Little Moments...

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

... and other Short Stories.

* * *

It was early morning. So early in fact, that neither Dama nor Daddy had woken up yet. They were still on Daddy's ship the Dauntless, and wouldn't be leaving for Schwartzweld at for another few days. Daddy had said he needed to make sure that things were tended to, but that it wouldn't take too awful long before they could be on their way.

In the still of the bedroom, Teagan carefully crawled out between both parents, mindful to make as little noise as possible. They slept soundly, and sliding to the floor on bare feet, the little girl wondered how it was that they could fall asleep so easily. Like, it only took them a few minutes it seemed! She however had lay awake long after they'd gone to bed, tossing and turning a few times before Dama put an arm around her to keep her still. After that she'd busied herself with wrapping a finger around a few strands of Daddy's hair. It was grey like Zem's, but it was thinner and not as wild. It was soft too, and felt nice.

But now she was awake and determined to help with the morning chores; she was even going to get a head start before Dama and Daddy woke up.

Padding her way out of the room and into the main living area, she headed straight for the kitchen alcove. Dama usually kept a small bit of caf at home on Cathar, saying that it was for Daddy whenever she saw him, and also for Sanis. She said that both only ever drank their caf black, so that made things like spices easy - considering they weren't needed at all.

She'd watched Dama make caf enough times to get the general idea of how to go about preparing it, and finding a mug, she set it on the counter. Finding Daddy's caf beans was easy enough; he kept a bag of them on the tiled counter. The caf maker was also easy to find. With determination she set about making the steaming morning beverage, and it wasn't long before the familiar aroma of roasted beans filled the kitchen... and soon enough the rest of the quarters.

Carefully Teagan lifted the pot away from the heating plate, but stopped as she held it over the mug she'd set out. Something was missing. Something... oh yes!

The pot was once more placed back, and quickly skipping into the living room, the little girl was quick to find her small travel bag. A few minute's worth of searching, and she grinned in triumph.

A sound from the bedroom made her look up, and Teagan scurried back into the kitchen, dropping the two small objects in the mug before lifting the pot back up. Making sure to not spill, she filled the cup almost to the top.

[General Dan]

Dan stirred in his sleep, his subconcious being roused by something.

"Hrmm"

An eye cracked open, and then he suddenly could recognize what had woke him. The dark base notes of brewing caf. He sat up slightly, and the sheets resisted giving way. He looked to see s'Il's sleeping form.

"Tak?"

He smiled a little, being tickled by the girl's generous sense of early bird initiative.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She heard her name being called, and taking a moment to return the pot to its' resting place so that it would stay warm, Tak was mindful to not spill the hot liquid as she picked the mug up. It was a cautious journey back through the living room; past the vacant couch and towards the doorway to the bedroom.

She smiled wide at the sight of Dad sitting up slightly in bed, and she paused for only a moment to hold up the mug she carried. Only by a little bit though; she didn't want to risk spilling anything, after all.

Moving to the side of her bed, Teagan gently set the steaming cup down before moving to climb up and sit on the side of the bed. She could see Dama roll over and open her good eye to watch.

A somewhat proud smile graced the little girl's face as she looked from mother to father.

"Dama told me that you like caf, so I made you some."

[General Dan]

"Well, that's the best way to tell your daddy good morning. Thank you, Tak."

He smiled, positioning his face over the steaming mug to absorb some of its wakening properties by osmosis before hazarding a first hot sip.

"Ahh, that's wonderful."

He eased the mug over to the bed stand so he could give his daughter a squeeze.

"Where'd you learn to do that?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"I watched Dama do it lots of times. She always had a little bag set aside and said it was yours; though she said that she only really made it for you. She said she doesn't really care for it all that much."

"It's god-awful sludge."

Dama had sat up a little more, and leaned over a little bit so that she was resting against Dad's shoulder.

Teagan mouthed an oh, and looked from her Dama to the steaming black contents of the mug, visibly perplexed and concerned.

"Well, I hope the little soldiers I put in it will make it taste better."

[General Dan]

"The little..."

Dan didn't quite hear her right.

"...the little what?"

He picked up the mug again, but in the dim light of the bedroom and due to the caf's opacity, he didn't see anything. He figured it was just another of the girl's eccentricities of expression, and he tentatively took another sip.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"The little soldiers."

Oh, he'd heard her right. Little soldiers.

Watching him take a sip, Tak went on.

"I saw it once on a holoscreen on Cloud City when Sanis had to deliver a dewback there."

One hand went out in emphasis then as she remembered the sign, and she looked him straight in the eyes, a look of utter earnestness on her face.

"It said 'the best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup'."

[General Dan]

For a moment, Dan didn't exactly know what to say. He looked over Tak's head to her considerably groggier mother. Getting no help there, he looked back to Tak and squeezed her shoulder.

"It tastes really good, kiddo."

He tilted it back again, being ever mindful to not let a little plastic toy slip past his mouth and choke/scald him.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

* * *

On Cloud City with Wyl Staedtler...


They were huddled in front of the holocomm, and Teagan was concentrating on punching in the numbers that belonged to her Dad's comm channel. Dama had written them down on a piece of paper for her, and the little girl had made sure to always keep it with her. Just in case...

Wyl had a very important question he wanted to ask Dad, and Tak hoped that he would say yes. She looked up as the transmission began to connect, and as they waited for her Dad to answer, she looked at Wyl.

"I hope he says yes. He'll like you though I think, so he probably will. Plus it's not like we'll be doing any of those gross things, you know?"

[Wyl Staedtler]

"Yeah, like kissing." Wyl made a face and stuck his finger down his throat, coaxing a hearty gag.

Despite the casual nature of the call - it wasn't like he was asking to teach Tak how to fly a ship or anything - the boy was nervous. He'd never met Tak's dad and wasn't sure what to expect. Just in case, he was wearing the robe that Rhianna had made him because it was clean and extra Jedi-like. First impressions were important.

Wyl shuffled next to Tak and cleared his throat. They'd been waiting for an awful long time. He frowned. "Maybe he's not there..."

[General Dan]

The comm beeped on Dan's desk, and the Rebel commander pulled himself away from the pressing matters and drudgery when he saw the frequency it was coming from - Tak's.

The hologram warbled to life on his desk, and Dan arched an eyebrow at Teagan and her friend, who looked a little nervous.

"Meet a new friend?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"Hi!"

She was all smiles. She hadn't seen him since they'd been on Schwartzweld, and her excitement showed. She'd written a letter theat Zem had sent, but still. Seeing him was a world of difference.

Teagan's smile turned into a smirk.

"This is Wyl. I told you about him in the letter I wrote."

The little girl looked at Wyl and motioned to Dan on the holocomm.

"This is my dad," she announced proudly.

[Wyl Staedtler]

A muted choking sound came from somewhere beside Tak, and Wyl yanked on his collar. Standing a little straighter, he gave Dan a firm and purposeful smile.

"Hello." He waved tentatively. "Um, it's nice to meet you. Tak is really cool, for a girl."

[General Dan]

"Nice to meet you, Wyl."

The awkwardness of his presentation made it hard for Dan to not smile, and he tried to keep the tough dad act up as best he could.

"I hope you two are behaving."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She very nearly scoffed at that.

"We are, I promise."

For her, talking with her Dad was easy, and she didn't even think to consider that Wyl might be nervous. She wanted to ask how much longer she had to be away, but there were other important matters to discuss, and for those she deferred to Wyl.

"Wyl wants to ask you a question, and please say yes, ok?"

Blinking, she gave the boy beside her an encouraging look.

"Ask him."

[Wyl Staedtler]

Wyl looked frantically at Tak, his eyes wide with horror. Turning slightly so that they were partially shielded from the comm unit, he lowered his voice.

"I dunno what to say!" He hissed. Teagan rolled her eyes in the way that girls did, the single motion managing to convey the depth of her impatience with him. Wyl bristled indignantly and hazarded a glance back at Dan's image. "He's wearin' a uniform."

The two children held a hushed conference which ended rather abruptly when Tak pinched his arm. Wyl gave her a significant look that vanished as soon as he turned around. He swallowed and took a step forward, chin up.

"I was wondering," He began, very seriously, "If I could have permission to marry your daughter."

Wyl reached behind him and grabbed Tak's hand.

[General Dan]

Dan arched an eyebrow at that.

"I think, young man, I'm going to have to know a little more about you before I answer that."

He could tell that the boy was likely to blow away on a breeze, and he was frozen with trepidation. Finding an ounce of mercy, he injected a little levity.

"Is that a Padawan robe?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She didn't even give Wyl the chance to answer, but she did give Wyl's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It is. He's in training to be a Jedi like Dama."

Hopefully that would help the poor boy's chances. Teagan gave her Dad an almost pleading look.

"Please? I mean, you and Dama are married, and Wyl already said he won't do the gross stuff like kissing that you do with Dama."

She made a face at that, giving Wyl a look that conveyed as much. Nooo, she certainly wouldn't kiss him, but she could definitely handle being married to him.

"He'll be good," this time she gave a rather pointed look to the boy.

"Won't you."

[Wyl Staedtler]

"I'm not the one that said playin' bounty hunters with real blasters was a good idea." Wyl matched Tak stare-for-stare. He made it roughly half a minute before breaking down into a grin. They'd sure gotten in trouble for that one. It had been awesome.

The break in tension was a welcome relief. Wyl turned his attention back to Dan, feeling less like he was seconds away from passing out. He really hoped this went in their favor - not only would he get a wife out of the deal, he'd also have a puppy! It was a win-win situation.

"Yeah, don't worry sir, I wouldn't kiss her if my life depended on it. I know all about diseases." The boy nodded solemnly.

[General Dan]

"Are you saying my daughter has a disease?"

Another practiced stern look, done in jest to let him wriggle on the hook.

"Tell you what, Wyl. You stick with your Padawan studies, and I'll let you and my daughter spend time together. I'd better not hear about any slacking off though. You should be getting an education, the both of you."