A Long Awaited Reunion (Alienor)

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna laughed somewhat as Alienor spoke of not pegging the blonde to be a motherly type. "I wasn't exactly planning on having a child when I did." Luna replied. "I was more interested in partying be having fun, but I'm not so irresponsible that I'd willingly put her at risk. When I realised I was pregnant with her, I made sure I got clean and promised myself I'd be the mother she needed me to be. Not touched the recreation drugs and drank very little alcohol since. Funny, considering the past three years my sister and I ran a bar and nightclub on Gala."

As Alienor handed Luna a plate of food, she couldn't help but sniff it to take in the aromas. "Umm.. This smells fantastic!" she said as she took a fork and took a bite out of her meal and chuckled. "Wait a few minutes and Lily will catch a whiff and wake up! Smell of food will always catches her attention."

As Luna continued to eat, she had one ear listening out for Lily stirring as Alienor explained that she'd be away for a few days performing and felt bad about leaving Luna and Lily behind while they were here. Wafting a dismissive hand, Luna smiled as she reassured her friend that it would be okay to leave them. "Ppft! Don't worry about us. We'll be okay while you're away." she said softly. "And a girls night sounds great! Lily is good and sticks with me at bars but, if you want, we can see about a restaurant or a bowling alley with a kids play area. She'll get a kick out of the play area while we chill out."

Upstairs, Lily was indeed beginning to stir from her nap. The smell of food awakening her senses. Lifting her head and opening her dark coloured eyes, Lily knew she was somewhere new and vaguely remembered her Mother saying she'd be downstairs if she was needed. Climbing out of bed, Lily cautiously opened the bedroom door and looked around. Unsure of where she should go Lily decided to quietly call out for help. "Mummy..? Mummy!"

[Alienor Vankar]

"Well, it seems you're doing fine," Alienor said with a warm smile to her friend. She was fine being a part-time auntie to street kids at this point of her life. It was enough for her. Her career was still her baby. The thought made her cringe as it made her want to smack Tonyh for how he had tossed that in her face; although she had been a bitch to him as well, before they became civilized again. "That's good that you do what is best for you. My consumption of liquor hasn't gone down; though I'm handling things fine, and still never drink before a big gig, music or otherwise." In that regard, she had always been professional. "Now for nights at home, it can just be me, wine, and the piano or the violin," she admitted somewhat freely.

Alienor was happy when Luna complimented how the stew smelled. She was still able to host correctly. She chuckled at the remark about Lily. "Well, there's plenty enough for a few meals for the three of us! I always tend to prepare food for a whole community instead of a couple of people."

When her friend was fine with her wandering off, she felt relief. She hated doing that; but it was a once in a lifetime experience. "Thank you! I appreciate it a lot. I didn't think it was even on my radar. I was concerned someone had pulled strings for it to happen, bu thankfully it was just that they really wanted me to perform!"

Regarding girls night, the pirate pondered for a moment. "Well, we can just hang out here. The liquor cabinet is stocked up, and there's plenty space for us, even if we need to turn the living area into a dance floor!"

At that moment, she heard Lily upstairs, and grinned. "You were correct. I'll prepare her a plate while you go fetch her."

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna smiled and winked playfully at Alienor when she spoke of staying at the house for a girls night in. Luna was generally easy to please regardless though a girls night in did mean Luna could allow herself to have a couple of alcoholic drinks, though she'd likely wait until Lily was asleep to do so. Even then, Luna would limit herself as she'd learnt her lesson of having a massive hangover with a young child to look after. Granted, Lily was a lot younger then but she was still just as hyperactive now, perhaps even more so.

Speaking of Lily, Luna heard the tell tale steps of her little one cautiously open the door and she smiled inwardly while waiting to see what Lily would do next. Sure enough, Luna heard her quiet calls for help and laughed. "I wondered how long it would take for the smells of food to catch her attention." she said as she placed her plate of food on the table and left to find her little girl. Before long, Luna stood at the bottom of the stairs and saw Lily at the top, looking pathetically at her. Softly sighing at Lily, Luna dropped to all fours and crawled upstairs with a playful smirk on her face. "Here comes Momma cat crawling up the stairs..." she sang playfully, watching as Lily's little face turned from pathetically sad to a happy grin as Luna crawled further up. "Here come Momma cat getting ready to pounce in three...two...one... Rawr!" Luna quickly pulled Lily into her arms and blew raspberries on her belly. Squeals of delight followed with gales of laughter escaped the little girl as she squirmed. Letting the girl go, Lily continued to giggle for a moment before Luna sat at the top of the stairs and gestured for Lily to join her.

"Hey sweetie..." she spoke as Lily sat down and snuggled into her. "Did you have a good sleep?"

Lily nodded happily to her Mother. "Umm hmm. I had a good dream today!"

Luna smiled as she gently kissed Lily's forehead. "That's good!" she responded before gesturing downstairs. "Ali has some lovely food ready for you downstairs. You hungry?"

Lily eagerly nodded at Luna as she answered, "I'm so hungry, I could eat a whole rancor!"

Luna chuckled at the child's exaggeration of hunger but decided to play along. "A whole rancor huh? Wow! You must be really hungry then! I hope Ali has enough to feed that kind of appetite!" Luna then rose to her feet and held out a hand to her daughter. "Let's see what Ali has for you!"

Taking her mother's hand, Lily hopped downstairs before letting go of her hand and raced into the kitchen and dining area. Stopping at the entrance Lily looked up at Ali and waved happily. "Hewwo! Can I come in pwease?" she said as Luna stood a few paces back. She wanted to help grow Lily's confidence in talking to people and would not interfere in the conversation.

[Alienor Vankar]

When Luna went to check on Lily, Alienor realized that her friend and her had been eating at the counter on the bar stools. Those were not a good option with a young child, compared to experience bar-goers like them. She worked on setting the actual dining table, and moved everyone's plates and glasses, along with the remaining appetizers, in case Lily wanted to sample some besides the stew. It was nice to have friends at her still recent place. Even her parents hadn't visited yet; but they were most busy with their antiquaries business as usual. She hoped she would see them soon, because she missed them.

She was also excited at the perspective of having a girl's night to introduce Molly and Luna to each other. It would be the opportunity to put her old barmaid talents to good use, though she bet that by now Luna would beat her fair and square. It made her chuckle as she finished to get things ready, while she absentmindedly listened to the adorable exchange between mother and daughter. As much as she hoped to have actual children someday, beyond being a part-time auntie, she wasn't sure how good she was. At least, she didn't have to worry about that in the immediate future, maybe even not until the much latter one.

She smiled fondly when the little girl stopped by the area entrance. "Come in, Lily!. You have a seat right next to your Mom." She watched the child step closer and then she showed her to the mismatched chair that should give her the right height to eat with them, and she helped her in it when needed. "I served you stew, and there are other things to nibble on. Do you want water? Juice?"

[Luna Brocar'do]

Lily grinned happily as she was invited in and followed Ali to one of the chairs. Pulling the chair out slightly so she had room to climb onto the chair, the little girl was helped by their host while Luna sat on a chair next to her and winked playfully at Ali as Lily was served dinner. "Careful Ali... Lily said she could eat a whole rancor for dinner tonight." she said playfully as she stroked the back of Lily's head. Like all younglings though, Lily was more interested in eating at that moment in time and tucked into the stew Alienor provided, briefly looking up at their host as she asked if Lily wanted water or juice. "Juice pwease!" she said politely. Luna had made sure that Lily was taught to say 'please' and 'thank you' when asking and receiving anything and smiled in approval when Lily said please for her juice without prompt.

Satisfied that Lily was eating without fuss, Luna went back to her own food and watched as Lily's curiosity for Alienor grew. "Miss Alienor... What you do for fun?" she asked in between mouthfuls of food. A small smirk pulled on Luna's face as she quietly hoped Lily wouldn't drop some embarrassing stories in the conversation, especially about Winter and her.... escapades with men.

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor chuckled at Luna's tease about Lily's appetite. "I don't have roasted rancor available, but I'm fairly sure I have enough food available so this young lady doesn't stay hungry," she replied with a playful wink. She noted the little girl's good manners and smiled as she fetched her some juice, before joining her guest at the table, and digging into her own food again. It was nice to have people spending time at her place. And catching up after years apart was a joy.

When Lily asked her what she did for fun, Alienor considered her options, and decided against tales of piracy, for she liked to ensure this part remained private, even though Luna knew about some of her illegal endeavors. So she stuck with how she spent most of her free time in Cloud City, none of it scandalous. "I spend time with friends, chatting and dancing, and I play a lot of music." She pointed towards the large piano in the living area. "If you'd like I can play you something after dinner," she offered.

"What about you? What do and your mommy do?"

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna had to admit, a part of her was nervous when Lily asked what Alienor did for a living. The two were certainly not the most pious of women and while Luna had certainly changed her path since they last spoke, Ali was another matter so she was glad when Ali spoke of things that sounded like hobbies rather than the activities they were known for. She watched Lily as she ate and seemed relieved as she was satisfied with Ali's answer and attempted to continue the conversation. "Mummy likes to sing and pway music too!" Lily said cutely. "When I was little, Mummy would sing songs to me when I was upset and sometimes Mummy and Auntie Winter would sing songs together at home or in the Black Moon!" Luna took in a breath of some relief as Lily spoke of singing songs. Talking about songs was good. No embarrassing stories to tell when they talk about songs. She just had to hope that they didn't talk more about Winter or her antics with men in Black Moon. "I like to dwaw pictures." the little girl continued happily before looking up at Ali. "Do you like to dwaw Miss Alienor?" she asked. "Could we maybe dwaw togefer?"

Quietly observing, Luna felt pride as she watched her sociable little girl get to know her old friend. One thing the blonde woman was incredibly fascinated by was how much she was learning from Lily. Luna may be the mother and Lily the child, but there was nary a time when Lily wasn't teaching Luna something she didn't realise she needed to learn, whether it was something about Lily's needs or to just simply stop, have fun and enjoy the simplest moments she missed in her own childhood. Right now though, Luna was enjoying having a moment where she wasn't encouraging Lily to be social. She was feeding it. "Just as well I brought colouring pens and paper eh?" Luna said with a giggle before tapping on Lily's plate. "Eat your dinner first Lils, then we'll get the pens and paper out, okay?"

Lily sighed dejectedly at her mother, who gave the little girl a look that reminded her to not push the matter further. "Ooookay Mummy." she said before turning to her food and picking out one of the vegetables to eat. While Lily ate, Luna grabbed her plate and sat down on a chair beside her daughter as she spoke to Ali. "Got a bottle of loopy juice in my bag for later too if you fancy Ali?" she said with a playful wink. "Gala's finest."

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor didn't know when she would get to meet Tonyh's daughter, who must be about Lily's age; but she knew it was probably going to be a challenge. While her partner had embraced paternity out of the blue; she had no idea how to be a stepmum yet. That was another thing she'd have to let Luna know about when they had grown-up time. The last thing the musician had expected was a committed relationship, and one that had become public from the get go; but she didn't regret it.

She smiled at the little girl who appeared happy with the truthful but tame answer she had offered. She grinned at the praise of Luna's talents.

"Your mom is an amazing singer. She and your aunt are awesome musicians."

At the mention of drawing, she was grateful to have an expert sabacc face; for that definitely wasn't something she had expected. She kept her cool, looking nonchalant; but immensely grateful to her friend for stepping in and postpone the now looming crayon-fest!

"I'm not a good drawer; but we can do that after you finish dinner, sure."

Digging into her own plate, she quirked a brow at her friend's mention of loopy juice. That was a good one.

"Gala's finest? You've always sweet-talked me so well, hun."

She relaxed as the three of them enjoyed the food.

"It's really good to see you. I've missed hanging out with you."

Life had been crazy for both of them, especially Luna because as much as Alienor had gone through her share of stuff, she wasn't going to compare it with motherhood.

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna grinned at Ali as she spoke about missing hanging out with the blonde musician. "IYeah...I've missed you too." she said as she took a bite out of her meal. Chewing through her food, however, Luna thought about the life she left behind. The wild parties, the drink, the money, the fights. She realised she didn't miss any of that. The only thing she missed the most was the people. Ali, Toca, Milo and the gang . Luna missed them all, but she didn't miss a thing about the industry they worked in. She was in no hurry to return to the world of entertainment. A lot of credits would have to cross her palms before she made the decision to work the industry before Lily was ten years old and even then, it would have to be a good deal for her to return.

As she took another bite, Luna looked up at Ali send as she swallowed her food, she asked Ali, "Have you seen much of the gang of late? I last saw Toca and Milo shortly after Winter was injured. I didn't tell them of Lily either..."

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor loved the music world and couldn't fathom giving up her art; but at the same time, everything tied together for her, the martial art tutoring business, the many underworld piracy adventures. She loved having a foot in the legal world and one in the criminal hubs. It was who she was at heart. Tankreyds lived part publicly part in shadows; even though her cousin loved the shadows even more. She was walking a weird line, balancing various parts of her soul; but she loved it and thrived.

She had enough money not to need to music industry anymore; but she loved it, and was able to call the shots at this point, which was a true luxury she didn't take fore granted.

She nodded to Luna's question. After finishing her bite, she answered properly.

"I saw Toca and Milo about a month ago? We're talking about doing a gig together here, probably in one of the edgy bars where they can enjoy us going punk."

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna smiled slightly as Ali spoke of Toca and Milo. They seemed to be doing well if what her friend said was true. The blonde musician and entertainer knew she'd have to talk to them at some point and if they were here then Luna knew it was better to tell them herself rather than them finding out from someone else about what she'd been up to and tell them about Lily. "Do you know if they're on Cloud now?" she asked before taking another bite of food and swallow it. "If they are here... will it be okay to leave Lily here with you while I talk to them at some point? I wasn't exactly in a great state mentally the last time I spoke to them and said some things I regret. That's a kind of talk I don't want Lily hearing if things get heated."

Lily had been listening as the adults spoke but didn't quite understand what her mother meant and tugged on Luna's sleeve. "Mummy...what does 'heated' mean? "

Luna bit her lip slightly in indecision before finally deciding to tell her the truth. "In this case, it means when people shout at each other or get angry. Like when Mummy got mad at that mean lady in Black Moon, remember?"

Lily pursed her lips slightly at the memory. "Oh...She was scary..."

Luna smiled and stroked her back. "And Mummy had to act scary to protect you didn't she?" she watched as Lily nodded before turning to explain to Ali. "We had some issues with the sister of Winter's fiance, which, for the most part, I stayed out of. You know what I'm like if I get involved in stuff like that, and Winter didn't want me involved because of Lily being so young. Of course, this woman went way too far when she decided to push Lily to the ground after her rant with Winter last year. She got a response so frightening that she learned not to come near me or Lily again, while drunk or sober." Luna then grinned slightly at the memory before chuckling, "Scared the living daylights out of me as well to be honest. I've been in fights before but fighting on instinct to protect your young and fighting for the sake of fighting are totally different kettles of fish."

[Alienor Vankar]

"They came back a few days ago," Alienor replied between a couple of bites. She knew that their mutual friends missed Luna despite how things went down last time they had talked. They had all gone through shit episodes and they understood that making amends was part of long friendships.

"I'll be happy to watch over Lily while you go see them, hun."

She realized she had just signed up to look after a young child. All by herself. For the weirdest reason, she wasn't completely terrified at the prospect, though before she would have probably preferred going juggling on a tight rope over a volcano than do that.

The kid was a smart and inquisitive one; though Alienor wasn't surprised given that Lily was Luna's daughter. She got concerned at the mention of issues at the Black Sun.

"She sounds like someone I'd gladly toss through an airlock. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. How's Winter doing these days?"

The whole "fighting for your young" made her feel slightly uncomfortable, because she still doubted she had any maternal instinct in her even though she was going to be a de facto step mom in Sonya's life.

[Luna Brocar'do]

Luna chuckled a little when Ali spoke of tossing the vile woman out the airlock. "Oh believe me, I'd specialists to toss her on her as-... behind." she said, correcting herself so she didn't swear in front of Lily. Her attempts didn't fly over the girl's head so easily though as Lily sniggered under her hands, prompting Luna to comically put her head on the table and shaking it in a 'damnit' fashion.

"Swear jar Mummy! Hehe! " Lily said as Luna raised her head and pulled out a coms device, transferring thirty credits into another account. Luna called it 'Mummy's swearing jar' but the truth was actually a nest egg account for Lily. She transferred credits into the account every so often since the day the girl was born and it had amassed to nearly 200k in credits.

Once the transaction was complete, Luna put away her device and ruffled Lily's hair. "There. Thirty credits to the swear jar. Happy?" she said playfully, watching as Lily nodded before turning to answer Ali's question about Winter. "All things considered, she's doing well." she said. The tone was a little more serious, however as she pondered on the last time she saw her sister. "She's had a rough few years to be sure but things are looking up for her now." There was more to the story but given the fact that Lily was with them and she'd been protecting her from the worst of the issues Winter had endured and wasn't keen on talking more about it in her presence. The less Lily knew of it, the better.

Hearing that Toca and Milo were back in town was both good and unnerving for Luna. Like Winter, Luna had her own issues to deal with and Lily had taken precedence over much of it. With Ali agreeing to watch over Lily for a while, however, Luna could finally get that part of her history squared away. "I'll see about meeting them after your dealings are done tomorrow... if you're okay with it of course. I feel the sooner that's taken care of, the better..."

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor couldn't help laughing out loud when Lily told Luna that it was time for the swear jar. It was so adorable to see them interact. There was still the same fire in her beloved friend, with a new balance that stemmed from her interaction with her daughter. It was weird and yet beautiful to get to witness that. Alienor didn't really have close friends with kids around her. And the niece she should have spoiled was stillborn too many years ago. Watching her friend and daughter briefly made her contemplate her dear cousin and how she had pushed through after such a tragedy.

Returning to the present moment, she nodded to Luna's words about her sister Winter. "I'm glad to hear she is. You two have always been fighters. I always heard that your club was doing amazing though."

She finished her food and brought the empty plate to the kitchen area while Luna mused on what she wanted to do regarding Toca and Milo.

"Sure thing, hon. I can watch over Lily!"

She never shook in her boots but she was a bit terrified of baby-sitting; but she wanted to give Luna the opportunity to reconnect with their mutual friends.

She peeked at Lily and canted her head to the side.

"I promise I'll behave and keep track of how much I owe to the swear jar if I slip. How does that sound?"

[Luna Brocar'do]

Lily looked up at the two adults as they conversed. She didn't really understand what the two were conversing about but she did understand that Mummy was going to go away for a while tomorrow. At the moment, the little girl wasn't overly concerned, though it had been a while since Luna had left her precious child in the care of others. Even the mere thought of leaving her for a while did make Luna feel somewhat nervous inside. Who could blame her really though? Luna had not set foot on Bespin since her drug fuelled days in the band and as much as she loved Ali and knew she'd be somewhat safe with her, the blonde former rocker could not help but feel concerned. As much as Luna often detested it, Lily had completely rewired her brain and she was no longer the woman that dove into every sense of danger without consideration of others. She had to think of the consequences more now as it no longer affected just herself. She was putting a lot of trust in Ali by leaving Lily with her, even if it were just for a little while and as Lily was often her 'little shadow' it would feel incredibly strange without her little girl by her side.

As Ali looked over to Lily, however and spoke with her, Luna pushed her thoughts aside and having finished their dinners, Luna stood up and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Lily's head as she took away the plates and leave the two to interact. It would give the them a chance to know each other while Luna watched in the background, chuckling as Ali promised to keep track of how much money needed to go to the swear jar. The little girl, meanwhile sensed some apprehension and decided to use the oldest trick in her 'little book of happiness'. Looking towards her mother, she asked, "Mummy.... can you, me and Ali colour together?"

Luna grinned and gave the girl a nod. "Sure. Your books and pencils are in the bag upstairs in our bedroom..." she replied as Lily dropped from the chair and ran off upstairs. Luna hightailed it after the girl but stayed downstairs as the thump of little feet could be heard into the next floor. "Middle pocket okay?"

"I got it Mummy!" she said as she scrambled through the bag and came downstairs with her hands full of a book and pencil case. Luna gave a playful wink to the girl as she returned to the kitchen, presenting the colouring book to Ali. Luna knew the trick quite well and as Lily had only brought one book down, she knew all three couldn't possibly colour at the same time to play along with it, Luna called to the kitchen. "I'll be there in a moment. I gotta go to the bathroom. You two have fun now!"

Lily giggled before putting on her sweetest face and big puppy-like expressions as she held up the book high above her head for Ali to pick up. "Ali...can you colour a page with me.....pwease?" she asked nicely. This ice-breaker worked in the past so surely it would work this time too.

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor had always liked kids but didn't necessarily thought she was that good with them, especially when they were so little as Lily, or Sonya, her partner's daughter. She was protective by nature, a very Tankreyd thing if one considered her beloved cousin. She could have her act quite clean around kids, even though some just grew up in pretty dire situations such as some she kept an eye on in lower levels of Cloud City. Yet she was glad for kids like Lily who could be raised in a loving and safe environment. And she could tell the change in Luna and she was happy for her friend. It was good to reconnect after all this time, although she knew too well how life could have people do their own thing for a while before meeting again.

The little girl was likely going to keep her mom on her toes for years to come, and anyone Luna allowed around her. She quirked a brow when the child asked if they could color together and she smiled. She watched the interaction between mother and daughter as Lily went upstairs to retrieve her supplies.

She helped cleaning up the plates quickly, not wanting her guests to have to deal with it. While she didn't entertain all the times, she really wanted her place on Cloud City to become a home more than a layover. When Lily came back down, she chuckled when Luna excused herself, although she wasn't surprised.

Alienor smiled to Lily. "Sure thing! Let's set up in the living room. We can do that on the coffee table. Do you need some more water?"

She just wanted to make sure that the little girl was alright. Once she got her answer, she did accordingly and then came to sit on the floor in the living room.

"Alright, what would you like to color?"