Untitled I

It was the middle of the night, and Theron Kallidas was still awake.

Perched atop the small shuttle like a great hunting bird, he looked out over the vast, moonlit vista laid out before him, shining silver in the soft light. All around him, nocturnal life stirred, reveling in the absence of Palaven's searing sun, while  in the distance, lightning flickered and thunder rolled gently over the barren plateau. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled heavily.

A small, scrabbling sound nearby drew his attention then. Looking to his left, Theron spied two tiny hands gripping the edge where he'd climbed up; and behind those were two large, round, bright blue eyes, peering up at him curiously. He just looked back with an expression of gentle amusement, and after a moment, one little hand reached towards him to pat at the shuttle's hull, accompanied by an insistent pwee!

With a gentle smile, he reached down to help his young daughter up, purring softly as she scaled his arm and over his shoulder, settling herself inside his cowl with a happy little purr of her own.

Theron knew he ought to scold her - but their visits to Palaven were so few and far between, and these quiet moments even rarer. He didn't have the heart to rebuke the child... not when he felt that he spent too little time with her as it was.

Distant lightning flashed once more, and he smiled contently, leaning back slightly. Aegis only let out a soft, sweet trill... that ended in a yawn as she slipped off to sleep, draped around her father's neck. He could only chuckle softly at that - at the notion that his three-year-old daughter had come looking for him, even risking reprimand to scale the side of the shuttle, just so she could fall asleep on him.

Children were such strange things. Strange, and infinitely precious.

"Good night, my Little Bird." he murmured softly, smiling as the breeze washed over them, sweet with the scent of rain.