Hold On To Me

Week 1


She'd saved her leave militantly for the last year, and finally pulled the blaster trigger, taking it all at once. She wanted to spend all of her time with her children and Zem, on Ossus. It was the spring months, and the Jedi on Ossus had taken full advantage of what nature's cycle provided. The winter just previous she'd not been about; her duties took up most of her attentions. While the elder Lupine had usually spent Life Day with Zem and the children, she had chosen to make the difficult decision of being elsewhere. She'd made certain to send her gifts of course, but when it came to her actual presence, she could not be there. It was so heartbreaking, but the sacrifice had been made strategically.

A month past Life Day found her back on Ossus, even if only for two days. She'd made as much of her time as possible, but still. Two days was not a long time. At least seeing Teagan, Markos, and Zem were all that mattered in that short amount of time.



But now.

Now she had been able to utilize her leave time, and she was cashing in. In a way, it was a long time coming.

A long time coming, and as Mr. Varin feathered the old Nu-Class shuttle onto the landing tarmac, s'Il closed her eyes. She had weathered the descent well enough. The Doramine always helped. She could feel acutely as the shuttle dipped then rose back up on the landing gear's hydraulics. A few moments later and Jeremy's voice filtered down to assure her that it was safe to undo her crashstraps and gather her possessions.

A few traded words followed as the elder Lupine moved to the storage locker in the back that held her possessions.

"Three weeks, eh?"

"I've been saving my leave."

You've got more restraint than all the rest of us, Ma'am."

"Well, I've got some healthy reasons."

"Little ones tend to be the best reasoning, Ma'am."

There was a slight pause at that, as she tugged her overstuffed duffel from a storage locker.

"They are absolutely the best, yes."

A chuckled laugh of understanding filtered through the vox, and she knew that Jeremy understood well enough. Taking a moment to hitch her luggage higher on one shoulder, s'Il let out a long breath. Her free hand came around to grip the strap, and after a small hesitation, she turned on her heel. Her gaze went to the nose of the old shuttle as it began to lower, allowing a growing shine of the early morning Ossus sun inside.




She had given him a passing salute, something almost unnecessary. And yet, he knew that motion, and after making sure that his captain was fully debarked, Varin lit off once more. His landing pattern and allowances were decently strict, after all.





With the old Nu-Class shuttle lighting back up, s'Il let out a long breath. She blinked, took in the sudden halt in time for her, and turned about.

There was a glut of time now, for her to spend with her small family. And she intended to take full advantage.