CHAPTER 13: LIR SEY'LES

Bothawui

Sey'les was as surprised as anyone else that her Grum—or Bothan Clan Leader—had shown up at her sister's front doorstep. The old wizened and snow-blinded Bothan now stood in the doorway, holding a pumpkin and a jar of flightless tree midges.

Gasping, Sey'les stood at the stop of the stairs, grasping the bannister. He knows.

The pumpkin was the traditional offering dropped at shrines to the Prophet Veryk. As for the midges, every Polar Bothan knew that Savrit Cats found midges to be delicious.

Veryk darted between her feet, squeaking and chittering as he stared down.

Sey'les stooped down, allowing the Savrit Cat to crawl on her shoulder, before cautiously walking down the steps.

["Grum,"] Safyan growled politely. ["To what do we owe the honor?"]

["The purpose of my visit is to see… Ah."] The blind Clan Leader looked up, straight at Veryk.

Force sight, Sey'les thought, recognizing the pattern she sensed in the Force.

["Lir!"] Baroshk yelped, wrongly assuming Dza'les was staring at Sey'les, rather than the animal on her shoulder.. ["I am sorry, Grum, but my sister-in-law has been well fed and taken care of. She does not require… Pumpkins… Or—Lir!" His ears drooped upon seeing the jar of live beetles. ["You have brought shame upon our entire family!"]

Sey'les scowled, very much wanting to take the pumpkin and smash it on Baroshk's head.

["Oh no,"] Dza'les shuckled. ["Baroshk, these are for Veryk."]

["Ve—Veryk!"] Safyan's eyes darted to the purple Savrit Cat.

A Core World-sounding hu man voice boomed into the minds of all Bothans present in the house. {"BEHOLD! I AM VERYK! PROPHET OF SPRING AND FERTILITY!"}

Everyone except for Sey'les and Grum Dza'les gasped. Much to Sey'les's surprise, Dza'les snorted mirthfully.

{"All of you except for Lir Sey'les and Grum Tylosk Dza'les failed to recognize my signs! This was a test, and you all failed!"}

Quaking, Kyth burst into tears, yelping in terror. ["Is he going to smite us like in Mish and Mawgozata?!"]

["Don't worry Kyth!"] Sey'les growled matter of factly. ["No one is getting smitten!"]

Fur flat in fear, Safyan picked Kyth up, looking at Veryk pleadingly.

{"Smite my worshippers! I love all Bothans. But, I do dub thee—Safyan and Boroshk of Clan Ales mouth breathers! THOU ART A MOUTH BREATHER! BOTH OF YOU!"}

Morai hooted indignantly, soaring out of Sey'les's bedroom. With an angry screech, she swooped onto Veryk, clawing at the Viverrid's right ear.

{"OUCH! Morai, get—get off of me! I am not bullying them—OUCH! STOP!"} Veryk tumbled from Sey'les's shoulder and scurried into the living room.

The Convor followed him onto the couch, screeching and cawing.

A sonic boom emanated from the Savrit Cat. Sparks flew through the air. A bubble of light smacked into the green Convor, sending her tumbling to the floor.

Dust fell from the ceiling as the walls shook. Safyan, Baroshk, and the children yelped in terror, huddling near the stairs.

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously. She was not quite sure what to do.

{"Morai, how dare you!"} Veryk gasped in affront. {"How dare you peck at me! First you insult Sey'les, who saved our lives, then you—uh… What are you doing?"}

Feathers ruffled, Morai stood up, not uttering a sound. Sey'les could sense that the Convor was agitated, holding in her anger and exuding an appearance of dangerous calm.

Veryk chittered, hissing and squeaking as he stood on the sofa's armrest.

Morai's eyes glowed white, as brightly as glowrods. The light encompassed the living room and the foyer in front of the staircase.

{"MORAI!"} Veryk's voice yelled in all of the Bothan's minds. {"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"}

"That owl's a Prophet too," Safyan gasped.

Sey'les folded her arms, scowling. "Yeah, but she's only a Celestial. Morai, calm down. Ee don't want a Prophet fight! Please, the last—"

—The light intensified, forcing Sey'les to squint.

Grum Dza'les's snow-blinded eyes suddenly cleared, returning to a youthful green color. He giggled giddily.

Veryk's voice spoke in a far less worried tone, {"oh. I know what you're doing. Morai, this isn't a good idea. You just healed someone, which is quite draining. We have no way of telling how long—"}

—A humming mechanical base noise wobbled through the air. Ominously, the sound pushed through the air, shifting the Bothan's fur.

Fur flat, Sey'les grasped her head, whimpering in terror. It sounded like something was squishing around in her head. "Veryk! She's hurting me!"

{"Morai,"} Veryk cautioned. {"You're scaring them!"}

As quickly as it started, the feeling dissipated. Something feels different, Sey'les thought.

{"Can you hear me?"} a female voice asked, speaking into every present Bothan's mind. {"I feel weak. Well, this is odd. I speak to you now in the voice of the Daughter, representing the Light."}

"Uh… Hello?" Sey'les growled with uncertainty in Basic, since the voice of the Convor sounded like it was speaking in Basic. "Morai?

Morai fluttered her wings as hard as she could but barely lifted off the living room floor. {"Excellent, you can hear me. I healed you, Tylosk Dza and Lir Sey of Clan Ales. I have restored your… Wait… Why is it so hard to fly?"}

Veryk sighed. {"When I first reached out to the Bothans, it took me five years to get my Force powers back. And I didn't do commit to any Force heals."}

{"FIVE YEARS?!"} Morai gasped, chittering worriedly.

"Healed me?" Sey'les gulped. "I thought you… I thought you hated me!"

{"Don't believe Veryk's lies!"} Morai hooted. {"He is always up to his old tricks. Neither of us are 'Prophets.' He just made that up!"}

Every Bothan in the room except for Grum Tylosk Dza'les gasped in alarm.

{"Made it up?"} Veryk snorted. {"We saw the future did we not? Do we not cross the boundaries of time herself?"} The Savrit Cat lifted a claw, levitating Morai higher into the air.

Morai seemed to cheer up slightly as she hovered higher and higher. {"Thanks for the help. This makes it easier—OUCH!"} Head banging on the roof, she squawked angrily, remaining suspended in mid air despite no longer flapping her wings.

{"You just have to learn to fly like every other bird."} Veryk laughed, squeaking as he paced beneath the Convor. {"The training wheels are off now!"}

"Veryk, I am more than a little disappointed," Sey'les growled cautiously. "You lied about Morai, let me think horrible things about her and now, you are being a bully."

Dza'les brandished the pumpkin and jar of beetles. ["Veryk, you are forgetting something."]

{"I can get those anywhere, but fine."} With a sigh, Veryk sprinted as fat as he could, grabbing chunks of pumpkin with his paws.

Morai dropped from the ceiling. Warbling worriedly, she caught herself in a glide, skimming over the rug in the center of the floor.

Morai didn't know she would lose her powers, Sey'les thought, staring at the Convor. The Prophets can get cold and they are not omniscient. But they are real.

["Thank you for restoring my sight,"] Dza'les growled to Morai.

{"It was the least I could do,"} her voice explained serenely. {"But this… THIS IS A CATASTROPHE! We are in an emergency! I have never lost my powers before—how will I fight Sidious again, should it come to that? How will I return to the Vergence Scatter?"}

"The Vergence Scatter?" Sey'les asked, perking her ears up. "Is Morai going to be okay?"

{"Maybe Bendu can heal your powers sooner…"} Veryk yawned boredly. {"As for the Vergence Scatter, that isn't a problem."}

A dark circle appeared at the back of the living room, causing everyone to gasp aloud.

{"You've seen me go through it once Sey'les. It's how Prophets get around."}

Morai flapped her wings, flying towards the portal. Right before she crossed the event horizon, she chirped as fast as she could. {"Farewell, Bothans! It was nice meeting all of you. If a human wearing a black cloak appears at the door, don't answer it!"}

"Zo erz korn klok?" [What's a cloak?"] Kyth asked.

["It's a funny robe with a hood,"] Safyan explained, mussing the toddler's mane.

{"There won't be anything funny about that cloak,"} Veryk sighed, standing in front of the mysterious portal. {"All right Sey'les, come with us."}

What the kriff am I doing with my life? Sey'les thought, looking around the living room. He eyes focused on Safyan, Baroshk and the kids, standing in front of the staircase. I am going to violate my internal exile, when I am eligible for parole in 5 months… Going off with Prophets, when Veryk turns out to be a conniving asshole who is not omniscient. All to change a future that someone else messed up and Morai… She wasn't quite sure what to make of the Convor. I suppose it would be good venturing somewhere else for a change though. I wonder if I'll see Coruscant again...

Kyth snuck up on Sey'les, wrapping her small arms around her right leg. Rayek walked over next, embracing the two. Before Sey'les knew it, she was being hugged by eight of her nieces and nephews.

Safyan awkwardly skirted around the exterior, attempting to embrace the whole group in her arms.

Reluctantly, Baroshk approached the group, and hugged from the opposite side.

Amidst the sniffles Safyan wailed "Syu ko tschenkya ta." ["I'll miss you."]

Sey'les shed no tears, but her mouth went dry as she looked around at them. She hadn't realized she was anything but an inconvenience to them—the loser sister moving back home after being discharged. "Syu ko tschenkya uswu." ["I'll miss you all too,"] she whispered, pinching the sweaters of the two nieces her hands happened to rest on.

{"All right, this is nice. I like Bothans because of moments like this—even spicier than the drama! But Sey'les, we have to go. Holding this portal open takes effort."}

Looking over her shoulder, she stared at the purple Savrit Cat, now shimmering with a slight luminosity Sey'les couldn't quite describe.

The group hug broke up, moving slightly back away from Sey'les. But Sey'les stood her ground, staring at the portal.

["the Prophets want you to go with them. Just don't mess this up,"] Safyan growled.

Sey'les hmm'd to herself, her left canine poking from under her lip.

["What's the matter?"] Safyan asked worriedly.

Sey'les turned back, looking Safyan in the eye. ["This is just so weird. My life is so random."]

Baroshk laughed nervously, then contained his laughter.

Blinking incredulously at him for a moment, Sey'les sighed, then turned around facing the portal. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in and left Bothawui behind.