Ten Days

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Day 1

Sitting in a small pavilion that'd been set up to the side of the main work area, Teagan s'Ilancy watched in silence as the Cizerack engineers and workers went about their tasks of pouring the durracrete foundation. It looked to be such an arduous and tedious process, as each worker poured, then leveled, then poured, then leveled once more. She could hear grunts and calls for tools, and the ever-present sound of some holonet station blaring some sort of Cizerack music to cut the normal drudgery. It was a unique experience, and the young Lupine watched for a few more minutes before her eyes went back to the basic blueprints that'd been layed out on the table she sat at.

The house that Major Verratoa had said would be built was just that. Basic. But, it was better than nothing, and she let her gaze roam over the single sheet of hardcopy paper. There was a kitchen, of course. Attached was an open area, and along a hallway that led ultimately to a large master bedroom was another series of two rooms; no doubt Master Vymes would appropriate one as an office and study. A small open area further separated things. In the back of her mind she hoped that the remaining room would be her own, but it was a fleeting thought. Still though, she held out hope. Perhaps even when he grew older, Markos would be moved to this new residence? A shake of her head, and she lifted her eyes back up.

Each man and woman worked in tandem, and they'd gotten nearly half of the foundation poured.

Biting her lower lip, Teagan looked over to the person sitting beside her.

"So... how long does it take to dry... ?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"On an arrjid worrld ljike thjiss, perrhapss thrree hourrss."

Major Untaaura Verratoa took a break in the heat of the day for a cigarette and a quaff from her canteen. The human girl, who answered to the name Teagan and was no-doubt some relation to the Jedi Master, seemed to follow her crew around with an insatiable curiosity. Initially, the Jaani'saari officer attempted to run her off, but upon seeing that she wasn't actually meddling or interfering with the build, reluctantly allowed her to stay for the view. And on rare days like today, she even humored her with conversation.

Drawing a pull on her cigarette, the Cizerack blew purple smoke from her slanted nostrils.

"We wjill tesst jit at that tjime."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"Oh." She looked back out at the work going on in the small distance before them. "... ok."

The smell of the Major's stim wasn't exactly overpowering, but it wasn't all too pleasant, either. Her last bout with inhaling leaves had been decidedly less than pleasant at the end result, not to mention nearly disastrous. In her mind, it was still a worrisome thing, to fess up to being the vornskr that the Major had seemed to take a shine to. Teagan cast a glance to the plans that rested on the table, then back to the workers.

"Thanks for doing this."

The girl leaned forward then, letting her mind's eye imagine what it would look like when completed. She could already see whisper trees growing at the corners, and a garden of kessa flowers and sorami vines growing along the edges of the house that had yet to be built.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Thank Massterr Vjymess." Untaaura corrected, a flick of her ear as she recalled the interesting dialogue that had cajoled her into embarking on this fool's errand.

"He jiss a verrjy perrssuassjive male. jI would not wjissh to be the female to take hjim asss a mate."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Teagan blinked at that, but kept her expression level as she only gave a passive nod.

"I s'ppose."

Again she looked out to the work being done, trying to think of a way to change the subject from 'mates' to something... anything else.

"Is this the shortest time you've had to build something?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Harrdljy."

Untaaura gave a scoffing laugh at the notion. Ten days in a war zone was a rarely-afforded eternity.

"Mjy battaljion arre combat engjineerrss bjy trrajinjing. Though we bujild mosst thjingss jin tjimess of peace, we have bujilt durrjing warr asss well."

The Major swigged deeply from her canteen. She paused as it parted from her lips, and considered it fitting to share the drink with the girl who she shared her words.

"jYou have hearrd of Thalasssjia?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Teagan took the offered canteen gratefully, and taking a small sip, handed it back. She swallowed, trying to recall anything she might've heard about... Thalassia? Finally, she shook her head.

"I haven't, sorry."

It felt strange, talking with the woman who knew her and yet didn't; like some strange mix of lives that had suddenly overlapped, yet only one half of the consciousness was truly aware. She felt awkward; not due to any shortness or curt behavior from the Major, but from her own mind. It was a little bit frustrating, and giving a sideways look to the Cizerack woman, Teagan found herself biting her lip, wishing she could confess to everything, yet scared all the same that if she did, she would lose the small amount of companionship she'd found in the Major.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"A borrderr worrld nearr wherre mjy people ljive. Full of crraven crrjimjinalss and sslaverrss."

Punctuating the distate in her tone, Untaaura spat on the ground.

"We've warred wjith them often. jI am a veterran of the Thjirrd Thalasssjian Warr. One of the sslaverr warrlorrdss bujilt an jimprregnable forrtrresss between two rragjing rrjiverrss, darrjing uss to do anjythjing. Of courrsse jif we werre the Empjirre we could have cerrtajinljy bombed the currssed thjing jinto glasss, but that jiss not ourr prreferrence. An enemjy jiss besst met closse and perrssonalljy."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She nodded, knowing the penchant for such up close fighting that the Major tended towards.

"Makes sense; the personal side of it," her eyes tracked away, "Doesn't let you forget your own... humanity. Even if you're at war."

Was 'humanity' the right word?? Suddenly self-conscious, Teagan furrowed her brow as her mind raced, hoping to quell the perceived notion that she was projecting a mindset that wasn't even hers to begin with on another who was no more human than she herself was. There was nothing she could think of, and she gave an apologetic wince to the Major.

"Well, maybe not humanity I guess, but... existence... ?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Major Verratoa laughed at the girl's tortured wordsmithing. Not a spiteful laugh, but one in the sense that she was on a completely different supposition.

"Harrdljy. jIt'ss harrd forr an enemjy to fearr a vague jidea. We could all be vaporrjized rrjight now bjy a turrbolasserr blasst frrom orrbjit, but would the fearr of that posssjibjiljitjy frreeze jin jyourr brrajin? No.

The Jaanni'saari arre eassjy to fearr. We prromjisse jusstjice not wjith a pussh of a button, but wjith thjiss."

Untaaura reached to her belt, pulling slow a glinting durasteel knife from a composite sheath. The grip was dark and knurled. The double edged delta blade carried staggered serrations down the last third of each edge, and a pronounced blood groove ran down the middle.

Holding the weapon out, she moved the handle toward the younger girl.

"Hold jit."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Taking the knife, Teagan held it in a grip that was at first tentative. She felt the contours of the handle, the history that the blade itself held. Teagan held no illusions. This weapon had found purchase within the inner workings of a living being. It didn't repulse her in any way, and she focused on it, her grey-hazel eyes glued to the razor's edge. It was a honed blade, and well-cared for. She had seen her mother's curved Cathar blade often enough that she knew what to look for.

And though it was normally an unnoticed thing to many, the weight of lives rested in the soul of the Major's knife.

"You've killed with this," came the candid observation, devoid of emotion in such stark contrast to her previous words.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"jYess."

Untaaura replied plainly without boast or embellishment. The girl's thoughtful examination of her weapon hinted at enough maturity to handle that truth without the need for gory exploit. The Major kept to herself exactly how much she'd killed with that knife. Some tellings were only for herself and those like her who'd been baptized in blood and knew the curses hidden under the honors.

"Everrjy Jaanni'saari carrjiess a blade. We learrn to bujild brrjidgess overr flooded rrjiverrss, thrrough arrtjillerrjy fjirre and rrajin...to deljiverr thjiss."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She thought about what the Major said, and another moment later gave a nod as she turned the blade back around, presenting the handle to her Cizerack partner.

"No shortage of excitement, I guess."

Which made it all the more puzzling to her. Why come to Ossus? More than likely it was the same concept of 'posting' that her mother was subject to. Unless of course, the Major had volunteered for this assignment?

"So then, what brought you here, to Ossus?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Orrderrss." The Major put simply, lips taut as she sheathed her knife with a silken sheen of singing metal. Untaaura glanced to her human companion and rolled her shoulders slightly.

"jIt'ss the farrthesst posstjing awajy frrom home. Not bjy chojice, but jI do not mjind the djisstance."

Verratoa's cerulean eyes turned to the ground at her boots.

"jI do not wjissh to go home."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

It was a sentiment that jarred her, and Tegan looked away as her mind raced, unsure of how to respond to such words. For her, her life had been spent in search of home; whether it be Cathar, Layla, Dauntless, Schwartzweld, or here on Ossus. Finally she braved a look back to the Major.

"That's... kind of sad, really. Everyone should want to have a home to go back to."

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Untaaura turned her head to look at her young friend. There was a tiredness in her expression that seemed so out of place for the diminuitive hard-charger.

"Everrjyone wantss to belong. jI do mjiss mjy homeworrld. The ajirr, the trreess. But jI have no famjiljy to go back to. Onljy sstrrange facess."

The sway in Untaaura's tail slowed contemplatively.

"jYou arre a Jedji, jyess? jI would thjink thjiss concept would be famjiljiarr frrom what jI know of jyou."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

A strange expression fell over her features then, and the girl blinked slowly while looked back out at the workers and the foundation that was very nearly complete.

"I... well, I dunno."

Master Vymes had given her a day, but she had avoided any possibility that the subject would come up, and that single day had turned into a week.

"I'm not sure if it's what I should do; I mean, my Mom used to be one, but now she's a captain in the Alliance and off doing whatever they tell her to do. She doesn't get to visit very often."

It wasn't exactly a line of conversation that she was entirely comfortable going on about, and Teagan changed the subject back to the Major's homeworld.

"What's it like, where you're from?"

[Untaaura Verratoa]

There was a familiar caged reluctance to the way that Teagan chose to sidestep her question. It only lead to more introspection from the Major, which parted only when the human diverted her with another question.

"jI come frrom Taltimant. jIt jiss a Prrjide worrld, but not a majorr one. Therre arre mountajinss, grreat mountajinss. Tall crrowded pjiness below. Above, alwajyss ssnow."

Major Verratoa's ears hung wistfully as her eyes looked up to trace Ossus's own majestic splendors.

"Ssjimple beautjy."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She tried to imagine the Major's homeworld, her mind's eye painting a beautiful picture. She closed her eyes.

"It sounds wonderful."

Day 2

Her morning had started much as all mornings did, with the unbidden chiming of her alarm. Teagan rolled from her bed with a groan, and shuffling her way to the small dresser, pulled out whatever her half-lidded eyes cast upon at their first dreary-eyed gaze. Classes - especially the morning ones - went by in a sort of daze that was a strange mix of attentiveness and listlessness. She took whatever notes were required of her, and even seemed to pay more attention in the mid-morning meditation classes that Knight Hicchoru taught. Sparring followed, though she had still yet to actively volunteer herself for a match. As always, she watched from the edge. Then came history. After that was the lunch hour.

Instead of making her way to the mess hall, the young Lupine headed in the opposite direction, passing through the outskirts of Sanctuary One and up along a fresh pathway that would lead her to the Major and her team. Instead of the previous day's music, the radio now played a continuous news feed, the filtered, purring lilt of Cizeri mingling with the gruff shouts of those once more hard at work.

The foundation had dried without any cracking, and had been deemed satisfactory so that now the frame could be put into place.

That pavilion stood as it had the day before. Teagan moved into the shade it offered, but the Major was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes scanned the work crew, hoping to catch a glimpse of the diminutive Cizerack woman.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

A hover lorry trundled down the road, laden with corrugated durasteel girding and binders. So much so that the bulk of the load hung off the lorry's flat bed, and was supported by ratchet straps and modular brace posts fitted to the bed of the duty vehicle. Major Verratoa sat atop the metal piling with a handful of laborers, pilfering from an array of food cages as she brought both building material and midday repast to the build team.

Discarding a chuba bone by tossing it into the dirt below, Untaaura licked a bloody trace from her hand as the lorry coasted to a halt. The workers debarked at once, and she followed suit as her team first dove into their lunch. The Major drew down her sun blockers along her nose, noticing a familiar face waiting at the pavilion. She hopped down the front of the lorry, bounding off the bumper as she approached Teagan.

"Don't jyou have sstudjiess to attend to?"

Their conversation always began with a half-hearted attempt by Untaaura to convince the human to go away and let her work. Teagan was doggedly committed, however, and Untaaura now simply let the matter go with one customary attempt.