Calmcacil Family Quarters

*The girls enjoyed a couple hours of much-needed rest, their dreams peaceful and pleasant. Morgan was the first to awaken, and she was in such a refreshed and rejuvenated state that it was almost as though her entire escapade throughout Felucia was nothing more than a dream. And even if it had been a dream, well, it had been the best, most exciting dream she ever had.

She opened her eyes slowly, then reached up from under the covers with her hands to rub her eyes with the backs of her fists. She then extended her arms to the side, stretching a bit, shutting her eyes tight once more as she did so. Then she relaxed and opened her mouth wide, yawning, then, finally, producing a little squeak when she was finished, like she always had done.

She then rolled onto her left side, and there before her on the dresser was the flower... The purple-tipped, golden-centered flower, the one gifted her by her mother Felucia, and it was then that she dispelled the notion that it had all been a dream. She smiled appreciatively at the beautiful flower, then noticed that, instead of the box it had been in, it was now nestled securely into a flowerpot. She cocked her head to the side curiously, then remembered that Cassie had promised to get her plant a pot. She must have done so while they were asleep. Morgan then smiled appreciatively again at the young woman's helpfulness, even though she wasn't here to see it.

Morgan then climbed out of bed, immediately starting to pull her shoes back on over her socks. Annabelle chose then to awaken; Morgan's soft squeak was what had caused her to awake. She slowly recovered from her sleepiness and sat up, swinging her legs out of bed and taking up her brush, brushing her hair straight after the brief sleep. She then put her own shoes on and approached Morgan, then saw that the flower was in a pot and smiled appreciatively.*

*Morgan, upon hearing this, looked at her aunt, grinned, then looked back at the flower again for a few more moments as Annabelle reached for Morgan's hairbrush, which was sitting on the nightstand beside the pot, and helped straighten Morgan's hair a bit after the nap.

Morgan didn't react, only letting her aunt brush her hair while she stared at the plant, considering what she wanted to do today. The trip through Felucia had been rather hectic... She would've enjoyed some peace and quiet right now... and, with a gasp, she knew the perfect place. She spun around just as Annabelle had finished brushing, managed to dodge the brush before her face, tittered, then spoke excitedly to her aunt.*
Belle-Belle! Wanna go to the lake out back and just sit there for a bit?
*Hearing this desire, Annabelle only smiled at Morgan. Annabelle had to agree; peace sounded very nice right now, and few things on Belkadan were more peaceful than sitting upon the overlook, legs dangling over the rocky edge while they looked out over the lake below and the trees and fields in the distance... It sounded very desirable right now, now that Annabelle thought about it. She smiled sweetly at her niece and nodded.*

*Glad that Annabelle had accepted her proposal, Morgan grinned widely with a soft giggle and a happy exclamation.*
Yay!
*Annabelle giggled softly as Morgan immediately ran to the door, reaching up on her tiptoes for the key that would open it and pressing it. The door slid open with a soft hiss, and Morgan turned to face Annabelle, waiting for her with a smile. Annabelle smiled in return, approaching her niece so that they could leave. As soon as Annabelle was by her side, Morgan wrapped her left arm around Annabelle's right and smiled up at her aunt. Annabelle smiled back down at Morgan and the two shared a giggle as they left the room, departing down the halls as the door closed behind them...*

*Aerandir, along with Michelle and Morgan, returned to their quarters, stopping outside the door so that Aerandir could enter the keycode for the door to open and they could enter, but before he did so, he spoke aloud to both his daughter Morgan and his sister Michelle.*
Just go in and get ready for bed; it's about that time anyway.
*The door slid open to reveal their room, and a single person within: Annabelle. She was laying on the ground with a book reading it, and looked up when the door opened, smiling when she saw the rest of her family. Upon seeing her, Aerandir smiled, surprised that this had been the first time since earlier in the day that they had seen her.*
Belle-Belle! How long you been here?
*She only laughed softly, closing her book and then lifting it up as she stood, holding it between her arms as she looked at her brother, twin, and niece.*

*Aerandir only smiled, Annabelle ever being the optimist, though he and Michelle did feel a little guilty for leaving her on her own for a while. And they couldn't help but wonder what she would have been like in Psallo's presence, but they didn't mention that for now. There would be time in the morning. Unless Michelle caught her up on it while they got ready for bed...*
Well, I'm sorry for that. But now it's bedtime; I promise we'll spend more time together tomorrow.
*Aerandir lowered Morgan down to the ground so that the girl could stand on her own feet, then patted her on the back as though to shoo her forward. He and Michelle stepped inside, the door closing behind them. Annabelle seemed to not mind anything at all, and even looked as though to shrug off his apology, but Michelle's expression caught her attention and her focus immediately shifted.*

*Michelle, only nodded towards the bathroom, taking a brief detour at her bedside to pick up her nightshirt as she headed in that direction.*

*Michelle then looked over her shoulder back at Aerandir, as though seeking his approval. Aerandir knew exactly what she was gonna say, and so he only nodded to her, giving her said approval. Annabelle looked between the two, wondering what may have been going on, but then simply took her own nightshirt and followed her twin into the restroom, the door closing behind them. In the meantime, Aerandir headed to his own bed, taking out his datapad and setting it upon the mattress, then sat upon it himself and took up the datapad, preparing to read up on things until he was ready for bed himself.*

*Morgan did her best to forget about the odd feelings she kept having all day, and instead focus on a full night's sleep. Which, oddly enough, only served to give her another pang, though thankfully not a very severe one. Just annoying, as usual. Was her mind intending to keep her up all night? She hoped not... She really wanted to sleep, and she wished it would at least do her that much of a favor...

Finally, they reached their room, where Annabelle was waiting for them. She straightened up and smiled at her nine-year-old aunt, before being let down by her father so that she could get ready for bed. Michelle and Annabelle headed into the restroom by themselves, and it was only now Morgan noticed that something was wrong with Michelle. She was curious too, but Michelle seemed to only want to tell Annabelle. Which was fine; she knew that sometimes twins just wanted to talk to each other. But she was still curious...

Instead of trying to head in after them, she simply went to her bedside and took out her pink footed pajamas, then changed into them right there. The door was closed and there was no one around besides her father, after all. She knew she would still have to brush her teeth, but she could still save time this way. Once she was changed, she then turned towards the restroom and leaned against the side of her bed, waiting for Michelle and Annabelle to come out so that she could go brush her teeth before she went to bed...*

*As the restroom door closed behind the twin girls, Annabelle, instead of beginning to change, only looked at Michelle curiously, more interested in why she looked upset than changing into her clothes for the night. Michelle knew this, fighting back a sigh; she loved how concerned her sister could be, but sometimes she didn't want Annabelle to think she had to devote all of her attention to everyone else. But, well, that was why they were here, so, as she began to change, she started to explain.*

*Annabelle knew that Michelle had only just started to explain, but she was already confused as to why that would cause her to be upset. She remained silent however, and only began to change as well, while Michelle continued to explain.*

*Annabelle nodded, indeed having heard of Iego and their resident "Angels," and also spoke to confirm this.*

*Annabelle almost thought that maybe this creature was an Angel, but if he didn't say what his species was, then maybe he wasn't... But instead of asking, she let Michelle continue.*

*She said this as though it should be a frightening├óÔé¼ÔÇØor at least surprising├óÔé¼ÔÇØpiece of information. Annabelle was a bit surprised, as she didn't think that many other people knew the language. In fact, she was almost certain that it was practically extinct and that her brother had to resurrect the knowledge, but maybe it was more well-known than she originally thought...*

*By now, Michelle had finally gotten out of her clothes and into her light blue nightshirt, Annabelle finally sliding into her own light yellow one. Annabelle was processing this information, seeing Michelle's points, and wondering what could have made Morgan like this person, though she attributed it to the supposed beautiful appearance and this ability to speak the Eldalambë in an almost magical fashion... Morgan did like that language, after all.*

*Michelle only nodded to herself; that was what she had known all of her life, after all. She only stepped forward and hugged her sister, who returned the hug with a smile. The two then headed to the sink so that they could brush their teeth, and then, when they were finished, they took up their clothes, holding them securely in their arms, and heading back out into the quarters.

They set their dirty clothes in the hamper, then they headed to their brother to hug him goodnight, then the same to Morgan, who, it seemed, had decided to change out here, which only made both of them giggle softly as they hugged her and told her goodnight. The pair then climbed into bed, hoping for a good night's sleep without any disturbances, Michelle especially hoping that this "Psallo problem," as she now called it, could be solved soon. Maybe she would talk to her brother about it tomorrow. Tonight, best not to worry too much about it...*

*Morgan waited patiently for Michelle and Annabelle to finish in the bathroom and exit, though they seemed to be taking a little longer than usual. What were they doing, anyway? Was Michelle telling Annabelle about Psallo? What was she saying? Were they good things? Finally, the two appeared again, looking happy. Well, at least, Michelle didn't look upset like she had a minute ago.

Morgan waited for her hugs, which she returned to the pair, telling them goodnight back, then started to run towards the restroom door, stopping when she saw the laundry hamper. She quickly turned around and headed back to her pile of just-removed clothes, took them up, and headed to the hamper, depositing them within before heading on into the bathroom so that she could brush her teeth.

Once this task was completed, she exited the restroom, with a clean mouth and sparkling smile. She then headed over to her father's bed, climbing up upon it and sliding beneath his arm so that she could put her arms around his neck and hug him tightly, then plant a gentle, loving kiss on his cheek before looking into his eyes with her own twinkling emerald eyes, smiling at him.*
Goodnight, Daddy. I love you!
*She then climbed off of his bed and headed to her own bed, climbing up into it and pulling the covers over herself after settling into a comfortable position, as she usually slept on her back in the first place. Though as she settled, she couldn't help but frown, feeling some sort of bad feeling about the night ahead. Yet somehow, it felt related to those pangs she had received earlier.

Was that what it was all about? That maybe she wouldn't have a good night's sleep? Well that wasn't worth giving her all that trouble... But now all it did was make her feel a bit grumpy, but she would try to sleep no matter what the Force said. She wanted her sleep. And so she simply shifted a bit, getting slightly more comfortable, and laid her head gently upon her pillow, looking up at the ceiling and then closing her eyes, trying not to think about anything but a good night's sleep...*

*Aerandir smiled at his sisters and hugged them back, wishing them goodnight as well, then watched as Morgan headed to the restroom herself. ... in her pajamas. Had she just changed out here instead of waiting? Well, not like it would have been the first time, but... Aerandir only shook his head and chuckled, looking back down at his datapad, waiting for Morgan to return from her teeth-brushing. When she did and he felt her climb up on his bed, he leaned back and put an arm around her, hugging her back and kissing her on top of the head, then smiled down at her.*
Goodnight, Morgie. I love you too.
*He watched her as she headed off to her own bed, climbing up into it and shifting a bit until, he assumed, she found the sweet spot so that she could begin to drift off to sleep. He smiled, then set down his datapad so that he could head into the restroom and prepare for bed himself, which included brushing his own teeth as well, obviously. Healthy teeth were happy teeth, after all.

Once he was ready for bed, he exited the restroom, taking a moment, which had become customary to him, to look over the sleeping forms of Michelle, Annabelle, and Morgan, smiling at them, how beautiful and wonderful they were. And at how fast they were growing... "Damn you, time, slow down!" he thought in a jocular manner, but meant every word. He would have to start savoring more moments with these children.

He headed to his own bed and crawled in beneath the covers, shifting onto his side, as that was where he was most comfortable sleeping. He looked up over his body towards the two beds, smiling again at the sleeping children, and laid his head back on the pillow. He would have to keep an eye on Psallo in the coming days, but for now, it was time to rest; he would need his strength, after all. And he would see his children in the morning. ... so why did he suddenly have a bad feeling about the night?*
Force be with me, God protect me.
*It was a simple prayer that he uttered, but one that somehow managed to ease him. Maybe he was just uncomfortable with Psallo being around, but worse beings had been in his Academy for more than a day. He would just have to trust the Force├óÔé¼ÔÇØand God├óÔé¼ÔÇØand weather this night. He would figure out how to deal with this Psallo issue├óÔé¼ÔÇØif it was an issue├óÔé¼ÔÇØin the morning.*

*Sleep, such a lovely thing. It was a place where people could reorder their mind and where children could experience the phenomenon of dreaming. Limitations did not exist in dreaming. The mind and spirit were free to do and think and feel what they wished for that brief span of time between sunset and sunrise. Some say that the body needs this freedom to cope with the confining existence of life itself when one woke up...some thought dreams told of the future or the inner being, or secret desires one might have...and still others thought that dreams were random electronic bursts of energy triggering memories, sensations or even movement in the brain.

Regardless to what others thought... Dreams were dreams, and they were vivid. One being's dream was about to be softly, and gently interrupted. A soft, inviting, and rhythmic voice would trickle through the youngest child's mind. Within the limitless bounds of sleep, the voice could quite possibly be more beautiful than when the girl had first heard it only a few hours ago. It roes and fell with a cadence meant to be lulling and hypnotic, and it spoke the same language it had before... the tongue that would hopefully dispel doubt, fear, and ...reality from the child's mind.*


<< ├â┬ü tulel h├â┬¡na, ├â┬í tulel ar carpal l├â┬® ni. >>

*Along with the voice came a direction. The force would lightly brush against Morgan's unconscious mind, pulling at her longingly, Pulling her mind and body toward a point, out of the room she was slumbering in.....pulling her closer to the magnificent.... beautiful....demon.*

*Morgan's dream was of trees. They almost always were of trees, or some scene of nature. Perhaps her mind had been so spoiled by the dream world granted her by her mother Felucia that it constantly had tried to replicate it subconsciously most nights, but it was always subpar. The trees were never fantastical or vivid as those of Felucia's. They were mostly average trees. And green grass. Morgan never subconsciously in her dreams minded the poor comparison; it was only when she awoke that she would think something of it.

But this time was different. The bland environment suddenly changed... The trees reformed, and became thin and silver, their slender branches elongating and reaching for the sky, golden leaves tipping the canopy. The ground became softer and almost had a white glow about it. Dew could be felt on the blades, even between Morgan's toes. Whatever clothing she had been wearing before suddenly became robes... light gray, ornate robes. And perhaps a beret of flowers in her hair as well.

All this because a breeze had blown through the trees. A breeze that had created this scene. A breeze that had "awakened" her. That had created this new scene. One that had beckoned her. One that asked her to come speak with whoever the voice belonged to. It was a musical, melodic voice, and Morgan could understand why it had the effect it had on her environment. And suddenly it began to fade. She almost pleaded that it wouldn't; it had only just begun, after all! She even reached out, as though to cling at some fading strands of the dream-reality...

But then she awoke in her bed, arms outstretched in the middle of the air slightly. And yet, she was not fully aware. The hypnotic words repeated in her mind... It was still dark, but she felt the pull, the guiding force, gently tugging her away. She didn't want to move. She wanted that scenery back. It wasn't Felucia, but it had been... otherworldly, delightful. She wanted to close her eyes, but the pull was too strong. She started to move, but suddenly a sharp sting inflicted her mind, which made her grunt.

So what did she do? Move or not? The sting had almost fully-awakened her, but not quite. It was still pretty early, after all. But the little dark-haired girl in the pink footed pajamas eventually gave in, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, slowly removing her sheet and sliding to her feet. She almost stumbled, but kept her footing, and managed to make her way towards the door.*
<< Tulin... ("I am coming...") >>
*Morgan almost bumped into the door, but her hand came up just in time to feel for it and she stopped herself in time. She groggily reached around for the door's panel, trying to find it and press the key that would open the door, though it took her reaching on her tiptoes. ... and almost falling over in the process. But the door had opened. And the child, sleepy, barely-conscious, and trusting, stumbled out into the halls, towards her destination...*

*Aerandir's night was not the smoothest. His dreams were dark and ruthless, full of evil hordes of monsters that he had to fight against, only instead of a lightsaber, he was using a sword, and the setting was definitely ancient, medieval in architecture. He wasn't sure what he was meant to protect, if he was in the hall of a castle or just a hall. But he kept fighting, hacking and slashing demonic entities that tried to breach the defenses of whatever he was trying to protect, even though it looked like a regular, nondescript hallway of some sort.

While his focus was shunted upon one specific demon, which he cut down and killed, another managed to get by him on his blind area, sneaking into the hallway without his notice as he simply found a new target and slashed it as well. This continued on, until suddenly a strange feeling of panic and distress set in, warping the atmosphere, creating ripple lines in the entire vision which not only served to knock away a few of the demons, but to disorient Aerandir as well. The sort of effect that made Aerandir realize he was dreaming, and he suddenly gained conscious control. But there was no time to explore lucidity; for the wave he felt he now recognized, and he knew from whom it came from. And it was followed by a word. One single word that made Aerandir's eyes widened and his sword fall out of his hand, and hit the ground with a clatter.

"Daddy... !"

And just then a sharp pain ran through his back, as though pierced by a jagged sword. And Aerandir awoke, throwing himself into an upright position, something metallic and silver hurling through the air from his nightstand and smacking into his palm, the black, almost lightless beam erupting into existence. It was a panic reaction to the pain of the ambush attack, but now Aerandir quickly realized he was awake, extinguishing the blade and lowering his hand. But he was up out of bed immediately; the feeling and the word rang in his mind, and he had to be sure Morgan was alright.

... but her bed was empty. The sheet was thrown back, as though she had just simply gotten out of bed. He looked towards the restroom, but the door was open and it was dark in there. Only now did he notice that Michelle and Annabelle had shot awake, frightened by the sound of the sudden lightsaber activation. But there was fear of something else also on their expressions. Annabelle was looking about the room curiously, panting, but Michelle was simply sitting up, her eyes widened in realization and staring straight forward, towards her toes.*

*Aerandir only blinked. This confirmed it then: It was definitely no trick of the dream. Annabelle herself gasped, looking towards Morgan's bed, only to find it empty. She then looked up at her brother, worried and concerned.*

*Aerandir shook his head; he knew why he was upset. He just wished it weren't true. Morgan wasn't here... And Psallo... if he was a threat... No, he was a threat, no doubt about it. It was too suspicious, his actions, and now Morgan was gone and sending out distress calls the night of the same day Psallo arrived in the Academy. But he couldn't feel her now. At least, not as strong and brilliant as she normally was; now, she was very faint. Almost impossible to track. He didn't care about himself; he had to find his child, and find her fast. He then looked at both of the girls stoically.*
I've gotta find Morgan.
*He turned, lightsaber hilt in hand, and headed towards the door, even as Michelle called out for him to wait. But he didn't wait; he opened the door and was out into the halls. Michelle, however, was already out of bed, grabbing her lightsaber from the nightstand beside her bed and heading towards the door quickly. When Annabelle started to move as well, Michelle quickly held out her hand, looking at her twin with a concerned yet in-control look.*

*Annabelle started to simply lean back into her bed, even as Michelle stopped the door from closing in time and slid out to catch up with her brother, but she just couldn't. She knew what she felt, and she knew Morgan was in trouble. There was no way Annabelle was going to just sit here while something bad happened to Morgie! For perhaps the first time ever, Annabelle showed signs of independence├óÔé¼ÔÇØand perhaps defiance as well, even if it was just her sister who gave the order├óÔé¼ÔÇØand reached over to grab her own lightsaber, even though she was not quite skilled in its use just yet, and slid out of bed, running as fast as her legs would carry her, and out the door into the hallway. She wished she had the speed of her sister Michelle, but for now, adrenaline and willpower would carry her. She quickly started to catch up with Michelle, who was just as quickly following after her brother...*

*Michelle and Annabelle came to their room while the rest of the group went to theirs. They had recovered somewhat from the scene in the medical wing, and now had been given hope. But the situation was still dire, and seeing Morgan being damaged like that... Well, Annabelle was an empathetic child by nature, though not necessarily through the Force. The fact that it was her niece and was practically a sister to her only compounded that.

Michelle tried not to think about it. There was a chance for hope, and Michelle would cling to it. It had hurt to see Morgan in that state, yes, but if she was to recover, that was all that mattered. But they had to be there. They had to pack. And Michelle knew where to find the duffel bags. Once again acting as the tall and strong figure like she usually did, she took these out into the middle of the floor and started packing her own clothes into it, somewhere along the way deciding to change as well.

Annabelle simply blinked, then followed her example, changing into regular clothes and packing her nightshirt with Michelle's before collecting her own clothing to pack. They moved on once this bag was ready to Aerandir's clothing. Briefly, Michelle recalled how, the last time they were on Felucia and Aerandir had given her her clothes, she had joked with him by telling him not to touch her underwear. And now she stood before her brother's dresser, she couldn't resist a small smile and a soft chuckle at the thought, which drew Annabelle's attention.*

*Annabelle obviously couldn't fathom how Michelle could possibly be laughing at a time like this. To further confuse her, Michelle simply looked at her, still wearing that smile, and pointed into the dresser.*

*Annabelle just blankly stared. Don't touch his underwear? True, people could be sensitive about that sort of thing, but if they didn't, then, how would their brother have any when they got to Felucia? ... wait... now Annabelle remembered... the jokes from Felucia that one time... Annabelle lowered her head and smiled gently, then shook her head as the two got to work packing what they needed.

That left Morgan's clothing. Aerandir had asked them to pack for Morgan. That had to mean something. There were several possible implications, but the one the girls chose to believe was "She would need clothes when she woke up." ... obviously. The poor girl was naked in the bacta tank, after all. Boy, would she be embarrassed... Michelle managed another small, discreet smile at the fact she was managing to think of these things like nothing was wrong. That was good. She needed that strength right now.

She and Annabelle then got to work, taking several sets of Morgan's clothing and packing them into the bag, then heading into the restroom to collect their toothbrushes, their brother's shaving equipment, and other such toiletries, which they brought back to pack in one of the bags. They were almost ready. But something else caught their attention. Something they hadn't thought to look at before.

The flower. Morgan's flower. The one Felucia had gifted her. Annabelle had been there when it appeared. It was a somewhat large flower, dark blue with purple edges and a yellow center with fuzzy tufts extending from the center. It was usually so bright and vibrant, and Morgan had loved it. But now... it was drooping slightly. Like it was dying. Odd, considering that earlier that day it seemed as healthy as ever. Michelle and Annabelle simply stared, bewildered. Had... the flower been linked to Morgan's very life essence... ?

Just then, a knock on the door jolted them back to their senses. Bix was at the door, asking if they needed any help. He seemed somewhat impressed that they were already packed, but offered to take the bags. Which he did, despite having another duffel bag. Annabelle almost intervened, but Michelle just shook her head and asked her to take the flower instead. Annabelle slowly nodded and took the flower in her hands, and the two of them followed Bix out into the halls, shortly joined by Shells, Cassie, Kayla, and Samantha...*