Ask The Celebration of New Life

Claudias Tannaras

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The Palace of Ta'nnaur'ad




Much had changed over the past few years. Claudias, however, hadn’t let that distract him from his duties. He’d done what any son of the House of Tannaras ought to do– maintain his family’s political and economic power, and work to expand it. Yet the passion for his position as ambassador had… waned over the past few years. He had thought that the influence that the position provided him could be useful to push Brentaal in the direction he wanted it to go in– one where the noble houses put the people they governed over first, and one where Brentaal would take it’s place in the galaxy as the enlightened champions of freedom and Republican values that it had always purported itself to be. Instead, his absence from Brentaal had left him almost completely unable to influence the decisions made in the grand commerce hall– from the integration into the ISC, to the banning of the Jedi. He couldn’t even publicly oppose the measures, as the Senator– and now, Governor– Sibyll Lassiter, had been the one to push these measures forward.

He had only been home three times over the past four years, and this was the third. The first had been to recover after his injuries at Firrerre, the second for his niece’s wedding, and now, for the celebration of the Birth of her daughter. With how rapidly the situation was changing however, he had a feeling that he’d be given leeway to stay for longer than a few weeks, especially with the ongoing talks between the President and Chancellor possibly being of great significance to the Brentaalan economy and astropolitical situation. That wasn’t really at the front of his mind as his droid pilot landed his shuttle outside the palace, but it always remained at least on the backburner.

The click clacking of his cane against the durasteel platform only grew louder as he arrived inside. Two droid guards gave him a once over, and a robotic, “Salutor, Militias Claudias” in the old tongue, walking alongside him as they entered. It wasn’t the main entrance into the palace, but nevertheless, the walls were still decorated with millennia old frescos of his now long dead ancestors. “Droid,” he’d ask, turning his head to one of the guards, “Where, p-pray tell, might I find the celebration?” He asked. “The pophrygenitine dining hall, Militias Claudias.” The robotic voice responded, this time in clear basic. “V-very well; I ask th-that you send a s-serving droid out to retrieve a gift I int-t-tend… to provide to the ch-child and her parents. D-deliver it to me within th-the hour.” He commanded, prompting a nod and a quick, “Your will be done, Militias Claudias.”

Upon arriving in the main atrium Claudias took a right, than a left, the increasing sound of chatter, laughter and music guiding him all the way. It wasn’t like he needed it– he’d made his way to this room on a number of occasions, be it the afterparties of both his sibling’s weddings, the celebrations of the births of Andronikas’ children, or any other event celebrating the expansion of the Tannaras’ family name. Ofcourse, such events weren’t always held in the pophrygenitine dining hall, as the celebration of his birth had occurred in another venue entirely.

Arriving inside, nobody seemed to address him at first. He recognized almost everyone immediately, but before he could greet anyone, a single voice boomed, “And there he comes.” Startled, the man blinked a few times, head twitching a little as his brother rose from his chair, crossed the room, and clasped his hand in his. Uncharacteristically, the people actually started to clap, Claudias’ eyes widened in surprise at the gestures of respect. “It’s been to long, Claud.” His older brother whispered. The younger smiled a little, nodding. “It certainly h-has… you seem to be in p-particularly high spirits, Andy– I mean, Domine.” Claudias replied, commenting on his brother’s lack of pessimism and the outward display of affection.

Andronikas’ smile widened at his brother’s use of their childhood nickname, and for a moment he looked as bright and excited as he had been all those decades before assuming his position as lord. “Why wouldn’t I have such high spirits today? I’m a grandfather!” He answered, letting out a hearty, booming laugh. Claudias’ expression was a mix of happiness and surprise– it had been decades since Andy had seemed so lively. “Where, p-pray tell, is Julia and A-andros? I haven’t spotted th-them, and I haven’t seen the ch-child either… actually, a n-number of people aren’t here, c-come to think of it.” He said, frowning a little.

“My daughter and son in law have spent the past month since the birth out of sight. This is going to be the first time I’ve seen them since the day before she left the maternity ward.” He explained. Claudias nodded, saying nothing as the two retrieved glasses and began to drink. Such practices were common, but usually births of such high profile were broadcasted for the whole of the public to see. “I c-can understand… I suppose th-that the pap-p-p… papap-ap…” He tried to reply, his ticking getting in the way of answering. Andronikas nodded. “Yes yes, the press is swarming outside the palace. I’m surprised they didn’t tear you apart.” The man commented, prompting a chuckle from his younger brother. “I’m n-not wwwoorth the effort. Besides, I arrived through one of the b-back landing pads.”

Andronikas nodded, “Your wits still seem about you at least.” He declared, prompting a shrug from his brother. “Wh-what of L-livilla, and her h-husband and children? I h-hear Reegius is being m-more difficult a-bout marriage than J…J-julias.” He went on, the smalltalk continuing as they sat, Andronikas at the head of the table and Claudias sitting by his left hand– across from where his mentioned nephew should sit. “They’re running late, and apparently it isn’t just Reegius. Livilla has been telling me that Tristodd isn’t showing much interest in any of the possible brides.” He replied, taking a sip of his wine. “R-really? That’s odd, he seems to g-get along with women quite well. I t-took him to the opera several years ago after a senate s-session, and he got along with this one woman in particular quite well.” He answered.

“Maybe so, but it seems that none have caught his interest.” Andronikas answered, before turning his eyes to Claudias. “And what of you? I had thought you’d propose to the governor by now; you’re both unmarried, and it’d be a convenient match.” His brother added, prompting Claudias’ cyans to practically bulge out of his head. “Wh- m-m-me and… Ss-Sibyll?” He repeated, having barely avoided choking on his wine. “P-p-p-pre-preposterous! I’ve b-been away from B-brentaal for y-years, her affairs and mine have h-had next to nothing to do with each other! It’d conflict with b-both our interests.” He replied, finding any excuse he could think of to justify what he’d said. His father and Sibyll’s had considered the match on multiple occasions, but thankfully, the man had gone and had a stroke before any deals could be finalized.

Andronikas shrugged, taking another sip. “Well, evidently she seems to avoid marriage as much as you do– as much as most do these days it seems.” The man went on, reclining in his chair. “People seem to be caught up in their obligations these days– or they ignore some over others.” He commented, before smiling a little. “I won’t pester you about yours again tonight, but I’d ask that you take some time to consider it. Julias seems interested only in acting like a fool, Livia is still busy with her studies… and Junias still maintains that degenerate obsession with the president.” he declared, visibly frowning at the last bit. “Just last week one of the serving droids found a pillow with his face sewn onto it stuffed in her closet. I had it burned and now she keeps screaming at me about it.”




@LouJoVi
 

Tristodd Brentioch

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Tristodd wasn’t much in the mood for celebrations these days. His work with the ISCRA had opened his mind for the tragedies that had become so much common these days on the Galaxy. First Firrerre, then Kashyyyk and now New Alderaan. He wondered if the Sith Empire could be stopped.

He preferred to have stayed working with the ISCRA to help the refugees or with Amaya and Izaya back on Thyferra. However, his parents ordered him to return to Brentaal to participate in the celebrations of the birth of his cousin’s daughter.

Due to his job with the ISCRA, Tristodd hadn’t stayed in Brentaal for much time. He would end up spending much time in Naboo or Thyferra. The young man needed to say that it was so, because he didn’t need to listen to his mother constantly complaining about him not marrying and trying to present him with possible brides.

Staying away from Brentaal also made Tristodd avoid the problems of his family. Unfortunately, one of them had found a way toward him. While it wasn’t his fault, the young man felt the obligation to solve it by himself. If his mother discovered what was going to happen, there would be terrible consequences.

Tristodd, are you listening?” he turned his attention to his mother. They had arrived at the Palace of Ta'nnaur'ad, the place where the celebration was going to happen. Livilla was describing the heiress that was going to be there and how she expected that he and his brother would find a wife today.

Yes, mother.” he said, but he wasn’t paying much attention to her. He was thinking about what he was going to do after this party. Tristodd looked discreetly to his brother, who was totally oblivious to what could happen. He wondered how Reegian had reached this point, becoming exactly like their father.

Once they arrived at the dining hall. “Claudias is here, dear.” Caledan whispered playfuly to Livilla, who immediately frowned at the scene. The older Brentioch loved to annoy his wife. “I can see it, I’m not blind. I can’t understand why Andronikas allow the aberration to walk free.” she would have imprisoned him at home as soon as he was born. This shame couldn’t remain walking around and shaming their family this way.

While his parents had this brief dialogue, Tristodd had already ran to greet his favorite uncle. “Uncle Claudias! It’s so good to see you!” the young man hugged him. “Are you fine? It has been so long since we saw each other.” then, he turned to look at his other uncle. “Uncle Andronikas, how are you?

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Claudias Tannaras

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Claudias sat in stunned silence at Andronikas' description, neck jerking a little to the side at random. "That is... qu-qu-quite the obsession." He muttered, quietly sipping on a glass of wine that ahd been presented to him by a passing servant. "Have you considered helping her acquire a hobby?" He'd suggest, wiping off his lip as a bit of drool pooled down the corner. Andronikas cocked an eyebrow. "Hobby?"

"W-well, perhaps if she's so p-p-political, you could enlist her into a junior l-legislative program?" The younger brother suggested, shrugging as head jerked at a downward angle. Andronikas' expression soured. "I... I wouldn't say her obsession with the president stems from his politics, Claud." The older brother replied, taking a sip of his own wine. At that, a familiar voice interrupted their conversation, and before Claudias could even get up to respond his young nephew had wrapped his arms around him in a sudden embrace.

"T-tristodd!" He exclaimed, before quickly reciprocating the hug, a wide smile plastering his face. "You as well! It's been faHAar long!" He excitedly answered. "I've been away on official b-b-business, for the m-most part. Renegotioning t-trade deals, negotiating economic investments, discussing imm-m-migration treaties... thrilling work." He said, speaking sarcastically, though his tone was deliberately calm to avoid his brother's scrutiny.

Andronikas, all the while, watched with ambivalence, though the slight tugging of his lips upward indicated he did somewhat appreciate the display of familial affection. "It's great to see you, Tristodd." He'd reply to his nephew's greeting, nodding his head in respect. "I've been doing quite well; I'm excited to finally meet my granddaughter again." He declared, a smile spreading across the older man's lips. The radiant happiness on his face worked well with his morellian genes to make him look a good 20 years younger than he actually was.

"We were actually just speaking about you before you arrived, Tristodd. Your mother's been telling me all about you dragging your feet on the topic of marriage." The man said, gesturing with his hand. A servant promptly walked over and poured the younger man a glass of wine, Andronikas' not even having broken eye contact with his nephew. Before he could speak up again, Claudias would interject, "I th-thought we wouldn't be b-bringing this up any f-further tonight, Andy?"

Andronikas shot Claudias a look, clearly not having appreciated the fact that he'd been interrupted. Instead of saying anything more, the younger brother pursed his lips, glancing over at his nephew instead. "I know, I know, your mother and father have probably been harassing you nonstop ever since you got home, but there's a reason for that. We all have our obligations, Tristodd-- just remember that the next time you meet someone, alright?" The older man suggested, though really, it sounded more like a command.

Claudias had listened along, genuinely uncomfortable as his brother repeated the same common lines every Brentaalan noble fed young unmarried men and women in their family. His thoughts flashed back to how his early teenage years were consumed with his father only ever speaking to him about what a failure he was, or if he'd marry "The Lassiter girl" or not. "Th-that's rich, coming from the one who threw a f-fit when father announced your enga-" Claudias began, but he stopped short of finishing when Andronikas turned to him again, blue eyes wide with shock and indignation. He once again didn't say anything, simply reclining in his chair and taking a sip of his wine-- very unamused after the mention of their father.

"...we're getting off track. Wh-what is it you've been up to, T-tristodd? Last time I checked in on you, y-y-yoUUU were still working with the ISCRA?" He'd ask, trying his best to change the subject back to something that actually interested him-- that being what his nephew had been doing since his absence,.




@LouJoVi
 

Tristodd Brentioch

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I need to tell you something, uncle. It’s important.” Tristodd whispered to Claudias, before letting go of the hug. Since the last time that they saw each other, many things had happened in the young man’s life. He wanted to tell the older Brentaalan about his adopted children and about the recent problem that appeared. Hopefully the Ambassador would be able to help him to deal with it.

When Andronikas mentioned the importance of marriage, Tristodd wanted to roll his eyes. Of course he knew what someone of his position needed to do. Since he arrived in Brentaal, his mother would remind him of it nearly every hour. Sometimes he wanted to scram to everyone that he was gay and din’t want to marry without love.

Before he could say anything, his parents and Reegian approached them. After they greeted Claudias and Andronikas, with Livilla showing obvious disgust for the presence of the Embassador, Tristodd’s father turned to all the guests. “House Brentioch is happy to celebrate with House Dajaal the birth of their new member. We would also like to share with you all of happiness, by announcing the engagement between Reegian and Irene Okeefe.

Tristodd turned to his brother immediately. Reegian could be showing no visible reaction that could make their father angry, but the young Brentioch knew his brother well enough to see that he was surprised by it. “The celebration to officialize the engagement is going to happen next month. All of the presents are invited.” Caledan finished, making Livilla annoyed because it meant that Claudias would be also going to it.

While everyone was distracted with his father's announcement, Tristodd used this opportunity to whisper to his uncle. “I need your help, Reegian is going to have a bastard child that he didn’t know about.” it was risk for him to say it now, since his parents could hear it. However, he needed to solve it as fast as possible.

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Claudias Tannaras

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The sudden shift in tone from excitement to quiet seriousness caught Claudias offguard, but he didn't let his expression break. He barely gave a sign that anything had been said, other than a couple glances at his nephew across the table. Claudias had thought that he'd mastered the art of concealing his true feelings, but the challenge of hiding his concern over what his nephew had said was greater than any treaty signing or trade deal could hope to be.

It wasn't long before various guests arrived to begin addressing his older brother, as was tradition at most gatherings like these. Be it other lords arriving to congratulate him, or lesser folk offering gifts or requesting future audience, eventually a pair of familiar faces wound up presenting themselves. "Good to s-see you, c-caladan." He addressed his brother in law, before his eyes turned to Livilla, offering her a simple nod-- which she shrugged off in obvious disgust. When the announcement arrived, Claudias immediately turned his attention to both his nephews-- first Reegian and than Tristodd. Was this what he was trying to warn him about?

He got his answer after the applause died down, with his nephew leaning across the table and whispering a truth the made the man's heart drop. The composed façade that the ambassador had put up shattered in an instant, as Claudias grabbed his cane and slowly stood up. "Claud?" Andronikas called as his brother looped around the table in uncharacteristic haste. "C-come with me." The man said, seizing his nephew by the wrist. "Claud, where are you going?" His brother asked again, this time with even greater urgency as Claudias pulled Tristodd along.

At that, Andronikas stood up, loudly exclaiming, "CLAUDIAS, where are you going?" in a tone that stopped the man in his tracks. At that, several eyes fell on the pair of nobles, the disheveled, toga clad ambassador pulling his nephew by the wrist. "...m-my nephew is feeling ill, so I'm esc-corting him out." The man answered, looking over at his brother with imploring eyes. "...ah." His brother muttered. "Leave it to my brother to put the needs of his family above everything else!" He declared, clapping his hands once, to which the rest of the partygoers dutifully clapped along as well. Most in the room were used to mocking the ambassador, but as always, when his brother was there, everyone treated him with respect.

Ofcourse, the expression on his brother's face was one that made it all to obvious that he saw Claudias' bluff-- but he let him go anyway, trusting that it truly was important. He'd nod, pulling Tristodd along. "We'll g-g-get to my st-tudy-- speak n-nothing until we get there!" He hissed.




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Tristodd Brentioch

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When he had told his uncle about Reegian’s predicament, Tristodd didn’t expect that Claudias would act immediately. The younger Brentioch watched the older man rise from his seat, attracting the attention of everyone that was around them. Including his parents and brother.

While the excuse that Claudias gave seemed to have been enough for most of the other guests to believe, Livilla turned immediately to them. Tristodd wondered if that look on his mother’s face was really concerning. “What are you feeling, dear? If he is feeling ill, then I should go with him. I’m his mother after all.

It’s nothing, mother. The scent of these flowers is strong and is giving me a headache, I need only a bit of fresh air.” Tristodd said immediately, while pointing to the several blue and white colored flowers that were spread across the dining hall. “I'll go with uncle Claudias and be back in a flash.” this seemed to satisfy Livilla. She nodded and the young man used it as his cue to leave before her or his father decided to say something else.

As Claudias had asked, Tristodd said nothing until they reached his study. Once his uncle closed the doors, he started to talk about what was happening. “Yesterday, when I was landing at the Brentioch estate, a pregnant woman jumped in front of my speeder. She thought that I was Reegian. From what she told me, her name was Anna and she worked as an attendant in a nightclub where she and my brother had an affair.

When her boss discovered that she was pregnant, he fired her and she is desperate. She was going to talk with Reegian because she wants his help. She came to Brentaal from the Outer Rim after we joined the ISC, she is totally alone here.” he waited for his uncle to absorb what he had said, before continuing. “I wanted your help to see what I could do. If my parents discover it, I don’t know what they would do.” their reaction could be even worse now that Reegian's engagement was announced. "I know that she could be lying, so I'll ask for a DNA exam after the children is born. However, after I made a search, I discovered that my brother indeed had an affair with her five months ago. I don't know what to do."

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For a moment, Claudias had thought that their exit had gone smoothly. Andy had obviously figured out the deception, and he had no doubt that he'd have a laundry list of questions upon his brother's return, but that wasn't a serious concern as the man turned to leave. Than, his other sibling interjected, and he turned his attention back to his sister, asking her questions and insisting on going after them. Thankfully, his nephew proved to be as shrewd a negotiator as his uncle, and the two made their getaway.

Arriving in his study, Claudias flicked on the lights, and sat on a dusty chair. While most of the rooms in the palace were cleaned by a retinue of droid servants, his brother had followed his instructions and left his room to Claudias and Claudias alone. It was the only place that the man could really say offered 100% privacy, and thus his nephew was allowed to speak... and what he said caused Claudias' heart to sink. His initial instinct-- like most Brentaalan aristocrats-- was to assume that the "bastard" in question was a fraud, and that it was simply a case of a young harlot taking advantage of her affair with a young aristocrat to make a quick couple of credits.

Yet Tristodd's description... it was intensely visceral. How many fraudulent, lying, greedy women would risk getting hit by a speeder to talk to the suspected father of their child? "How many pregnant women would be stupid or crazy enough to do such a thing?" He thought to himself, chewing his lip. "A D-D-DNA t-test is fair; if she's l-lying, she c-can't hope to faAAAAAke it when our d-doctors g-go through with it." He declared.

"...but I w-want you to k-keep this quiet." Claudias added. "This c-could be dangerous; not j-just for her, but for R-reegian, for y-you-- for our entire family." He said, trying his best to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "Sc-c-candals like these c-can be a disaster for us; it paints a t-t-t-tAAAarr... a target on our backs, leaves us vulnerable. The O'k-keefe's certainly wouldn't want to marry off their d-daughter to one they'd c-consider a d-degenerate womaniser, producing illLL--legitimate children to endanger their p-position." Claudia’s went on. His words regarding Reegian were harsh, but they didn’t reflect his view of the man, but instead of… well, everyone else.

“…and you were s-smart to come to me, b-before you came to your p-p-parents.” He finally declared. “Y-you should be able to t-trust them, but sometimes our f-fathers and m-mothers c-can only make things worse… especially in s-situations like this.” He declared, his mind flashing back to his youth, to…

“We… we need t-to meet this girl.” He declared. “Once this p-party is done, I’ll t-take you and Ree-“ he began, before stopping. “N-no, just you. Your brother m-might speak.” The man clarified. “Th-this must r-remain a s-secret until we c-can make arrangements— for the p-p-paternity test, and f-for what follows.” Claudias declared. “Only th-than will we t-tell Reegian— beyond that, no one else can know.” He declared, utterly firm in his statement. Even if Tristodd didn’t realize it, this situation could mean life and death.

“…now, l-let’s r-return to the party.” He said. “M-missing the unveiling of y-your c-cousin would be utterly shameful.”




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Tristodd Brentioch

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Once he finished explaining the situation, Tristodd waited for Claudias’ reaction. The young Brentioch knew that his uncle was a good man and wouldn't react furiously to what he had said like his parents. He was the only person that he could trust to help him at this moment.

Tristodd paid close attention to the instructions that his uncle was saying. “I know, uncle. This is why I came to ask you for help. If the tabloids discovered that Reegian was going to have a child out of the marriage, the Okeefe would end the engagement immediately.” a member of the Brentaalan nobility would never tolerate being associated with such scandal.

Before going back here, there were some other things that I wanted to tell you.” since it was a moment of revelation, Tristodd decided to have courage to tell his uncle everything that he had been hiding for months. “I adopted two Firrerreo siblings. They are a boy and a girl and are called Izaya and Amaya.

Then, he started to explain how he met the children during the rescue operations in Firrerre and how they became orphans after their parents died here. “I couldn’t leave the two alone in the system. I felt attached to them. They live in Thyferra now, but I wanted you to meet them some day.

Taking a deep breath, Tristodd prepared to tell his other secret. “Uncle, there was something else that I wanted to tell you. I’m gay.” he braced himself for Claudias reaction. The young Brentioch was unsure of how his uncle would react to that.

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Claudias couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as his nephew agreed with his sentiment. The older man had feared that Tristodd would protest, but they seemed to be of the same mind in this situation. "Very good, let's g-go-" He began, stopping short as Tristodd cut in again. "...something else? W-well, alright." He replied, turning back to face his nephew, stopping short of opening the door.

He wished that he'd been sitting down when he heard what Tristodd had to say; it would've made his legs turning to jelly matter a hell of a lot less. Gripping his cane and the door handle, Claudias' knees buckled, but he managed to remain standing-- wide eyed, jaw slackened and a look of utter shock on his face. His already pale complexion shown white under what little light there was in the room, and his blue eyes stared at his nephew in genuine shock and confusion.

"Ad-d-dopted... t-two... alien ch-ch-ch-children..." He repeated, breathing heavily as he leaned back against the door. Adoption amongst nobles wasn't uncommon; many a childless noble might adopt a younger niece, nephew or cousin so that their "line" could continue. What was almost unheard of was the adoption of a non-blood relative, and further, a nonhuman non-blood relative. Even for one who didn't put much stock in the sanctity of bloodlines and had no strong xenophobic sentiments, the idea of a noble doing such a thing was shocking.

"Y-your c-c-c... com-p-ph... compassion... is an admirable qu-qu-q... quality." Claudias replied, barely able to get the words out thanks to his stutter, as well as the physical shock of what he'd just been told. "I... this is... a surprise..." He stammered, slowly sitting up again, legs a bit wobbly. "Y-you don't intend f-for them to b-be seen as your... legitimate ch-children, yes?" Claudias asked. It was one thing for Tristodd to raise unfortunate children as his own, but it was another for them to be incorporated into the legal and dynastic structure of house Brentioch.

It'd be a blight on their family's legitimacy for years-- the great and venerable Brentiochs, "mixing their blood with baseborn xenos." "Y-your grandfather... he was b-born of a M-morellian m-m-mother... he faced all sorts of th-threats and at-t-tacks f-f... for decades." Claudias said. Pterygas had been a cruel, domineering man, but he hadn't been born in a vacuum; from his youth he'd been relentlessly accosted, insulted and degraded for his heritage. That he'd grown into such a prideful, overcompensating chauvinist with an obsession over purity and legitimacy wasn't without cause.

"F-for their sake, I would... k-k-keep them hidden, at l-l-least until they c-come of age." Claudias suggested. "Let them... live a normal life... away from all this." He went on, waving his arm around them-- at the palace, at the people, at the power and intrigue that dominated their lives.

"...we've b-been g-g-gone f-for... for to long. Come now." He said, opening the door. Tristodd once again interrupted with yet another revelation. "...r-really?" Claudias responded, sounding a bit more skeptical than surprised. "H-here I ass-sumed you were getting up t-to as much as Andy d-did when he was young." The older man replied, thinking back to all the times he'd seen Tristodd getting along with young women. "...w-well, I s-suppose you have a b-better excuse f-for your bachelor s-status than most young men these days." The man teased, before leading them both down the hall.

--------

"He seemed fine; I can't imagine why the two of them disappeared like that." Andronikas muttered, sipping on a glass of wine. Caladan was off chattering somewhere else, so the older brother got to speak with his youngest sibling without much of a fuss. "I congratulate you on the match between Reegian and the O'keefe girl; I'll be lucky if I can convince a barber to offer his daughter to Julias." He joked, though from how bitter his tone was, it was just as serious as it was meant to be funny.

"Domine," A servant droid chattered, "The lady Julia and her Consort, The Lord Andros, are to make their entrance with the lady Ariadne momentarily." it informed him. Andronikas looked over at Livilla again, and than at the droid. "Alert my brother of his possible tardiness, and make sure he arrives with haste. The presentation wouldn't be proper without all her relatives in attendance." Andronikas commanded. "Salutor, Domine." The droid answered.

"...at least as many as we can manage. I swear, I ought to shame Junia for her absence-- and that Eirene couldn't manage to get her younger boy to witness his niece's public presentation-- Deus, none of the young respect tradition anymore." He exasperatedly sighed, prompting a nod from his sister. "Seems father was right in that regard." She declared. Andronikas visibly tensed up, stopping short of finishing his glass of wine.

"...a clock strikes right twice a day." He bitterly replied, before downing it's contents in a single swig.




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Tristodd Brentioch

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Uncle!” Tristodd said, visibly disappointed. “I thought that you would know better rather than calling someone else an alien.” only because they were from another species didn’t mean that they should be called this way. After all, for the Firrerreo, humans were the aliens. “Like us, they are sentient beings.

Well, for the legal system of Thyferra, they are my children.” he answered his uncle’s question. “I know. They are living here with a nanny droid. I don’t want them to deal with people like my parents or Sibyl.” Tristodd knew that they would never accept the two Firrerreo. The Brentaalan nobility could be very cruel and prejudiced.

It was interesting to hear his uncle talk about his grandfather Pterygas. Tristodd only saw him sometimes, with the old man being irresponsible in a wheelchair due to his condition. The young man wondered how he was before he ended this way. His mother used to say that he was a great person.

Tristodd looked quizzically to Claudias when he mentioned what his uncle Andronikas used to do when he was young. Thinking about how young nobles used to act, he preferred to not know. “Yes, we need to go back. My parents would probably come after us if we stay here for much longer.” he said, before following the Diplomat out of the room.

The two would arrive in time to see the presentation of the baby. While the servants prepared for the arrival of the couple and their daughter, Tristodd reflected in how this ceremony was stupid. How was the purpose of showcasing a kid this way? At least Izaya and Amaya would never face such thing.

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Tristodd's reaction to his use of the word alien was a fairly serious one, and despite Claudias being the older, "wiser" of the two, his face still swelled with embarassment. "I-I didn't m-mean it in a b-b-b-bigoted way! It's just... a s-surprise is all!" The man stammered, his face having gone from deathly white to bright red in a matter of seconds. "I'm... sorry, I'm just old." The Brentaalan apologized. He was a firm believer in special equality, but his vocabulary was still a little backwards when compared to the younger generations.

Rather than dwell on his poor word choice, the two shifted their focus back to the matter of the children. "Th-that won't m-matter; B-Brentaalan p-parental and m-m-marriage law r-reigns supreme on our world. L-legally speaking, they still aren't yours in a w-way th-that could upset s-succession and inheritance." Claudias stated. It might not have been fair, but practically speaking if the children were ever discovered, the legitimacy of Tristodd's family wouldn't take a very large hit, and so the retaliation from his parents wouldn't be to heavy.

"...and sh-should they b-be discovered, and your parents or S-Sibyl choose to take action, I w-won't hesitate t-to do all in m-m-my power to make their l-lives hell until they agree to t-t-tolelrate their existence." Claudias stated. It was a bold statement, and a deliberately vague one as well. Being a politician, even one who wasn't particularly popular, he had influence, secrets and hooks he could employ. He knew of his brother in law's many amorous adventures over the years, and he wouldn't hesitate to shame both him, his sister, and the legitimacy of their entire extended family if they chose to hurt Tristodd's children. They could call him a traitor to his own blood and a filthy, crippled schemer all they liked-- the one thing they cared about more than their wealth and power was their image, and he would make sure that "suffering the xeno to live" would be the least damaging thing that could happen.

With that, the two nobles would make their way to the door, but just as Claudias opened it, he was greeted with the sight of a serving droid, standing at it's near 7' height and staring down at the two of them with glowing photoreceptors. "Archon Andronikas requires your presence for the presentation of the Lady Ariadne." The droid stated. Claudias cocked an eyebrow, replying, "Lady Ariadne? She's 6 weeks old." The droid simply replied, "Archon Andronikas requires your presence for the presentation of the Lady Ariadne."

Shrugging, Claudias would nod, following the droid back to the Pophrygenitine (Purple-born) hall. Everyone was bustling around, standing in wait for the arrival of the guests of honor. Andronikas, meanwhile, was still reclined in his special golden dining chair, which in no way resembled a throne. His eyes immediately darted towards the doorway as the two made their way in, to which he sat up and walked over.

"Return to your duties attending the guests, droid." Andronikas commanded. "Salutor, Domine." It replied, casually walking off to get back to work. "I suppose you're feeling better, Tristodd?" He asked, turning his attention to his nephew. "You... don't really look any different. Perhaps you'd like to retire after this presentation is concluded?" He suggested, before turning back to his brother. "I mean, obviously you have important business, right? I expect you'll be gone in what, a day or two?" Andronikas said, framing it as a tease, but from the tone of his voice he seemed a hell of a lot more serious.

"A-Andy, please, we d-didn't mean to be d-disrespectful." Claudias said, trying to appease his brother. "Oh, I'd never dream of you trying to insult the family, Claudias." Andronikas responded, dropping the nickname before letting out a disappointed sigh, and turning on his heels. It was obvious that he hadn't appreciated their prolonged absence, and the diplomat couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Whatever youthful optimism and friendliness had been revived by the excitement of the party had been snuffed out of his brother by the perceived slight.

It was moments later that one of the doors would swing open, and a distinctly human voice called, "Ladies and Lords, blood of the Basileoi and mairnéaoi, behold." At that, all the chattering ground to a stop. The click clack of heels could be heard, as three sets of legs made their way inside. Claudias struggled to see them, but he managed to recognize each one as he poked his head through the crowd.

At the head of the procession was none other than Eirene, Lady of the House De'jaal, followed by her son and heir, Andros. Contrasted against their flowing black hair and dark skin, a pale, slightly shorter woman with bright blue sapphire eyes and burning red hair followed with them, fingers intertwined with that of the young Andros. Julia, his niece, along with her husband, were wrapped in the traditional silk and regal finery of old, illustrious and an incredible sight to behold. Her mother in law outshined them both, wrapped in a rather gaudy robe with a long, royal purple sash that went up the middle, along with a whole host of jewels dangling from her well done hair and headpiece.

Behind them, a host of attendants would shuffle in shortly afterwards, one carrying a silken shroud dyed a heavy royal purple and emblazened with golden ornaments. For any other occassion such fabrics would've been seen as a display of excessive opulence and decadence, but for such presentations, this was merely tradition. Finally, a young man-- one of the lord Cormond's many sons, and a distant cousin of the Lady Julia, followed in with an infant swaddled against him.

"Pater," called Julia, beginning the traditional script in the old tongue, "hic es?" she asked for his presence, even though she was making direct eye contact across the room. Andronikas took a deep breathe, replying, "Ναί," taking a step forward. "Teacht, teach agus mártyras," she went on, to which Andronikas walked to join his daughter. His son in law recited the same words, and so did Eirene.

Finally, the young Cormond stepped forward, presenting the swaddled child to the family. Despite the fact that they were all supposed to follow a highly ritualistic, performative rite, Julia and her husband's warmth and beaming smiles were a clear off script edition. Andronikas, meanwhile, had a look on his face that could be described more as wonder than anything else. As the child was unwrapped and presented, bare but for a small diaper used to prevent any soiling, he slowly began to smile again.

When the babe finally arrived in Eirene's hands, she looked down with an expression wholly different from the rest of the gathered witnesses. "Magnifice," she breathed, "téleia, téleia..." she went on, before finally handing it off to her daughter in law. Both Eirene and Andronikas were given several minutes to, in blunt terms, inspect their granddaughter. Andronikas would gently turn her head, open one of her eyes, brush her hair out of the way to get a good look at her ears. All of it was meant to assess her health and see if he could recognize the girl as his own. Eirene, by contrast, didn't do much physical examination-- she merely stared down at the girl, with her bronze skin, dark red hair, and saphire blue eyes. It almost seemed as if she was looking past the girl, like she was searching for something inside the infant that went unseen.

Julia, for her part, wore an uncomfortable expression as Eirene stared far longer than was appropriate. The babe, by contrast, was entirely unfazed, looking up at her grandmother with a curious, but ultimately amused expression. "Agnosce?" Julia asked, a confirmation that the child met their expectations. Both replied affirmatively, as was expected. It was the only answer that had been uttered in such a ritual in millennia.

Finally, the attendants carrying the pophygenitine shroud arrived, and thus Julia would allow her to be swaddled in the regal garb. At that, the crowd would erupt into applause, the welcoming of the new infant into the family officially complete. Ariadne, for her part, seemed to fit into the purple quite well, her young eyes darting around as she began to giggle from all the attention.




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Tristodd Brentioch

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Tristodd smiled when his Uncle said that he would help him take care of his children. Even if Claudias showed some of the opinions that most of the Brentaalan nobility had about other species, the young man knew that he could trust in the Diplomat. He wasn’t his favorite uncle for nothing.

When they arrived at the dining hall, Tristodd noticed that Andronikas was close to his mother. “I’m feeling better now, uncle.” he said, but his attention was turned to Livilla. She was looking at him as if she expected him to say something else, perhaps revealing what he said to his uncle. The young man wondered if she already knew about Reegian’s child.

Before he could say something that could give up their secret or his mother could ask and he entered in panic, Claudias and Andronikas had a brief exchange of words. Tristodd always knew that the Diplomat had problems with his family, his mother always left it very clear in the way that she talked with her brother. However, the young Brentioch would alway think that all of that was said to Claudias was mean.

Then, the presentation started. Tristodd watched the scene trying to not roll his eyes. He always thought that all this ritual was stupid and exposed the children to possible traumas. Reegian used to tell him that when the young Brentioch was presented, he didn’t stop crying. It became even worse when his mother showed Pterygas to him. His grandfather stared at him with a vegetative face that scared him. At least this time the child wasn’t crying.

The entire circus took more time than he had expected, coming to an end after her grandparents saw that she was perfect. Using this moment where everyone was distracted, the young Brentioch discreetly approached Claudias. “Uncle, we can visit the person that I told you now. Ihave my speeder and she gave me her address.

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Throughout the presentation, Claudias dutifully stood in his position, observing every action and listening to every word as was spoken. It was a script he'd heard plenty of times by now; first during the presentation of his sister decades ago, than the subsequent presentations of all his nieces and nephews. With most not being properly fluent in old Brentaalan anymore, almost nobody actually understood the words, including those speaking them.

But with Julia's interest in poetry, Eirene's hypertraditionalist sentiments, and his own brother's legal education requiring him to be fluent, this presentation was probably the most well spoken, well choreographed one he'd seen in years. Claudias might not have been as fanatical in his devotion to tradition as some of his colleagues, but he recognized and appreciated their importance... even the more archaic ones like this. Besides, the symbolic acceptance of a child into the family wasn't malicious, even if the alternative in millennia past would've been abandonment or exposure to the elements.

As he watched the little sapphire eyed babe giggle away as she was taken into the arms of her father, tiny hands grasping at his fingers while her mother beamed down at her, Claudias' attention was diverted to his nephew. "Y-yes, ofcourse." He replied. Before long, the two of them were out of there, with Andronikas and the rest of the family left to mind the infant granddaugther, swaddled in the noblest of shrouds.

"...I spoke harshly, didn't I?" He muttered to himself, looking down at the girl as his smile started to fade. "Whatever do you mean, father?" Andros asked, turning his attention away from his daughter for a moment. Andronikas smiled a little, appreciating the familial epithet, before sighing. "My brother, I was offended over him running off to help my nephew..." he explained, before pursing his lips. "...saying it out loud, I realize just how much I sound like a prick." he declared. Andros smiled a little, but Livilla, who'd come to join them, replied, "You shouldn't concern yourself over him. That you invited him here was enough of a courtesy-- if he wants to run off, let him. Better for the rest of us."

Andronikas' eyes widened slightly, with Andros' expression visibly tensing up. The babe, for her part, hadn't received the required entertainment for her father, and as if she could sense the tension, abruptly began to wail. "Hey, hey! Calm down, little one, calm down..." He began, placing her on his shoulder and beginning to pat her back. The girl didn't let up, wriggling in his arms until Julia promptly scooped her up and out of them. "Deus, where's her pacifier? Darling, did we bring it with us?"

"I-- I don't think we were allowed!" Andros confessed. Ariadne, on cue, began to wail even louder than she already was, an almost ear piercing sound.

--------

While ceremony gave way to the chaos that was raising an infant, Claudias and his nephew had hopped on a private speeder and had begun their flight to the address. The autopilot feature was active, since Claudias had never really learned to fly a speeder and he didn't trust Tristodd to, despite the boy being well into his mid twenties. "I f-feel safer in this; after th-that whole d-d-drawspeeds fiasco a few y-years ago, these aut-topilot f-features have had t-to go through extra s-scrutiny." He explained as they flew over Cormond's streets.

Ofcourse, the autopilot wasn't perfect; turns were often to sharp, the speed was wonky, and there were a number of close calls in which they nearly got totaled. Still, they eventually wound up where they needed to be-- outside a seedy tenement in Cormond's deeply impoverished quarter. Stepping out of the speeder, Claudias almost felt the stares of the people walking by, looking at him in his exceptionally clean, very expensive attire. Back in the palace what he was wearing would've been considered humble, but down here it was opulent.

"C-come, let's make haste." He declared, pulling his nephew along. "Ayy," a voice called out. Claudias' eyes darted to his side, and he'd see an older looking Togruta holding out a can. "Spare change, prince?" He asked. "Oh, um- I d-don't c-c-carry a c-cash purse." He said, before scuttling off inside. "Don't carry cash? Ya fuckin' kiddin' me?!" The man shouted, insulted not over the refusal, but over the abysmal excuse the aristocrat had provided.

Walking into the lobby, Claudias would make his way over to the elevator-- only to find that it wasn't functioning. "Blast; c-come, we'll have to t-t-take the stairs." He declared. Walking up the stairs, even after decades of physical therapy and an extra supportive cane, was still a challenge. "D-dear boy, would you mind h-helping me up these last f-few?" He'd ask as they reached the third floor, panting heavily as his legs wobbled.

Regardless of the help, the two would make their way down the halls, arriving at their destination. Knocking on the door with the head of his cane, he spoke up, "Exc-cuse me? Is a m-miss A-anna p-present?" He called.




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Once the ceremony ended and the baby started to cry, Tristodd guided his uncle out. As he had told Claudias, his speeder was prepared for them to go visit Anna. His parents were distracted with the child and no one would notice that the two had left until they were already away.

However, his uncle had preferred for them to take a private speeder. Claudias had said that this wasn’t going to attract attention. While he agreed with it, Tristodd was confused as to the reason why his uncle didn’t allow him to pilot. “Well, I could have piloted. I wasn’t a professional one, but I do it pretty well.” he said to the Diplomat, while the vehicle flew toward Anna’s place.

To be honest, Tristodd would have piloted far better than that autopilot. There were moments that the Acolyte thought that they were going to crash due to some of the turns that this thing did. The young Brentioch decided that after that day he would never go in one of these self-piloted speeders.

After some more flirts with death, courtesy of the autopilot, they finally arrived in the poor area of Cormond. Tristodd had never visited this part of the city, only seeing pictures of it in the news. The speeder stopped in front of what the young man thought was the most seedy building that he ever saw. This place wasn’t a location for a child to grow up. Being honest, no one should live here.

Tristodd watched the exchange between his uncle and the Togruta. If he was prepared, the young Brentioch would have given him some money. However, like Claudias, he wasn’t carrying a purse. He didn’t expect to use it in the ceremony that they left behind.

He would follow his uncle through the lobby, feeling annoyed when he saw that the elevator was broken. This would be terrible to Claudias. Tristodd knew very well how difficult it was for his uncle to climb the stairs. “No problem! I’ll help you.” he smiled at the diplomat, before helping him move through the last steps of the stairs.

When they reached the apartment, Claudias knocked on the door with his cane and asked for Anna. Tristodd watched the door open partially, with a chain maintaining it this way. A female face appeared here and the young Brentioch recognized her as Anna herself. “Yes. Who wants to talk with her?” then she noticed him. Immediately she opened the door. “Mr. Brentioch! You came! Where is your brother? And who is this?

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"Th-thank you, dear boy." He replied, grateful for his nephew's assistance-- especially when he began to feel the guard rail wobbling. In the back of his mind, Claudias had considered all he'd seen so far-- the out of order elevator, the steep flights of stairs, the smell of mold and mildew present throughout the halls. That the building was in such obvious disrepair was already outrageous considering that there were more than likely hundreds of people living in it, but that Anna, a pregnant woman, would have to not only survive here, but raise a child?

Long ago such living conditions had been outlawed on Brentaal, in measures passed by populist representatives of the assembly that had improved the lives of the common citizen. But after nearly two centuries without proper elections, there'd been no incentive to enforce such basic standards. Had his father gone through with his many empty threats of disownment, would he have wound up in a place like this? Wheelchair bound, how would he have been able to climb the stairs? How could he be expected to hold a job? Despite how vastly different his and Anna's situations were, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

It was scarcely a couple moments after he'd knocked that a young woman opened the door, addressing his young nephew in a formal fashion and gesturing to him. "G-good afternoon, Anna. My deepest apologies f-for my nephew's absence. I am C-c-Claudias Tann-n-naAA...Tannaras. I am the y-young Brentioch's uncle." He explained. Anna's expression was a mixture of concern and regard, clearly torn between the news over the lack of her lover's presence and the arrival of an older familiar authority. "I... alright, thank you for coming." She said, gesturing for them both to come inside.

As they entered the apartment, Claudias was immediately taken aback by how small it was. The scent of mold and dust held strong in the air, in spite of the tidy nature of the room, which Anna had obviously applied herself to keeping proper. Glancing over at the stovetop, Claudias raised an eyebrow at the sight of various open pots full of water. "M-miss, might I ask why you've left your dishes out?" He asked. Anna's expression darkened a little. "The... the water in this block has been making people sick for a few weeks. We've had to start boiling it." She explained. Claudias' eyes widened, jaw slackening a little in shock.

"I... yes, w-well, um, we're here to discuss the..." He fumbled with his words, "...the ch-child." he finished. Anna's expression lit up a little. "Really? You've come to help?" She asked. Claudias nodded, and the woman's expression practically lit up. "Oh, thank God! I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to do anything! It's been so hard to scrape together anything-- I've been stocking up on formula with the money I saved, but I-"

"OI!" A loud, distinctly feminine voice snapped, followed up with a loud slamming on the door. "Anna, tha kark did Ai tell ya about visitors?!" the voice shouted again. Claudias' eyes widened slightly, glancing over at Anna. "It's not like that, I swear! These people are here to help!"

The slamming stopped, followed up by an audible scoff. "'Elp? Tha kark d'ya mean 'elp? 'Ow much're they chargin'? Lemme in!" She went on. Anna seemed visibly concerned, about to protest, before the voice loudly declared, "Ai swear ta karkin' deus if this door don't open in tha next faive seconds Ai'm gonna--"

"A-alright, alright!" Claudias stammered, shuffling up from his seat and reaching the door. As he unlocked it, the door would promptly swing inward, the diplomat staggering back. When he finally regained his focus, his attention was drawn to the one who'd been speaking. Before him stood a woman, of average height, but evidently quite skinny. Her skin was as pale as her hair was black, flowing well past her shoulders. Her eyes were shaped like and colored like almonds. She was, evidently, old-- at least, she looked it. In actuality she was only a year or two older than the aristocrat, even though it didn't look like it.

Her eyes scanned the room, spotting Anna, Tristodd and Claudias, analyzing the situation before closing the door behind her. "Anna," she began, walking across the room to close the distance with the pregnant woman. "When Ai got th'at Slimeball of a landlord ta cancel yer rent fer a month, Ai told 'im, and you, th'at there wouldn't be ANYONE else in this apartment fer any karkin' reason. Th'at was tha ONLY way 'e'd agree ta me payin' fer yer stay fer tha next month 'er two! But what've ya gone and done?!"

"Ya brought these two... these two..."
She began, glancing over at Tristodd a couple of times, before glancing at Claudias. "...oh deus, ya've gotta be kiddin' me! Yer still shaggin' this prick?! After kickin' ya t'tha fuckin' curb?!" She snapped. It was evident that the woman had misconstrued the well dressed boy for his brother. "Ya kriffin' gobshite, Ai oughta feed ya yer own bollocks ya fuckin'-" she began, moving to reach the boy before Anna grabbed her by the shoulders.

"SAURA, PLEASE! They're-- he's not-- they're to help!" She stammered.




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No problem!” Tristodd said to his uncle. He didn’t mind helping the diplomat to walk. After what happened with the older Brentaalan when he was in Firrerre, the young man understood that he would need more help while moving. Since the rest of their family didn’t like to do it, the young Brentioch would. Claudias was the best uncle ever, he deserved only the best.

Before he could say anything else to Anna, his uncle had presented himself to her. Tristodd noticed that she had become disappointed. He wondered if it was because Reegian wasn’t there. While he had wanted to tell his brother, the young Brentioch feared that he would tell everything to their parents.

Tristodd followed Anna inside the apartment. The first thing that he noticed was how the place was small. Even the bathroom of his apartment in Naboo was larger than this place. He felt the smell of mold and dust, which immediately made his nose itch. The young Brentioch couldn’t see a child living in a place like this one.

When his uncle mentioned the dishes, Tristodd turned to look at them. They seemed to be clean, with some even full of water. After Anna explained the reason behind it, he decided that if the child was really his brother, he wasn’t going to allow them to live here with contaminated water.

Then, the most bizarre thing that Tristodd ever saw and heard happened. Another woman, talking in an accent so thick that the Brentioch thought at first that it was another language, arrived in the apartment. After screaming for some minutes outside, Claudias finally opened the door.

Tristodd blinked in confusion at the woman, who continued talking. He struggled to understand what she was saying, but now she seemed furious. And staring at him. She moved toward him, while calling him things that didn’t completely understand. The way that she moved seemed that she was prepared to punch him.

Ma’am, I don’t know what is happening here!” he screamed, while moving away from that loud and obviously crazy woman. He went to hide behind his uncle. “My uncle and I are here to help Anna.” then he turned to Claudias, silently pleading for his help.

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Through the woman's rant, Claudias had just... stared. Her anger was something he'd rarely seen before, different from the venomous bile his father spewed at him or the disingenuous ranting of politicians in the assembly. Her anger seemed entirely genuine-- and rather than directing it at Anna out of malice, she seemed to be doing it out of... concern? Claudias had only ever seen such naked passion demonstrated on one or two occasions, and for a moment, he wasn't sure if he was recognizing more than the woman's attitude.

That was, until Anna spoke her name. What a damn fool he was, to not recognize her voice sooner. To not remember the first time he'd seen her, raven hair flowing around as she danced with his brother. How she'd awkwardly and accidentally walked into his room one night drunk, realizing her error only after she'd said some particularly embarrassing lines which she'd made him swear to never speak again. More than any of that though, he'd remember what his brother had told him-- about the "accident," about the pregnancy... and about what their father had done after finding out.

And for the first time in his life, Andronikas Tannaras was, in his brother's eyes, a liar.

But even as the man's mind swirled, he recognized the fear and desperation in his nephew's voice and the movement behind him for protection. Instinctively, Claudias took a step forward, the tip of his cane making a particularly loud clack as it hit the floor. Puffing up his chest, he looked at the woman with a defensive expression. "Ma'am, I don't know what problem it is you have with my nephew, but if you'll kindly take a step back and calm down, we'd be happy to explain how we're here to help." Claudias declared. He didn't even register that he hadn't even stuttered once.

The display of bravado was little more than chest beating; Claudias could be taken down with a light breeze, much less a woman who'd probably seen more action in the last week than Claudias had seen in the last year. Regardless, the display worked, partially, as the woman stopped moving to give the boy a beating. "Oh, 'elp 'er, uh? 'Ow're ya gonna go and do th'at? By threatenin' 'er with a lawsuit if she doesn't pipe down about tha fact th'at yer nephew is a debauched, lecherous pig?!" she hissed. It was clear that her anger had a far deeper source at this point, one that Claudias could figure easily.

Normally, Claudias would've met such heated words with moderation... but of the many things a Brentaalan could be justified in getting angry over, insults at relatives were near the top of the list.

Claudias' expression darkened, brow furrowing and veins bulging from his temple. He took another step forward, mere inches from the boisterous woman, the blue in his eyes lighting up like fire. "You listen to me woman-- I don't make judgements about people until I've met them! My nephew here has done nothing but try and help this poor girl when he had no responsibility to do so! You, on the other hand, have barged in here, shouting insults and making demands like a c-c-common th-thhh-THUG!" He shouted. That finally silenced the older woman, who tried to sputter out a response-- before Anna cut her off.

"M...miss Saura, this is Tristodd-- Reegian's brother." She explained. At this, Saura glanced over at the boy again, then back to Anna. "...this isn't yer baby daddy?" She asked, to which Anna shook her head. "...well why didn't ya say so? Ya said ya shacked up with a rich, handsome prettyboy, so what tha kark am Ai gonna think when Ai see one in yer apartment?" She declared, completely deflecting from her own screw up.

Claudias stood in stunned silence again, glancing over at Anna, who just shook her head, as if to tell him "she's always like this." The older woman would glance over at Claudias again before adding, "And don't go accusin' me of bein' a fuckin' criminal! Before you two even knew this girl existed, Ai was 'elpin' 'er find a place ta stay! Ai 'ad ta... convince th'at fat old scumbag ta let 'er stay 'ere, and ya'v nearly mucked it up by even showin' up!" She went on.

"W-well, we w-won't have to worry ab-b-bout that soon enough. One of the things we w-want to help her with is finding a more... suitable place to r-r-raise a child." Claudias declared. At this, Anna's eyes lit up, but Saura's merely widened. "Really?!" Anna excitedly asked, to which Saura merely muttered, "...really?" Claudias nodded along. "Th-this place... I d-don't know how anyone could raise a ch-child here. The air is t-terrible, the water, as you've mentioned, isn't s-s-safe for drinking. I d-doubt the food you and the ch-child will be eating will be fit for c-c-consumption, and that's not to mention matters of education, or sec-“

Claudias was stopped mid sentence as Anna wrapped her arms around the old cripple, tears welling up in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, “I’d… I’d thought we’d be lost here, but thank you… thank you so much…” she went on, tears running down her face. Saura wore a vacant expression on her face, almond eyes staring at a random patch of peeling wall. Her mind was elsewhere, and neither the woman she’d desperately tried to help or the man who was effortlessly delivering Anna from the hell that she and her boy had suffered through for decades with ease.

“It’s n-no trouble, my dear; we need only squ-square away the p-p-paternity test. That won’t take but a vial of blood.” Claudias finished, smilingly sheepishly at her. “…no trouble.” Saura muttered, continuing to stare vacantly at the wall. “P-pardon?” Claudias asked, turning back to her with a skeptical expression. The fire in the woman’s eyes had gone out, replaced with an empty gaze. Her lips fluttered together, mouthing words half formed, until one escaped; “…nothin.’” She said, turning her gaze back down.

“And when can I see Reegian?” Anna excitedly asked, causing Claudias’ gaze to flick back down to her. “W-well, we haven’t reallt w-worked that part out yet. He’s been…” Claudias began, trying to think of something to say, before his mind drifted back to Andronikas. Glancing at Saura, he gulped, before turning back to Anna. “…he doesn’t know. We… we haven’t t-told him yet.” He said.

“She deserves the truth.” he thought. He'd be better, in at least that regard.




@LouJoVi
 

Tristodd Brentioch

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Consortium
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Brentaal Gubernatorial Aide

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While he was hiding from what he could only call as a maniac woman, Tristodd was able to notice that his uncle was staring at her. He wondered if Claudias was going to do something to stop her or only stare while she punched him until he was an unrecognizable mass. With the way that she was acting, the young Brentioch was sure that she was capable of doing it.

Then, his uncle started to argue with the woman, who continued to talk in a way that Tristodd could understand only 30% of what came from her mouth. Perhaps the linguists of the University of Cormond should start to study what was said in the slums of Brentaal. They would find an entire new language and perhaps even make a dictionary out of it.

No, I’m the uncle.” he muttered when Anna said that he was Reegian’s brother. The woman, whose name was Saura, seemed to calm down after hearing it. However, the young Brentioch didn’t dare get from behind his uncle. He didn’t trust Saura and believed that she could still try to punch him. In his eyes she was crazy.

As Claudias continued with the explanation for their presence here, Tristodd remained behind him and nodded at everything that was said. At some point of the conversation he noticed that Saura was staring at the wall. He wondered if she was having some sort of mental breakdown.

When Anna asked about Reegian, Tristodd immediately felt sad for her. Perhaps it was the Force that allowed it, but he could feel that she loved his brother. “Things with him are more complicated.” the young Brentioch decided to tell her the truth. After all, it would be in the news soon. “Reegian will marry soon. Our parents will not be so happy with your pregnancy.

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Claudias Tannaras

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Independent
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Tom
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At the mention of marriage, Anna's expression visibly sunk. Her mouth opened while the corners of her lips drooped, and the look in her eyes, full of hope and concern, turned to surprise, and thinly veiled heartbreak. "Marry? He's going... to marry?..." she asked. "I thought... he said he wasn't ready, that he didn't... and that if he did, he'd... he'd..." The girl stuttered, voice cracking a little. Claudias frowned as the girl struggled to speak, clearly trying to hold back tears.

"My dear... I know this m-must be hard for you to h-hear, but I p-p-promise you that whatever was between you and my n-nephew..." the man began, before pivoting, "It's... the m-m-marriage was n-not his ch-ch-choice. My b-b-brother in law arranged for him to be m-married off. From what I saw, he didn't even kn-know that it was happening until it was p-p-publicly announced." Claudias explained, trying his best to sooth her nerves.

Yet it didn't stay the girl's tears, which began to trickle down her cheeks. "I... I just thought he wouldn't... he always said he didn't want to, that he wasn't ready... why wouldn't he just say no?" She asked, looking up at Claudias with a mixture of sadness and frustration in her eyes. "They can't just... his parents just can't make him marry a stranger!" She protested. "I'm af-f-fraid that his say so d-doesn't matter; R-reegian is his f-father's eldest son and heir. If he said no, or if he married you, Calada- the Lord Brentioch would s-simply disinherit him. He'd lose everything."

At that, an audible sneer and the sound of spit smacking the floor cut off Anna's reply. "What a crock of shite." Saura hissed. "What kinda man cares more about 'is da's approval than tha life of 'is child and tha love of 'is woman?! Yer nephew's a cowardly lech." She snarled, spitting again. Claudias' eyes widened. "I'll h-have you know that he didn't even know of Anna's p-pregnancy-- and who are you to j-judge him? What, would abandon all you have, scorn your f-family for a lover and unexpected ch-child?!"

"AI 'AVE, AND AI WOULD AGAIN!" She shouted, slamming her fist into the wall and smashing through the drywall like it was paper. Claudias took a step back, his bravado shattering at the display of anger. "Ai'd tell mae father th'at 'e could jump from a roof and inta a furnace before Ai gave up mae man and mae babe, because Ai'm not a gutless, spineless, lousy piece of NERF SHITE!" She roared. "Ya think 'e's tha only one th'at's got somethin' ta lose?! 'Least if 'e got disowned 'e'd be able ta land a job, seein' as 'e 'asn't got a bun in tha oven!" She went on, slowly pulling her hand out of the wall.

"I... he didn't even-"

"Didn't know? Didn't notice th'at 'is girl was vomitin' every mornin'? Th'at 'er blood was late, th'at she was a little more emotional? Fucker must've been blind-- 'ell, was 'e even there?!" Saura questioned. At that, Claudias turned to Anna, who had been staring in stunned silence as Saura berated the older man. "I... I haven't seen him in a few months... I didn't even realize..."

Saura glared up at Claudias, and venomously replied, "'asn't even checked on his woman-- in months." She said, her voice even and calm. "What's 'e busy with, yer lordship?" She asked. Claudias stared down at her, thinking back to what Caladan and Livilla had complained about-- his partying, womanizing, "irresponsible and degenerate" behavior. "He's..."

"'Avin' a grand ol' taime, right? Bet he's just drownin' in faighin." She spat, slipping into vulgar Brentaalan slang. Claudias knew the word and its meaning, and he didn't bother to shake his head. "'ear th'at, Anna? Ya spent all this taime tellin' me all about 'ow wonderful yer prince was, when 'e's just laike tha rest of 'em-- shaggin' and partyin' and drinkin' while we eat their cac." She went on. Anna was crying again, with Claudias just blankly looking down in shame.

With her tirade done, Saura reached into her pocket, pulling out a pack of death sticks. "Quit yer cryin'; 'e ain't worth tha shite on yer shoe, much less tha salt. None of 'em are." She said, gesturing to the two other nobles. "Ya've only got yerself." She said, placing a finger on her chest, "So do they." she went on, before poking her belly, before she turned and walked to the door.

"...W-wait." Claudias called. "I... I c-can't speak for my nephew, but we r-really are here to help."




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Tristodd Brentioch

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Consortium
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Brentaal Gubernatorial Aide

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LouJoVi
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Anna’s reaction didn’t surprise Tristodd. Since they had arrived at this place, the young man had noticed that she seemed to really love her brother. Unfortunately, their love story would never be able to continue. Even if Reegian wasn’t going to marry, his position as the heir of House Brentioch would never allow it to happen.

Arranged marriages are the inescapable fate of firstborn nobles. As my uncle said, if Reegian denied doing it and went to marry you, my father would disinherit him.” he could be being a bit selfish, but Tristodd really didn’t want to have the position of senescal falling on his lap so suddenly. He had no preparation for this.

Even if he decided to do it, I doubt that our parents would give you two peace. You are new, but there are rumors about what my mother Livilla is capable of doing against the mistresses of my father.” while he wasn’t exactly a believer in the possibility of his mother being some type of assassin, Tristodd thought that using these rumors could stop Anna from trying to continue insisting on the possibility of being together with Reegian.

Then, Saura started to offend his brother. While Tristodd and Reegian weren’t close as they used to be when they were children, the young man still felt furious with who would say such terrible things about his older brother. “SHUT UP!” he screamed at the woman, his face was red with anger. Now he was showing why he was also a Tannaras.

I agree that my brother should have seen what was happening, but who are you to talk this way about him? You have no idea about the sacrifices and pains that we as nobles have.” this woman could have lived in poverty, but he would not be surprised if she had more love as a child than he had. He could still remember the pain of the slaps that he received from his father because of the smallest of the errors.

By this point Tristodd was already in front of Saura, pointing his finger at her. He probably looked like his mother. “I’ll not tolerate you talking this way about him. My uncle is right, we are here to help. However, for my brother’s and Anna’s good, no one can know about this child.” he turned to Reegian’s mistress. “I propose for you to live at Chandrila or Corulag. My family have properties here that they never use, you can live here until the child is born. Then we see what we are going to do after the birth.” his eyes returned to Saura. “Perhaps you could go with her, since it seems to be her friend. I’ll fill the place that Anna chooses with droids, but some human presence can help.

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