[He knew reasonably that not all kits started healthy or grew big, that they needed an opportunity to grow into themselves. Some where never given that chance. Rumors of infanticide circulated when there were too many males born in a year, but every Nightbrother he knew - including himself - passed off the notion as a necessary requirement to keep the bloodlines healthy.
But it was fascinating to see Maul so small and engaged with having a little brother. Of course, they were close now, but it was different as adults than it would have been as kits. It reminded him a lot of how he had been with Feral, so clearly he had learned to have a strong bond with his younger brother from Maul who had been doting and clearly had a pull over him that even Talzin had not.]
Mother Talzin was keen to push the limits of influence of Dathomir. She was a great Mother even to the Nightbrothers.
[There was a quiet pause on his end as if he were contemplating some serious matter about his own childhood. Then, quietly, almost shyly, he came back with.]
Can you... show me other memories of us so young, brother?
She always had her own way of doing things, planning six steps ahead of anyone else.
[It was why Sidious had gone to deal with her personally. Much as with Maul himself, it was almost flattering in a way that Talzin had threatened his power so much he'd had to deal with her himself rather than sending any of his underlings to do his dirty work.
But all Maul had known her as was his loving mother and those plans that she'd had that had been meant to help him in his own endeavors.
At his brother's question, Maul smiled in a happy manner.]
Of course I will. Come, I'm in the bedroom. I'll show you how to connect two minds.
[Maul had never really shown Savage too many of the mental powers the Force could grant someone but there was no time like the present. Such things could be useful to his brother in the future.]
Yes. Always for the prosperity of the Nightsisters. She sacrificed fewer Nightbrothers than usual from what I heard.
[They were also a touch more educated so that they could be sent off world now and again to do as the Nightsister's bid. They being said, she had as low tolerance for weakness as all Nightsisters, though she was far more willing to use any scrap of strength for something.
And she had never been outright cruel to him. There were sparks of softness now and again, but it was nothing like how she viewed Maul. He had accepted that a long time ago.
He moved to the bedroom to find his brother, moving into the room because they usually shared it. He moved over to Maul, lingering for a moment as he wasn't certain how close they would have to be in order to connect minds. He'd never done it before either, so he wasn't certain what to expect or how to feel about it. If anyone could do it with his permission, it would be Maul who he trusted implicitly.]
No. Just don't fight against what happens. Sit down.
[Once Savage was sitting on the bed across from him, Maul took his larger hands in his own. This wasn't strictly necessary but sometimes physical contact helped him.
He reached out towards his brother's mind with his own, using the Dark Side of the Force to connect the two of them. He went slowly, not wanting to rush and end up damaging the connection between the two of them. He slowly entered his brother's mind, letting them become acclimated to the connection now occurring between the two of them. He felt around Savage's mind, curious as to the thoughts moving around in there. The Dark Side was present, of course, but he was struck by the intensity of his brother's emotions. They were stark and stood out, the loyalty, affection, and love in there he felt towards Maul. Once again, he was reminded how grateful he was to have his brother in his life.
After he had slotted himself securely into Savage's mind, another memory started to play out. It was from around the same time period as the first, so the edges of it were worn and a little fuzzy. He woke up as the sun started to shine in through the windows. Next to him was Savage.
He woke Savage up. "How're you feeling today?"
Savage turned to look at his big brother, eyes full of adoration and love. "'m okay," he mumbled.
Maul smiled. Savage was born a weakling by the standards of Dathomir but Maul didn't care. He loved his little brother dearly and protected him from anything that might harm him. Some days, he felt too sickly to leave the bed, but it looked like today is a good day. Maul smiled. "C'mon then, let's go play!"
They got out of bed, grabbed some meat from the kitchen to eat, and then headed off into the Nightbrother village to play with some of the other boys. It was the usual things little boys would do, playing hide-and-seek, tag, wrestling around with each other, and other such games that only made sense to small children. They played for most of the day before they headed back home, tired, sweaty, and full of happiness.
It was a simple memory but one Maul held close to his hearts. He didn't have a lot of happy ones from his childhood after his master came for him. This one from before that time is kept cherished and he was happy to share it with his brother now.]
[Eased down crossed-legged in front of his brother, he almost expected the usual green smoke of the ichor to come between them and tie their minds, as was the most common magic he had seen with the Nightsisters. Their bloodtypes matched, so perhaps they could pull something off, though the Force was usually unseen by those who didn't know how to sense its presence.
While he stayed still, his apprehension remained. He trusted his brother implicitly, but a part of him was concerned that Maul being in there would somehow find him lacking. After all, he knew his brother well enough to know Maul would go poking around with the opportunity. Would it hurt? Would he have any power to stop it if it went too far?
He experienced a soft warmth of his brother being in his mind down the connection they had developed. Maul felt confident but jagged in his mind, though some of the rough edges had been smoothed since Deerington and in Trench with experience and exposure to others. While he was good at keeping his emotions in check, in his mind, they were like a strong tide that could sweep up and swallow him in a moment's notice. Underneath it all, there was the most subtle and delicate of ichor staining everything he was. Mother Talzin was a skilled witch, so she buried much of her interwoven spell very deep indeed.
But Savage was far more preoccupied with the memory as it felt like it was playing out in real time in his mind, like watching extremely old security footage. He was struck how close they had been back then, how loyal Maul was to urging him up and getting him going, letting him keep up as the trotted to the Nightbrother village. Life for kits was easier than older boys sometimes because playing and some training was all that was expected of them.
He was smaller than many of the other kits his age, but he wrestled until his energy ran out to not let Maul down. They were brothers, helped each other out in the games they played together under the hazy periphery of adult observation. He ensured Maul had fun as much as Maul ensured he did in their day of fun and exploration. His cough forced him to sit a few times, and there was a wheeze to his breath by the end of the day, but he could feel how happy he had been.
He latched onto the memory because he quite honestly had none of his own when he was so young and feeble. He was also struck how much things would have been different if Maul had never been taken away. His brother would have risen so quickly to clan leader, probably even been considered to replace Viscious.
He breathed a sigh from his nose and reached out along their connection with fumbling attempts to be gentle about it. Would Maul let him return the favour?]
[There was a lot of warmth and love infused into the memory. Maul kept ones like this close to hearts because they were the only source of happiness he had that wasn’t tainted with the presence of his master in them. That had been the best time of Maul’s life, living in his early years with his family in innocence and happiness. After that there had been nothing but darkness and pain for the rest of his life.
When he felt Savage reaching out through the bond, not quite with as much skill or finesse as Maul himself did, he agreed to let him into his own mind and took down any remaining barriers between them. He wasn’t sure what Savage wanted to show him but he trusted his brother implicitly.
So he let Savage into his mind. It was dark, filled with fury, old pain, and his iron will. All of his emotions were intense, felt at full force at all times. There was the sense too of being put back together after having been shattered. While his mind was repaired, Savage would still be able to feel where the cracks had been and the sensation of having been repaired by the green ichor of Nightsister magick. He let himself remain calm as he waited for Savage to show him what he wanted to.]
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But it was fascinating to see Maul so small and engaged with having a little brother. Of course, they were close now, but it was different as adults than it would have been as kits. It reminded him a lot of how he had been with Feral, so clearly he had learned to have a strong bond with his younger brother from Maul who had been doting and clearly had a pull over him that even Talzin had not.]
Mother Talzin was keen to push the limits of influence of Dathomir. She was a great Mother even to the Nightbrothers.
[There was a quiet pause on his end as if he were contemplating some serious matter about his own childhood. Then, quietly, almost shyly, he came back with.]
Can you... show me other memories of us so young, brother?
no subject
[It was why Sidious had gone to deal with her personally. Much as with Maul himself, it was almost flattering in a way that Talzin had threatened his power so much he'd had to deal with her himself rather than sending any of his underlings to do his dirty work.
But all Maul had known her as was his loving mother and those plans that she'd had that had been meant to help him in his own endeavors.
At his brother's question, Maul smiled in a happy manner.]
Of course I will. Come, I'm in the bedroom. I'll show you how to connect two minds.
[Maul had never really shown Savage too many of the mental powers the Force could grant someone but there was no time like the present. Such things could be useful to his brother in the future.]
no subject
[They were also a touch more educated so that they could be sent off world now and again to do as the Nightsister's bid. They being said, she had as low tolerance for weakness as all Nightsisters, though she was far more willing to use any scrap of strength for something.
And she had never been outright cruel to him. There were sparks of softness now and again, but it was nothing like how she viewed Maul. He had accepted that a long time ago.
He moved to the bedroom to find his brother, moving into the room because they usually shared it. He moved over to Maul, lingering for a moment as he wasn't certain how close they would have to be in order to connect minds. He'd never done it before either, so he wasn't certain what to expect or how to feel about it. If anyone could do it with his permission, it would be Maul who he trusted implicitly.]
Will it hurt?
no subject
[Once Savage was sitting on the bed across from him, Maul took his larger hands in his own. This wasn't strictly necessary but sometimes physical contact helped him.
He reached out towards his brother's mind with his own, using the Dark Side of the Force to connect the two of them. He went slowly, not wanting to rush and end up damaging the connection between the two of them. He slowly entered his brother's mind, letting them become acclimated to the connection now occurring between the two of them. He felt around Savage's mind, curious as to the thoughts moving around in there. The Dark Side was present, of course, but he was struck by the intensity of his brother's emotions. They were stark and stood out, the loyalty, affection, and love in there he felt towards Maul. Once again, he was reminded how grateful he was to have his brother in his life.
After he had slotted himself securely into Savage's mind, another memory started to play out. It was from around the same time period as the first, so the edges of it were worn and a little fuzzy. He woke up as the sun started to shine in through the windows. Next to him was Savage.
He woke Savage up. "How're you feeling today?"
Savage turned to look at his big brother, eyes full of adoration and love. "'m okay," he mumbled.
Maul smiled. Savage was born a weakling by the standards of Dathomir but Maul didn't care. He loved his little brother dearly and protected him from anything that might harm him. Some days, he felt too sickly to leave the bed, but it looked like today is a good day. Maul smiled. "C'mon then, let's go play!"
They got out of bed, grabbed some meat from the kitchen to eat, and then headed off into the Nightbrother village to play with some of the other boys. It was the usual things little boys would do, playing hide-and-seek, tag, wrestling around with each other, and other such games that only made sense to small children. They played for most of the day before they headed back home, tired, sweaty, and full of happiness.
It was a simple memory but one Maul held close to his hearts. He didn't have a lot of happy ones from his childhood after his master came for him. This one from before that time is kept cherished and he was happy to share it with his brother now.]
no subject
While he stayed still, his apprehension remained. He trusted his brother implicitly, but a part of him was concerned that Maul being in there would somehow find him lacking. After all, he knew his brother well enough to know Maul would go poking around with the opportunity. Would it hurt? Would he have any power to stop it if it went too far?
He experienced a soft warmth of his brother being in his mind down the connection they had developed. Maul felt confident but jagged in his mind, though some of the rough edges had been smoothed since Deerington and in Trench with experience and exposure to others. While he was good at keeping his emotions in check, in his mind, they were like a strong tide that could sweep up and swallow him in a moment's notice. Underneath it all, there was the most subtle and delicate of ichor staining everything he was. Mother Talzin was a skilled witch, so she buried much of her interwoven spell very deep indeed.
But Savage was far more preoccupied with the memory as it felt like it was playing out in real time in his mind, like watching extremely old security footage. He was struck how close they had been back then, how loyal Maul was to urging him up and getting him going, letting him keep up as the trotted to the Nightbrother village. Life for kits was easier than older boys sometimes because playing and some training was all that was expected of them.
He was smaller than many of the other kits his age, but he wrestled until his energy ran out to not let Maul down. They were brothers, helped each other out in the games they played together under the hazy periphery of adult observation. He ensured Maul had fun as much as Maul ensured he did in their day of fun and exploration. His cough forced him to sit a few times, and there was a wheeze to his breath by the end of the day, but he could feel how happy he had been.
He latched onto the memory because he quite honestly had none of his own when he was so young and feeble. He was also struck how much things would have been different if Maul had never been taken away. His brother would have risen so quickly to clan leader, probably even been considered to replace Viscious.
He breathed a sigh from his nose and reached out along their connection with fumbling attempts to be gentle about it. Would Maul let him return the favour?]
no subject
When he felt Savage reaching out through the bond, not quite with as much skill or finesse as Maul himself did, he agreed to let him into his own mind and took down any remaining barriers between them. He wasn’t sure what Savage wanted to show him but he trusted his brother implicitly.
So he let Savage into his mind. It was dark, filled with fury, old pain, and his iron will. All of his emotions were intense, felt at full force at all times. There was the sense too of being put back together after having been shattered. While his mind was repaired, Savage would still be able to feel where the cracks had been and the sensation of having been repaired by the green ichor of Nightsister magick. He let himself remain calm as he waited for Savage to show him what he wanted to.]