there be any problems with me taking him to see the doctor afterward?"

"David huh?" A grin came to his face and he rolled his eyes. "I'm not putting that down. It isn't a Chip name. Unless of course he doesn't speak Trader's Tongue, but I'm pretty sure he does and so I'm assuming you know his name. Not to worry about the old woman in the glen. I can show you where it is." Still with his hand hovering over his pad he waited. David wasn't a name he was going to put down. After a moment he smirked, "You're not getting anywhere till you give me a Chip name. Something like uh....Shammah Red Bird. I don't care what you tell me. I just need a name that'll pass through the system."

She felt like launching into a point about how just because it isn't a stereotypical name didn't mean it wasn't his name, but he was still laying on the ground in need of help. So, she crossed her arms and raised a brow at him. "Fine then, his name is Elijah Pale Horse," she sighed, "And my name is still Monroe. He does speak traders tongue." Calysta stole a glimpse at the ship as the ramp came down and her father came out hauling the sled over the fresh fallen snow. She could hear Cypher calling out to her from inside the bay. Priscilla or Rose must have been holding him back from coming out side which is just as well because she didn't want him seeing his father like this, or giving away the fact that he was Illya's son. "Is the name, Chip enough?" she asked as Thomas passed on the sled to her. Her father's eyes lingered over Illya, before Calysta motioned for him to go back inside.

Even if it wasn't his real name it was annoying that Kalizda got it wrong. Illya's eyebrows rose and he got a slightly indignant expression to his face. He was starting to get some feeling back into his limbs and it all hurt because it was like his nerves were on fire or buzzing everywhere for now. "She still gets et wrong. Elijah Standing Horse." The indignant look on the Chip's face and the response brought a little grin to Terrence's face. "Guess I'll write down Elijah Standing Horse." It looked like they were a legitimate pair since she hadn't cared enough to get the name right. The grin quickly faded when he saw the Terran man step out and he heard children on board the ship. It was unusual for someone to come out this far with children, but he wasn't there to investigate anything else. At least not now. Tapping a few more codes into the pad he finished it off with his signature and then passed it to Kalizda. "Monroe, you'll sign there saying that you're responsible for the Chippequoti by name of Elijah Standing Horse. Looks like he's a new name here. Might explain why the face isn't quite familiar." Yet, it was at the same time and he wondered why. There was something strangely familiar about the face and he couldn't shake the feeling. In fact the more he looked at Monroe the more he was convinced that he'd seen her face somewhere too.

Illya was feeling good enough to correct her now, it seems, though she had purposely changed the name to make it harder to find in the Terran criminal database, which was now practically the Federation database. If there was Federation presence here, now they could possible make the connection and it was too late now. Why wouldn't look like a new face around here. He had never been here before as far as she knew. Rubbing at her temples for a moment while Terrence finished up the paper work, she took the pad and signed her name as 'Monroe' like she signed everything else before passing it back. "Here you go." As the pad left her fingers, she looked down to Illya, her eyes softening some out of habit before she snapped out of it. "Do you think you could help me get you on to the sled, Elijah?"

With a grunt Illya nodded and he let her move the sled closer to him before he tried to roll over. Terrence nodded to the two of them and then shoved his pad into his pocket again. "Glen is North from here. That ledge over there has a little spot to slide down and you'll practically be there." Glancing back at them one more time he started off slowly and then rounded the bend before he stopped to look over their file one more time. He hadn't submitted it yet. There was something strange about them and he had up to 36 hours before he would have to file the report. With the man out of view Illya winced a little as he managed to move himself almost into the sled. He managed to get his shoulders and part of his torso into the sled, but he couldn't get his legs to move. "I jes need little help wit meh legs." Even the slightest jostle of the left leg sent shooting pains through it and he grimaced. "Augh...be careful."

Calysta fixed the sled closer to Illya, making it easier for him to roll on to it, before glancing up in the direction he indicated. Sliding down that hillside was going to be difficult given Illya's weight. He would pull her right along with him, mowing her over or dragging her down. She'd more than likely have to ride on top of him, guiding the slide. "Thanks," she nodded, in a more sincere tone as Terrence slid away over the ice. As Illya struggled with the sled, Calysta made contact with her father again over the wrist link. "Keep the kids inside and do not let them out for any reason. We'll be back after we visit the town to the north. I will check in once every 2 hours and if I fail to do so within a 24 hour period take off and go to Pyrta. If anyone approaches the ship, do not let them in and call me." The safety of their babies was the most important thing to her and if it meant she and Illya were left behind to find a way home, she would rather the children be safe in Alliance territory than them. Illya groaned a little as he asked for help with his legs and she nodded before bending down and taking up his right leg, the lighter of the two and moving it over the wooden slats of the sled. When she turned to the left her small hands encircled his ankle and she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry." Moving him was going to hurt. With a small grunt, she left his leg and as smoothly as she could, hauled it over the sled, stumbling some as she sat down the limb.

Terrence paused along the trail back into the main part of the town. He'd done his part, but he was sure there was something more. Looking the names up, he didn't find much on her, but the name Elijah Standinghorse brought up a few interesting reports. He was wanted by the Federation and that meant he needed to change the name on record they had. Nobody here wanted anything to do with the Federation. If the man was here they wanted to get rid of him as fast as possible. Just get him moving on to some place different. The Pithians had been free of the Federation for a long time because they weren't foolish enough to try and make a deal with the Federation in the first place. With a little more looking he came across the infamous tale from Terra about Ira and Robin and then the articles on the council woman and the General. Perhaps they could be of some help after all. This was something he didn't dare send over the pad. It wasn't something safe to convey. Instead, he'd have a talk with his mother later on. In the meantime they would be safe at her house.

*******************************************************************

Enough feeling had started to come back that Illya could have sworn the crunching sound was his legs and back and not the snow. It was all sore and then they reached the top of the hill. He knew Kalizda was going to have to sit on him and it didn't sound good. Normally that would have been an exciting concept, but not at this moment. Taking a deep breath he grinned at Kalizda and then tried to sit up. Illya barely managed to get himself propped up on his elbows and he could hold himself there, but he couldn't really get much else to move at this point. When she started to sit down he took a sharp breath. It felt like needles were being shoved into his legs by the millions.

At the bottom of the hill an older looking woman stepped out of the little hut. She was on the edge of the town and she liked to keep it that way. Terrence had already told her that they were coming to visit. "Oooh, I see you brought the Chip for me." Looking at the woman's face she could see something that someone younger, or a man may miss. This woman was concerned about him in a way that was more than just a slave, or bodyguard. Hiking up her skirts a little she stepped over one little snow drift. Underneath her skirt was a thick pair of leggings and giant fur topped boots. "We'll just get him inside where it's warm. I've got a few blankets I set to heat by the fire. Terrence told me you were on the way. He's a good man."

Just the idea of having to get up and walk sounded terrible, but Illya did his best to stand. Forcing himself to sit up the rest of the way he winced and then moved his legs over the edge of the sled. Instead of getting himself up he felt a combined effort of the women to move him to a standing position. From there he managed to stumble into the house. The woman had a room just inside the door with a large bed and it was deliciously hot in the room. He was barely laid down on the bed and she returned with a massive, hot blanket and a cup of tea. For a moment Illya wondered if it was some sort of trick. She was Pithian and he wondered if she would poison him, but Pithians weren't like that. They preferred to be open with their disgust. Since he was still a little shaky he let Kalizda help him with the cup. While he was sipping at the tea he saw the Pithian woman come back into the room with another blanket. Even if he didn't like the Pithians this one was a bit different.

A little grin came to her face and she met Kalizda's gaze. "We'll get him warmed up and then the muscles will relax a little and I can do what I need to." For a moment it looked like the little woman was shocked as if she thought her Chip would be in pain. "Don't worry, there is a mild sedative and I put some medicine for pain in the tea. It should help soothe the ache in the leg." Looking at the young woman again she decided to ask what had been on her mind since they'd arrived. "You're agreed with him aren't you? Don't be afraid. I was agreed with a Chip once before the war. He was a good man. I loved him very much, but he died in the war."

She had become in some ways shunned for her reputation and since then she'd chosen to live on the outskirts of the town. In time Chippequoti learned that her home was a safe haven if they were in need of help. Listening to the woman's answer she nodded carefully and then decided to move onto business. "I'll give you some tea. Dark Chippequoti don't do well in the colder weather. He's had damage to his lungs before. I can hear it. He'll get a cough soon enough, but I'll make you some tea to help with that." It almost appeared that the little woman was shocked at what she knew. "Oh, the Chippequoti learned the herbs from us. We used to live in a jungle area, we still send out scouts to collect herbs. We do not heal the bones as well as the Ehaui, but we know internal medicine much better. I can cure almost any internal disease and some damage." Shuffling back out of the room she went to her kitchen to prepare a few more things.

Finding a true Pithian healer was rare and especially one that was kind to outsiders. Illya took a deep breath and he looked at Kalizda. "Maybe we ask her tah give yah some medicine. Heal yah body inside. I know dat et was hurt after Lohgan. Green eyed Chippequoti are nut good for dah inside of dere moter."

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta looked over the icy ridge indicated by Terrance and set her jaw into a look of determination. She could haul Illya that far and get him down the hill on her own. If he was sliding across the ice on the sled he wouldn't be so heavy, right? That was the theory she was going with as she picked up the heavy tether lead and began pulling him over the frozen ground, careful to plant each foot with a solid stamp before pulling Illya a little further along. By the time she made it to the edge of the ridge, her boots were flaked with ice and her muscles were burning along with her lungs. The cold air made her lungs ache but it was Illya's weight that had her huffing and puffing a bit, sweating in her heated jacket. It wasn't that she was particularly out of shape, but her Chip's weight was great enough that the sled blades cut into the cut deeper than they would normally, causing more friction. At least they were at the easy part, where his weight might be slightly helpful.

Bringing him to the edge of the ridge, she gazed down at the slope on the other side and steeled herself, as if it was any other race in a flyer. Of course, on this one she wouldn't have much control over the steering and his heft would be her unstoppable propulsion. Making sure her gloves were on tightly and her face mask was covering her nose, Calysta climbed aboard the sled, straddling Illya's waist with a knee on each side, and took up the tether to tuck into his hands. "Here we go." With a deep breath, she grabbed the icy edge and pulled with a loud grunt until they had enough forward motion to send them over the slippery hillside.

Wind rushed past them as she tucked herself to Illya's chest and held tight to the slats of the sled on either side of him in the hopes of keeping him on the thing as they rocketed downward. "Uhuhuh...." The ice was pocketed with sharp bottomed boot holes having made the trip up the hill, causing the ride to be bumpy. After what seemed like ages, the hill became level and they began to slow slightly but not enough before they ploughed into a 5 ft tall snow drift. Snow at that speed felt more like a brick wall, though the snow was fresh. "Illya?!" She'd already forgotten to use his fake name as she fought against the clumps of ice to free herself. She swatted at the pile before managing to unbury her leg enough to flop to the side. "Hang on," she winced. Scrambling to her feet, she pulled backwards on the sled near his feet and hauled him out of the drift. He was stuck well enough that she had to put all of her weight against the ground and heave until he loosened, dropping her suddenly to her butt on top of an ice chunk. "Oooh..." she winced, rubbing her bottom some to get rid of the sting. It was going to bruise more than likely.

She picked up the lead from him again and began taking him toward the single small hut that Terrence had mentioned where a taller, pale woman was already walking out to greet them. She didn't have any weapons in her hands and greeted them with a strange sort of delight considering everyone else had been ready to attack, spit or put a fine on them. "Thank you," she said evenly as she followed the medicine woman into her blessedly warm hut.

Calysta did her best to help Illya inside and get him sitting on the bed with his injured leg stretched out slightly. When the woman offered tea to him, she was suspicious at first. Being poisoned wasn't on her top things to deal with that day, and it had already happened once from supposed 'ally's' but her Chip took it gratefully and so she relegated herself to keeping close watch while the woman talked about Terrance and Pithians along with a bit of information about herself on a personal level. Calysta sat back, her mind still reeling a bit from the influx of information that the woman had just given them. Up till now, she had been under the impression that the Chippeqouti and Pithian peoples were enemies, and deeply so. Then again, this wouldn't be so uncommon for chips to have an enemy like this. However, this healer seemed to be different than her peers, something that she could respect and understand. The woman had guessed right off hand that she and Illya were agreed and it made her shift closer to Illya, slightly. Could they trust her? She had taken them into her home and helped Illya, warming him up and giving something for the pain while offering to help his leg. Even if she didn't quite trust the woman yet, she could hardly refuse the help.

As the woman went about her work, Calysta stayed close to Illya, helping him bring the cup to his lips when he was ready for another drink and keeping an eye out for trouble. When he mentioned getting help for her and her own issues, she put her hand over his and squeezed it. "Lets get you taken care of first, yeah?" Now that the woman knew, it was okay to display some affection to her husband, which was a bit of a relief. As the woman returned, she looked to her and gave her a grateful nod. "Thank you for your help, but I dont think I caught your name."

The woman had finished preparing a moderate to small sized pouch full of the medicinal herbs to help with the cough and heal some of the lung. It wasn't likely it would cure all of it, but it could help. If nothing else it could ease the cough that would likely be on its way. No sooner had she stepped into the room and she saw how much closer the woman had ventured to her man and she even had a hand over his. "My name is Helen." Handing the pouch to Kalizda she grinned, "That's for when he starts coughing. In a few minutes, he'll be ready to get the leg stitched up. You might want to help him out of his pants."

Calysta managed a small smile, though her nose was still cold and took the pouch from the woman who was grinning. At her suggestion, Calysta no longer had an issue with her nose being cold, in fact, her cheeks along with her ears and nose turned hot with blush and she glanced shyly away from Helen to Illya. "Well, I have done that before," she joked sheepishly, "Finish up your tea and you can grin all you like."

Even if it was a Pithian telling Kalizda to help him out of his pants Illya couldn't help grinning. He found it kinda funny. Besides, he'd still have his boxers on and there wouldn't be anything to see that wasn't inappropriate. Even if there was, it wouldn't be the first time a doctor or healer had seen him. When Helen stepped out of the room Illya took it as their cue. "I tink I can help a little bit eh? Den maybe tonight we can try taking meh pants off again. When we're back on dah ship."

Calysta rolled her eyes at Illya despite the look of blush on her face. Only he could think about getting her into bed when he was about to be worked on by a doctor, or healer as it happened. That probably had a lot to do with the sedative he was drinking, but she also knew quite well how encourageable he could be. Later on, he probably wouldn't want to do much more than snuggle because his legs would be hurting. "We'll see about that after she's done fixing up your leg, hm? Hard work might be off the menu.. for you anyways." Her shyness deepened, though she was trying to match him in someways. "Now, lay back." She took the cup from him, setting it to the side, before taking his shoulders and guiding him back to the bed while he grinned. Chuckling, she began unbuckling his boots unbuckling his boots then unlayering him only to discover he has multiple layers of pants on. "Illya...how many pairs of pants did you put on?" She sighed as she worked off the first pair, which was difficult because the material was so tight. Tossing the first bloodstained and ruined pair to the side, she went for the next one. He's ruined nearly every pair of pants he had in one go. When Helen returned, Calysta had just managed to get off the last pair, shimmying the pants down to his ankles. "I think he's ready," Calysta said to her, "May I ask you something, Helen?"

Kalizda was so tiny that she had to get onto the bed to actually help him. The grin on Illya's face got broader and he chuckled a little. sedatives always had an odd effect on him. "Mm...I tink I want more den cuddling. Only one leg will hurt. Jes cause a leg hurts dun mean dat yah can't be on top." Even though Helen was in the kitchen preparing some of her tools she could still hear the man talking. It didn't sound like he was a shy one. There was still plenty of noise though and it sounded like there were a few problems getting him undressed. Illya did his best to lift his hips off the bed and try to help push his pants down. The question from Kalizda only made him grin. "I tink I wear a few pants. Ets cold." Cold was a perfectly good and logical excuse for the layers that he was wearing. When they were finally done he grinned at her. He was getting some wild ideas and he kinda liked them. It was all set aside when the woman came in with a little tray full of odd looking instruments. Helen glanced at the multiple pairs of pants on the floor and the ones still around the man's ankles and then toward Kalizda. "Ask what you will." Sitting down on the other side of the bed she dipped a little strip of dressing in a bowl of liquid and then started to wipe the blood off the leg.

Of course that had been his reasoning. She knew now that she was going to have to make her way to whatever market they had here and invest in some pants for her. If they had a comparable size. If they were lucky they would have a good size here and between those and his heated jacket he would manage. Since Helen decided to go right to work, cleaning up the bloody hole in her husbands thigh, Calysta abandoned the pair of pants trapped around Illya's ankles, not bothering to take them off the rest of the way. Instead, she shifted around the woman and came to a seat near Illya's head where she could observe the work being done, while also staying in her Chip's sights. It was more likely he'd stay calm and distracted that way while the woman poked around in his leg. His cool fingers smoothed down his hair as he grinned up at her with a sloppy, drunken sort of smile. "I have no knowledge of your kind," she admitted, "But from what I gather...from the last hour...is that there is a deep dislike between Chips and Pithians. How is it you came to marry one and which war was it your husband died in?" Chips were long lived and she had to imagine that the Pithians must have some sort of extended life span, so it was hard to know which war she was referring to. There were alot of 'the wars' running around her head at the moment, a surprising and somewhat disturbing discovering considering 10 years ago war was the last thing on her mind.

Illya winced a little when the woman started to probe into the wound. "Owe..." He tried to sit up, but Kalizda started to run her fingers through his hair with enough force he had to lay down again. Helen was grateful for the fact that the sedative seemed to work well on this one. Some of them got mean, but he was fairly calm and very relaxed with his woman there. Glancing at Kalizda when she asked the question only gave pause for a brief moment for the work. Helen started to gather the needles and the powder and sutures. "There was a war a little over 100 years ago. Depending on how old he is, he might remember it."

She fitted what she knew of Chip history into the time frame that Helen offered as she kept her hands playing in Illya's curls. "The war with the Federation," she surmised, "He remembers it." She left that statement at that and sent the back of her fingers trailing gently down his cheek to distract him. "And your husband fought in the war then, I'm sorry. " If that was the case, then he might have died a truly horrific death and it made her cringe to think about what he might have suffered. "Were your people involved in it too?"

It was not surprising that he was old enough to remember it. Helen had noticed the multiple pock marks and deep scars on his right thigh. It was not the one that she was working on, but it was certainly noticeable. Additionally, she'd noticed he lost part of his right leg and he had a good sturdy prosthetic. Whatever had happened to cause that must have been violent. To do that to a Chip was very difficult. Glancing up at her patient she saw that he was looking a bit tired and he was almost ready to fall asleep while she was paused in her work. Since he was getting more relaxed it would make things easier and she decided to let him have a few more moments to rest while she answered the woman's question. "We weren't involved so much. We fought the Federation and Chippequoti early on and then when the Chippequoti ended up fighting the Federation we had to flee our home and we did our best to keep them as far away from us as possible. Wherever the Chippequoti went the Federation followed and they were violent in the early years. They killed many of my kind."

Calysta stayed quiet for a long moment, thinking about what she said. The Chippeqouti had been mercenaries working with the Federation for awhile before their deal had been broken, and she imagined that there were more peoples in the galaxy who hated the Chippeqouti as much for their imperialistic ways not but a 100 years ago. She would have liked to say that in some ways, things had changed, but there were still some Chips who held that view, even if many of them didn't.

"The Federation always follows," Calysta replied, images from the last 48 hours flashing in her mind. She wondered, briefly if they had any right to be here. The Federation would simply come and destroy their home again too if they discovered where she and Illya had landed. "I want to change that," she added, "For my children...and for him." She nodded to Illya who had just about gone to sleep under her fingertips, his breathing steady and his face a picture of relaxed calm.

It was dangerous sounding. The woman knew the Federation followed and Helen took a deep breath before she sprinkled a little powder into the wound. She let it fizzle and settle in before she threaded the needle and prepared to start the first layer of stitching. "They would come for us anyway. The Alliance has pushed them too hard for them not to try and expand out to the fringes. You can work all you want to change it, but you can't unless you stop the Federation." Glancing at the man she noted that he wasn't really aware of the fact that he was about to get stitches and so she started. He didn't even twitch. The sedative and painkiller must have worked and the powder helped numb some of the pain as well. "The bone has a small chunk that was damaged. It will hurt for some time, but he will be able to walk. Just be sure that you watch him for fevers." She finished one layer of stitching and then started on the next with another little coating of the powder. "You have children with him? How many?"

"You think the Alliance as pushed them?" Calysta asked, more curious to hear the woman's opinion on the subject. She knew she had to be careful not to reveal herself or Illya's identity, particularly now, so it was best to simply keep acting as if she were entirely ignorant of somethings. Terrence already knew she had children aboard at this point and Illya had mentioned them earlier. At this point there was no harm in saying anything about their children. "Three," she said, "Two biological and one adopted. Are Pithian's similar to Chippeqouti when it comes to such things?" The latter half of her question was more for the sake of her own curiosity than anything else. If they were there, they might as well learn something about one another.

"Certainly the Alliance has pushed the Federation. It has not been this threatened in some time. I think that it was a pity the General resigned. He might have been one of the most hated Chippequoti alive, but he could do a lot more in a war than most of us ever thought. His agreed was a little woman like yourself if I remember. She was quite infamous for her diplomacy and taking his kind in. It would be a first that anyone turned the hand of the Chippequoti away from war with all their neighbors. In fact I think you look very much like the councilwoman." The children she didn't really know about. Nobody knew much about them and she smiled a little when she got the answer about the children, but found herself almost instantly confused. "Pithians similar to the Chippequoti in what way? We're very different."

Calysta felt a little chill of realization hit her and she dropped her eyes away from the Pithian woman. Helen talked as if she knew them, looking past all of their pretense, but it was far too dangerous to admit who they were yet, even to a supposed ally. "I didn't know those on the Fringe followed the ongoings of the Alliance so closely," she managed to say, "I get that I look like the councilwoman quite a bit. An annoying thing ever since that Terran movie came out." Their topic came to Chippeqouti/ Pithinian differences and she raised her eyes again, tilting her head some. "You married a Chip man despite of differences, just as the council woman did it seems. Do Pithians have similar life spans and agreement practices?"

The Pithian woman chuckled a little at the ignorance. "Oh no, our traditions are very different and Pithians only live about 300 years. We don't have as long as the Chippequoti." Why the woman seemed to insist not to be the councilwoman was understandable, but it wouldn't do her any good when others saw her. "Not all the fringe keeps track of the Alliance, but Pithians have watched carefully for a long time. Whatever happens there will affect us eventually." Taking a deep breath she finished off the stitches and looked at Illya for a long moment before glancing back to Kalizda. "Some Pithians did what they could to ease the suffering, but there was a lot of danger in what we did. Others used their circumstances to become wealthy. The Chippequoti and Pithians are both at fault for their hatred of one another."

"As it is many other races," she replied to Helen as her fingers continued stroking at Illya's hair, "There are always wrongs on both sides, no matter the way you look a things or who you are, Terran, Kaerelean, Chippeqouti...Tannas...Pithinian....it's never so black and white." Her eyes grew distant for a moment, before snapping back to the present and she glanced back to Helen. "I take it that's the reason Chippeqouti must register here. Do they not have full citizenry rights? Even as visitors?"

The woman seemed to be rightfully concerned for her agreed and inquired more about the registration. Helen sighed, "Chippequoti must register because of Pithian law. They are considered dangerous and when you register him it simply means that you take responsibility for what he does here. Once he is registered you'll get a badge to put on his coat and then the Pithians will leave him alone. It would cause problems for them to bother him when he is marked. You have rights to go to court in his defense if they attack or hurt him without cause."

Calysta had gotten that much from the Warden, and knowing that he would have to wear something on his coat to signify he was registered still made her ill. She could think of several instances in Terran, Kaerelean and other species histories where ethnic registration had lead to straight to genocide, which is precisely what the Federation wanted too. The question would come down to who the Pithian's hated more, the Chippeqouti or the Federation? She met Helen's gaze for a long moment, deciding on whether or not it would be wise to stay here at all. She didn't want to bring the Federation to these people but they already seemed to know what would happen and yet she didn't know if they could overcome their hatred either. "And what about my children?" she asked quietly, "Will I be forced to register them too?"

A frown came to Helen's face and she thought for a long moment. "It would be something we would have to ask the counsel about. We have never dealt with half Chip children." Cleaning the tools off she set them back on the small tray and stood. "He'll probably wake up in a little bit, but for now he'll sleep. I will get you some more sedative and painkillers. It should help with his legs." She had no doubt that even though only one leg had been injured the other hurt with that much scarring. "I can make a cream to soothe the pain in his leg too. It will help fade the scars if I add the Unpries Oil." Helen had a few things to help and she knew the woman was probably very much like herself when she was younger. It made her heart ache when she had a Chip to see him in pain.

"No, no...I don't want anyone knowing about them if I can help it," Calysta said quickly. That was all she needed was for her children to get entangled in something like that. Registered where the Federation could find them or worse. However, she was curious as to why they had never dealt with half breed children before and raised a brow. Had the woman not had children of her own with her Chip man or did this counsel simply not exist before then. She started to ask, but then though the better of it. This woman had been kind and helpful to them so far, and she didn't want to push a line and cause her more pain than her questions might have already produced. Changing topics, she listened to the woman describe the creams and oils, then stole a glance at her sleeping Chip. It was better to let him rest while she could and she was curious about these herbs too. "I learned a fair amount of herb using from his mother when she was alive. Would you mind showing me some of the things you are working with? I'm grateful for anything you could make to help, and would just watch if you wanted."

Helen stared at the woman for a long moment. "You can watch, but this takes years to learn. I studied the art of healing since my childhood. You must know when to pick the herb in season and time of day, then you must prepare it and then mix it for medicine. There is time of day it is better to use and then there is time that the medicine should be thrown away. Chippequoti only use the medicine that could be taught to them in a few weeks." Taking a small jar out of a cabinet full of herbs she started to carefully weigh it in a small scale and then crush the leaves. The next serving was a different herb and she set it to boil and then took only the water instead of the leaves. "Why do you come here?"

"I would be willing to learn as much as I could," Calysta replied honestly. Every little thing she could do to help Illya would be good in the long run, even if it took time and a great deal of effort. Shifting closer, she watched as the woman took a herb out of the cabinet, weight it precisely, and then use a mortar and pestle to grind it up, releasing a pungent smell. The scent tickled Calysta's nose and screwed her eye shut to avoid the impending sneeze without much luck. She let out a small 'achoo' into her arm of her coat, then wiped at her watery eyes with an apologetic look to Helen. The sneeze had caught on suddenly, enough she nearly missed the woman's question and hesitated to actually answer it.

"I want to protect my children," she sniffled honestly, "And I'm here to give the Federation one less place to run to, if I can find someone willing to help me."

It was obvious that the woman hesitated and her answer seemed odd. "You know that it will not be any safer here than where you left. The Federation is always following. Perhaps that means you are looking to raise more soldiers for the Alliance?" That was an interesting prospect and one that could possibly be popular among the people.

"I know. There is limited time before the Federation comes looking again. Perhaps even less time now than what I hoped," Calysta replied, "Though if I was part of the Alliance, I doubt it would make that much of a difference, would it?" For safety reasons, she wouldn't admit that they were in the Alliance and she would never put that sort of pressure on Illya again. She would shoulder the world as the councilwoman if she had to before that happened.

"The Alliance has made great progress against the Federation and there are many who would want to join. It is only a matter of time before the Federation tries to control our territory after they lost Demos." Helen paused with a large dollop of a cream that she was preparing to mix with the herbs. "It makes a great deal of difference. The Pithains are like the Chippequoti in the way that they do not like lies."

Calysta bit her lip, and glanced at Illya's dozing form before she looked back up to the woman debating. One the one hand her, instinct was to tell the woman the truth, it was what had gotten her that far with the Chippeqouti, however, it was what had also been her greatest mistake. Her decision had cost many people their lives and nearly cost her husband his life too. The woman already seemed to know who they were, judging by her tone and if the people reacted well to the Alliance, then perhaps they would meet her as the councilwoman and she could bring another blow to the Federation. There was also the possibility this woman was lying about everything too, which she wouldn't put past any Federation spies. Looking the Pithian woman, she made her decision. The Federation was coming either way and if they were, she would rather deal with any issues here and now while the force was small and they could go back to their ship. She would choose to believe this woman. "Then, if I must be, I am Council Woman Calysta Marie Monroe," Calysta replied, "And I am here to keep the Federation from spreading further."

Nodding a little she smiled. "Good, then when Terrence comes in for dinner I will have him go to the outlying area an inform the others and gather supporters from the other villages. We will probably have a forum. It is well that he was the warden to find you. Not all the wardens would have been as kind, but most of the Pithains will recognize you if given a little time."

Helen started into talking about informing everyone that they were there and while normally, she would have greeted them out right, and welcomed this was not a decision she could make alone. She and Illya had promised to do this together and while he would probably be mad at her for telling Helen what they were doing here, she felt it had been the right move. "Before any of that, I would like to speak to my husband about this as well," she said earnestly, "I may be the councilwoman but I value his opinion as his agreed and I know while many of the people here might want to help the Alliance, some might not like it. My family is here and I have to protect them as well. Terrence was kind enough to help us and I am grateful for that as well as for your help too and I would like to make sure I am able to meet your people properly."

"Very well. We will wait for you. It may take a day, or two. I have given you enough of the sedative and painkiller to last 3 days, including a fresh dose this evening." Helen finished pouring the liquid from the one leaves into the cream and then mixed in the leaves from the other and finally took a last set of fat leaves and squeezed the fresh juice out of them. Screwing the lid on top of the jar she gave it to Kalizda. "This is the cream for his scars, and pain."

Calysta took the jar and nodded gratefully, feeling relieved that Illya would have both something for the pain and they would have time to talk all of this over before anything happened. Judging by the way he reacted to the Pithians alone, this was going to be a hard conversation. Maybe if she made him very, very content it might make him a bit more reasonable on the subject."Thanks you for your help, Helen." Stuffing the jar into her pocket, she glanced to Illya and sighed. It would be a hard task to get his pants back on him and even more difficult task to haul him back the way they came on the sled if he was still loopy from the sedatives.


*************

Over the course of the next hours, Calysta let Illya rest in his sleepy, sedated state and checked in on the children every hour on the hour as she promised. Cypher was highly upset and cried for her the first time she checked in and it broke her heart knowing it must have scared him when she went out the door and didn't come back. "It's okay little man," she told him over the wrist link. There was too much interference from the incoming weather to display an image, but the boy was satisfied to hear only her voice after a few minutes. "Mam, come home! Dah promised tah play with Monster with me." Her lips flickered into a smile and she chuckled, trying to keep the worry for his father out of her voice. "We'll be home as soon as we can. Okay? Until then, Papa will love to play with Monster. He needs more practice than Dah, yeah?" She could hear her father's breath catch over the comms and took the chance to make sure he behaved as well. "Now, brush your teeth and when Papa says go to bed, it's time to go to bed, okay?" A mumbled "okay" from her son was accented by the sound of his heavy footfalls thudding down the corridor to go get his spider.

She and Helen talked a little while longer over herbs and she learned a few things before Illya was able to wake up for the trip home. "C'mon," she said helping him toward the sled. Looking back to the little hut, she nodded to the woman hoping she would keep her word about waiting a few days until the Pithians could be properly greeted. All she needed was for word to get out to the wrong one and call the federation. Calysta managed to get Illya to the bed and the first thing she did was strip him down. As counter intuitive as it seemed, she knew he would sleep better if he wasn’t so layered up and instead wrapped in his heated blanket. She pulled off his coat and then began working on the many layers of shirts he had felt the need to wear. “How in the Wilds can you even move in all of this,” she sighed, stripping yet other shirt off of his arms. His eyes were still heavy-lidded from the sedative and he kept bringing his hand up to ‘help’ with the shirts. Grabbing his broad hand, she squeezed it and batted it away some, trying to lower it to his side. “Almost done.” She managed to get the last shirt off and then lay him back on the bed. His heated blanket should have been nice and hot by that point and she grabbed it, wrapping it over his bare skin before layering another one on top.

It was time for bed and Illya knew his bed would be warm and far more comfortable. Kalizda just couldn't get his shirts off fast enough and he was trying to help. She was working on the last one and she was taking so long. "Jes let meh do et. Yah taking too long." Instead she batted his hand away and he frowned at her. When she finished pulling the shirt off he laid down in the bed and grumbled. "I'm a grown man. I can get mehself naked."

He was getting grumpy as he laid back and she covered him up. In truth, today had scared her and she was worried about what would happen next with the Pithians. "Aye, a grown man but you usually dont have a problem with your little bird getting you naked," she replied with a raised brow. She slipped down to the end of the bed and began unlacing his boots. Perhaps she was mothering a bit, but she didn't know what else to do to help him for now.

Illya sat back up and pushed the blankets off when he felt her grabbing his boots. "I take care of one boot and den maybe I take meh pants off while yah get tea." He knew he had to have tea before he went to bed tonight and he still wanted to feel like he was doing something for himself. To top it all off he somewhat wanted to try his wild idea.

He was going to insist and she needed to make the tea anyways. Letting go of his other ankle, Calysta nodded and went to go get the tea started. It didn't take long to warm up the water and pack the herbs into the strainer to steep. When the hot water had fully absorbed the leaves, turning dark brown, she added some honey, stirred it well, and then returned to their bedroom. She was walking a bit slower than she normally would, as her muscles in her back were clenching some. "I brought some of the tea with honey," she announced, walking through the door.

Since she let his one ankle go Illya sat up the rest of the way and took the boot off. He finished taking his socks off and started to slide his single pair of pants off his hips when she started out the door. While she was gone Illya pulled the Ira leather top out from one of her drawers. He didn't know how or why it got there, but he'd seen it the other day and somehow it sounded like a good idea. It was a little awkward getting into the tight leather strappy shirt thing, but he managed it with some effort. He was still in his boxers and he just about stripped them off too, but he heard her coming back down the corridor of the ship. Scrambling back to the bed Illya pulled the blankets up to his chin. It wasn't anything new and he figured she wouldn't suspect anything. When she offered the cup of tea he gingerly reached for it with the arm that wouldn't show off the leather and sipped at it. He was trying not to move too much because he knew the leather would make that odd creaking sound.

Calysta handed off the tea carefully so nothing spilled over the bed and then let him sip on it while she changed clothes. It took minute to peel out of her shirt and her thick leggings along with her boots. She hung his clothes up, the decent ones, and then made sure her thermal jacket was with his in the hallway. About the time she stripped down to her bra the ship's heat system kicked in and she hummed at how good it felt as she started working on her bra too, fully intending to find a shirt to put on afterward. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she tossed her bra into the hamper and reached for a long sleeve shirt.

While Kalizda changed Illya worked on finishing the drink. It was tempting to just glulp the rest of it down, but he didn't know what the side effect of doing that would be. After he got to the bottom of the cup he finished it off and then put it on his night stand just in time for Kalizda to reach for one of the long sleeved shirts. Illya had to think about how to answer her question in a way that would keep her from putting the shirt on. "Eh....I tink maybe I feel good. Like I still have energy eh?" Shifting in the bed a little he rolled to his side so he could see her better and cringed at the odd creak sound from the leather bending and expanding in certain places as he moved.

She paused as he shifted in the bed and she thought for a moment the bed itself was squeaking under his weight. It wasn't altogether unsurprising, considering how much wear and tear the bed one through, but it was still an issue she would have to address eventually. When he mentiones having some extra energy, she knew what he was getting at and raised a brow at him, mildly amused at him considering he was probably still loopy from the sedatives. "I think maybe you feel good because you're on pain medication," she chuckled, "I dont want to hurt your leg." Nor did she want him to be a bear about it either.

She was being very dense and Illya sighed. "I'm nut afraid of taking advantage of feeling good. Maybe today was nut such good day, but..." A grin came to his face and he started to shift around, but still tried to keep the blankets up high on his shoulders. "Ef I can't be Illya maybe I can be Ira." It felt so odd and he busted out laughing. "Ef yah come over here I have a surprise for yah."

Kalizda ventured a little closer, but he needed her closer than that. "Well? Yah have tah get in bed tah find dah surprise." After he said it Illya realized how bad that sounded and he started to laugh all over again. Perhaps it was a good thing he still had his boxers on. The vest without the boxers would have been pretty wild and he wasn't sure he felt that wild. Keeping the covers tucked tightly around himself he waited for her to get in the bed with him. He didn't want her to discover the leather vest till after she was nice and close.

He definitely was feeling playful and she knew he would keep right on going with this unless she climbed into bed and found her 'surprise'. She was certain she knew what that was too. Since he was all wrapped up she tossed her feet onto the bed and shimmied close and leaned in to kiss him as her hand slipped over...her fingers met something entirely bizarre and she drew back, her eyes growing wide. "Illya, what in the wilds do you have on?"

They didn't even get to the first kiss and she was already pulling away like something shocked her. The grin on his face got a bit wider. It was slightly over done with the medicine in his system. "Umm....I tink about et when yah helping meh get meh pants off. I see dat yah keep Ira vest and I tink maybe yah dress up sometimes so I dress up dis time." Pushing up on one elbow he frowned some as the leather made the odd sound and it pinched a little. It was tight and uncomfortable. He wasn't wearing it of his own choice again. She was going to have to ask next time. "Uh...dis time I dun mind ef yah help meh get et off."

Calysta stared at him in slight bewilderment until he sat up causing the blanket to fall away and reveal the ridiculous Ira outfit. The outfit that looks so strange... Unless it was on him. He had gotten up while she was making his tea and put all this on? She couldn't decide if that was because of the medicine motivating him or his own desire, or combination of the two. She looked him over, tempted to laugh and tell him he was being silly under the influence of painkillers and sedatives, but another more curious part of her wanted to see how far he was planning on going with it. "Oh," she chuckled, "Well as I recall, it was Ira that stole Robin away and after a very long kiss she helped him out of that outfit."

The grin on Illya's face stayed put. It sounded like she was up for more and he wasn't about to disappoint. Normally he laid on the left side of the bed so that when he turned over in bed to hold Kalizda he didn't have to sleep on his right side. This time it didn't turn out quite so well because his left leg was the injured side. Angling himself a little awkwardly he found a semi decent position to try and kiss her from. Wrapping an arm behind her shoulders he pulled her close and kissed her. "How many kisses will et take tah convince yah dat I need out of dis ting?"

He shifted a little more causing the bed to jostle and his leather outfit to squeak slightly as he wrapped an arm around her bring her into a playful sort of Kiss with long holds and pecks in between. By the time he was pulling away she had a mischievous little grin on her face as her fingertips tickled at his palm massaging it lightly before moving down to the leather-bound wrist where she slowly began to unlace the cuff. "That's a good question," she whispered her lips not inches from his as she continued to unlace the cuff at her own pace. She may not have been good at flirting or seduction, but Robin was and she could play that part easily, right? the leather cuff fell away from his wrist and she hooked her small index finger into the collar of the vest before cutting her eyes up to him like she had seen women do in the movies. " Maybe a few more."

Illya let her play along and he sort of liked how tempting she was. Moving as close as he could without making his left leg touch her he kissed her again and then felt her finger hook under the collar of the vest. Meeting her gaze he smirked as he moved one of his hands to her bare legs. Leaning in he kissed her again and he winked at her as he pulled back slightly. "What es dis? Yah only undue one snap for each kiss? Dat means I better get tah work."

***********

At the sound of the door opening, Calysta peeled open her eyes and found herself nose to pink nose with her son. He was standing at the edge of the bed his bright blue eyes not centimetres from her face. "Mam," he whispered, "Yah home." Calysta rubbed at her eyes and nodded before replying in Kaerelean. "I'm home little man." Without hesitation he started climbing into bed with them, his square knee hitting her in the stomach a few times before he flopped out over her chest. He had to weight close to 70lbs at this point, if not more, but he was still her little boy. "C'mere," she wheezed. Moving around to keep him from bumping his father's leg reminded her exactly how sore she was going to be when she actually got up. Wrapping her arms around her son, she buried her nose into his wild hair and kissed the top of his head.

For awhile he dozed with them until he started to get restless, rubbing his cheek over the sheets in a sly attempt to wipe his nose. "Cypher...I think it's time to get up, yeah? Let Dah sleep and we can go outside for a minute or two."

That was more than enough motivation to get him up and moving and he grinned up at her before bouncing off her stomach to land in the floor. On the way down, she caught of wiff of his breath and grimaced. He had not brushed his teeth last night. He was dressed faster than she could get up and make herself ready to go outside. She tigthened his coat over his neck and helped him get his pudgy fingers into his red gloves. All the while he danced, ready to simply go outside. Why did they need all of this on? He didn't like it, but his Mam had promised to take him outside if he put it on beforehand. With his hood snapped over his head, framing his tan face in vibrant, foxy coloured fur, Mam finally opened the hatch and let him run down the small side ramp. As soon as he met the end of the ramp he tried to take off running over the ground like always, but his feet slid right out from under him. Those tiny boots kept right on kicking as he sailed over the ice and dropped into a gully full of snow roughly three feet deep. The sensation of cold water hitting him was absolutely stunning. This was not a warm water bath. It was freezing and it hurt! Immediately, he started to fuss and then all out a cry as his Mam ran out to unburying him. "Hold on...it's okay..."

His fat fists flailed as he tried to free himself until Mam's hands slipped under his arm pits and hauled him upward. "Et's c-c-cold! No, I don't like this place, Mam!" Where was the sun and all of the grass he could go roll in to find bugs for his Monster? As soon as he was free from his mother's arms, Cypher was scampering back into the ship where he ran straight to his father's room to the big, heated blanket and dove into bed with his ice covered jacket and all.