Through Passion, Strength (Rugs, Gosia)

[Valcor]

"That's mine rancor-head!" One voice echoed.

"Then take it back! Or are you too weak?!" Another retorted, it's body radiating with emotion.

"Raaagh!" So much hatred here.

"I didn't order this? Blasted shipping troopers couldn't find their butt-plate if it wasn't strapped to them!" So much frustration.

"I said AGAIN!" This place teemed with such charged passion, such exposed feelings.  It was intoxicating, almost blindingly so.

Even from her secluded place deep within the bowels of the Sith Temple, Maris could sense it all.  It was absolutely fascinating.  Compared to the Jedi temple this place was rainbow to a rock.  Perhaps it did not allow Maris the clarity of thought she had so enjoyed in her time so many rotations ago, but it was infinitely more pleasurable.  With all this feeling flowing about like a storm raging over an ocean, Maris could almost lose her own detestable ones in it's swirling.  Her suffering dissipated among the mosaic of other powerful feelings, and their life flowed in substitute.  All this with nothing visual to reveal it.  Maris merely sat, motionless in a dark room with barely even her breathing audible, and yet for her, the air screamed and howled with being.

Letting her mind flow and ebb with the force, Maris gleefully explored her world around her, taking time to sense all those around her in more detail.  The trooper who patrolled was nervous, worried someone would notice his unkempt blaster as he walked.  The only other trainee present in the dormitory was day dreaming of a girl in his classes.  Yet only these untrained few were so easy to read.  The farther Maris spread her mind, the more constricted the force became.  The upper levels of the temple were barely flowing at all, so confined and protected.  Maris did not know what she expected.  Just when she was going to turn her attention to the garden she so adamantly enjoyed, a small flicker caught her attention.  It was slight barely even palpable, but Maris had felt this before.

Among such a protected crowd like those that dwelled in the upper levels of the temple, it was unlikely to be an untrained force sensitive... Unless...  No she was certain.  That unbridled ball of emotion as raw as humanly possible.  There was only one being that could produce that; one too naive to not know to hide such intimate feelings.  A child.  Maris focused in, letting all else blur into periphery, then there it was again.  A hiccup of sadness followed by instant happiness, it was just as Maris remembered.  Alone in her quarters, Maris let a warm smile spread across her face, her heart fluttering as she continued to follow the small bundle of emotion.  Then her heart skipped a beat.  There was another, almost masked by the outburst of the first, but clearly a distinct entity on it's own.  Maris' breath hitched as she felt herself captivated.  'Twins...' She thought, sorrow and fond memories overwhelming her of her own pair.

Suddenly her intense focus and emotional charge became too much and the unprotected pair reacted.  Their flickers lit up with sorrow in tandem with her own, spurring Maris to flee back to herself as quickly as she could manage, wrenching back her protective barrier faster than she could comfortably.  With her perceptions returning to mostly physical in nature, Maris felt the world rush back as well.  Her eyes flew open, and her blood began to pump hard, as if reviving her from a deep slumber.  Gasps for air filled the otherwise silent room as Maris struggled to close herself off from the force, an increasingly difficult procedure.  Despite her frail body fighting to give itself strength once more, all the aging woman could think of was that pair of flickers in the force, more specifically the sorrow she induced with her own pain.  

'What if they are in a nursery? What if they are alone? WhatifIwokethem?!' Maris began to torture herself, her long forgotten motherly nature only bubbling to the surface for a moment.  Suddenly dread overwhelmed all other emotions within the ex-Jedi, spurring her to leap to her still quivering legs and bolt out of the door.  The pale, nervous, wide-eyed initiate earned a few curious looks as she peeled down the halls towards the upper level, but a terrified initiate was not uncommon in the temple, and most either chuckled or shrugged at her passing.  

In moments, Maris was closing in on where she had felt the glimmer, not paying attention to the fact she was in the Chambers of the Lords, she skidded to a halt at the door, taking only a moment to quiet her breath before knocking ever so quietly, terrified to hear crying from the other side.

[Rugs]

“I’m just saying it’s worth considering” Nieraan said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Dromund Kaas is light years ahead of this dump of a planet. There’s actually a city there. You’d like it.”

The Firrerreo yearned to relocate to the Empire’s newly-revealed capitol for countless other reasons. He’d seen the brand-new Temple and it’s state-of-the art amenities for Sith Lords and higher. The training facilities were second to none that he’d ever seen; a benefit for himself and his Zeltron student. Nieraan couldn’t confirm it personally, but some Sith even whispered that Kaas City’s temple rivaled the Jedi’s counterpart on Coruscant.

Escaping the Order’s politicking was about as likely as finding a way back out over a black hole’s event horizon, but a new home from the Korriban cesspit would be some relief, at least. If nothing else, he’d have more choices to engage in the politicking when he chose to instead of having it forced upon him at the most unwelcome times.

He glanced over at a cradle in the room’s far corner. The two little ones slept, or at least lay together in a rare moment of relative quiet. Hard as it was for him to openly admit it — even to Danica — Nieraan most wanted to leave Korriban for them.

The desert world was no place to raise anyone. Too harsh. Too many people who wouldn’t blink at the chance to hurt him through his children — as if fretting about Danica’s safety hadn’t nearly driven him crazy.

“Just give it some thought,” he said, pulling a dark blue sleeveless shirt over his head. His hair was damp and skin still soft from a recent shower.

Before he could say more, the twins suddenly burst into tears. Nieraan sighed; no one told him there’d be so much crying and noise and waking up in the middle of the night.

“There they go again,” he muttered, clipping his lightsabers to his belt. “Honestly what even set them off this ti-“

His words cut short as he looked to the door. A presence approached, radiating worry. Nieraan’s yellow eyes narrowed as he paused halfway through clipping his blue blade to his belt. “Someone’s coming,” he muttered.

He approached the door, unlit hilt in hand and motioned for Danica to try to quiet the twins. Some part of him said he was being stupid and jumpy. Just because someone was coming to his room didn’t mean they were after the kids or had anything to do with the kids.

Still, he reached the door as the interloper knocked. He opened it slightly, just enough to stick his head out to peer into the hallway. Some woman—one he vaguely recognized as a relative newcomer—stared back him.

“Can I help you?”

[Poludnica]

The mirror reflected a tall, dark haired woman who tried to pin her freshly dried hair up. ”That’s the problem, Nieraan.” Danica sighed and glanced at her lover. ”There is a city in which my father can conceal himself.” She sighed, tired of this conversation. He didn’t understand and would never do. When it came to Cassius, it was better to live in a den of snakes than in an open field for him to attack. She turned away from the mirror and walked toward Nieraan. Her hands moved up the Firrerreo’s shoulders. ”You are a Sith Lord, no one here will threaten you or your family.” She whispered. The last couple of months were straining, but they had pulled through. Danica never expected Nieraan to lift this burden. He was still young for his species, yet had inner strength of an aged warrior.

”I will th…” The high pitched cry tore through the air and Danica winced. Soon another joined him. She cursed loudly. The children were onto it again, despite being fed, changed and cuddled to sleep. Danica was sure those were Onin’s genes right there. She looked into the crib and silenced the children with a hushed, soothing whisper. A guilt began to gnaw at her heart when she looked at the twins. A mother should love unconditionally and yet Danica harboured all this ambiguity. The selfish part of her missed the previous freedom, the slender figure and excessive drinking. Another felt fiercely protective and possessive over this new heritage. ”They got it after you.” Danica said with a tired chuckle that faded when she noticed Nieraan’s expression growing darker.

Then someone softly knocked on the doors. Danica glanced at the sober clipped to Nieraan’s belt. She stalked after her lover. There didn’t seem to be an immediate danger and the human woman tried to ward off the paranoid thought, but her emotional stability had suffered since the last few months. Anxiety quickly began to built in Danica’s body. ”Who is it?” She asked breathlessly, infected by Nieraan’s wariness. Maybe Dormund Kaas wasn’t the worst idea after all.

One of the children, their son, let out a cooing sound. By now Danica could recognise subtle differences in the kids voices. Despite being twins, they already didn’t look alike. The boy had pale golden skin, whereas the girl inherited Danica’s fair complexion. Their features already shaped to be different with their daughter taking after human side of the family. The children had one thing in common, already known to everyone around in the temple: the force sensitivity they couldn’t hide.