- Joined
- Jan 10, 2019
- Messages
- 388
- Reaction score
- 172
These days, things started to ache.
She noticed it in the joint where cybernetic limb met flesh; soreness was no surprise, but now, in the chill of wintry Ando Prime when she did deign to visit her people, it would ache acutely, almost to the point of unbearable. And in her back, along her knees. Places that before, would not have mattered suddenly would flare and leave her breathless.
Forty-nine was not old in the least, but for a body that had been so abused for so many years, she could feel it all accumulated in knots in her spine, hips and neck.
Heh. Funny how she once got lectured by a bratty Sith pureblood for that very self-abuse... but that was what her people were. You kept going, you kept fighting until every piece of you would fall apart.
Her people was a dying culture. She wordlessly watched as the Mandalorians ran their bloodthirsty, almost justifiable rampage across the galaxy with a bitter satisfaction. Her husband had also rescinded the way of his people. And in a way, she was glad for Blackwell, for their haven and their small, close-knit connection of friends and family.
She was proud of all her children, both of her body and not. Though Tagal teased her for her softness, it went beyond that.
When all the other great Houses and their clans would crumble to obscurity, Clan Stark would prevail. Not as a bloodline, but something far more. As a Clan, mercenary, or otherwise. Adoption of the strong, of the smart, those that had proven themselves to the proud matriarch.
She sat at her favorite place at the observatory over Mustafar. Half-Dan was off somewhere with his sister, Ilia, whom had been a surprise joy for her... but also had nearly killed her. Both she and her husband wordlessly agreed to no more children after her, and for that Skuld was glad. She wasn't certain if she could take on any others, even those as level-headed as Skyler or as quick-witted as Frigga and Half-Dan.
But no matter how many people she surrounded herself with, she was alone... mostly.
He still stood around, despite her foolish pride and deep love of useless heroics. He stayed by her side when she rescinded all ties to her people and withdrew House Stark from their ancestral homes on Ando Prime, along with many other clans whom united with hers. She watched them grow together with Blackwell, and witnessed her children go their way in the galaxy. She witnessed her people fall and drift apart after the deaths of the Elders; the Andobian Age was over. The Age of Endings had begun, leaving more to exodus amongst the stars. She ached in her chest just to think of it... but then again, this small pain was nothing new.
"Perhaps now... it's time to stop."
Her voice was quiet... but she knew he was there. She tilted her head towards him, giving a faint smile. "I am tired, malmhaus."
But he already knew... he knew her better than even she seemed to know herself. Funny how they first met... she would have left him gutted on the street, and vice versa. But look where they were now. Twenty years was a long time... perhaps she had another twenty more. But not of fighting. Not of combat. The wolf had lost her wild fangs; it was time for a new set of shoulders to bear the burden of her people.
Let their children decide amongst themselves.
He said something; she grinned, arching a black brow. "Nei, not dead, you haven't worn the years out of me yet. But..." she slowly rose with a wince, then a grin, padding away.
"I'm thinking a vacation. Let them run this station for once. What about... Ord Cantrell. You mentioned a private beach house..."
She hadn't been the type to believe the galaxy would allow her peace, after all this time. But if the years taught her anything, it was to savor it while she could. And if this pain taught her anything... it taught her that she would do it all over again to have what she earned now.
And so she kept walking, head held high and a grin glinting in ice blue eyes.
--Fin.--
She noticed it in the joint where cybernetic limb met flesh; soreness was no surprise, but now, in the chill of wintry Ando Prime when she did deign to visit her people, it would ache acutely, almost to the point of unbearable. And in her back, along her knees. Places that before, would not have mattered suddenly would flare and leave her breathless.
Forty-nine was not old in the least, but for a body that had been so abused for so many years, she could feel it all accumulated in knots in her spine, hips and neck.
Heh. Funny how she once got lectured by a bratty Sith pureblood for that very self-abuse... but that was what her people were. You kept going, you kept fighting until every piece of you would fall apart.
Her people was a dying culture. She wordlessly watched as the Mandalorians ran their bloodthirsty, almost justifiable rampage across the galaxy with a bitter satisfaction. Her husband had also rescinded the way of his people. And in a way, she was glad for Blackwell, for their haven and their small, close-knit connection of friends and family.
She was proud of all her children, both of her body and not. Though Tagal teased her for her softness, it went beyond that.
When all the other great Houses and their clans would crumble to obscurity, Clan Stark would prevail. Not as a bloodline, but something far more. As a Clan, mercenary, or otherwise. Adoption of the strong, of the smart, those that had proven themselves to the proud matriarch.
She sat at her favorite place at the observatory over Mustafar. Half-Dan was off somewhere with his sister, Ilia, whom had been a surprise joy for her... but also had nearly killed her. Both she and her husband wordlessly agreed to no more children after her, and for that Skuld was glad. She wasn't certain if she could take on any others, even those as level-headed as Skyler or as quick-witted as Frigga and Half-Dan.
But no matter how many people she surrounded herself with, she was alone... mostly.
He still stood around, despite her foolish pride and deep love of useless heroics. He stayed by her side when she rescinded all ties to her people and withdrew House Stark from their ancestral homes on Ando Prime, along with many other clans whom united with hers. She watched them grow together with Blackwell, and witnessed her children go their way in the galaxy. She witnessed her people fall and drift apart after the deaths of the Elders; the Andobian Age was over. The Age of Endings had begun, leaving more to exodus amongst the stars. She ached in her chest just to think of it... but then again, this small pain was nothing new.
"Perhaps now... it's time to stop."
Her voice was quiet... but she knew he was there. She tilted her head towards him, giving a faint smile. "I am tired, malmhaus."
But he already knew... he knew her better than even she seemed to know herself. Funny how they first met... she would have left him gutted on the street, and vice versa. But look where they were now. Twenty years was a long time... perhaps she had another twenty more. But not of fighting. Not of combat. The wolf had lost her wild fangs; it was time for a new set of shoulders to bear the burden of her people.
Let their children decide amongst themselves.
He said something; she grinned, arching a black brow. "Nei, not dead, you haven't worn the years out of me yet. But..." she slowly rose with a wince, then a grin, padding away.
"I'm thinking a vacation. Let them run this station for once. What about... Ord Cantrell. You mentioned a private beach house..."
She hadn't been the type to believe the galaxy would allow her peace, after all this time. But if the years taught her anything, it was to savor it while she could. And if this pain taught her anything... it taught her that she would do it all over again to have what she earned now.
And so she kept walking, head held high and a grin glinting in ice blue eyes.
--Fin.--
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