Ask Early Mornings

[Jonathen Baize]

Spintir - Baize Farmstead​

The sun was just beginning to crawl above the horizon. Jon had already been up for a couple of hours. Life on the farm started early, but it was second nature for sure soldier turned farmer.

He had not wanted to return to Spintir, leaving Kali but it had been necessary. If he had waited, they wouldn't have been able to plant that year, which would have been a small price to pay to spend more time with his now wife. That had not fully hit him, they had made the decision quickly, not wanting to delay it any further in the face of the Hutt War. Few knew the costs of war more than Jon and Kali, no one was guaranteed their next day. Soon after, Kali was pulled away by the endless duties of the Lord Commander and he had returned here.

Had he made the wrong decision? Was he running from duty? Those thoughts kept him up at night.

Jon sighed as the horse slowly walked down the side of their first planted field. It was a sure feeling to see the first fruits of the home begin to arrive. There were still several stars visible through the early morning light, he looked up for a moment, his thoughts returning to Kali, he hadn't heard from her in several days, which was not uncommon these days. He let his thoughts linger for a moment before he gently prodded the horse forward. There had been a storm the night before and Jon needed to check and make sure everything had made it through alright.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Home. Kalique was headed home. To the very home Jon had built for the two of them, mostly all by himself as the Hutt situation had required Kalique to stay on Raxus.

It saddened her every single time she thought about it, especially because once Jon had to return, their apartment had just felt empty, because only with Jon around it truly felt like a home. Guin and Rhia were around still, but she felt Jon's absence every single day, so that after weeks of constant work and attending to her duties, she was more than happy that she could make this surprise visit work.

She hadn't announced her coming on purpose, but with the Raxus situation being relatively stable, she was incredibly excited about finally being able to leave again and the excitement only grew as she entered Spintir's orbit, knowing that Jon would soon be alerted by their canine friends even before he'd even hear or spot the vessel.

There was a wide smile plastered on her lips as she approached the farm around early morning, not doubting Jon was up working already. As she was drawing closer, the first thing she noticed was that there were some signs of destruction all around on the fields, but she remembered Jon had mentioned that a storm was approaching a few days ago.

Even if had likely been forces of nature, she found herself a little worried, but as she closed in on the surface, she already spotted him on a field ans the concerns were blown away immediately and replaced with a strong sense of happiness.

She brought the ship down and turned off the engines before she summoned her backpack with the Force and headed towards the ramp. She had a week before a new phase of Knight training required her presence, but in the meantime a lot had actually happened on Raxus and so she brought quite some news with her. Most importantly though, she was finally home again and she couldn't wait to be reunited with the wolves, Luna and Jon.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

The fields looked all looked fine, so he continued towards the fences in pastures, riding along the fence. A group of cows gazed lazily in the morning air in the distance. They only had a few of the beasts currently but Jon had already started planning on expanding.

He came across a gap in the fence that had been struck by lightning and burnt away a small portion. Jon let out an annoyed huff. He pulled out a pair of binocs from a saddle bag and scanned the small herd again. "One...Two...Three..." he counted out loud as he spotted "...Four...and...we are missing one." he said with a shake of his head. It didn't surprise him, that particular cow had a knack for escape. He would have been worried if the creature hadn't taken the free opportunity.

Jon looked at Luna. "Well, looks like we got work to do..." he said to the dog as she looked back up at him, tilting her head. The bog's tail wagged furiously. Jon looked back towards the farmstead as one of the wolves let out a bellowing howl. It was unusual for certain. He had built them a larger enclosure with both outdoor and indoor areas. They were large creatures so it was still no substitute for running in the open, but it plenty of room in between him taking them out.

Jon's horse shifted nervously at the wolf's howl. "Easy there, boy." he said, patting the creature on the neck. "Guess, we should go check that first, huh?" he said, looking back at the dog, but Luna was rolling around on the ground. "Come on, girl." he said to the dog as he started the horse back towards the house.

 

[Kalique Baize]

As Kali descended the ramp, it was the fresh morning air that washed over her right away. She hadn't felt tired at all, but now she was truly wide awake, but it didn't damped her mood the slightest.

It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the relatively dim light, but as she was slightly squinting, she soon spotted her husband as she was walking up to their house. The open premises were literally still the most magical sight she ever beheld, especially now that the fresh early morning dew was glistening on the lawn.

She let the bag slide down her shoulder before it dropped to the ground, ready to greet the incoming brownish, tail-wagging projectile. Luna raced ahead, leaving Jon and the horse behind for a moment before she excitedly greeted her. "I missed you, too, girl" she softly said to her as she ruffled through her soft, fluffy fur.

It didn't take long until Jon would reach her, too, and so she stood back up from greeting Luna as Jon dismounted. "Hey there" she gently said as she walked up to him and immediately slung her arms around his neck as she pressed her head against his chest for a moment.

A whole bunch of emotions washed over her as she held him tightly before she finally pulled back to meet his lips. "I missed you.." she whispered a moment after their lips had parted again, still not letting go of him for qaother moment.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He made his way up the road, cresting a small hill on his horse when he saw the familiar ship and the outline of a woman. A smile spread across his face as he urged the horse forward into a trot. Luna kept up for a moment, but when the dog realized who they were going to meet, she took off at a full sprint. Jon arrived a handful seconds after Luna did, sliding down from the horse as she straightened from petting the dog.

"Hey there to you," he said, smile still wide on his face. He took several steps forward, meeting her in the middle and lifting her slightly, letting out a joyful laugh. "Welcome home," he said, letting her down and kissing her. "I missed you," he said, leaning his face down into her hair. He usually complained about her not letting him know she was coming, showing up unannounced was a thing she did. Despite the complaints, he adored her just showing up. Today there were no complaints, just joy. This had been the first time they had been apart for a long period after they were married.

There was a moment of silence between them, birds pleasantly chirping in the distance. Even Luna allowed them this time. He finally let out a breath. "It's good to have you home. Do you need anything? Food? Rest?" he asked, pulling back and looking down into her eyes. "Let's get your stuff inside," he said, leaning down and picking up her bag.

"I was about to head out and look for a runaway cow if you have been missing farm life shenanigans," he said with a chuckle.

It was good to have her home.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Home. This familiar, pleasant warmth spread right through her as he mentioned it again before he lifted her at once. A soft chuckle escaped her as her palm cupped his cheek, every last remaining hint of tension she had brought over from Raxus leaving her at once.

It was always amazing to be back home on the farm, back in his arms, back with their back, but this time she only felt her excitement growing further. Once back on the ground, she leaned in and kissed him softly just as the first, faint rays of golden sunlight broke through the treeline and grazed her face.

"Has everything been alright here? How bad was the storm?" she wanted to know, throwing him a grateful, warm smile as he picked up her bag. She immediately slid her hand into his free hand and interlaced their fingers as they walked to their house.

Luna immediately followed, tail still excitedly wagging as she trailed behind them. "Oh I'm good...thank you. We could go for late breakfast together later on? That runaway cow seems way more urgent" she then replied with a smirk, not at all sarcastically, but simply excited still.

It was good to be back and she hadn't just missed it, but once again she immediately felt her inner batteries recharging. Dropping her stuff was a good start, but she was ready to hea out. "Let me briefly change though". Once they were inside, she did exactly that- go for something more fitting for their first adventure of the day before she'd add a happy, "Let's get that rogue cow".

Perhaps, if they were fast enough, they'd even manage to witness the full extent of the magnificent sunset that was advancing on the horizon already. Perhaps she'd even catch the right moment to update him out there - one way or another, even if she was usually a professional at keeping straight faces, the smile on her lips immediately widened.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He smiled back at her, already feeling more complete than he had in some time. He squeezed her hand slightly as his smile widened and they made their way inside. The house had taken him longer to finish than he had anticipated but it had turned out great. The feeling of sharing it with her was the best in the Galaxy.

Jon looked over as they stepped up on the porch. He let out a breath of air. "Not terrible all things considered. The small damage to fences and the escape that followed were the only things I found. Mom and Dad's place made it through alright as well." he said as they entered their home.

Breakfast did sound wonderful. There wasn't much more he wanted to do than ignore the farm for the day and spend it with her not worrying, but this life rarely afforded that luxury. It would still be fun to have her out with him today.

"I'll be outside," he said with a smile. He made his way back out to the bard and quickly saddled their second horse for her. He was leading it outside when she exited the house. "Let's keep the evil force entities to a minimum today," he said with a wink, hoisting himself back up onto his horse.

As they started to head back out to the scene of the crime, he looked over at her and smiled, the adoration he held for her apparent in his gaze. He was oblivious to her acting somewhat strangely, too caught up in just her being here.

He let out a content sigh. It didn't matter how much he expanded or built this place up, it was made better with her here.

 

[Kalique Baize]

The progress inside was still amazing and sometimes it was surreal to grasp that this amazing place was truly theirs. "That's truly good to hear" it was quite a relief that everything had gone rather well and that the dangerous weather had passed for now.

She exhaled in full content as she hopped back out, dressed for riding and getting back into the slightly muddy fields. Jon had already readied her horse, so all she had to do was get up there. "Mhhh...fine" she sighed dramatically, before she amusedly added, "But it won't be the same without them".

She hadn't forgotten about any of their adventures, yet even if they had all brought them together in the first place, she was glad Spintir wasn't plagued by revolting, sinister spirits or twisted nexuses of any sort. They began riding and she followed him for now, however keeping her senses spread as she was trying to locate the animal already.

"Anything new of the Rolstens?" she asked him after a moment of calming, pleasant silence, wondering whether the farm nemesis had caused any troubles lately with a smirk on her lips. The horses hooves trotted across the wet fields while the skies above were slowly lightening up.

"Can we stop by your parents later on?" a little while later, while they were passing a huge oak tree further down the field, she scanned the broken fence parts before she sensed something from their right. "Might be over there" she nodded her head into the direction before her gaze flicked back to him, her smile widening once again.

"Ohh what about the tree house? Has it survived the storm?" she wondered whether he had checked already, but that thought suddenly occurred to her as she remembered how they had hoisted themselves up there a whole while ago. While their horses followed the path, they'd soon spot the lonely, escaped cow lazily grazing on a nearby acre. "There she is...".

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"I know, we will just have to suffer through without them this time." he joked with a shake of his head. They made their way back out, the horses plodding out slowly.

He laughed again when she brought up the Rolstens. "Well, it is kind of funny you mention them. We have a meeting out at their farm tonight," he said, glancing over as he shifted slightly in the saddle. It would be no surprise to her that he had always carried a little bit of restlessness after he had retired, but now he started working on something big, something that they were trying to get all of the farmers in the area to sign on for.

With all of the bickering that had taken place between himself and Travis Rolsten, he was surprised to find out that he had been one of the very first to agree to help Jon. He still wouldn't exactly call him a friend, but it was something. "Mom and Dad will be there too. They are going to be beside themselves when they see you. I can catch you up on what I have planned before tonight." he said somewhat cryptically.

"You aren't cheating are you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Her force abilities certainly came in handy, though they could have easily tracked the beast. "Can't go and make it too easy on us." he joked again,

"That thing?" he asked. "Those boards have survived years of storms. Ain't nothing going to bring that thing down anytime soon." he replied as they headed off in the direction she had indicated.

Their lost cow came into view a short time later. It grazed lazily as it looked up, spotting the two of them, and started to run in the other direction, making a break for the nearby tree line. "What a brat..." he said with a shake of his head, kicking his horse into a gallop as they started to give chase.

 

[Kalique Baize]

His reply made her laugh softly before they headed out, the fresh morning air still softly brushing through her hair as they started their search mission, however the smirk was wiped off her lips as he suddenly elaborated on his evening plans.

"What now?" she said to him in disbelief, cocking her head to the side as her eyes widened incredulously. "Is that a truce on the horizon I sense there? What a day to be alive" she quipped playfully, not even knowing where this was headed but it sounded like the Baize family was about to cut a deal with the Rolsten fam.

"Why are you so mysterious all of a sudden?" she poked curiously, a smirk tugging at her lips again while she held his gaze, trying to read his expression, before their conversation shifted onto the cow for a moment. "Whaaat? No" the slight hint of sarcasm in her voice hinted at how she was in fact not fully serious, but she already had the animal's trace.

"Right. Combing through the forests and across the fields for hours was something I wouldn't wanna miss!" in fact, she couldn't deny there was a certain lighthearted fun about it, but she really wanted to see that sunset still, so she didn't mind bringing that cow back asap.

"Can we go check once we've got the little nuisance back in its enclosure?" she excitedly asked, her gaze following the cow as it ran off like it knew exactly what it was doing. "Oh there we go" sighting, she nudged her horse into a soft trot while she took off in the other direction, intending to cut it off while Jon closed in from the other side.

If the cow kept on running, she'd reach out to simply calm its somewhat alerted stage, however waiting for Jon to catch up with it. The smirk on her lips never faded, incredibly happy to be back to all this. "You got eyes on the target?" she telepathically shot Jon a message as she slowed her horse, zigzaging around the trees to her left and right while her emerald eyes scanned for the little rebel.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"I don't know if I would go that far.." he said with a huff. "Oh that's me, a man of mystery," he said with a shake of his head. "We are getting a group of farmers together to start a coalition to send food and hopefully other supplies to areas in need around the Empire." he explained briefly. It was certainly more complicated than that, but she would get the picture. He hated what the Empire was becoming, that was no secret. The way he saw it, they could all just sit around and complain about it, or they could do something to help out their fellow Imperial citizens.

"Oh alright then. Just checking." he chuckled as they started to search in earnest. "Yes, we would hate for you to be bored on your first day back," he said with a shake of his head. "This is the reward for showing up unannounced, mundanness." he continued.

"Sure we can!" he said with a smile.

Soon the chase was on. They spread out in an attempt to cut the cow off, but it had been too close to the trees and had disappeared before they caught up to it. "Luna!" he called out, letting out a whistle as the dog took off into the trees. Jon followed behind, the horse's speed advantage was largely negated by the wooded area.

He saw Kali off to the side searching as he also scanned the tree line. A moment later he heard Luna barking off to his left and rustling of leaves. When Jon finally caught up to the dog, she was standing at the lip of a steep ravine the cow had slipped into. It struggled to climb back up but it was a little too steep for the cow. "Damn it..." he cursed, sliding out of the saddle.

The cow didn't appear to be injured, but he wasn't quite sure how they were going to get the cow out.

Dice Roll: 6

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Oh?" Kalique immediately raised a brow, her smile only widening. "That's awesome...if this collaboration really works, a lot of people would receive the help needed".

She liked the idea a lot and was indeed optimistic about the odds. If it was for such a greater course, the feud could be put aside...especially because she knew how convincing Jon could be. Not every planet was as fertile as Spintir and if they could distribute surpluses like that, they'd help exactly where it was needed - on war struck planets and worlds that were still being rebuilt.

"Hey! You know I love my mundaneness here" she amusedly answered before they split and started the search, staying attentive but at least holding back with her ethereal senses like she had 'promised'.

It was Jon and Luna who found the cow, but Kali caught up with them after she heard the alarmed bark a few minutes later. "Everything- oh" Kalique brought her horse to a stop and slipped out of the stirrups before she slid down, frowning at how the cow had gotten itself into this mess.

"Well, I guess that's what you get for running away" she mumble with a little sigh after she was at least certain the cow was okay. It was somewhat scared, but Kalique briefly closed her eyes and used her expanded animal bonding skills to connect to the agitated cow.

"It's okay, I'll get her out carefully" lifting a cow was no big deal for her, the cow surely would be caught off guard but she could keep its mind calm. She slowly coiled the Force around it and shoved it out with it. The cows eyes widened and it let out a rather high pitched 'Moooo' as it began to levitate, but once out and back on more solid ground, Kalique felt it relax a little.

"There we go...you wanna hitch her and lead her back?", Kalique asked, gaze shifting onto her husband again. They had rope with them and she was now certain that the cow had learned enough not to attempt racing off again.

Without some space magic, this would have surely taken a while, but she was rather relived the cow was unharmed and ready to get back home, so that the tree house visit was up on the agenda soon. Once again, she was flooded with a new wave of excitement.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"That's the hope at least." he said, looking out at the fields.

Jon watched as Kali lifted the cow out of the ravine. He had seen a lot of odd things, but the sight of a levitating cow was near the top of the list of odd things. Without her aid, this would have likely been an all-day task. He would have had to get a tractor out here and physically pull the cow up. It would been dangerous and certainly more stressful for the cow. "That...sure is handy.." he said, trailing off as she let the cow down gently. "You're timing on the return was spot on." he joked.

How many other tasks would be made trivial if Kali was around all the time? Likely a good number of them. For now, he was just glad they had been able to rescue the escaped cow. He tightened a rope around the cow's neck and started to lead them back out into the field. Luna followed behind, her herding instincts ensuring the cow didn't deviate from the path.

It was not long before the cow was back secured and he had patched the hole enough that it held until he could get back out and make full repairs. "So you wanted to go check on the tree house?" he said, pulling the gloves off his hands. He was kind of curious about why she wanted to go there, but he didn't mind much what they did.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Perhaps this cow was amongst the first of a rare kind - cows that experienced the Force and had been lifted by it, but literally once back on the ground, it kept minding its regular cow business it seemed.

"Seems like it...I'm not gonna say I sensed it, but perhaps there was a slightly odd feeling that alerted me to come here" she playfully quipped as he secured the cow, which then, fortunately, followed rather obediently.

It was absolutely adorable to see Luna's eyes transfixed on the cow as she carefully guided her back. Kalique often remembered the little ball of bluff she had once been and how that 2-second-attention-span-baby had now turned into a fully grown professional.

It drew a chuckle from her as she rode next to Jon, and soon they reached the cow's regular enclosure before they started fixing the fence. They went for a quick makeshift repair, but it looked closed, so she was dearly hoping the cows wouldn't get any other bad ideas.

"Absolutely!" she happily replied, however this time holding back purposely even if the grin on her lips was still wide. "I haven't had the thrill of climbing brittle planks for ages". She didn't doubt it was still up there, just like the planks, but she couldn't let him grow suspicious either.

"Have the wolves been hunting yesterday?" she curiously asked him after a moment, not just making conversation and creating a distraction, but also wanting to plan when to go again.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

"Oh so that's why you came home. Being Lord Commander is not dangerous enough for you? You needed the thrill of climbing the remnants of an old tree house." he said, laughing as he glanced back at her. "Let's go then, Mrs. Baize," he said as they made their way to the tree.

It sat in the middle of a field, it had been one of the possible locations he had proposed to build the home, but had chosen the location nearer to the pond. Jon was happy when that choice, they had made the right decision. On horseback, it was only a short ride before they both dismounted and walked the rest of the way.

"Not since last week. It's a bit more difficult now that they are grown. They need to go out much further, they are harder to keep up with as well." he said. It had been manageable when they were only somewhat larger than a large dog, but now they were huge. "They are doing well though, though I know they would prefer you take them out than me," he said with a grin.

They walked up to the old, weathered boards still hanging on to tree. "See, everything looks pretty normal," he said, looking up into the canopy. "Let's check out the top," he said, beginning to scale the ladder. One day he wanted to fix this thing up, but it was just another project in a sea of projects he needed to work on.

"How's Guin doing?" he said, continuing to climb. "I haven't talked with her in a while." he finished. Within a minute, he pulled himself up onto the small platform and made room for Kali to sit as well. It was steady enough, though it was certainly in need of repair.

 

[Kalique Baize]

"You know me so well..." she answered with a playful smirk as they began riding, before that intense warmth flooded her all over again. Mrs. Baize. She loved the sound of that so much, the name change had been symbolic and was a constant reminder of how they were a family.

Her Serennian ties were not forgotten, her parents hadn't taken it lightly either, but there had never once been a moment of regret. She wore his name with pride and in full content, being adressed as Lord Commander Baize always made her smile internally and it was just a symbol of her unbound devotion and commitment, of the love they had found in the most beautiful way.

Riding across their properties still felt magical and she happily listened to what he told her about the wolves. "I'm glad to hear they're well, but I always feel sorry about hearing about the troubles they're sometimes causing...I promise they're not growing much further and I'll give them something to do tomorrow".

Admittedly, it was much easier with the Force to locate, monitor and control them. Kali had huge respects for how Jon was managing that pack of massive beasts though. They loved him dearly and fully respected him, which was important and thus Kalique knew that they were under control though.

They reached the platform soon enough and while he was right about how everything looked rather well, Kalique once again couldn't hide the excitement as they finally reached their goal. Golden rays of sunshine shone through the leaves while the rising sun colored the sky orange.

"After you, Mr. Baize" she gestured for him to start the climb while she once again coiled the Force around him just in case. "She's drowning in work...but doing well. She's earned herself quite a reputation recently" she replied with a genuine hint of pride bleeding into her voice. Guin was helping the Empire a lot and it was simply good to have her around, especially now that they worked together more often again.

When Jon was up, Kalique started her climb carefully, watching where she stepped and her senses always on full alert. She soon hoisted herself uo next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the view and his warmth for a moment before she reached for his right hand.

"I've brought something with me when I came here" she knew he had his suspicions, but there was no way he knew what she was hiding. "So while the platform still stands, you might have to promise me you'll repair it soon. I'll help...but it's important" she threw him a smile, phrasing her 'demand' somewhat cryptically though, however giving him some hints.

Her smile only widened when she softly added, "Close your eyes. I have to show you something". She'd wait for him to do so before she'd enter his mind just enough to project what she was sensing. She guided his hand in front of her body and gently pressed it against her belly before Jon would suddenly feel something.

Next to her presence that was clearly graspable and right next to him, it was a second presence, a faint, however quick and obviously pulsating heartbeat inside her he'd sense through her mental projection. She kept her hand above his, allowing him to process not just the new sensation of basically feeling the living force through her, but also connecting the dots. She'd be home more often, their lives were about to change in many regards, and she couldn't have been any happier.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

He smiled and winked playfully before he started his ascent. The planks groaned slightly with each step but they held firm. "That sounds like her," he said warmly. "Just as long as she is staying away from darts.." he said over his shoulder as he continued to climb.

He reached the top and sat on the edge of the platform, feet hanging over the edge as he waited for Kali to join him. The midmorning sun bathed the golden field in front of them in a warm light as a soft breeze rustled through the tree. He smiled over at her as she pulled herself up and joined him. He leaned his head against hers for a moment as they enjoyed the view for a moment.

"Oh?" he said, raising an eyebrow as her hand slid into his. "Why would I need to do that?" he asked, somewhat confused by the turn of the conversation. He knew she liked the view, they had sat up here often when she was around, catching up with each other and enjoying each other's company. "We can work on whenever you want..." he said, nudging her slightly.

"O...ook.." he said, not sure what was going on but trusting her enough to just go along with it. He had expected her to hand him something, but instead, he felt a slight nudging in his mind. They were long passed him feeling weird about her ability to connect with his mind. This time, it was something different though. He felt a flood of sensory information push passed him. He felt the world through his own body but realized he felt it through hers as well. It was a bit overwhelming, he remained silent as she took his hand and pressed it to her stomach. He could feel the life around them, the small birds in a nearby nest higher than the tree, the tree itself, the rhythm of Kali's heart, but there was something else.

Jon's brain couldn't make sense of the rapid rhythm in his mind. Everything else faded as Kali focused on that tiny beat. "Kali, what is..." his words cut off as realization slammed into him. His eyes flew open as she spun, causing the platform to rock slightly. "Are you serious?!" he asked excitedly. "I..I..." he stammered, looking down at his hand on her stomach.

He slowly looked up at her, meeting the deep green of her gaze. His mouth was opened out of shock, the corner of his eyes watering. Jon was overwhelmed with so many emotions he felt like he might burst, they washed over him in waves. What words were there to say to express what he felt, there were none. He pulled her into an embrace. "I love you." is all he could croak out.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique's gaze rested on his while he slowly grasped what she was showing him right now. She figured simply showing him instead of sharing the news she had only recently learned herself was something far more than words could ever express, and there was pure delight written in her features as she watched him changing from confusion, to slight irritation, to astonishment about the variety expressions, to the moment of truth.

Suddenly, it wasn't just a whole wild mix of emotions washing over him, but flooding her at the exact same time as they hit him. Her eyes turned misty in a split seconds and as actual tears of joy began welling in her eyes, all she managed to add was a soft, "Mhm".

He wrapped his arms around her and she let her head rest on his shoulder while she was slightly shaking. She was truly just so incredibly happy that she couldn't muster any more words and just kept her arms around him for a moment while she simply savored the moment.

She had to wipe away the tears, but the cheeks remained someone damp as she pulled back and kissed him. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck while the birds nearby sang a beautiful melody. As their lips parted, she whispered, "I love you so much" back, before her one hand slid back into his.

"God...you're just heightening my emotions all over again" she obviously wasn't complaining, and the soft playfulness in her voice indicated just as much, but as she wiped the tears off her eyes again, she was literally smiling like she had never smiled before.

The news were incredibly exciting and she couldn't wait to start yet another new chapter with him, yet for a moment she had to control those overwhelming emotions for real and thus inhaled slowly. "Guess we've officially hit the 'married and expecting phase'..." that running gag had never expired, but this time she wasn't phrasing it comically.

@Raydo

 

[Jonathen Baize]

Jon was rarely emotional, but this was the exception to that rule. He let a chuckle. "Sure, totally my fault," he said as she blamed him for the heightened emotions. He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek with a smile.

"We never were good at staying in any one phase too long, huh?" he chuckled again. If you would have asked him the day before if it was a good time to start a family, he would have said no. Between wars, political instability, and Kali being caught up in the middle of it all, but now all those things were gone. The only things that were left were the only things that mattered in the whole galaxy, Kali, and the small life that grew inside of her. "I think this is my favorite phase to date," he said, leaning his head against her forehead.

The moment felt unreal to him. There was so much to do, so many things to prepare. "What can I do to help you?" he finally asked in a blissful moment. He wouldn't let her go through this even partially alone on Raxus. He'd hire people, get his parents to help, whatever it took.

Jon took several breaths, his heart quieting only slightly.

He was going to be a dad.

 

[Kalique Baize]

It was true. They had constantly gone through 'new phases', but Kalique had always found their pace perfect. They had gone through countless milestones together, found their way out of terrible downs and relished in amazing ups.

They had spoken about this next step even before their engagement, yet they had never set a time, and somehow the Force had deemed 'now' a fitting time. She wasn't afraid, not even worried, because she knew that with him, they'd make it through. They always had and always would.

Their family would be complemented and she couldn't wait to take this next step with him, but there was a lot that had to be done for sure. "I often thought that when we've reached a new phase...but this time it's truly that...I'm excited to experience this all with you". She closed her eyes for another moment as he leaned against her, one hand softly cupping his cheek and her thumb running through his beard.

She relished in the tender moment before his question made her reopen her eyes. They had to plan certain things for sure, but she'd have to manage her schedule as well. "I'll keep this on the down low...for now. I'll stay off the field, off the bridges, focus on training and the background coordination" it was easier also Lord Commander, because delegating and managing was obviously a huge part, but protecting her family was the top priority.

"I guess we have a room to plan soon...this platform to fix, to child-proof our house- but there's no need to rush. At first I'll coordinate things on Raxus" she knew what he was about to suggest, after all, she knew him.

"I'll be fine. Those first months will be easy. I'll stay here as often as I can, but I have a feeling you won't let me go back alone..." a smirk tugged at her lips as she leaned back a little. With everything Guin and her had set up, work had currently slowed down a little as well. The Knights were ready for whatever was about to come next, too. Still, they had the resources to make this as pleasant as possible.

"I think I've never seen you this excited before..." she softly added, a warm, happy smile on her lips. She couldn't blame him as she felt that, too. "Should we get some breakfast?". Throughout all the emotional chaos, she did at least know that she was somewhat hungry, and so breakfast didn't sound bad at all, even if this moment was almost to beautiful to leave behind.

@Raydo