[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing was sitting quietly outside the door. The sun was just setting, and he was currently leaning back on a wooden bench outside the door of the small house he and Amala had purchased a few months ago. Jaing had felt it would be a good idea to get her away from the base while she was pregnant, and a small farm right next to his family home was a good enough choice. Fi, being the new next door neighbor and unofficial keeper of the family home, visited often, helping Amala out when Jaing wasn’t around. Jaing suspected Fi enjoyed it and looked forward to becoming an uncle. When he wasn’t at their house, though, he was visiting Kyrie in the city. Jaing smiled slightly, happy that his brother, who he never thought would even be able to walk again, had found someone to love. For a dead man, Fi was doing pretty good for himself.

The sun began to sink below the tops of the trees, casting an orange and pink glow across the forests and fields. Jaing had his ears tuned into the house, alert for any kind of noise or movement from within. Amala was currently very, very pregnant, and Jaing was constantly fretting over her. At the moment though, he’d basically been chased out of the house to give her a bit of a break from an overprotective, overbearing husband. Jaing chuckled to himself; he supposed he could probably be a little less jumpy and fretful, but he couldn’t help it. He was going to be a father, and judging by how big Amala was now, he was going to be the father of multiples. He was just as nervous now as he was on the day he’d gotten married; only it seemed to have multiplied tenfold.

Prudii had commented that Jaing had ‘wasted no time’ in starting a family, much to the amusement of Madeline. Jaing decided he’d just ignore them and focus on his small, currently expanding family that was slowly taking over his entire life. Amala and his soon to be children were his world; nothing mattered more to him. The bench that he currently occupied had been made by him; he’d put it together one day after Amala had demanded he give her some breathing room. Reluctantly, he had agreed, and to keep his mind occupied, he worked out in the small barn, creating not only the bench, but a new table, some chairs, and multiple cradles as well. Jaing glanced at the barn; not for the first time, he wondered if they ought to buy a Tuskow or two, if only for the milk. Maybe some Roosken. A Cavallion.

He wouldn’t mind starting a farm after he was able to leave the army for good; it sounded like a good, honest living. Better than being a solider; but the life of a bounty hunter called to him, and Jaing knew he‘d never give it up for good. He was a Mandalorian, and though he wasn’t forced to become a bounty hunter, he knew he’d need some kind of thrill in life, and that was close enough. And the pay wasn’t bad either. But a farm sounded good too, and he knew Amala would enjoy that. Already, they had a small garden  and fields out back full of fresh vegetables. Jaing put his worries aside to let Amala go out every morning to water the garden (And left the fields for himself to water); she seemed to enjoy gardening, and her love of flowers and plants was very apparent in the excellent care the vegetables and garden received.

In fact, Amala’s amazing ability with plants was becoming more and more apparent as their house was surrounded by flowers and small plants of all kinds. Inside, it was vibrant and tastefully decorated; Amala refused to allow it to be sparsely furnished, not after spending all that time in the empty, colorless room at the barracks. Flowers littered the rooms, and fresh herbs were grown in the kitchen windowsill. It reminded Jaing of Amala's house back in the Dead Coast. Jaing smiled content with his thoughts and his life so far. He didn’t know how much longer he might have to live, but he’d live whatever time he had left to his fullest. He leaned back, arm falling across the back of the bench as he closed his eyes and soaked up the last rays of the sun.

[53]

[Kallile]

Currently, Amala was in the nursery, rocking slowly in one of the rocking chairs Jaing had built. The room was an array of colors, mostly in their pastel form, but focused mainly on yellows and greens. She never had liked the idea of pink and blue, though she had presented Jaing with pink and blue baby blankets to tell him that she was pregnant. She had expanded from there and included a little bit of everything. Though Madeline and Prudii had always been very happy to remind her that she was still technically a newlywed and still getting ready to have a family, Amala had always been content to just smile at them knowingly. You often teased about the things in life you wanted, after all.  

Sighing, she leaned to one side with her head in her hand while the other hand carefully caressed her bulging stomach. She  always hated telling Jaing to go outside, or to just plain give her a few minutes, and was grateful he never took too much offence to the requests. Or, like today, the demand. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate everything he did, but sometimes he tried to do too much. Move the lamp just a little to give her better light to read with. Hover over her as she cooked to make sure the smells wouldn’t trigger a spell of nausea or that she would suddenly get weak and drop a pan.

She really did appreciate his attentiveness to all of this, but she just wanted to be back to her regular self, where he didn’t feel like he had to be guarding her from over her shoulder all the time. She looked across the nursery to the cradles he had made for their children. Originally, when she was still early on in her term, there had been two. Now there were three, with enough room to squeeze in a fourth if they needed to. She looked down to her stomach, wondering exactly how many little lives she was creating in there. Even more frightening, she knew Jaing would still have to go back to the base soon—he didn’t exactly get any kind of ‘maternity leave’. Though she had become more comfortable with her skills in self-defense should something happen, she knew Fi wasn’t his old self and she wondered if a Sheilupe or two would be a good investment once the children got to crawling age. Something that could follow the more adventurous ones around the farm and keep an eye on them when she couldn’t. She’d have to remember to bring up the idea to Jaing—she didn’t quite know how he felt about dogs.

She looked out the window to see that the sun was setting and frowned. Jaing had stayed outside a lot longer than she had expected him to; she was due any week, heck, maybe even any day now. Jaing had become a little more determined to stay by her side. Slowly getting to her feet, Amala shuffled from the nursery and made her way to the front door he had disappeared out of. She opened it slowly, peering out with a small and tired smile to see him sitting on his bench he had been so proud to show her. “Mind some company to watch the sunset with?”

Seemed she had overcome her hormonal state for the time being.

[50]

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing heard Amala coming long before she stuck her head out the door. He’d kept all his sense and attention trained on the house, so that even the slightest noise would disturb him into turning his head to look at the door. When the knob turned, Jaing had already twisted his body slightly to glance over his shoulder. He smiled when the familiar shock of white hair peeked out from behind the door. Reaching out a hand, Jaing beckoned her out the door and closed to him. “I’d love some company,” he said at last, glancing back to the setting sun. The tops of the trees looked like they’d been set ablaze; bathed in an orange and yellow glow as the sun sunk lower and lower into the sky.

Twilight was descending on the small farm, and a few stars twinkled high in the sky with the softly glowing moon that had come to replace the setting sun. Jaing turned back to observe his wife, a small, fond smile on his face. No matter what time of day it was, he always thought she looked beautiful. Bathe din the dark purples and oranges of the twilight sky, she seemed to glow with a radiance all her own. Jaing wondered if it was the pregnancy, or just his idea of happiness that made her seem to shine. He scooted over slightly on the bench, making room of her to sit down beside him. He supposed the hormonal upheavals had ceased for the day; that must’ve been why she’d decided to join him outside.

Granted, she might’ve been worried that he’d disappeared too. He’d been wandering around the homestead for a good couple of hours, fiddling with some of his forgotten work, tending to a few of the plants, and just walking around the vast, empty, tree filled land. He’d taken to going on short walks so he could memorize the landscape and scope it out for possible future homes for his brothers and their respective women. Amala had accompanied him once or twice when she wasn’t so heavily pregnant, but now she stuck to the house, and let him do the walking for both of them.

Jaing fixed his wife with a suddenly concerned look, as if remembering that she was pregnant and probably should be resting at this time of day. “You feeling okay, cyar’ika?” he asked, trying to hold back the urge to smother her with questions. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

[54]

[Kallile]

Smiling gladly that he wasn’t upset with her increasingly haughty demands (though Amala wondered if short of hitting the bottle again Jaing would ever get upset with her over anything) the expecting mother made her way carefully over to the bench and nestled down next to her husband. She looked out around her new home, feeling like she was still seeing it for the first time as she took in the full size of their property.

Jaing had often mentioned that one day this wouldn’t be all theirs, but belong to members of her new family as well. Amala, even though at times her hormones made her feel greedy and wanting to keep all this to herself and her children, really did like the idea. Their own small community of family—somewhere she would know for sure her family would be safe and loved by everyone. Well, everyone except Maddi, should the younger woman decide to stick it out with Prudii.

Knowing he was holding back what must have been a sea of other questions, Amala smiled to Jaing. He was so nervous about her state of being constantly. She supposed to some degree that maybe men could sense when it was getting close to the birth of their children. Not as well as she would, but now there was no denying that she was going to have a family and very soon. “I’m feeling tired.” She admitted. “And yes I should, but I feel like I’ve kept you out of the house all day. I just want to spend some time with you.”

There was a small tone of knowing sadness to her voice. Jaing couldn’t hack himself into vacations forever. Sooner rather than later he’d have to return to the base and go back to his life before her. Leaving Amala with newborns and Fi and Kyrie to help her care for them. There was a small fear in her as well. What would happen to her husband if he was called on a mission? Would he be able to keep his mind on task or would he risk getting injured or killed because thoughts of his family back home might sneak into his mind? She leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his arm, hoping that somehow this simple hold on him would keep him here forever. “I have a feeling it’ll be time soon.” She said out of the blue, mustering up a motherly smile to try and chase away the waiting nightmares in her head.

[51]

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing didn’t have to be a Jedi to sense that Amala was tired. He imagined carrying around four or five children in your stomach would wear anyone out. No amount of pack carrying could make him understand how hard it was for Amala to be carrying around so much extra weight. As she settled down next to him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. He chuckled softly; Amala most likely felt a little bad about always having to kick him out. And he felt bad for always forcing her to; he should probably ease up. But she just worried him all the time; especially when she went out to water the garden. What if she fell? Or tripped? Or went into labor or something and he was in the house, and couldn’t hear her? Very few things ever worried Jaing; he was a very patient, laid back man, or so he liked to think.

But when it came to Amala, he nearly lost his mind fretting over her and his children. He imagined nothing in life would be so wonderful or so nerve wracking as being a father and a husband. He wouldn’t change it for the world, but he supposed he could be a little less overbearing and protective. Maybe it would give both he and Amala a little peace of mind. He turned his head slightly to observe her out for the corner of his eyes. Short white hair, a rounded stomach, pale, smooth skin. She was everything that embodied his vision of ‘Amala.’ She was his wife, and everyday he woke up knowing just how lucky he’d been to find her. He reached down and gently placed a hand on her stomach. The other rest on the small of her back. He touched his forehead to hers gently.

He was a shield; inadvertently sheltering and protecting her and the babies with both arms. “Really?” he asked, his eyes glowing. “You think it’ll be time soon?” He’d had an idea it would be within the next few weeks, but he didn’t know exactly when. He just hoped he could manage to convince his superiors that he was still on a scouting mission on Utapau. He could only hack into the networks and change his information so many times before somebody got wise. Jaing’s smile turned into a frown as he thought of it. “I don’t want to go back yet, cyar’ika. I’m ready to leave the army…But I have to stay just a little longer. I still have a lot to do before I can leave..."

[55]

[Kallile]

Settling into his side, Amala let out a deep and content sigh. It was much nicer here than the barracks, though admittedly that’s almost where she’d rather be if it meant that Jaing was going to have to be there. She had spent so long sleeping close to him—even when he would only sleep on the floor—that she didn’t know what she was going to do without him by her side. This whole venture was scary business—even if she did not have a very extended family willing to help her when they could. That was comforting, but not as comforting as knowing her husband and father to her children was safe and sound at home.  

As Jaing placed his hand on what currently housed their children Amala could feel them stir within at the strange and unforeseen touch. Though she could feel the much more subtle movements, she knew that Jaing could feel the kicking of the child closest to his hand. She smiled, looking up at him now no longer in the glow of twilight, but in the glow of motherhood. The kicking was gentle tonight, almost playful. “I think they know their daddy is here.” She said softly, placing her hand over his as she reclined her head against his forehead in return. “This is the easiest they’ve taken it on me all day.”

The last part was said with a chuckle, though Amala was quite sure that her kidneys were very black and blue from being used as punching bags. She nodded gently so as not to cause too much friction between their skin. “I know I’m new to this…but I’d say within the week at the rate they’ve been moving.” She only hoped Jaing’s stay could last that long. She wasn’t sure if Jaing really wanted to be in the same room or even state as her when the time came…but if he wasn’t at the head of her bed with her trying to talk her through the labor pains Amala didn’t know if she’d make it.

Her glow diminished noticeably as the frown crossed his face and mirrored onto her own expression. “I know you have to. I don’t want you to go back either. I want our family to stay whole.” She felt a sudden wave of hormone induced fear and sadness wash over her and it was everything she could do not to break down in tears. “I don’t think I can raise them without you…if something would…” She left it at that, raising a hand to brush away tears she hadn’t meant to call into action. She couldn’t wait for the day her hormones got back into check and she could hide these feelings from Jaing just long enough to make it easier on him. She knew that after this little waterworks show, it would be very hard for him to return to base and give a bogus report when he knew there was a crying wife and mother somewhere in Terrace who only wanted to see his face again.

[52]

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing closed his eyes and felt the babies kick at his hand. It was a wondrous thing fro someone like him. A man born in a test tube and grown in a lab, he’d never had a mother. This was an amazing concept to him, the idea of children being born to a real live family. Although Mandos didn’t distinguish between adoption and biological birth, Jaing always wondered what it would have been like to have a real mother and father instead of an adopted father and a test tube for a mother. He opened his eyes and gazed down at Amala, their foreheads lightly brushing against one another. “You need to be resting more, cyar’ika. Not out tending to the plants and the garden or cooking dinner for us. You should let me do that. I don’t mind, really.” He smiled softly, his arm around her pulling her closer.

“Especially if they're coming so soon.” He sighed softly, wondering how that day would go. He imagined it’d be full of frantic running around, and nervous pacing. He didn’t know if Amala wanted him in the room with her, but he was willing to stay at her side. Even if he passed out or got his hand broken for his troubles. She was enduring so much more for him; the least he could do was stay by her side and help her through it all. He patted her hand gently, more for reassurance than anything else. He just wished she’d take it easy on herself; all the things she continued doing that she normally did  might have been all well and good if she hadn’t been pregnant.  

But she was carrying multiples, and she was due any day of the week; to top it all off, she should be getting more rest than she was. His smile morphed back into a frown and he briefly shut his eyes, not liking the idea of ever having to leave. “Our family is whole, it always will be…Even if I’m not here by your side.” He squeezed her shoulders slightly, letting his head rest on top of hers. “Nothing will ever happen to me; I promise. Do you really think I’d leave you after just having found you?” He smiled briefly, reaching up to trace her cheek with his thumb. “How could I leave something I love so much? Don’t worry.”

[56]

[Kallile]

Grinning through her tearful eyes, Amala nodded to him. She could only imagine how he felt about his children. He had come into the world with nothing—not even a real name—and had never been allowed to hold anything but what credits he could win off his brothers. Now here he was, a home, a wife, and children on the way. How must that feel, to have never held anything that was truly yours before and now have everything? What would it feel like to him the first time he held one of his children—something he had helped create? A life he had given to her and she had happily harbored for him? “I know I shouldn’t worry about the house…but I have to. There will be so much extra for me to do once they’re here, I want to keep everything as in order as I can while I can. I don’t want to leave extra work for anyone.”

She heaved a sigh, fatigue sending a new wave through her. “But I suppose I can keep myself out of the garden tomorrow and sleep in a little later. Only an hour though.” She insisted. She was sure that even as strong a stomach as Jaing must have from seeing death that seeing birth would affect him in ways he would have never expected. Amala herself wasn’t even sure she wanted to be in the room for it, but she didn’t have much choice in the matter.

She raised her face a little at his tender touch, finding the strength to smile for him. She leaned into his hand despite it having a new roughness from all his recent woodworking expeditions. She nodded slightly, reassured by his words. No…he was right. He would be strong on his return to the army and he wouldn’t waver if he was called on a mission. He would stay focused to come back to her in one piece. “I know you will…it just scares me to think you’re going to be gone. Kyrie and Fi won’t be the same help to the kids as their father will be.”

[53]

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing frowned, his gaze thoughtful as he watched Amala shift emotions. He wanted to be here; he wanted to stay forever. But as much as he wanted to remain here with Amala, he knew he couldn’t. Not yet. Pretty soon though, Kal’buir would give them the signal and all of them would desert. He couldn’t imagine what most of them would do with their lives; born and bred soldiers couldn’t ever find much work outside of the army. Not to mention the price that would be on their heads for deserting. But as long as they kept to themselves, and kept their buy’ce over their heads, no one would be any wiser.

“Nobody will mind the extra work, cyar’ika. And when I come back, I’ll help you catch up on all of it. But don’t push yourself too hard. You have a whole family of [b]Mandos just waiting for you to give them a call, you know.”[/b] He heard the fatigue and the exhaustion in her sigh, and was instantly concerned. She should’ve been in bed by now, and he scolded himself for not asking her to rest a whole lot sooner. “Only an hour?” he asked teasingly, although real concern was hidden behind it. “You can sleep as long as you like. I’ll look after everything tomorrow. I’ll even cook breakfast for you.”

Jaing didn’t mind. After years of looking after his brothers, he finally had someone else to look after and fret over. He enjoyed taking care of Amala, even if she sometimes felt smothered by his concern. He smiled when she leaned closer to him; he was happy to stay by her side for as long as he could. He knew he wouldn’t miss his children’s birth, but he knew there was so much more he would miss. He could only tear himself away from his life as a soldier so many times before he could no longer hack himself some leave. He didn’t want to miss a moment of his children’s lives, but he knew it was unavoidable. He lowered his head slightly, forehead touching Amala’s. “I know. I’m gonna miss you and the ad’ike. It’ll be hard being apart after being together for so long. But it’s for the best; and it’s not forever.”

He brushed his hand against her cheek. “And you’ll have the entire family around to help you; not just Fi and Kyrie. But I bet those two would be very happy to help.” The sun had now disappeared over the horizon, and the land was bathed in the warm blue glow of dusk as night settled over the farm. Stars twinkled in the sky, little beacons of shimmering brightness in a world of dark shadows. “We should go inside,” Jaing said at last. “Are you hungry? I could probably make something for you.” He glanced down at her with an anxious expression, the same one he’d worn when they first met; seemed no matter how long they were together, Jaing would always be afraid of disappointing her.

[57]

[Kallile]

Smiling at him with an undying love seeded deep in her eyes, Amala found herself able to change the tone of her smile back to a playful one. “Oh, alright. An hour and a half then.” She knew very well that if she didn’t wake until mid-afternoon Jaing would never say anything, but she hoped the children weren’t being that rough on her. “But I’ll take you up on the breakfast offer.” She had been lucky—the strange food cravings had been kept rather tame and spread out. Amala assumed it was because there were so many different tastes to satisfy now in one body that everyone had just agreed to disagree and live with whatever Amala decided sounded good at the moment.

“I know I do, I just feel bad calling on them. Not everyone is as eager as you are to the idea of kids running around. I have a feeling any one of your brothers would rather water the entire yard than change a single diaper.” She giggled softly at this, imaging Prudii in particular—because Madeline would be no where near Amala’s home while the children were still babies. That much Amala could just sense.

She looked out over the starlit landscape and smiled contently. Her family was going to love it here—so peaceful and beautiful. Even if it did tend to snow given the right season—something their mother would have to adjust to quickly having never lived in any seasons other than ‘humid’ and ‘rain’. “Yes, let’s go in.” She said, tightening her arm around Jaing’s in a silent plea for him to help her up. In the rocking chairs she could at least rock herself onto her feet again. Out here it was more difficult and she needed an extra hand to help her bear all the new weight in front of her. “Maybe a just a small salad from the garden, I don’t want the brood to get hyped up for the night.” She ran her hand carefully over her stomach, smiling over at Jaing.

“You know, we never have taken a guess at how many we might have. Or what genders.” She said, still smiling. “What do you think? Because I think…” She moved her hand over her stomach as if she were coaxing up visions in a crystal ball. “We’ll have four—three boys and a girl.”

[54]

[MillietheWarrior]

((Fast forwarding with Kal‘s permission. ^^ This is four years into the future-ish…))

Four years had passed since Jaing and Amala had started their new life together. Jaing came home as often as he could, hacking into the computer systems at the base to give himself fake missions and some extra time off. He’d return weeks, and sometimes even a month or two later, to file bogus reports on outer and mid rim conflicts that had gotten out of hand and required extra attention. This time, he had managed to hack himself into a mission to Felucia, where Republic Forces had already secured a base and really didn’t have any need for him to be there. He imagined he had a week or so before someone got wise and commed him to report in--but until then, he was making the most of the time spent with his family.

Currently, he was walking along the outer fields, Amala at his side, watching his kids as they sped through the freshly plowed dirt. He knew Amala would probably fret about how dirty and grimy they were getting, but Jaing saw nothing wrong with letting them have a little fun. Kids would be kids, after all, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves; that was all that really mattered. Kotep, the oldest, was in the lead as the children raced and tumbled through the field. His shock of white hair stood out against the dark brown earth, and Jaing watched as he was nearly tackled into the dirt by Runi. The two tumbled and rolled, growling like tiny puppies as they fought over the small toy in Kotep’s hand. It was a small mechanical toy that looked remarkably similar to a tiny cat.

Jaing had brought it home for Runi, knowing how much she liked animals. He’d made it while he spent his time alone at the base, having nothing else to do but sit around and whittle his time away with small projects. Jaing was surprised that Runi had managed to tackle Kotep, who was rather heavyset for a child. He wasn’t big by any means, but he had yet to grow into his baby fat. Smaller than both her brothers (Though Jaing sometimes figured Kai’tome and Runi were similar in size), Runi and her sandy blonde hair in pigtails was definitely the apple of her father’s eye. Jaing knew that with her bright blue eyes and cute little face, her love of four legged animals would one day be replaced by a love of two legged creatures with body piercings and facial hair. Mentally, he dreaded that day, but until then, she was definitely ‘daddy’s girl.’

From a short distance away, Kai’tome watched his brother and sister roll through the dirt, the toy they’d been fighting over laying forgotten in the dirt a few feet away. With a shy smile, Kai hurried over and picked it up, hugging it to his chest. With bright, orange red eyes and a head of short, gold and brown hair, Kai was the youngest, and the most timid of the three siblings. He was often hiding behind his parents or brother and sister, and spent most of his time quietly playing alone while Runi and Kotep managed to make friends with some of the nearby children. Jaing worried about Kai sometimes, but kept his fears to himself and to Amala, who he knew probably shared most of them.

With a smile, he watched as Kai turned towards his parents and raced across the field, stumbling over giant dirt clods once or twice before he managed to reach Jaing and Amala. He held out one arm, clutching the toy close, and reached for Jaing. His father scooped him up into his arms, looking up as Runi and Kotep realized their toy was gone and that their brother now had it. Both raced towards Jaing and Amala, competitively trying to outrun one another. Jaing wondered if he and his brothers were so competitive when they were that age. He looked on quietly as Kai wrapped an arm around his neck, looking down at the toy with amazement at finally getting a turn to play with it. Jaing made a mental note to make a few more so they would no longer fight over it. He ruffled his son’s hair fondly. “Hey Kai, whatcha got there?” he asked, knowing perfectly well what it was. Kai blinked his large eyes, a smile overcoming his face as he ducked his head shyly. “Runi’s toy,” he mumbled. “She dropped it.”

[58, 1]

[Kallile]

It had been hard without Jaing home often, but Amala and the children had made it through. Fi and Kyrie had come over often, not to mention the small handful of Jaing’s brothers Amala had called on in times of harvest when she simply couldn’t do it all alone. Granted, Jaing had always done his best to get some time off during those times. He always seemed to show up at their home just when Amala knew she would need him most, and for that she loved him even more.

Now she watched the three little lives they had created running and playing on their property and she smiled contently. She knew the routine of this sort of trip very well—everyone would have to have a mild wash-down on the back porch before going inside. Amala always hated having to clean up the outdoors that they seemed to constantly track inside, but with age they were getting much better at keeping the house a little more mud-free after each outing. Tonight, though, with their father being home she knew those lessons wouldn’t stick and she sighed slightly as she shook her head lovingly at them. Her little mud bogs.

As Kotep and Runi tumbled around on the ground she couldn’t help but to let her hand reach out to find Jaing’s. It was so hard to believe that they were already four years old—soon they’d be looking at a similar scene to what Amala was right now. The thought of her babies growing up and having lives of their own scared her and brought a lump to her throat but she managed to keep it from erupting into tears.

As Kai approached them clutching his sisters’ toy, Amala smiled at her youngest. While she had expected him to vie for attention, he was the one who hung back and let his siblings do a great deal of the talking. Which, in reality, wasn’t gaining him many friends. She looked to Jaing as he picked the small boy up, wondering what could be done to help him get over his childhood timid-ness.

Rubbing her baby boy’s back lovingly as she watched Runi and Kotep come racing back, Amala regained her smile.

So far, Kotep was in the lead with his longer legs giving him an easy lead. Runi was doing her best to keep up careful not to get caught up in the pitfalls of the dirt clods that littered their playing field. As they neared their parents she gave a small, indignant huff and Kotep looked to Jaing before grinning broadly and taking tiny, mocking baby steps to let Runi zip past him and cling to Amala’s leg.

“You made me cheat!” She pouted, tugging slightly at the hem of her mother’s skirt. Kotep finally made it to the family, still sporting his broad grin as he watched Jaing. Slowly, he tried to mimic his father’s stance. “Nuh uh! I just got tired.”

Amala tried not to giggle at them. Kotep was the proverbial watch-dog of his siblings—always trying to be the ‘man of the house’ while Jaing was away and keep his siblings happy and in order. Especially when it came to his sister--who always seemed to be running herself ragged trying to keep up with and compete with he and Kai. While Amala could see this easily, little Runi could not and accepted the answer with glee. “I told you I was the bestest runner!”

She then seemed to remember that Kai was holding onto her toy and released Amala, pacing carefully over to her father and brothers. She smiled up at her younger brother, rocking back and forth on her heels and holding her hands behind her back. It was her most common sign that she wanted something, and in this case, Amala ventured a guess that it was her toy cat. “It doesn’t have a name, you know.” She informed Kai casually. Even though he had her possession, Runi seemed to have a genuine understanding of just how shy and easily crushed her brother was. “You wanna help me name ‘em?”

[55, 1, 1]

[MillietheWarrior]

Jaing smiled softly down at Kotep, eyes shining proudly. He’d never imagined how proud being a parent always made him feel. And this time was no exception. He shifted Kai one his hop lightly, letting the little boy rest his head lightly on his shoulder with a small smile. “Your both so fast,” Jaing said with a beaming grin. “I think you could even beat me, if you really wanted to.” Kai regarded his father with a disbelieving expression, gaze shifting between Runi, Kotep and Jaing as if sizing up the competition. Somehow, he had a hard time believing that his siblings could ever beat his father at anything. Kai watched Runi carefully, his gaze suspicious as she came over to Jaing, rocking back and forth on her heels with that customary look on her face that meant she wanted something.

Kai had a pretty good idea of what it was. He clutched the toy tighter to his chest, and was somewhat surprised when Runi asked if he wanted to help name it. Jaing bounced his son slightly, before he set him down  on his own two feet. Kai clung to Jaing’s pant leg stubbornly, gazing at his sister from behind his father. “Uh-huh,” he said in answer to her question. He pointed to the toy, and smiled brightly. “Buyca.” Jaing stifled his laughter. His son had just named their toy ‘bucket’ in Mando’a. It wasn’t exactly an appropriate name, and was, in essence, not meant to be applied to a toy, but Jaing wasn’t about to tell him that. He was just glad his children knew Mando’a and used it so easily. He shared a look with Amala, laughter shining in his eyes. He knew she’d know what Kai had named it. He ruffled his son’s hair. “Good name, Kai’ika,” he said, smiling proudly.

He looked at his daughter and second son. “What do you two think? Is it a good name for a cat?” That reminded him; he’d been meaning to talk to Amala about finding a pair of stray birds nestled in Runi’s room, and a raccoon with a bandage over it’s leg in the barn. He decided he might as well broach the subject with Runi while he was thinking about it. He leaned down, Kai leaning against his elbow. “Ru’ika…You haven’t been…collecting animals around the farm again, have you? I told you they were dangerous, remember?” He tried to keep a stern expression on his face as he said it, but he was more curious than anything else. He glanced at Amala, blinking slowly as he tried to hide his smile, before his stern gaze settled back on Runi. “You can’t take in every stray animal that comes along, Ru’ika. Before you know it, we’ll be swimming in raccoons and squirrels and baby birds.”

[59, 2]