Karen Kenobi

Returning to Edmy

Karen helped the pair of dragons to learn everything they'd need to survive. But she also doted upon them, some might say spoiling them rotten.

Brychwynth certainly took advantage of it all, while Delyth was a bit more conservative and thankful for her lot. Both of them grew quickly, into fairly large dragons. While Karen learned more about the local magic, politics and the like, the dragons would go flying together over hill and dale, exploring while she was out. On her return, they would all happily relate everything that they'd done.

Karen realized that before long, they would in fact be way too large to transport on her ship. So she made arrangements to leave early - their training wasn't finished, but then again Karen had other things to do than participate in this war or that dispute, or even involve herself in the fight against the natural enemies of the planet.

She had to get back to Edmy. Karen readied her ship, and the dragons (who were still about the size they are in the image above, hardly their full size) wandered around in it until they each found their own area. Bry would make a fuss when his blue counterpart wandered through 'his' ship, and privately Delyth would grumble to Karen about how over-possessive Bry was.

Karen made a last trip out to the market, before leaving. There, she picked out two eggs, one was smaller and warmer than the other, and put them in a basket with sand. That would keep the eggs warm, for their journeys. She had bought other things, supplies and food, clothing, and weapons, items to trade and all sorts of interesting books, already.

"You both better get ready. Don't go running around, while we're taking off."

But you never even learned how to ride us yet! Brychwynth complained.

"That's all right, Bry, I'll learn when we have the space. We can't all live in the ship while you guys will grow up to be big like your parents. You won't stay small forever." Karen sighed. She knew the truth: once they reached somewhere nice, she ought to just put down roots and ...

Roots - well, that was where she'd go. They would certainly fit in on the old Sith temple world. Images of dragons flying over the big ruins and the old temples thrilled her, and made Delyth coo with pleasure.

That sounds like a good place to live. We will fly best there. And you like it there too.

"I do," Karen said. "Now, tuck your wings down, and try not to hit anything."

She programmed in the flight coordinates, and powered up the ship.

The dragons were almost panicky, but then when they hit hyperspace, and were on their way to Edmy's planet, they relaxed.

This is almost like the nexus, said Bry, only slower.

"Slower?!" Karen said, laughing, "this is hyperspace! It's faster than light!"

But light travels at a speed, Delyth reminded Karen wisely. We do not need to travel at a speed, we merely arrive.

Finally, something the two dragonets agreed upon! Karen watched them mutter to one another, and finally decided that they would have to be fine, while she took a nap. It would be more than 80 hours before they would arrive at the planet, and she had to keep them from destroying the ship in the mean time...

***

It was an exhaustive couple of days. Karen twice had to separate the young dragons - a difficult feat even with Force-enhanced strength on her side. They would argue over anything - who would lay wider on the comfy spot, who could sit under the starlight-window and watch the streaky stars go by first. If it wasn't one thing it'd be another.

Finally, Karen stomped her foot and yelled, "both of you stop it! You're like -- you're like a married couple! You're supposed to get along!"

We would get along, but we're so different, they chimed in together.

"You are so annoying. Just - ah, thank goodness, we're here..." The navicomp pinged for attention, and they swung out of hyperspace over Edmy's dry dusty planet.

"Now you had both best behave yourselves," Karen warned them. Her ship's arrival to the plateau and cliffside community was welcomed with the typical fare of angry glares and worried scurrying. But when Karen exited the ship, many of the locals couldn't believe their eyes.

"It's that girl! The Jedi girl!" Someone shouted. They would remember her in whatever way they saw fit, but now, she grinned as she descended the plank of the ship, they'd know her for something totally else.

"Where's Edmy?" She called out, and a couple kids pointed down at his nook. "You guys go get him, will you? It's very important. He will want to see this."

"He's seen ships before," Said a shabby-dressed woman, who scoffed at the shine on the ship.

"It's what is inside the ship," Karen said. Mentally, she warned the pair of dragons to stay low, she wanted it to be a surprise. They were arguing already about which one of them was to exit the ship first.

Karen decided that for once, it would be Delyth that came first - because certainly, Bry would demand far more attention later. That settled (with a bit of argument that made the other people around wonder what the noises were inside the ship - a droid? or what?) Karen waited.

Edmy finally trundled up to the top of the plateau, where Karen and the others were standing around the ship. He brightened immediately on seeing her.

"Karen!" He said, and they hugged warmly - they had hardly known one another, yet they did seem as old friends. Karen trusted the old man implicitly, and wanted him to approve of what she'd done.

"I want you to meet a couple ... people." She said, when everyone had settled down again. "I want everyone to just keep calm."

That of course made them mutter even more so, but then... Delyth strode carefully out of the entrance to the ship, down the short ramp, and onto the dusty ground. Her brilliant mottled teal and blue colored hide shone in the sun, looking like a bit of ocean flickering on the ground.

Everyone went silent, all eyes upon her. Edmy had wondered why in the world Karen would want everyone out here like this... Until he saw the dragoness.

"That's -- that is a dragon," he whispered.

"She sure is," Karen said, grinning. "And, here's another. My better half and worse half, I think." She waved her hand and the red and white male came strutting out, head high. He carefully did not manage to hit himself on the doorway. He was smart enough to do that much.

Everyone shortly began muttering, the kids especially could hardly keep their calm. Edmy trembled, and took Karen's hand.

"Could I... Are they really real?" He asked, hushed.

"Of course. Come on. Del, Bry, this is my friend Edmy. He's the one who gave me the map to find your home world. You should thank him. Politely," she added to Bry. The pair of dragons, who stood just barely taller than Karen at the time, walked up to Edmy.

Delyth bowed nicely, her blue head gently brushing Edmy's chest in a loving gesture. Brychwynth trumpeted and startled half the assembly, and gave a kind of salute to the old man.

Edmy's eyes ran with tears. Karen noticed this, but said nothing. This was still his moment, anyway.

She went quickly back into the ship while the children and others gathered around the dragons. Both the dragons loved the attention to a degree, but Delyth of course tired of it sooner. Bry would wallow in it until the sun went down if he could.

Karen brought out the basket with the eggs, both of which were trembling now. The smaller of them had lines of cracking on it, and Karen hustled over to Edmy. She placed a little packet of smoked meat on the sand, just in case.

"Here's something for you," Karen said.

"You've done so much already," Edmy said. "What is it?" He peered into the basket, and his eyes went wide again, as his bushy eyebrows shot up. "OooOOh! Eggs! One's about to break!"

"Be sure to feed it," Karen said, "that's what the person who I got them from said. They're going to be hungry!"

Edmy crouched on the ground, basket before him, and watched. The little egg broke up into shards, and a tiny noisy silver flitter showed her wings off. She had barely opened up her eyes when she creeled loudly at Edmy. He helped her with a piece of meat, as Karen looked on.

I'm hungry too, Bry muttered, we've had nothing but that frozen stuff you call meat for days...

"Hush," Karen said to the dragon, and they continued to watch. From the second egg, came a much bigger, but obviously different breed, of flitter. She was green, and more quiet, and had quite the attitude! She took big chunks of the meat that Edmy offered her, and they both hissed at anyone who came too near them. But to Edmy, they gave off a purring and happy noise.

"What are you going to call them?" Karen asked. "And I hope they won't get lost among your things..." Everyone laughed.

Edmy pondered a moment, and then smiled as the little silver flit nestled herself near the crook of his elbow among the folds of his robe. "Well this one reminds me of the color of gunmetal - Gunny is her name, I would think..." The green posed a bit more of a problem in naming, but still Edmy was able to come up with, "Fen, I know a marsh plant that grows her colors. Fen and Gunny."

He announced them and then Karen and he went back to his little nook home. The dragons guarded Karen's ship, largely keeping people from looting it by attracting more attention than it.

***

The little flitters grew quickly, and Karen knew that if she didn't get going soon, she'd never be able to put both dragons back in her ship at all. They were still too young and small to ride, and certainly hadn't practiced at all their teleportation - that was something that Karen was wary of, at the very least.

They wouldn't be getting lost in the nexus just yet, they would have to wait until they were older to try.

Karen bid Edmy fare well, and Gunny and Fen both tittered at her as she boarded her ship.

At last, Karen punched in the locale of the Sith world, and swallowed a big knot in her throat. Would she see these folks again? She'd traded a number of nice items away to them, knowing they would appreciate them better than some rich merchant or jerk behind a counter at a regular galactic store.

The stars swirled again, and the dragons were silent as they watched them. Finally, a few days of travel later, the ship came out of hyperspace over the shrouded mysty world she'd call home.

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Lantessama - Silver flitter Gunny

Blue Sky Weyr - Green flitter