Meeting the Family (Pt.3)

Posted on Tue Sep 20th, 2022 @ 10:07am by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Sequus Colony; Earth
Timeline: MD 03 0945 Hours
1934 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"So I've been thinking..." S'hib hummed, before turning to face Naxea as if reading her mind. "Dangerous I know," He added with a gentle squeeze of her hand. "But... we haven't talked about a name yet."

He smiled sheepishly as he spoke, studying her face intently and ignoring the world around him, a world he missed more than anything.

"Have you come to any ideas?" she asked. She had been busy lately and therefore hadn't really had time to think about a name for the baby. "I'd imagine you would want her to have a Sequus name."

"Well, she's Bajoran too... only fair her name represents that," S'hib remarked as they slowly approached a large farmhouse, it's cobbled stone walls weathered and aged with vines creeping up its surface.

"I know what my mothers would want us to call her, but... still, Bajoran names aren't off the table Nax."

"Hmmmm," she hummed as they approached the house. "Why not give her my family name then--Azhul and her given name can be Sequus."

He smiled as she spoke, one ear fixated on her as another pivoted towards the house. "I can work with that..." S'hib beamed as his head turned to face the sound of the front door opening and the familiar voices from within.

"But we'll talk more about it later..." He added as he began to hear the voice of another he did not know.

A few more steps towards the house and a young Stal, no more than twelve bolted out of the front door on long gangly legs, his hooves digging into the gravel yard as he ran.

S'hib stopped, tugging at Naxea to do the same as his eyes flicked back to the door as one of his mothers exploded forth, shouting in native Sequus at the fleeing child as he vaulted uneasily over a fence and into the tall wheat nearby.

"Reminds me of my childhood..." S'hib quipped, grinning ear to ear even as the still furious mare bore her eyes into him with a loud snort.

"Every Stal I've had has been like you, a little shit..." She growled back, pacing on the spot in an obvious attempt to calm down once her eyes fell onto Naxea.

"Better not be our's childhood," she said softly and grinning at S'hib before turning to face the woman. "Well, actually S'hib is now a big shit," she joked.

"I am not." S'hib shot back in protest, his ears folding back as he glanced at Naxea.

"Sounds about right." The woman snorted jokingly, inclining her head as her thick hands clasped at her hips.

"Hey!" S'hib squealed, his head snapping towards his mother.

"He's just like his father..." Fr'ee continued, ignoring him entirely. "And all ghost coats really, they just... have a habit of finding trouble." She mused, ignoring S'hib as she studied Naxea with avid interest.

"That's S'hib," she grinned with a nod as she approached the woman and offered her hand. "I'm Colonel Azhul Naxea, S'hib's wife," she introduced herself.

"Oh please, no," Fr'ee remarked, pushing away the offered hand before swiftly gripping Naxea on the shoulders. "If you're mad enough to be with him, you're going to greet me like family." She added with a wide smile before glancing at S'hib, her smile evaporating for just a moment.

"I would have thought you would have taught her this." She mused disappointingly before returning her attention to Naxea.

"Anyway, if this was formal... we would push our foreheads together, but this is not... so what we do is this." She said with a slight hum before leaning down slightly, her snout stopping on Naxea's right shoulder.

"We touch the side of our faces, making sure our eyes can see one another."

The contact with brief, her cloven grasps releasing from Nax's shoulders as she clicked back slightly, a smile still on her face. "But, it is good to finally meet you, I'm Fr'ee... S'hibs birth mother."

"It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Fr'ee," Naxea returned, feeling sheepish at the mix up in greeting. "We have, um," she looked to S'hib and then back at Fr'ee, "some news to share with you Fr'ee."

"I see, well... come on inside and you can tell me once you've met everyone else," Fr'ee said politely as she stepped aside, her hand moving behind her to push the door that was sat partially ajar, open.

"Wipe your hooves..." She added, pointing sternly to S'hib who just rolled his eyes and snorted.

As she finished making sure her boots were clean, she stepped into the house spotting several other Sequus within who all stopped to take in the newcomer. "Hi," she greeted as she felt S'hib enter after her.

"Good luck~" S'hib whispered softly as he clicked past, taking a moment to lean down and kiss the back of her head as a small Sequus child ran over, her little hooves clicking loudly as they did so.

"Hello," The little girl hummed, stopping uneasily before Naxea, her short dreaded mane flopping about. "You're a Bajorn right?" She blurted out, staring unblinkingly up at Nax.

"Bajoran." S'hib politely corrected as he approached another elderly Sequus, embracing each other before settling into a hushed conversation.

"Thats what I said..." She huffed back, a frown forming over her small face.

"K'shee, let the nice lady come inside sweetie." A raised voice came from another.

"It's quite alright," Naxea replied, looking at K'shee, smiling at the young Sequus. "And yes, I am a Bajoran. My name is Naxea."

The little girl paused for a moment, silently mouthing her name before her mind skipped ahead. "You're dating my Uncle right? and you both live where the stars are?"

"Um," Naxea began, looking at S'hib and then back at the girl. "Yes, we live where the stars are, but your uncle and I are engaged so I guess you are to be my niece?"

"Oh!" She squealed. "I get another aunty!" She snorted before running off to tell everyone personally with a voice loud enough everyone could hear every time she said it.

"Don't worry, she'll have a nap soon..." Groaned another Sequus girl, sitting on the cushioned floor seats idly watching television, she was much older than the first but still obviously in her teens.

Naxea laughed. "I'd hope so. I could use some of that energy," she joked. "Are you also one of S'hib's nieces?"

“Yeah…” was the bored and apathetic response from the girl.

“This is Sha’fay…” S’hib smirked as he clicked up behind her. “Shes lovely really,” He continued while she told him to go away, seemingly aware of what he was about to do moments before he started ruffling her long brown mane. “Once she warms up to you.” He continued despite her protests, flicking at her ears for good measure.

“Get off me!” She growled before snorting loudly, her hooves clacking as she got up and started swatting away his hands, trying to protect her mane while swinging a cloven fist or two into him.

“They do this every time…” Fr’ee said softly, uninterested by the whole event as she walked past the pair as they fought.

Naxea smirked as she watched the two. She was envious to be honest. Her mother and half-brother were all that she had and growing up, she had hated her half-brother, so really she only had her mother. Her extended family and father had all been killed during the Cardassian Occupation. A long, proud line of resistance fighters the Azhuls were, but where had that left her family wise?
She recalled that her mother talked about their family originally belonging to the Noble Caste before the days of the Occupation but records from that time were shoddy at best and she had yet to find any record of her family line from that time.

"It's good to see S'hib relaxed," she commented as she turned and followed Fr'ee.

“Thats because of you…” Fr’ee said in a hushed tone as she turned and guided Naxea further into the house, walking her through an arched frame that lead to a large rustic kitchen, oddly earthly and human compared to the clearly Sequus modifications elsewhere.

“He was considering leaving Starfleet until you grounded him…” She continued before gently stopping beside another elder Sequus quietly chopping vegetables, taking a moment to kiss the side of face.

“Is this the mare S’hib wont stop talking about?” The other woman chirped happily, placing the knife down before hastily wiping her hands on the apron around her waist.

“Naxea, this is Fa’shi…” Fr’ee said with a loving smile.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you!” Fa’shi said excitedly, already clicking over to greet Naxea. “Im another one of S’hibs mums… which I understand might get confusing.”

"It is a little confusing, but I am growing used to it. It is an honor to meet you as well," she replied as she greeted Fa'shi as Fr'ee had greeted her.

“I see he's getting you used to a few other things too…” She smiled, already with a hand in her hair, examining the length of S'hib’s mane braided into her own.

"Yes," she smiled. "And we have something to tell you as well but that can wait until S'hib isn't busy. What are you cooking?"

"Oh, just a stew, but this is for tomorrow... I made today's this morning." Fa'shi smiled and clicked idly back over to the stove where two large metal pots sat atop. "When you have this many mouths to feed, it helps to keep a few steps ahead." She added, lifting a lid off of one of the pots, its brothy contents warm and simmering gently. "They always want more..." She teased, turning back at Naxea with wide eyes that glanced at her stomach as if knowing already.

"That is a good point. S'hib can put away alot of food," Naxea laughed sheepishly as she felt Fa'shi's eyes go to her stomach.

"We had to put locks on the cupboards at night because of that boy's stomach..." Fr'ee groaned as S'hib walked in, clearly oblivious to what they were talking about.

"Something smells good! is that for later?" He exclaimed, already munching on a bag of dried and seasoned flower heads, proving his mother's point.

"Not if you fill up on those!" Fr'ee snorted, snatching the bag away. "Where did you find these anyway?" She added, folding the open end of the bag over in a huff.

"Sha’fay gave them to me..." He mumbled, looking lost and unsure what to do with his hands that were still near where he had held the bag by his chest.

"You mean she bribed you to leave her alone..." Fa'shi quipped, amused by it all.

S'hib didn't say anything, simply turning to look at Naxea as if asking for help.

Naxea only smiled and shook her head at S'hib. "Don't look at me. You're the one who dug yourself into a hole." She felt relaxed at the inviting atmosphere as she had expected the greeting to be like when she first met the priestess.

"Mmm... yeah, but you see he's dug himself into so many holes that it's created a network of tunnels, he always finds a way out somehow..." Fr'ee said with an amused but vexed tone as S'hib simply smiled a toothy grin in her direction.

"I don't know what you mean..." He hummed in return.

"Uh huh," Naxea replied, crossing her arms as a grin grew on her face.


TBC...

 

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