"So, do you remember everything that the girls wanted us to get?" Carth asked as he pushed the cart through the grocery store. His question was rhetorical, of course. He couldn't understand Wookiee. That wouldn't have mattered anyway; Zalbaar wasn't listening to him. A platter of samples had caught the Wookiee's attention, and he was alternating stuffing the food down his mouth, and looking around to be sure that no one who worked there would catch him eating the whole tray.
Carth shook his head. Supposedly, Zalbaar was the voice of reason, or so Aminta had told him. Something about the way that the Wookiee was eating didn't fit in with his mental image of a figure of wisdom. Carth rolled his eyes, and left the Wookiee as fast as possible without appearing conspicuous. He went to the baby aisle, putting some formula, a few bottles, and at least forty jars of baby food into his cart. Hey, the sign read, "Buy 10, Get 10 free," and there was no way Carth was going to pass up a good deal. He then loaded an obscene amount of diaper packages into the cart, remembering how many Dustil had gone through when he was an infant.
He exited the baby aisle, and re-entered the food section, picking up snacks he was sure that kids would like…or at least, pretty sure… Captain Nerf Flakes sounded like a kid's snack anyway.
Once he was finished, he looked around to find Zalbaar, and was amused to find the Wookiee going at it with another tray of food. Carth shook his head in amusement, and quickly paid for his purchases. "Come on fur ball, help me carry this stuff, will you?" he called over his shoulder. Zalbaar growled in protest at the 'fur ball' comment, but seemed to take it pretty lightly. At least he wasn't pulling Carth's arms off. "Let's just hope we got all that the girls wanted," he said, wincing at the thought of what would happen if he had forgotten anything.
—————————————
When Carth and Zalbaar arrived back at the apartment, they interrupted a fairly peaceful scene. Aminta was brushing the tangles out of Vianka's wet, golden mane, and Mission was doing the same to Raeanna's, while Nailah was sleeping in the crude nest of blankets that Mission and Aminta had constructed earlier that day. The moment the door opened, however, chaos ensued.
Vianka immediately went stiff and rigid again, and hid behind Aminta's body, Raeanna took to screaming at the sight of the Wookiee, and her cries awakened Nailah, who screamed at the top of her little lungs in indignation of being woken from her nap. Aminta ran her hand over her face, suddenly feeling very old and tired. When she moved to collect Nailah from her bundle and ease her cries, Vianka grabbed onto the material of her vest and followed her. The little girl had become Aminta's shadow since the incident in the bathroom.
"Sorry," Carth said with a repentant smile and a shrug, as Zalbaar went to sit unobtrusively in a corner as to avoid a confrontation with Raeanna, bringing most of the bags with him.
Mission attempted to quiet Raeanna as Aminta bounced a screaming Nailah, giving Carth a death glare. She was under a lot of strain, and it was beginning to show. Once Raeanna had calmed down, and Nailah's cries had been reduced to hiccups, she felt slightly more charitable, and was able to manage a smile in his general direction. "Did you get everything?" her voice had a hard, weary edge.
Morgana was the same way when Dustil was a baby, Carth thought with a tired smile as he remembered his wife. She had been a devoted mother, and their son had been hard to handle. Since Carth hadn't been there most of the time, Morgana was sleep deprived and edgy most of the day. He could already see the strain inflicted on Aminta by the care of three young girls. "I think so," Carth said with a shrug as he put the bags he'd been carrying down on the table.
Aminta rolled her eyes, and shifted Nailah's weight to her other hip as she bent down and searched through its contents. Once she had counted at least twenty baby food jars, she looked up at Carth with a wry grin. "Was there a sale?" she asked, holding one up.
Carth grinned. "Yeah."
Aminta shook her head and rolled her eyes again. "I thought so," she said with a sigh, and she continued to sift through the bags. Once she was finished, she looked up at him with a little frown. "Is that all?" she asked, realizing that Carth had missed diapers. Nailah needed those, and if he'd forgotten them, Carth would be cleaning Nailah up from now on.
"Zalbaar has the rest," he told her as the Wookiee finally moved from his hiding place to put the remainder of the purchases on the table. Carth was about to offer to take the baby from Aminta so that she could better look through the bags until he realized that the girl was stark naked. The thought of her leaking on his arm quickly stilled his tongue.
He needn't have worried about Aminta; even one handed, she made quick work of all of the bags. Once all of the products had been looked over, she glanced up at him, brushing a pesky stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Did you get diaper rash cream?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. Well, at least he managed to get the diapers, she thought. I have to give him some credit; he is only a man after all..
Carth feigned innocence. "You asked for that? I'm sorry, I must not have heard you," he told her, his eyes wide, as though with surprise.
Aminta shook her head with annoyance. Blasted men were all simply just the same! "Oh well. Mission and I will just have to make an extra stop when we go out today," she said with a shrug, watching his reaction from beneath her lowered lashes.
Carth did a double take. "You and Mission are going out?" he asked, swallowing hard.
"Well, Vika is coming too," she told him, and smiled as Vianka's whole face lit up in a smile.
Carth stared at her. "And what about the little ones?" he squeaked, but he already knew the answer. I wasn't even home enough to do much for Dustil when he was a kid. How am I supposed to take care of them? he wondered, horror filling him. It was one thing for him to have trouble with his own child… it was completely different to take care of another person's.
Not to mention that Ami would definitely make good on her threat to sever my co-pilots if anything happened to them, Carth realized in terror.
Aminta passed Nailah to Carth. "You get to take care of them," she said with an air of finality. When she saw Carth's horrified look, she chuckled. "It's not like I'm giving you the death sentence. Lighten up!" she exclaimed, grinning broadly. She saw how awkwardly Carth was holding Nailah, and she shook her head with a smile. There is definitely a reason that men don't have maternal instincts, she thought wryly, and turned her attention to Mission. "Ready to go Mish?"
Mission abruptly let go of Raeanna, and jumped up. "Am I ever!" she exclaimed, her lekku twitching with excitement. In all honesty, she had been on edge ever since Aminta had mentioned the outing to her, and now that the guys were back, she was unwilling to waste another second.
Aminta smiled at her young friend's exuberance, and then bent down, and gave Nailah a kiss on the cheek, before doing the same to Raeanna. Then she looked up at Carth. "Remember, they need to be fed, and that means both of them, even if they say that they're not hungry," she instructed. "And remember to change Nai's diaper…don't wait for me to get back to do it. And if you feed Nai formula, be sure to burp her afterwards, or she'll get gas, and she'll cry. Oh, and she had a tooth coming in. Since you didn't get me the teething ring that I asked you for, give her something to chew on. Also, remember to keep Raeanna occupied…a bored kid can cause all sorts of chaos…"
"All right, all right!" Carth exclaimed, keenly aware of the diaper less baby that he held. "Just go already!" he cried, sick of her lecturing. They'd had the girls for less than a day, and she was already acting like she was their mother. Just great. Life as you knew it has just gone down the tubes, he thought to himself, groaning as Aminta bent to kiss the two little girls again. "Gods sakes, woman! I'm not going to kill them, they'll be here when you get back!" he exclaimed. She is the last woman that I would have thought to have maternal instincts like that!
Ami glared at him. "If one hair from either of their heads is missing, I swear…"
"I get it, I get it! Not get out of here!" I'm in way over my head… Maybe if I paid her, Mayenna could watch them for me. Then, I could get a nice, big bottle of Tarisian ale and get myself piss drunk.
————————————————————
Mission and Aminta sat in the Cantina, challenging each other in a game of Pazaak. Mission groaned as Aminta won another round. "Best five out of seven," the girl exclaimed, throwing down her Pazaak deck in frustration. She had been unbeatable at the card game down in the lower city, but somehow, Aminta had managed to beat her three out of the five times that they played.
Aminta grinned. "I won, you lost, end of story!" she exclaimed. "Besides, I didn't buy this outfit for nothing," she motioned to the plunging neckline of the skin tight shirt she was wearing.
Mission scowled. "You cheat!" the twi'lek accused, earning her a laugh from Aminta.
"So do you," Aminta told the girl with a smirk as she shuffled her deck and put it away. "I've just picked up more tricks over the years than you have, most of which I'd be willing to share with you later on. But for now…I won. I get go against the other players, and you get to make sure that Vianka stays out of trouble."
Mission rolled her eyes, but then brightened suddenly, mischief gleaming in her eyes. "Okay," she said, a bit too readily, making Aminta wary. Mission wasn't one to roll over when she wanted something unless she had something better planned.
"And when I say to be sure that you need to be sure that Vika stays out of trouble, I mean you too. No going off and engaging in one of your hair-brained schemes," she said, wagging a finger at Mission.
Mission just grinned. "Don't worry, Ami. We won't get into any trouble, right Vika?" Mission looked down at the girl, and it was as though Vianka finally crawled out of her shell, nodding and grinning up at Mission. Suddenly, Aminta was absolutely certain that whatever they were going to do was not going to be good.
Aminta sighed in resignation. "Fine, do whatever you have planned, but don't you dare get caught!" she exclaimed, a smile playing on her lips. "Because then I'll be forced to be mad at you," she said, and then leaned closer to the two girls, "Although I personally think that whatever you take from these people's pockets will easily be replaced. They have too much money anyway," she whispered with a wink before straightening.
"Carth would kill you if he heard you say that," Mission told Aminta with a knowing grin.
"Carth shmarth," Aminta waved her hand in dismissal. "I know how to handle him. Now off with you! I have some games of Pazaak to play, and you've got a couple of spoiled brats to go at." Mission and Vianka hurried off, and Aminta shook her head with a smirk. Yep, Mission was just like her.
Once they were gone, she scanned the Pazaak den for potential victims, a flirtatious smile settling on her face when she caught sight of a man watching her. Yep, he'll do, she thought as she made her way over to him, her hips swinging gently with practiced ease. He grinned, and motioned for her to take a seat, which she did with a coy smile.
"What's your name, sweetheart?"
Aminta smiled shyly at him, glad for her training as a smuggler. "Liana," she replied softly, blushing prettily.
"Hyter," he replied in turn, taking her hand in his. "So, Liana, have you ever played pazaak before?"
Aminta blushed again, and shyly dropped her eyes. "I do so occasionally, but I'm not very good," she admitted softly, and he grinned as he took out his deck.
"Well, sweetheart, I'll bet you're a whole lot better than you let on," he exclaimed with a smile, but he placed a hefty bet on the table. Aminta grinned; things were going according to plan. She took out a handful of credits and laid them on the table along with Hyter's, and pulled out her deck. "Let's play," she murmured as she shuffled her deck, leaning farther over than necessary as she did so. Hyster's eyes followed the curve of her chest and stayed there for most of the match. It was, in the least, an easy five hundred credits.
All of her other encounters were just as effective, and soon, she had accumulated all of the credits that she had lost by paying for the girls' freedom, even managing to make a little more for her own spending money for the day. By the time that Mission and Vianka returned, everyone in the Pazaak den had forfeited credits to her, and had refused to play against her again.
So, how did you two do?" she asked as they plopped into the chairs opposite her.
The two girls looked at each other with huge smiles before turning back to Aminta. Mission spoke for the pair of them. "We did really, really good. Once we get outta here, I'll tell you all the stories of how we swiped 'em," she said, patting the fattened purse that hung from her belt. Aminta's eyes widened considerably at just how much the purse bulged, but she didn't comment with anything other than a large grin. "So, how'd you do?" Mission asked, drumming her fingers on the table.
Aminta shrugged. "Roughly, 2000 credits. I could have made more, but everyone here are sore losers," she said casting a glare in one of the Pazaak player's direction. He quickly turned his attentions back to his cards.
Mission gave a low whistle. "That's a lot. But you only really made 600, right?"
"Once I repay the credits that I spent, yes. But that's still a lot of money," she said with a shrug, "especially since when Carth and I crashed we only had about fifty combined."
Mission shrugged. "True."
Aminta smiled at the teenager, and then looked at Vianka. "Have you ever been shopping, Vika?" she asked, her smile growing when she saw the little girl's eyes go wide, and her head shake.
"We never had enough money to go shopping. Not for me, anyways."
Aminta grinned. "Well, then. I guess I'll be taking you on your first shopping trip."
————————————————
Mission crossed her arms over her chest, fuming. "I can't believe they wouldn't let me in there just because I'm a twi'lek!" she exclaimed in righteous anger.
Aminta was furious as well, and she hadn't been able to hide that very well. The magnitude of her anger had been revealed when she spoke with the manager of the shop, and she had kneed him in the groin before storming out of the shop. Mission had stared at her with wide eyes, and then ran out after her, followed by the curses of the injured man.
"I got him though," Aminta muttered with a self satisfied smile, and Vianka giggled.
"Right where it hurts," Mission agreed with a smirk.
"They're rude!" Vianka exclaimed, gaining her startled glances from both Aminta and Mission. Vianka had barely spoken on their excursion, and now that she said something with such vehemence, the two young women wondered at what made her stay so quiet. The little girl threw her arms across her chest in a perfect imitation of Mission, and pouted. "I don't like shopping," she muttered, ducking her head when she saw how her two older companions were staring at her.
Aminta laughed suddenly. "I'm not so sure I like shopping on this planet either, honey," she told the girl between bouts of laughter. Both Mission and Vianka stared at Aminta as though she had lost her mind. Mission sneaked a glance at Vianka, and made the crazy sign, earning her a cuff on the back of her head from Aminta.
"We're going to go into one more store. If they have a problem with us, I'm pulling out the vibroblades," Aminta proclaimed.
Mission rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly. "But if one more person calls me a schutta, we are out of there."
"I completely agree," Aminta said, and then peeked her head into another store. There was a kindly looking woman working the register, and Aminta thought that it might be worth a try. "Want to go in this one?" she asked, turning to Mission.
Mission looked in, and shrugged. "Alright," she said, and the trio walked into the store.
The woman rose to greet them, her eyes lingering distrustfully on Mission, before settling on Aminta. "May I help you?" she inquired, a polite smile pasted on her face.
"You aren't going to kick us out, are you?" Vianka asked, and hid behind Aminta when the woman bent to look at her. The woman knelt down to the girl's level, and winked up at Aminta.
"Now why would I want to send three such beautiful women away?" she asked with a smile, grinning when Vianka smiled back at her.
"You don't mind that Mission's here?" Vianka asked, stepping away from Aminta, though still wary. Aminta sighed sharply. Of all things to ask…Well, at least she's talking, she thought, looking down at the little girl.
The woman's eyes widened in feigned surprise. "Why should I mind? She might be blue, but she's the same as you and me on the inside, isn't she?" she asked, earning her a huge smile and a nod from the girl that she was speaking to. She then rose from her crouching position and looked at Mission. "Actually, I rather like the color blue. I think I have some clothes here that would compliment your skin tone perfectly," she said turning her attention to Mission, and drawing the teenager away from her companions to look at the clothing.
Aminta smiled as she and the woman shared a glance, before taking Vianka's hand and walking to the children's section. Vianka's eyes grew wide as she looked at the clothes hanging all about her, reverently touching the soft wool of a pink shirt that Aminta held out for her inspection. "Is this for me?" she asked in awe as she fingered the article of clothing.
Aminta gave a soft, little smile at the girl's wonder. "If you like it," she said, and no sooner were the words out of her mouth that Vianka was hugging the shirt against her chest. Aminta chuckled. "You can get more than one you know. How about something purple, to match those pretty eyes of yours?" she asked, and Vianka's mouth dropped open.
When Aminta and Mission met up again, they both held a great number of purchases in their arms. "I picked some stuff up for you, too, since I figured that you'd be busy with Vika's stuff and all," Mission said sheepishly as she handed Aminta some clothes to inspect.
Aminta looked them over, noticing with a wry smile that most of them were blue. "Are they this color because they match my eyes, or so that when we're out we'll blend?" she asked with a grin.
Mission laughed. "I got them to match your eyes!" she exclaimed. "Besides, you wouldn't make a very good twi'lek."
Aminta feigned hurt. "Now why is that? I think I'd make a perfectly good twi'lek!"
"Nah-uh. For one thing, you're too short, for another you're too skinny, and you'd look absolutely ridiculous with no lekku," the teen said with a broad grin.
"I am not too skinny!" Aminta cried in indignation. Seeing the hurt look on Mission's face, she sighed sharply and ran a hand over her face. "Look, I'm sorry okay? It's just that Carth has made an issue out of me being too thin, and… I just don't want to talk about it."
Mission shrugged, and smiled. "Hey, don't get mad at me. The dancers say that I'm too skinny for a twi'lek, and I must be a size bigger than you. So, by default, you're too skinny to be a twi'lek."
Aminta laughed, and shook her head as she laid their purchases down on the counter. "Alright, alright! I'm too skinny to be a twi'lek," she said, raising her hands in surrender.
Mission smiled at Aminta's capitulation, and then she noticed something from the corner of her eye. She whirled around, and saw a beautiful, water silk ball gown the shade of Aminta's eyes. "Ami!" she exclaimed as she hurried over to it. Aminta turned her head, and frowned when she saw what the twi'lek was looking at. "You have to try it on!" Mission told her in a tone that left no room for argument.
Aminta walked over, and immediately choked when she looked at the price tag. "This thing costs more than I made when I delivered a shipment of spices!" she exclaimed, and stared at the teenager.
"I'm not telling you to buy it, I'm telling you to try it on," Mission said with a shrug. "It's not like you'll ruin it by wearing it just this one time."
"No."
"Yes!"
"I'll trip and fall, and it'll rip."
"No you won't. Carth told me that you were a dancer. Dancers aren't clumsy!":
Aminta stopped suddenly and then grinned. "Ha! I knew that flyboy liked that dance!" she proclaimed with a self satisfied smirk.
"Wha-"
"Never mind," Aminta cut Mission off before she could finish the question. For the gods' sakes, the girl already thought that they were sleeping with each other!
"Well, you still should try it on!" Mission finished, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Aminta.
Aminta mimicked Mission's stance and glared the girl down. Seeing that her ploy hadn't worked, Mission tried a new tactic and made her eyes wide as she pouted prettily. "Please," she whispered softly.
Aminta laughed harshly. "That does not work on me."
"Oh, fine!" Mission finally exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat.
Aminta smirked in triumph, brushing a stay lock of hair out of her eyes as she glanced around for Vianka. She smiled softly when she saw the little girl sitting on the counter, her legs swinging back and forth as she licked a lollypop.
Mission followed Aminta's gaze, and her eyes softened. "She's cute, isn't she? It's really sad that she had to go through all that junk," she observed.
Before Aminta had a chance to respond, a deep voice cut her off. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help noticing you…" the man said as he looked at Aminta.
"Gee, that's original," Mission mumbled under her breath, and Aminta smirked, turning to face the stranger with a brow raised. Mission coughed and scurried off to join Vianka, and Aminta scowled at the teenager's retreating back.
The man was handsome, she'd give him that. Black hair, golden skin, and sculpted features made certain that no one would ever be able to classify him as anything else. But his slanted eyes identified him as Deralian, and something about him seemed…familiar.
As though sensing her perusal, the man shifted his weight nervously and gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry; I know it seems like I'm coming onto you, but, I kind of needed to ask you a question."
Aminta crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "You have my attention now, so you'd better ask while you still can," she muttered grudgingly.
The man took a step back from her at the undercurrent of danger in her voice. "Look, it's just, see… I've only met three other Deralian women with blue eyes, and that was my mother, my grandmother, and my sister… and I was just…"
Aminta felt her heart rise to her throat as she studied him more closely. He had faint crow's feet around his eyes, and the beginnings of lines were beginning to show about his mouth. But underneath the subtle aging, she caught a glimpse of a young man that she thought she recognized.
"I- I'm sorry for disturbing you," he apologized, and turned away from her.
"Oded?" Aminta whispered, her heart racing. At the sound of his name, Oded whirled around to face her.
"How do you know my name?" he demanded, drawing so close to her that their arms brushed against each other's.
"The fall from the cliff…" she murmured, the words paining her. "I wasn't in the water." She cast her gaze down to the ground as she fought back the tears that were so close to the surface. Her throat constricted as he gently held her upper arms in his hand.
"Tas…?" he breathed, and Aminta finally let out a sob. She hadn't heard that name in nearly twenty years, and now every pain and every humiliation from her childhood came with it. And then suddenly, she was surrounded by her brother's arms, burying her head in his chest as she let the tears fall.
Oded let his own tears trickle onto Aminta's head as he held his sister as tightly as he could without crushing her in his arms. Twenty years he had thought that she was dead… twenty years. Finally, he pulled back from her and held her at arm's length. "Where were you?"
Aminta couldn't meet his gaze, and stared hard at the wall. "Nar Shadaa," she replied tonelessly, and Oded stiffened as realization dawned on him.
His hands clenched at his sides, and he took in a deep, shuddering breath as he attempted to calm himself. And then he gently brushed a lock of hair out of his sister's eyes and kissed her forehead. "I love you," he murmured against her skin, and wiped the remainder of her tears away with his thumb.
"Ami?" Mission's voice pulled Aminta back to the world. "Who's that?" The girl's lekku were curled about her shoulders defensively, and Vianka stood beside her wide eyed.
Aminta slowly met Mission's gaze. "This is Oded."
————————————
Carth watched as Mayenna tucked Nailah into her crude bed, planting a gentle kiss on the girl's cheek before doing the same to Raeanna. How she had managed to get the girls bathed and sleepy was a mystery to him.
"Thanks, May." He gave her a slight, tired smile and then flopped down onto the couch. Mayenna grinned as she sat down beside him.
"Hey, don't mention it. They're great kids." Her grin broadened as she watched Carth check his chrono for the thousandth time that night, and she gently nudged him. "Don't worry, she's coming back."
"What? Who's coming back?"
Mayenna giggled and shook her head. "You know who I mean. The one who got you into this mess," she indicated the two sleeping children.
"She's particularly good at getting me into trouble, isn't she?" he noted wryly.
Mayenna grinned impishly. "Want me to head out now? Maybe if she comes back and sees that the kids are asleep she'll think you handled them."
"Or, maybe she'll think Zalbaar's roars calmed them down." Zalbaar made a noise at the opposite end of the room, and Carth cleared his throat self-consciously. "No disrespect intended." The Wookiee growled softly, but returned to looking at his datapad.
Mayenna laughed. "Well, much as I'd like to talk to her again, I don't think she likes me very much. She doesn't pay attention to anything I say… Maybe I do talk too much."
Carth chuckled, but didn't reply. Mayenna frowned lightly and sprung up from the couch. "Anyway, I should probably go now. Zelka's on overtime today, and he asked me if I could go in and help him. You know, yesterday there was this kid that came in…" she paused when she saw Carth's eyes glass over and pouted. "I do talk too much!"
Carth laughed and patted her shoulder. "Go see the doctor," was all he said. Mayenna rolled her eyes and stomped out of the room, muttering something about how stories were the keys to life.
Carth chuckled as he watched her walk out and looked over to Zalbaar. "Kids these days, huh?" Zalbaar growled something in reply that Carth couldn't understand, and then stalked off to the refresher.
Carth shook his head. "I guess he doesn't like me too much," he muttered to himself, and made himself comfortable on the couch as he waited for Aminta to come back.
—————————————
"So… Exactly how rich are you?"
"Mission!" Aminta exclaimed, cutting off the girl's flow of words. "He is the one man that you are absolutely forbidden to pickpocket!" She glared the girl down, and Mission shrugged and held up her hands in defense.
"Not even Carth?" she asked, her voice gone sly.
"Mission," Aminta growled in warning, but it was too late.
"Who's Carth?" Oded asked, looking from his sister to her blue twi'lek friend and back again. He still wasn't sure of their status… On Deralia, Twi'leks were usually slaves, but the teenager and Aminta surely didn't act as though that was their relationship, and he thought it would be rude to ask.
"Ami's lover," Mission said flippantly, and he turned to stare at his sister who had gone red with anger. She had pulled him aside briefly, and informed him that her companions knew her by the name of Aminta, and not to call her by her 'childhood' name in front of any of them. Before he had been able to ask, the teenager had rejoined the conversation.
"Your lover?" he raised a brow, and scowled disapprovingly. Aminta straightened her spine at the look he gave her.
"I am twenty six years old, and I can do whatever I want," she muttered as she glared at him, and coughed and looked away from her. Aminta's eyes softened as she gently placed her hand on his arm. "I'm not six anymore."
Oded turned back to face his sister and smiled tightly as he looked down at her. "No, you're not." he agreed softly.
Mission cleared her throat, breaking into the sibling's moment of reminiscence. "We're at the apartment." She held Vianka's hand in one of hers and her arms were crossed over her chest as she smirked. "You have a funny way of missing destinations when you're talking to men… first the sewer door when you were walking with Carth, then the apartment door when you're walking with Odi…"
"Shut up," Aminta grumbled at the same time that Oded exclaimed, "Odi!"
"Aw, suck it up you two," Mission tossed a lekku over her shoulder and entered the code into the terminal by the apartment door.
Aminta glowered, and Oded stood back, offended as the teenager slipped into the room. Aminta was one step behind the girl, ready to give her a piece of her mind, and then she stopped suddenly at seeing the scene before her. Nailah and Raeanna were both tucked into bed, fast asleep, and Carth was snoring lightly on the couch. She chuckled softly and slipped off her boots before heading to the kitchen.
Oded walked in behind his sister, and paused to study the man on the couch while she walked further in. The guy looked honest; at least his sister didn't get involved with the wrong kind of men. As if sensing Oded's stare, Carth stirred on the sofa and opened his eyes. Upon seeing Oded, he bolted up and whipped his blasters out of their holsters.
Before he had a chance to fire, however, Aminta stepped into the room. "Down, Onasi." she instructed, thrusting a mug of caffa into his hands so that he dropped one of his blasters. She then turned to Oded and handed him his own mug before sitting down on a chair.
"Who's that?" Carth demanded, glaring at the intruder.
"I'm her brother," Oded introduced himself, smirking as he glared Carth down. So that's where she got it from. Carth glared back at the Deralian man, civility forgotten.
"Oded, stop trying to intimidate him, and Carth, try being a little nicer," she instructed both men as she took another sip of her caffa. Carth uneasily sat back down on the sofa, and Oded walked over to the chair where Aminta was sitting, and protectively placed a hand on her shoulder. Carth glowered.
"For the gods' sakes!" Aminta exclaimed before jumping out of her chair. "Stop it, both of you!" her shouting woke up Nailah, and she groaned. Turning to Carth, she stuck a finger in his face. "This is all your fault," she muttered before stalking off to lift Nailah from her makeshift crib.
Grinning, Oded sat in the chair that his sister had vacated and watched the scene play out. That was way too easy.
"My fault?" Carth demanded in a voice that matched Aminta's. Nailah simply wailed louder. "My fault?" he exclaimed again, his voice rising.
"Will you just shut up! You're making her cry even louder," Aminta shouted as she bounced Nailah up and down, rubbing the baby's back.
"I'm making her cry louder? You're the one that's shouting!"
"I am not shouting!"
An especially loud roar rocked the room as Zalbaar emerged from the refresher. ":Calm down humans:"
Vianka's eyes went wide and she ran over to Aminta, burying her face in the woman's clothes. Raeanna woke up too, and her lip started to quiver as she looked at the adults around her. Aminta groaned, and with one last glare towards Carth, she set about tending the children.
Oded grinned, and Aminta glanced over at him. "And stop gloating, Oded. I'm ignoring your part in this only because it's been so long since I last saw you." Oded quickly sobered, and glanced over to Carth. "She's a pistol, isn't she?"
Carth glared at him and took a sip of his caffa. "I'm going to start spiking my drinks," he murmured into the liquid.
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Late into the night, all was quiet again. Mission had taken the girl's back into the bedroom, and the four had promptly fallen asleep; Zalbaar snored loudly on the chair that he had claimed. Carth was laying restless on the sofa, determined not to eavesdrop on the conversation that Aminta and her brother were having on the kitchen, and instead he focused on counting the seconds between the noises that the Wookiee made.
Behind the closed door, Aminta sat on the kitchen counter with her feet crossed as she spoke with Oded. "How's mum?" she asked softly, staring out the window into the night.
Oded sighed softly, and ran a hand through his hair. "She's alright, I guess. She's never been quite the same since you left."
Aminta nodded slightly as she chewed on her lip. "Yeah, I miss her too," she murmured, glancing down at her hands. "Iliario and Heath?"
Oded smiled slightly. "Iliario's married now, with two kids and one on the way. Heath… well, he's Heath."
Aminta gave a slight smile in memory. "I've seen holos of Liza. Her daughter looks just like her," she said wistfully.
Oded grinned. "She's got baby number two on the way." He then frowned. "How have you seen holos of her? We've all thought that you were dead…"
"I have a contact." Oded raised a brow, and Aminta felt compelled to continue. "He…uh… he owed me a favor, so I asked him to check up on you four. You, Iliario and Heath never seemed to be at home so he wasn't able to glean much information on you guys, but he was able to get me a few holos of Liza and her daughter."
Oded nodded, absorbing the information. "Why didn't you just come home yourself?"
Aminta closed her eyes against a wave of pain, and took a deep breath. "I couldn't," she managed past the lump growing in her throat.
Oded eyed his sister carefully, realizing that the topic was off subject. "What happened to you? Everyone was out of their minds with worry… were you kidnapped?"
Aminta laughed dryly. "In a manner of speaking. I was sold to a man on Nar Shadaa," she told him carefully.
"You were a servant!" he nearly stood up out of his chair with surprise. Never had a highborn woman of Deralia become something so low, at least that he'd heard of.
Aminta gave a half hearted smile. "Something along those lines." Before Oded could question her further, she changed the subject. "So, do you have a girl waiting for you back home?"
Oded laughed. "I'm actually on a prolonged honeymoon."
Aminta smiled and shook her head. "The Sith quarantine; lucky you. So, who'd you finally decide to settle down with?"
"Her names Nadea. Sweet girl."
"Pretty?"
"Yes."
"Busty?"
"Tasi!" he exclaimed, his cheeks going red.
Aminta smirked. "I'll take that as a yes." When Oded mumbled something under his breath, Aminta just grinned. "I may have only been six, but I do seem to remember that all of your dates had that one particular asset in common."
Oded glowered at her, and then his face grew concerned. "Do you love this guy?"
Aminta coughed and stared at him. "What?"
"That guy out there; do you love him?"
Aminta stared at him for a second before it dawned on her. "Carth?" she laughed, "Oh, Force no!"
"But you're making love to him."
"Oh, Gods. Look…"
"Seriously…"
"Oded, I'm not sleeping with him. Mission's gotten that into her head, and she'll tell anyone that'll listen. Which, unfortunately, happened to be you."
Oded glanced over her for a minute before nodding. "What made her think that? I mean, the kid's got to have proof."
Aminta grinned and shook her shoulders. "Maybe."
"What do you mean by 'Maybe?'"
"Well, that depends. Are you willing to talk to me about your sex life?" When Oded flushed and looked to his hands, Aminta smirked. "I didn't think so."
"You're awful, you know that?"
"And you're probably six hours late to meet your wife," she reminded him, and Oded grimaced.
"She's gonna kill me," he muttered. "When she gets over it, I'll have her ask you to dinner."
Aminta paled. "Oded, please, that really isn't necessary…"
"Come on, it'll be fun. You'll be with your family again."
"NO!" Aminta shouted, and glared at him. Seeing his confusion, she softened. "Look, Oded… you have to keep me a secret. No one," her voice caught and she forced steel into it. "No one can know that I'm alive."
"Why?" Oded choked out, gently caressing Ami's cheek. For once, she leaned into the touch and accepted the slight comfort that he offered her.
Aminta bit her lip, and then met his eyes with a hard gaze. "Our family has secrets, Oded. Secrets that no one can ever know about. I'm one of them."
"Who are you protecting?" he demanded, gripping her shoulders.
Aminta swallowed, and then met his gaze. "All of us." Oded stepped back, and stared at his sister for a long moment before finally giving a grudging nod. "You need to go home now, but you can't tell her about me. Not a word."
"Please, I…"
"Give me your word."
Oded hung is head in defeat and nodded slowly. "No one will ever know." He then cupped her face in his hands and gently planted a kiss on her forehead. "But now that I've found you, don't think for one minute that I'll give you up so easily."
Aminta chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Never." With one last, long look, Oded opened the door and entered the Tarisian night.
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Carth watched in silence as Aminta's face contorted in her sleep, barely restraining himself from waking her up. Maybe this time, the nightmare would go away on its own and she wouldn't end up hurting herself. Maybe… She thrashed about in her sleep, her blankets in a tangled knot at her feet. She began to whimper, and thrashed harder.
Carth pushed his own blankets off of his lap and was making his way to her when she started to scream. Cursing under his breath, Carth scurried over to her and quickly clapped his hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't wake the children. She thrashed harder, and then the tears started to fall.
Aminta bolted forwards as she woke, and Carth nearly gave a sigh of relief. But her eyes were clouded over, and she continued to thrash about as her tears soaked his hand. She then tried to claw his hands away from her mouth as she continued to scream, and Carth winced in pain when she drew blood.
"Ami, stop it!" Carth spoke quietly, but fiercely, giving her a little shake. Gods above, can she ever sleep through the night? He wondered as he shook her again.
Aminta opened her eyes, and took in a shuddering breath. She stopped trying to scream, and the hand dropped away from her mouth. She sat silently for a few minutes, staring at her lap, and trying to concentrate on breathing. She drew her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth, back and forth, whimpering.
Carth watched her suffering mutely, and once she stopped shaking, he rested his hand on her forearm. She jumped, and stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. Carth inched forward, and brushed a strand of hair back from her unusually pale face. She looked like death itself. "Are you alright?" he asked, realizing the stupidity of the question the moment that it was out of his mouth. It was obvious that she wasn't alright…she was shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind.
Aminta drew in a haggard breath, and somehow managed the ghost of a smile. "I'm fine," she managed, but she was shivering, and her voice trembled as she spoke.
Carth picked up his blanket, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She gave him a grateful look, before carefully studying her hands which were lying in her lap. Why does he always have to see me like this?
"Do you always have dreams like that?" he asked, gently rubbing her upper arms. She recoiled from his touch for a moment, before subjecting herself to his comfort. She sniffled, and then shrugged.
Carth frowned, and then noticed that a flush was spreading across her cheeks. He smiled slightly, and then gently cupped her chin with his hand, and tilted her head so that she could no longer avoid looking at him. "You don't have to feel ashamed, Ami. It happens to the best of us," he said softly, and Aminta sniffled again, looking back down at her hands.
Suddenly, she leaned forward, and cuddled against his chest. "You know, you can be a real jerk sometimes," she mumbled into his shirt. "But you can be pretty sweet when you feel like it," she said, snuggling closer against him.
Carth shook his head with a rueful smile as he wrapped his arms around her, returning her embrace. "And you can be a real pain sometimes, Beautiful," he said as he settled the blankets around them, "But you know what? You're worth it."
—————————————————-
Mission grinned at Aminta later that morning. "So, you and Carth have fun last night?" she asked, her grin broadening as Aminta scowled. "So, the old man has his uses after all. Who knew?"
"Mission, nothing happened!" she snapped, as she stood before the workbench, upgrading her vibroblades with the spare parts that they had bought the day before. She had awoken to Mission leaning over her, smirking, earlier that morning. Aminta had abruptly realized, to her mortification, that she was still in Carth's arms. The twi'lek hadn't let it drop, insisting that something had gone on between the two, even going as far as to ask if they had created a little baby Carth.
"Well, you two sure looked friendly," Mission said, as she worked on her blasters. The three little ones were still asleep, and Carth was in the refresher. Of course, Mission hadn't let him go without making the snide comment that Aminta should join him. Zalbaar had growled with laughter, looking innocently at the ceiling when Aminta had turned around to glare at him.
"Over-sexed teenagers," she muttered under her breath, as she struggled with the pieces that she was trying to insert. She wasn't at her best this morning. Besides having a sleep plagued by nightmares, she had woken into a living hell, all caused by a kid whose overactive imagination had created something out of nothing. She mumbled a curse as a few of the pieces of the vibroblade dropped to the floor.
"Excuse me, I don't believe I heard you," Mission teased, enjoying tormenting the older woman. It was just so easy… She deftly finished her blasters, and looked over to Aminta's vibroblade. "You need some help?" she asked, smirking.
"Oh, go kiss a Gammorean!" Aminta heatedly told the girl, as she attempted to finish her blades. She was so angry that her hands were shaking, rendering the task impossible to complete.
Mission quickly took the pieces from Aminta's trembling hands, and took over for the woman. "While I'm doing this, why don't you go join Carth in the 'fresher? I'm, sure he'd love your company," she said, ignoring Aminta's stuttered outburst. Finally, the woman gave up trying to talk reason into the twi'lek and flopped down onto the couch, muttering a curse in every language that she knew.
Carth chose that moment to exit the refresher and enter the room. He listened to Aminta's curses and saw Mission's smirk, and knew all at once what the topic of the conversation had been while he'd been gone. "You need to respect your elders, young lady," he said, wagging a finger at Mission before dropping his dirty clothes in a pile next to the rest of his belongings.
Mission shrugged, and grinned up at him from her work. "So, since I couldn't pry any information out of Miss Spoilsport over there, are you willing to admit anything?"
Aminta mumbled something unintelligible under her breath and glared daggers at the girl. This is what I get for taking in street urchins. I should have known better…
"Did you happen to hear anything last night?" Carth asked pointedly, raising a brow.
That doesn't mean anything," Mission muttered. "You can be quiet about it, you know."
"You'd have heard something." Carth said with a little grin.
Aminta threw a pillow at his head. "Men and their fracking egos," she snapped. "And you two shouldn't even be talking about that. What are you, Carth, sixteen? One teenager is more than enough. And Mission, if you say one more thing about something that never happened, I swear, all of your undergarments are getting thrown in the incinerator."
Mission winced. "Okay, okay, I got it, no more talking."
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As you can probably tell, this was more of a fleshing out of the characters and their personalities chapter rather than a chapter of stuff that actually happened in the game. Hope you don't mind. As always, I love your reviews!
