Chapter Text
Lira San, two days later:
Kallus approached the visitor’s station just past the main gates without any trepidation; he had done this before. Now that his cold was better, he felt up to it. This 200 acre park was actually within the city limits; the founders had the foresight to block it off from development and use it as a park for those Lasat whose careers made city living a necessity. It had woods, fields, ponds, a myriad of wildlife species, and trees that produced an abundant harvest of fruit and nuts that often went wasted on the ground. There was more than enough for the wildlife, that’s for sure. Kallus had learnt of this park through the orphans; they often took day field trips here as it was so close to the orphanage. The park gave them the chance to hike, get some energy out, yell and scream playfully, and become educated about the natural world that existed outside of the urban sprawl.
Always looking for a way to help, Kallus had heard about the overabundance of produce and immediately thought of the orphanage and their budget restraints…it seemed like a win-win to him. Once he had Zeb explain to him the politics of the city government—and help him make a few introductions—the city officials had been more than happy to allow him to enter the park and collect sacks of fruit and nuts to be given to the orphanage at no cost. Truth be told, while he suspected it was predominately out of the goodness of their hearts, it sure did help the politicians with their ratings.
“Good morning!” an older, grey-furred Last with dark grey stripes called out. Zetl was the park employee who worked the visitor’s station/gate entry point to the park, and he knew Kallus fairly well. He was a kind, friendly, older Lasat who had retired from his original line of work and knew every inch of the park. Right now, he was leaning out of an open window in the visitor station and raising his hand in a greeting more typical for Lasatthan humans. Kallus returned the greeting.
“A good morning to you as well. It would appear that the weather will hold out for me today.”
Zetl grinned. “Yes, thank the Ashla! You should get a good harvest for the little ones today. I’ve got your saddle sacks ready and your mount is good to go!” He then pointed off towards another building further in on the park grounds.
Lloceros were a species of huge, herbivorous, cloven-hoofed quadrupeds that lived in the heavily-wooded regions of Lira San in the northern hemisphere. Full grown adults were about 6’ 11” at the shoulder, and males had a pair of huge, spreading antlers. They were easily domesticated, and ancient Lasat had used them as beasts of burden, food, fiber, and mounts, although the latter was predominately for children, the injured, and the elderly. Apparently, however, there had been in the recent decade or so a resurgence in the novelty of riding the creatures, and now the park managed a small herd for trail rides. Lasat of all ages would come and ride, and the fact that a human had also mastered handing and riding a lloceros had earned Kallus some status with the local community.
“Thank you Zetl; that’s very kind of you and it will save me some time.”
Zetl beamed and nodded before disappearing back into the building. Kallus made his way down the path towards the barn and, upon entering, saw the mount in question hooked up in crossties. The lloceros cow glanced toward him and let out a low, soft bellow. She was already mostly tacked up; only her bridle hung on the saddle horn, awaiting further placement. Kallus met her huge, moist, outstretched noise with his hand and gave her a gentle pat.
“Good to see you again too, Amanreh.” Moving to her left slide, he ran a hand through her soft, latte-colored fur, appreciating its soft texture and her unique, calming scent. Having grown up on Coruscant, his exposure to creatures such as these had been limited. Once he had completed his training at the Imperial Academy, he had looked forward to being able to experience other planets and their unique creatures and cultures. This wish had certainly been fulfilled, although not exactly as he had planned. The thoroughness of the ISB dossiers had been quite satisfying, but he had rapidly rose in rank and had been unable to linger in the field during missions to experience the cultures and environments first-hand. He had been well-trained on operating everything from small vehicles like speeder bikes to capitol ships like Star Destroyers, but learning how to ride indigenous species was considered by his superiors as beneath him. It was simply not an option.
Pulling the bridle off of the saddle, Kallus unhooked a crosstie and unbuckled the halter. In one smooth move, he let the halter drop off while sliding the bit less bridle over her face. The animal patiently waited as he adjusted the buckles, not starting her dancing about until he began to place his left foot in the stirrup.
“Now, now,” he said calmly, giving her a moment to settle before trying to mount up again. Meeting with success thistime, he guided her out of the barn with gentle pressure from his hands and legs.
-----
The sounds and scents of the late summer were peaceful and calming, giving Kallus time to reflect on his thoughts while alternating Amanreh between a walk and a trot. He knew this route, and although he still took in the gorgeous, heavy foliage and rock formations surrounding him and was on the alert for anything out of the ordinary, the whole activity took very little physical or mental effort.
It had been almost two full days now since Zeb had busted his lip open playing with the orphanage kits, and other injuries had already manifested themselves. In addition to the busted lip, his husband had managed to pull…even slightly tear…a few ligaments in his right shoulder and knee. Kallus shook his head to himself. That fool of a Lasat...he didn’t hurt himself often, but it would be doing something as ridiculous as carrying kits around. Zeb had tried to play off the knee and shoulder injury as Not A Big Deal™, but within 24 hours it had significantly impacted his mobility to the point that he couldn’t hide it. I wonder what he told the military and the Royal Family, Kallus thought, with a smirk forming on his face. Their great General had no problems in battle or during sparring practice, but was taken out by a bunch of kits in a matter of seconds. It really was a testament to Zeb’s strength, dexterity, and...selflessness…that he had prevented the kits from being hurt at his own expense.
At that moment, the trail fanned out and the woods opened up to a small field. All along the borders of this particular field were the Kolok berry trees; during the late spring, their fronds of creamy-white flowers made the trees look as if they were covered with snow. Now, however, the flowers had transformed into thick clusters of deep burgundy berries. There were more than enough in the lower branches for Kallus to fill up several saddle sacks on this particular trip. He’d come back in a few days to gather more. The orphanage could use them in so many different creative ways, from juice to pies to fabric dye and even a type of caf from the seeds. The berries that dropped to the ground would be left for the park’s animal denizens, and those higher up for the flighted creatures.
Dismounting easily, Kallus gathered up the reins and looped them around a nearby wooden post that he had installed earlier that year for this purpose. Amanreh could graze peacefully while he filled the sacks without any fear that she would wander off. While she was, generally speaking, a calm creature, she could be at times slightly nervous and flighty. If something startled her, Kallus needed that extra second or two that her being attached to a post would provide.
The fruit was easy enough to harvest with a basic multi-tool, and it wasn’t long before he had filled four large sacks with the light, firm, shiny berry bunches. The time had flown by; he had probably been out there for two hours, but he had barely noticed, being lost in his thoughts. After his discussion with Zeb two nights ago, Kallus had spoken with the orphanage director about starting the process to adopt Kelana. No one had discussed this with Kelana---yet. Kallus wanted to make sure that the orphanage would adopt out to him and Zeb--a married couple that were quite unusual, by Lasat standards. He hoped to hear back from the director today, and that thought was causing his over-analyzing mind to already begin calculating the modifications to their housing, the extra expenses, the different schools, the medical checkups…as well as the worst-case scenario of being denied something that mattered so much to him because of prejudice. Overall, the Lasat of Lira San had been unbelievably forgiving and accepting, but every once in a while he’d run into some conflict that was due to his species more often than just who he was. It was hard to shake the old habit of being prepared for all scenarios, including the worst.
Now that each of the four sacks was secured on Amanreh’s saddle and after checking his datapad for the time, Kallus brought the reins back over her head and mounted up. He was on time, but chose to take a slightly different path back that was longer but with less elevation changes. Amanreh automatically picked up her trot without being asked, recognizing what was happening. Kallus slowed her down, then asked for the trot which she happily obliged. No point in letting her develop bad habits now. There was a spot coming up further down the trail that was clear and flat; perfect for letting her run, and she loved it. It took about 10 minutes of alternating between trotting and walking to get there, but as they got closer, Kallus could feel her pulling on the reins.
“Not yet, girl. Soon.”
He waited a few seconds after reaching the location before giving her the command to run, which she did from almost a complete walk. Kallus was jostled a bit in the saddle as she lurched forward, but maintained his seat.
After a few strides Amanreh was able to collect herself, and she settled into a rocking run that Kallus could easily ride. He had taken care to thoroughly secure the saddle sacks so they weren’t bouncing about or spilling, and he knew she appreciated that. He was just starting to relax when he felt her stumble, and the next few actions happened in a matter of seconds. Amanreh had the ability to catch herself from falling by getting her other foreleg out in front of her, but she failed, tripping with her left foreleg after having tripped with her right. There was nothing to be done about it, and Kallus could feel his body leaving the saddle as he saw her left shoulder dipping towards the ground. The somersault that he did over her head was complete, and he landed on his ass in the soft trail dirt, slightly on this left side. Immediately he spun around, sending a cloud of dust up. Where was she? Was she about to come down on top of him? Thankfully, he saw lloceros slightly off to the right of him, in the process of getting her feet back underneath her and rising up off of her belly. Kallus scrambled up on his feet, beating her off the ground by a few seconds, and calmly reached for her reins that were dangling now in front of her. If he spooked her now, it would be a long walk back. She flinched only for a moment when she saw his hand, but before she could rear and pull away, he had her reins in one hand and was stroking her neck with the other.
“Hey, hey. You’re fine. You’re fine. Calm down there,” he said, soothingly.
Slowly the white sclera that had been showing around her widened, liquid caf-colored eyes disappeared, and after a moment she began to nuzzle his chest, looking for treats.
“I see how you are.” Kallus said dryly, and gave her a quick examination. She seemed fine. Somehow, the sacks of berries seemed fine, too. He then flipped the reins back over her head. The motion caused a sharp flash of pain to sear through his already painful left wrist; he glanced down at it, brow furrowed. Nothing looked out of alignment. He wiggled his fingers and then moved his wrist. Hmm. Yes, that’s as it should be. There was no sign of swelling yet, although he suspected now that he had partially landed on it and sprained it. With a sigh, he gingerly mounted back up in the saddle. Best not to aggravate it too much.
Giving Amanreh a gentle tap with his heels, he cued her to walk on. “Perhaps if we can beat Zeb home, we can ice this, use a little bacta spray, and no one will be the wiser,” he commented to the animal, who was plodding along now like absolutely nothing had happened. After having just given Zeb a hard time a few days ago about ridiculous injuries, he didn’t want to see his husband’s reaction to this. Oh, Zeb would have a few words to say to him, for sure.
-----
The rest of the ride was bearable, but not ideal. By the time Kallus had made it back to the front gate, his left wrist had a peculiar region of swelling that was not consistent with a sprain, nor was the level of pain. Towards the end of the ride he had even shifted both reins to his right hand. No, he thought with both frustration and anger, this was probably a break, and you know it. Karabast. No WAY Zeb won’t notice. However, he put on his ISB face and attitude as soon as he saw Kelana, Zetl, and Director Chelabi with a few other kits waiting by the gate.
Sliding off the lloceros with his usual grace and ease, Kallus began to untie the bags on the right side of the saddle while Zetl (thank the Ashla) untied the bags on the left and handed the bags to the kits. Director Chelabi came up and took a bag from Kallus (which he passed off with his right hand), then further passed it off to Kelana and two other kits. Standing close to him, she kept her voice down as the 8-year-old Kelana helped carry the bag off towards the waiting transport.
“You and the General’s adoption request has been given the go-ahead. If you still want to proceed…”
“We do, yes.” Kallus responded calmly to the matronly Lasat female, also keeping his voice down and not belaying any emotion. He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t grateful for the chance to stop using his left arm to untie things, too.
“I’ll start the paperwork tomorrow, as I strongly suspect Kelana will be thrilled. If General Orellios can stop by after work, you can both relay the news to her then,” Chelabi continued, still talking in a low voice as if she was conspiring to commit a crime. Kallus nodded curtly, and waited for her to turn back towards a returning Kelana before he began to untie the last bag predominately with his right hand, but using his left hand here and there to provide an illusion. Chelabi and Kelana took the last bag, and as they carried it off, Kallus gave them a wave with his good hand and nod goodbye; they were used to his reserved manner and didn’t seem to suspect anything. After they returned the gesture, he took the reins and led Amanreh towards the barn. Zetl had also waved and was now making his way back to the visitor’s station, content that the transaction had gone on as usual. Once in the barn, Kallus struggled to get the bridle off and the halter on Amanreh; she was being very patient, but now Kallus realized how hard it was to handle buckles and snaps with only one hand.
“Karabast! Damn buckles….” He grumbled, grimacing with pain as he forced his left hand to cooperate just enough to get the job done. His wrist was definitely swollen, but it was predominately behind the joint…his distal radius. Giving it a vicious glare for being so bothersome, he hung the bridle up and proceeded to pull the saddle off with his right hand and catch it with his hip. It was an awkward walk over to the tack room, but he managed. He emerged from the room with a frustrated sigh, only to find that he and the lloceros were no longer alone.
“Kelana….I thought you left?”
The young Lasat stood in the barn doorway, giving him a piercing stare. Her long silver-grey hair was partially braided up, and she was wearing a simple brown tunic with a few cream applique swirls along the border.
“I told Director that I needed to say goodbye.”
She fixed him with a calculating look; one that he recognized all too well, as it was one he frequently employed.
“And so you have. But that’s not why you are still here, is it?”
Kelana took a few steps forward. Her voice was soft, but she spoke seriously and with absolute confidence.
“You’re hurt.”
Kallus was taken aback for a moment, but managed to keep the surprise from showing on his face. Was he really losing his touch? Getting careless? All those years of being an ISB Agent…all that training to be unreadable…all his years as a Rebel spy…and an 8-year-old could see right through him?
He made a move to cross his arms and look at her sternly, but realized too late that his left wrist was not going to cooperate with that. He stopped mid-action and thought about trying to disguise the movement as something else--like brushing grass off of his embroidered shirt—but he knew it was pointless now. Kelana was unusually astute for her age, and clearly she knew him and his habitual movements too well. She was staring directly at his left arm now.
Giving the kit a raised eyebrow instead, he started walking towards her and Amanreh. “It’s nothing, really. Nothing to be overly concerned about. I’ve had much worse.”
Kelana peered up at him doubtfully. She had one gold eye and one green eye; heterochromia was unusual among Lasats, and it was considered to be unlucky in ancient times. Even now, although few would admit it, there was some prejudice. This probably partially explained why Kelana was still at the orphanage; she had been there the longest and was the oldest kit there. Her age and adult mannerisms (the latter which apparently were quite off-putting in a kit) were likely the other reasons she remained.
“Like on Bahryn?” she queried, as she reached up to assist him with unclipping Amanreh. She had heard a brief summary of those events from him, several times now. It was one of her favorite story requests.
“Correct,” he responded, with a nod. “I will be just fine. I will place cold packs on it when I return home, and Bacta if I must.”
The lilac-furred child was not convinced. Her stripes were just beginning to come in, and right now they looked like plum rosettes.
“But…maybe you should still get the Lakarana to check? It doesn’t look right…” She glanced at his left wrist.
Kallus took the lead rope with his right hand and fixed the kit with one of his mildest glares. “You worry too much. I shall be just fine.”
Kelana followed alongside him as he led the lloceros cow back to her paddock. “Okay…” she said, softly.
Relenting a little and giving her a small smile, he added as he looked down, “I appreciate your concern, Kelana. It is nice to have someone looking out for me besides my husband.”
The kit smiled back. “Are you coming back with us to the orphanage today?”
“No, I will return home tonight from here. I will see you all tomorrow. Speaking of which, do not keep Director Chelabi waiting any longer.”
Nodding, Kelana continued to smile. “Thank you, Caretaker Kallus. For helping us. This berry harvest is so important; we’ll have food an’ dye to spare. Director Chelabi says it helps us redistribute funds to other aspects of the orphanage. I’m glad. Perhaps we can take on more orphans than usual.”
Kallus rested his good arm on the top of the gate after he closed it, and turned to look at her with both amazement and appreciation. “An 8-year-old should not have to worry about such things. Your compassion and understanding of adult matters has the makings of greatness. I look forward to seeing who you grow to be, Kelana. I doubt you will limit yourself to Lira San. You remind me of General Leia Organa. She displayed such attributes at a young age as well.”
“Thank you, Caretaker Kallus!” Kelana said cheerfully, her smile now spreading into a broad grin. She knew very well who General Organa was; Kallus frequently told the kits stories (albeit PG-versions) of his adventures with the Rebel Alliance. She waved at him and began to make her way back to the front gate. Looking down at his puffy wrist, Kallus let out a sigh. He needed to take the public transit and get home before Zeb if he was going to be able to pass this off as No Big Deal™.
-----
The Royal Palace was an ancient building with modern functionality; it had been added upon with each new generation of the royal family. Every once in a while, a renovation project would uncover a forgotten chamber or hallway, and many more remained undiscovered. One such undiscovered structure was an old drainage system that led from the lower levels of the palace to the surrounding moat. It was just big enough for an 8-year-old, wiry Lasat kit to use it as a way into the staff quarters. Kelana had taken an interest in the old world architecture of her city as a toddler, and had read every book on the Royal Palace that she could find. Whenever the orphanage staff would be too busy to notice, she’d slip away and spend a few hours exploring the Palace grounds…and whatever tunnels she could find. The guards paid her no mind; to them, she was just one of the random kits who played around the moats and the gardens. After finding this specific drainage tunnel, she had become bold enough to enter the Palace and even swipe a serving girl’s outfit. She kept her visits to a minimum, but she had now gone “undercover” as a serving girl three times. No one had suspected her. Kelana called this game “Fulcruming”, and liked to pretend that she was a Rebel Spy like Caretaker Kallus. There was no malice to her activity, and she was careful to disappear as enigmatically as she had arrived. The Palace was so busy, and the youngest servant girls had a high turnover due to them moving up the ranks of the Palace staff, choosing different lines of work, or simply returning to school….so no one seemed to notice. She had actually first seen Caretaker Kallus’ husband, the handsome purple-furred and striped General, during a changing of the guard ceremony that she had witnessed from a balcony.
It was this Lasat she was searching for now, wearing her servant girl guise and carrying a tray of fruit to the Royal Chambers alongside actual servant girls who had trays of various other late afternoon snack items. Armed with her extensive knowledge of royal protocol and the palace layout that she had gleaned from books and her “spying”, she blended in as if she’d always been there.
The afternoon snack entourage entered the Royal Chamberswhere the current middle-aged queen and her two princesses were finishing up their studies on Lasat history. As Kelana had hoped, several of the Honor Guard, including the General that she knew to be Caretaker Kallus’ husband, were present. The Guards all turned to evaluate the individuals entering the chambers, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, went back to their duties. However, the General quickly recognized Kelana, his green eyes widening and his expression clearly registering surprise. She subtly shook her head “No”, and refrained from acting as if she knew him. He seemed to get the message, and let her perform her duty.
Once the queen and princesses received their trays of food, the serving girls all made their way back towards the kitchens. Kelana hung a few steps back, and—as expected—the General made his appearance.
“A word, miss….” Came a gruff grumble from behind her.
“Yes, Sir.” Kelana, answered, nodding at the other girls to continue on.
Once the staff were out of hearing range, the towering Lasat dropped his formal tone.
“Kelana, what’re yeh doin’ here? How’d yeh even get in?!!
“That is not of concern.” Kelana said, adopting Caretaker Kallus’ condescending tone. The result was that the General raised both eyebrows, his fur fluffed a bit, and he stood up even straighter.
“…S’cuse me-“ he started to say, the indignation in his voice quite clear.
“Caretaker Kallus is hurt. Not like, death hurt…I think his arm is broken. He is heading home to ice it, but he should go see the Lakarana. I know he won’t, not unless you tell him to.” Her Kallus impression had begun to falter as her genuine concern took over her emotions.
“He WHAT?!!” The General exclaimed, a little too loudly. Both of them glanced around to see if anyone heard, and seeing no one, Kelana relayed a summarized version of what she had seen.
By the time she had finished, Zeb was actually grinning. “Don’t yeh worry, Kelana. I’ll make sure he doesn’t blow this off or hide it from meh.”
The kit finally looked relieved. “Thank you, ….General, um, Caretaker Kallus’ husband.”
The General let out a hearty laugh. “It’s Zeb. Name’s Zeb.”
Kelana smiled warmly back. “Thank you, ……General Zeb.”
“Close ‘enuf. Now…how ‘bout yeh tell meh how yeh got in here,” he said, bringing his hands to his knees and his eyes more level with hers, his voice becoming serious again.
The kit straightened up, look him dead serious in the eye, and with all the smugness and attitude she could muster replied,“I shan’t. I must keep the secrets of my trade.” And before he could grab her shoulder, she scampered off around a corner in the hallway.
Caught completely off guard again, Zeb only had time to make a half-hearted swipe at her shoulder and utter, “Now wait jus’ a minute, here…”
He tried to dash around the corner as fast as she had, but his injured knee complained at the first sign of running, even with the brace he was wearing. “Karabast!!!” he hissed, under his breath. “Stupid knee..”
He peered around the corner, and…as expected…the kit was long gone. After a moment of thinking, Zeb finally let out another laugh. He knew EXACTLY who Kelana was imitating, and she was doing a fantastic job. He wondered if his husband had been like this as a child. Most likely. He’d have to figure out how the kit had managed such deception at a later time. Perhaps she’d tell him if she became his daughter. Zeb couldn’t think of a more perfect kit to be theirs.
-----
It had taken forever, but Kallus had just finished pulling the contents of their home medkit out on the kitchen table and was evaluating his options when he heard the front door open and a concerned…but also amused…voice called out.
“Alexsandr Kallus Orellios, where’s this broken arm yeh’re hidin’ from meh?”
Kallus was too shocked to respond immediately. Zeb wasn’t supposed to be home for another hour.
“…I…um….” Don’t know what you are talking about? How did you know? Why are you home early? So many responses filled his head.
Zeb dropped his work bag down on the kitchen floor and approached his baffled husband, and saw the arm in question almost immediately. “Ah. Yeh. That don’t look right.”
“It’s nothing-“
“Like hell it ‘tis. Let’s splint it up fer now. Take yeh teh tha’ Lakarana first thing tomorrow. Took the day off.”
Kallus was quiet for a few minutes, and didn’t say anything until after Zeb had finished applying the splint. He was really good at splinting broken bones.
“Kelana apparently told you. That much is clear. The how is what is confusing me.”
Zeb let out a low, rumbling chuckle. “Smart little kit. Don’t know how she snuck inta tha’ palace an’ passed herself off as staff, but she did. Found meh an’ told meh all about it. Then ran off an’ disappeared like a trained Rebel spy. Hope we can adopt her, ‘cause she’s the spittin’ image of yeh. Even picked up that smug bastard tone of yers.”
Kallus looked surprised at first, but soon that little smirk crept onto his face. “Director Chelabi told me today that we’re in the clear for adoption. We can talk to Kelana tomorrow. I suspect she’ll be very happy.”
Kallus then brought his face close to his husband’s and looked into his eyes. Saying softly, and with a full-blown smirk this time, “I think it will take a smart kit like that to keep us BOTH in line, stubborn idiots that we are.”
Zeb brought his forehead to Kallus’ forehead, and before he kissed him said, “She’s got tha’ heart of a Rebel, just like her dads do.”