777: Additional RP Server - southern-foothills︱hara-estate

Paperwork, files and more paperwork. It seemed to be all her day was taken up with half of the time. This or that quarterly report to review, this or that house related message to look over. So and so wanted the Matriarchs word on this thing, a out of house person wanted her to weigh in on something or wanted her to re-consider a contract she'd declined. So many things to do so many things to see to. So much stuff and now, given she'd just heard the door open, it sounded like someone was about to interrupt her. "Yes, cant you see i'm-"

"Grandmaaaa!" Yelled the overjoyed voice of a small Romulan as they broke from their adoptive dad and hurtled across the room to the Matriarch, his adoptive grandma. Hurtled along and embraced her, being lifted up into her arms. "We've arrived from the station, dad said we could come here and say Hi first before we went into get settled, I know your working but but but I really really really wanted a hug!"

Laughing all the while as she'd pushed away from her desk, received the hug with a 'Omph' And swept Telim up, Enoae treated both her grandson and her son to a warm smile, 'paperwork' left for a bit as she decided she'd take her break now. "Hello little comet!" She laughed then before she listened to their gale of words and adjusted the kid in her arms to better hug them. "I'm very happy to give you that hug, was just thinking about you while under this mountain of adult stuff I was working my way through." Her words coloured with a warmth born of the happiness she felt as she beheld a kid was most noticeably more kid like that the one she'd first greeted not so long ago in the grand scheme of things. It was so good to see the kid like this. To see her son like this, as he watched what was going on with that similar sort of reserved but proud glow she'd caught emanating from Asar'a. A parents joy to see their child happy mixed with a quite appropriate pride at how far Telim had come. "I've got some more stuff I've got to do before I can properly come say Hi and chat with you both buut shall we get some of that Terran Ice cream you like and catch up before you and your dad go and unpack hmm?" She'd then proposed as her eyes flicked to her sons, the nod that came from Vara'l the permission she'd waited for before she started to the door. The three of them talked a while over icecream in the time that followed. Her son and one of her grandsons were home and among house and family once more. The place always seemed brighter with more laughter in it.

*Some time later, Vara'l found his way to the house forges, a series of structures within a compound near the made Hara estate. Reacquainting himself with Hara style forges, Vara'l walked inside and greeted one of the several house members there. Karavek. Greeting them warmly, Vara'l allowed himself to be guided to a free forge and to be run through re-familiarisation related training. Once he'd completed that, Vara'l started to simply chat with the man. He'd missed chatting with them so chatted with them for a while. Well.. at least until Karavek was called away by other commitments. *

Vara'l was not left alone for too long. Within about fifteen minutes, another man took Karavek's place, a stately Romulan with a bright white hairdo and beard, and pale grey eyes that were highly observant as they passed around the forge. As if it were practiced, he fell into step with Vara'l's actions without another word, so familiar with the forges that even Vara'l's relative inexperience could not dampen his skill. He manned the bellows, making sure the forge was at the right temperature without even having to check a thermometer, as Vara'l busied himself with the actual making of the sword. "This is your own design, then?" Asar'a asked his son, the first words out of his mouth as he watched the ex-borg work. If there was scrutiny in his eyes, or a wish to correct his form, he did not show it, nor state it out loud. Instead, he simply stood there, his eyes wandering from Vara'l's form to the metal to the forge, waiting for an answer. He felt no need to fill the silence with meaningless chatter.

Having started his work as he moved from place to place within the forge with the air of someone who still remembered the skills he'd been taught...but happened to be rusty. After all, the ex-Borg had confined himself to making much smaller things in his past time since Liberation.. "Correct, I found some of ..my notes on the first sword I created, back home on the colony." The Romulan responded as he worked. "I've worked through it with Karavek somewhat as well." Vara'l trailed off for a moment then. "Its mostly the same design, just..adjusted it to account for..certain differences." He raised one hand then to show the Borg metal embedded in the flesh in a brief moment before the process of making the blade forced him to work the forge with both hands again. "Thank you for the assistance, Father." The Romulan continued to work, the design followed to the letter as he tried to overcome his inexperience. Or well, the proverbial rusted that had accrued on this part of the set of skills he'd been taught by his family. Skills he'd slowly remembered having over time, rings and the like all he'd produced before he'd returned here but skills that he'd allowed to deteriorate in part. "..Elements." Vara'l breathed in flustration as he arrived at the conclusion this had become more difficult than he remembered.

"You should practice more. A blade is one of the more difficult things to craft, why would you not hone your skills on a dull weapon first? A hammer is challenging, but not as complicated." It sounded chiding, and perhaps it was, a little bit. It didn't stop Asar'a from manning the forge though, so Vara'l could continue to shape the metal. He followed Vara'l's hand closely, as if observing the Borg implants as he worked. "It has been a long time since you did this," Asar'a observed plainly, no judgement attached to his words. "Senat tells me you do still work with metal, even if there are no forges available to you in the Federation. You should come home more frequently to practice." Again, it was a plain statement, no judgement attached, though clearly, even it wasn't framed as such, these were Asar'a's personal thoughts and wishes.

"I have practised...on a holodeck more recently.. when I could." The Romulan protested softly as he continued to work and considered the metal before him, considered how things were. "Though..I do take your point." Vara'l added then as he continued to work, idly pushing some of his hair back into the bun he'd put it all in to as he unknowingly revealed the implants around and in his right ear. "I suspect I should probably have started with a hammer first for real...the holodeck's on station might be quite something but..they're not this." When they then made their observation and revealed his brother had talked with his father about this, Vara'l nodded slightly. "I've found that I've ah..not had many times to get practise in admittedly.. been too busy with work." He fell silent then as the second part of the statement struck home. "I've..been thinking about it, Telim enjoys being here, getting to see his grandparents." Vara'l said as he decided he'd meet personal thoughts and wishes with personal thoughts. After all, this person was Vara'ls..no, his father. "I do also have a good bit of shore leave saved up." He added conversationally before he slipped into sign and smoothly signed. "If I may ask to confirm, my brother has fully updated you on what we discussed?" (edited)

Asar'a nodded, not looking directly at Vara'l as he took in the words being spoken, but keeping an eye on his work and the forge nonetheless. "There is always space for you here. If you'd come home more often, I'd have you back in shape before the year is over." He returned to the bellows as the heat started to waver, blowing more oxygen into the fire. "Senat doesn't tell us much. Idiot boy is afraid of stepping on toes, now that he is back, even though his wife and son have been accepted as much as he has. But perhaps whatever conversation you had is your business more than mine anyway. He just told us you are well, and that you took up metalworking again in your absence. Showed us the brooch you made him." Asar'a wasn't signing, though he took notice of his son doing it. He just happened to have his hands full at that moment; why Vara'l chose to sign despite currently working with his hands was beyond him. "Hands on your work, son."

Eyes also kept on the forge even as he briefly paused to sign one handed, Vara'l had already moved to do more to the blade that started to form as Asar'a cautioned him about keeping both hands on his work. Vara'ls look apologetic as he glanced back to his father but also slightly like he'd just been introduced face first with how it felt to be hit by a forge hammer held by a angry Haran smith. After all.. wouldn't anyone have looked like that when someone said something and your mind proceeded to fill in what you'd suspected was another hole in your memory. Not that that stopped him from speaking as he attempted to cover that.. moment. "..I really appreciate that, father and well..I'd like that, to come back here more and re-learn some of the skills I've lost." Vara'l twitched again at the idiot boy comment, he was used to his fathers bluntness but well. It reminded him somewhat of how he'd apparently been with Senat from what his brother had told him of those times in his younger years that he'd lost. "We reconciled as much as one can do in a conversation when it turns out one of the conversation participants can't remember much of the time when he himself was also less than fair to his brother." Vara'l responded to the next part of what his father said as he worked on the blade and employed both his hands once again as he struggled through a part of the process of blade making he was particularly rusty with. "Talked about the past.. and worked through what we both remembered of those times, how we were and what we'd been doing with ourselves." He'd fallen silent for a moment then, his focus fixed on his work for a time. "Telim and he got along quite well, he is just.. quite mindful of how he was in his younger years father." He then looked apologetic then. "..And as to the hands thing, I apologise I realize I've returned to being a tad lax about that." Vara'l said then, eyes focused on the forge. (edited)

Over time as the two then conversed, partly about the conversation and about other matters the blade slowly but surely started to take proper shape. Coaxed into being by the efforts of Vara'l and the assistance of his father, his father who conversed with him throughout. The two covering as they talked more about the conversation with Senat and other happenings and going on..along with what Vara'l had said that had been noticed by his father. His memory gaps, something he'd slipped up and said about now but hadn't really touched on much before that. By the time the blade had taken its final shape and been quenched and tempered, a process his father stepped in to guide him through, Vara'l had talked about alot more than he'd expected too. He'd also agreed at least in principle to spend more time with his family. Time Vara'l expected would probably in part take the form of their..trying to help him fill those holes in his memory, from the frown his dad had treated him to at that revelation and how little he'd told them about that beforehand. This wouldn't be his last time in the forges of the Hara, he suspected. After all..he had lessons with his father to look forward to. It was however.. one of his nicer times in the forge, he'd reconnected with his dad somewhat. That was..nice, he'd mused to himself when he'd left, departing then to find his adoptive son. There was still a little more to do before the time arrived for them to depart once more. Best get to doing that, he reckoned. (edited)

Nearing the time when they needed to depart for the station once more, Vara'l was pulled aside by his parents for a bit while Telim headed off with the babysitter to go pack. Once in a more private environment the trio had a discussion about what Vara'l had meant about not remembering some things. That conversation initially went as might be expected when someone is trying to protect someone from a truth that they're worried might hurt them. When his parents prised answers out of him though, gently for the most part though with his fathers blunt approach mixed in, what hurt his parents wasn't the fact some things weren't remembered. It was more the fact that their son hadn't informed him of that fact and allowed them to help him when he'd discovered more holes.

"Vara'l tr'Hara, at what point did you come to decide that a parents job didn't include supporting even their grown children through painful times?" His mother had asked him, her voice coloured with a mix of pain and concern. "No, i'll not have you trying to say it's fine, you lost parts of your memory and were denied the chance to find out the scope of that loss when you 'repatriated' to the Free damned State instead of being allowed to fully rehabilitate!" She'd declared then as her jaw had twitched and twitched she'd considered things. "I know you and your father have already agreed you and Telim will spend more time here anyway to re-learn forge smithing but I must insist you at least consider letting us help you learn more about how you were before and what you don't remember, if anyone knows these things best its us or your ex-wife."

Vara'l had frowned at that, but reeling under the combined push of both Matriarch and defacto Patriarch of the family, the retired Matriarch a COMM call away, what could he do? His mother's words somewhat made sense. They held the data that filled in the gaps. "..Alright, Mother.. I'll send you a message about it." He'd promised then. "That and.. we can talk more about it next time I'm here, though before you ask I..can assure you I'm seeing a counsellor about it as you've always said should be the case with such things." Vara'l had added then as he'd headed off his mother mid twitch as she'd started to move into the posture that was mom for 'You're not forgetting this or that thing or so he'd been told. "I'm doing okay, better than okay and..Telims managing as well, we're safe but even with that, I'd not try and put a cork on this, even the republic fleet interrogator who questioned me when I managed to get out of the Free State said that'd be unwise."

The two had talked further, his father chipping in from time to time whenever he'd elected to do so before they'd eventually departed together. Their timetable might have allowed some time for a frank talk but, it hadn't allowed them a whole universes worth of time or anything like that, they needed to be going. Shore leave had arrived at its conclusion and soon her son would be off back to the station he remained ACTO of, his adoptive son going with him. Yet another part of her family departed off into danger, his eldest son of his off on a Republic ship as well too. Even if their ship simply engaged in anti-piracy patrols and such, there was danger there and Enoae worried about that. Fate was far more fickle than the numbers she tended to deal with running businesses and the politics of a house like the Hara. She wished that wasn't so sometimes, that there was some technology that would have allowed her to enclose all the Hara in shields to protect them. That and there was some way to make some people more sensible..but she'd accepted a long time ago that that was a wish that'd never come true.. that wouldn't be nice to have come true. What life would people have if they were all wrapped in Terran Bubble wrap?