2244.
T'Hayal opened her eyes blearily in response to a familiar baritone voice.
"T'Hayal-kam. You must rouse yourself presently. It is the day of your Kan-Telan," came the warm voice that he only used when talking to his dear ko-fu-il.
"Ha'tha ti'lu, Sa-mekh'al [Good morning, Grandfather]," she replied, sitting up in her bed. Her grandfather was perched on the edge next to her, her bedroom door cracked to let in some light from the hallway. Today, she would be meeting the boy who would be her telsu, Sorik. By the end of the day, she would be linked to he who is to be her husband. Soval nodded before rising and leaving her to dress herself, switching the lights on as he shut her door.
T'Hayal donned the ceremonial robes that matched much of her clan members in their juniper hues and fixed her medium-length hair into a braid that she pinned into a twist at the back of her head then moved to the wash room to clean her teeth and face. She joined her grandfather and parents in the kitchen, the light morning meal of plomeek soup and sliced gespar was laid out on the compact rectangular dining table there. Her grandfather and parents wore robes similar to her own, the embroidery of each more complex the more senior the wearer was. Since she was a yet unbonded child, hers was the simplest.
"Did you rest well, ko-fu?" asked her mother as she set food in front of her daughter for her to eat.
"Yes, ko-mekh," she responded evenly. All the adults around her seemed so calm as if nothing particularly noteworthy was expected to happen that day. T'Hayal wished she felt as calm as they all appeared. She couldn't help but be nervous. She was careful to try and hide it. Her father would strongly disapprove of the illogical anxiety that the impending bonding seemed to awaken within her. She knew it was illogical to feel the way she did. The koon-ut-la (also known as Kan-Telan), the childhood bonding, was a tradition that dated back thousands of generations for her people. Yet she still felt the anxiety nonetheless. Her father was a model Vulcan, always calm, orderly, and collected. She doubted that he felt the way she did now on the morning of his own ceremony. Her mother was the more forgiving of her two parents, to a point. Where her parents came up short in helping her to fully understand how to deal with the emotional undercurrent she struggled with after successfully identifying possible causes, her grandfather made up. Perhaps it was because of his advanced years. He had been 207 by the time she was born which naturally gave him the upper hand in coming to a greater understanding of what Surak wished for his people and how to attain and maintain it no matter what. One can only get so much from reading the scriptures and with time came learning.
T'Hayal caught her grandfather's gaze. He raised a greying bushy eyebrow at her. He knows, she thought to herself. But then again, how could he not? Her parents were still in the peak of their careers as the VSA, meaning they spent a great deal of time there, even after she concluded her hours of instruction at school most days. On the evenings her parents were to stay at work for long hours, she would either stay over her grandfather's home or he would keep watch of her at her own. His work hours were similar to her own hours at school since he retired from his ambassadorial duties to Earth, being 214 years old now, after training the current one, Ambassador Sarek, and became a member of the High Council. It was rare that he was required to stay late in office so they spent a great deal of time together. To T'Hayal, he was a third parent.
"T'Hayal," her father called, "Are you sufficiently prepared for today's ceremony?"
"I am," she replied simply, doing her best to imitate her father's characteristically cool demeanor. She made a great effort not to fidget under her father's stare as he regarded her for a few moments before turning his attention back to his food. She wondered what he was thinking… how he might've been feeling. She knew he still experienced emotion, being a Vulcan, but he just had a tight reign on them. She knew he was well over all just prodding at her parental bond in the back of her mind, but her parents never let anything travel over it that they didn't directly intend for her to know about. She wondered if their marriage bond met similar restrictions, how freely her parents communicated with each other. T'Hayal wondered when the last time either of her parents smiled at her was. Her mother's face softened in response to her often, but she very rarely smiled even the tiniest turn of a mouth corner. Her father's own softening was rare. If he ever smiled at her in her younger years, she didn't remember.
Her grandfather was a different story. Behind closed doors and out of her parents' sight, he directed tiny smiles and smirks at her often. His demeanor around his only grandchild was much softer. T'Hayal deduced that this behavior was fairly recent and brought on by the many years he spent dealing directly with humans. She imagined he was much different when raising the stoic man that was his son. Or maybe her father took after his mother? She didn't know; she had never had the chance to meet her.
When they finished morning meal, they placed their dishes in the 'fresher and her parents left for the flitter. She moved to follow them, but stopped when she felt a large hand settle itself lightly on her shoulder.
Soval crouched to eye level with T'Hayal, "You are anxious," he stated simply, without any hint of criticism, just as he would tell her that she had brown eyes. T'Hayal shifted her weight from one foot to another, looking to the floor, remaining quiet. It was enough of an answer for him. "Do not be, T'Hayal-am," he said softly. Only he called her T'Hayal-am and when he did, it never failed to calm her somewhat. "While you will be linked to him for the time being, you still have the right to pursue what you wish with whom you wish it with; I will make sure of it. Your path is still yours to take."
"I am aware of that much… but what about father?" She asked, her large brown eyes imploring, "He would disapprove of me calling the challenge when the time comes should I ever wish it. I do not fear the bonding itself."
"Do not worry yourself about such matters, tal-kam, should your father ever decide against what you believe to be your best wishes, he will have to deal with his own father," he reassured with a playful, yet still sincere glint in his eye, mouth corners lifted just the slightest bit. T'Hayal relaxed visibly.
"I thank you for your support, sa-mekh'al."
"Always," Soval said meaningfully, "Now, shall we join your parents? They will notice our absence if we do not leave now."T'Hayal nodded quickly and the two set off to join Sorel and T'Lena in the air car and lifted off to travel to Sorik's ancestral home.
Sorik's clan mother, while very advanced in age, still stood tall for a Vulcan woman, cutting an imposing figure as she stood at the altar inside the cavernous room of the home occupied by generations of Sorik's clan in the times before Surak. Every clan maintained one still, even if the current members lived in their own dwellings. Clan homes were now monuments of tradition, used for various ceremonies that have transpired through the ages, one of them being Kan-Telan.
Beside T'Para, the clan mother, stood Sorik's own parents as well as Sorik himself all dressed in their deep purple clan robes. Not unlike T'Hayal in her own, Sorik's was the simplest. As T'Hayal entered the room with her party with her being the last as is custom for the youngest, she regarded Sorik in the gap between her father and grandfather. Taking after T'Para, he was also quite tall for being only seven years old. She estimated he was about a head taller than her and she was more or less of average height for females hers and Sorik's age. As they neared the altar, she noticed his silvery grey eyes, bright like newly polished chrome. In all her (admittedly few) years, she had never come across any Vulcans with eyes like his. The only other Vulcan she could think of with eyes that were something other than brown were her grandfather's. His were hazel. Sorik had eyes that reminded her of the sister planet visible in the night sky, T'Kuht, the watcher.
Sorel came to stop before the elderly woman bowing his head. T'Lena, Soval, and T'Hayal stopped behind them and bowed their own heads in respect, waiting for T'Para to address them.
"Sorel and T'Lena, come forward," the stately woman ordered in her booming alto voice. They obeyed, leaving Soval standing just in front of T'Hayal. Sorik's watchful eyes never left her. He was studying she who was to be his telsu, and later, his wife.
"Amsetri tre, T'sai [Your presence honors us, honored one]," Sorel greeted.
"Present thy intention."She knew exactly why they were all there, she simply asked because tradition demanded it of her.
"T'sai T'Para," Sorel started, "We have come before you to carry out the Telan T'kanlar between young Sorik and young T'Hayal."
"Before commencing the kan-telan, dost thou or any other involved hold reservations to the deliverance of the koon-ut-la? Once the link is formed, it cannot be broken without dire consequence," She asked, looking at each pair of eyes a few moments, searching for any indication of objection. It seems the watchful eyes were a trait in the family, even if hers were simply brown, the intensity was the same. Satisfied with what she saw she declared, "I shall carry out the bonding. Nu'ri Sorik and T'Hayal, come before me." The two children immediately obeyed, respectfully maintaining their gazes toward the floor. She uttered the customary phrase before bringing her fingers to each child's psi-points, "Nahp, hif-bi dular tu throks [Your thoughts, give them to me]."
The first thing T'Hayal felt was a smooth wave of serenity, T'Para's (likely shielded) consciousness. In the back of her mind, she noticed something else. Something that felt "smaller" in the dimension-less place that was her presently unconditioned mindscape due to melding inexperience psyche. It was warm and unintrusive, despite the fact that she recognized the other presence beside T'Para as foreign.
What thee ponders, T'Hayal, is the essence of Nu'ri Sorik. T'Hayal felt him, but she still couldn't see him. He was there nonetheless. Suddenly, impossibly thin, seemingly endless golden strands began twisting around each other to form one great strand that hummed to life before her "eyes." The kah-ka, T'Para supplied to the children. The bond. When the time comes, ye shall meet at the appointed place to carry out the ka-li-farr, the marriage. Should thee not wish to take Sorik as thy husband at that time, thee has the right to declare ka-li-fee so long as you select a champion. No matter the outcome, thee shall become the wife of the victor. The elderly woman allowed the two newly-bonded children to prod at the bond a few moments before guiding them out of the meld. Removing her hands from their faces and clasping them in front of her, she declared out loud, "It is done."
T'Hayal and Sorik regarded each other further. T'Hayal didn't know when she would see her telsu next. For all she knew, it's possible that they not meet again until his Time more than a decade in the future. She committed his gentle features to her memory. T'Para had left not long after conferring with the two sets of parents and the former ambassador. The remaining adults talked amongst themselves, perhaps excluding the children on purpose to encourage them to acquaint themselves.
"So you are the T'Hayal my parents have spoken of," Sorik stated simply. It was redundant, yes, given that he could feel her and who she was through their bond, but he didn't know how else to start conversation.
"And you are Sorik," T'Hayal responded politely. She shifted a little. Suddenly she felt a swell of calm that was not her own wash over her and placate her. It was Sorik, through the bond, which meant he could sense her nervousness. She blushed a little, grey eyes sparkled in amusement and understanding.
Soval watched the two children exchange only a few words with each other before they simply appeared to be looking at one another, postures relaxing. He felt something warm inside of him at the sight. He smiled inwardly. T'Hayal had nothing to fear of this bonding.