The Hauntings on Talay

[s'Il]

It'd been a week and a half following the offensive on Kamino, and Dan had taken his Rebel group to Talay, establishing a serviceable enough tactical base in an upper valley, along a gentle-flowing river. The weather was fair, never too warm or cold it seemed, and on a whole their activities remained shielded and hidden from the Empire.

Though, in such a short time, perhaps the Empire was still reeling with the loss; it was a nice thought, at least.

s'Il had spent most of her time either alone or with Zem, occasionally volunteering for sentry duty. But, the Lupine unused to the general feeling of having committed so many individuals to their deaths. She'd seen people die, had fought clonetroopers even, but the scope of the Kamino endeavor hadn't hit her until afterwards. It wasn't uncommon for her to disappear for hours on end, her wanderings taking her up through the surrounding mountains for short distances.

Now though, s'Il found herself sitting along the river bank, near one of comm station buildings. Well past midnight, she found the quiet darkness peacefull and welcoming as a slight breeze picked up. The scents that it brought with it were a mix of the natural surroundings belonging to Talay, and the manmade smells of the Rebel base. An interesting mix, and she idly found herself trying to pick through each scent while lazily dipping fingers into the moving water, feeling the current and its' coolness on her hand.

Another few minutes passed, and the Lupine frowned to herself. one of the smells that she'd taken in and seperated from the rest found its' source at her side; the lightsabre that had belonged to the Sith who'd made his presence known on Hoth. She had made the decision to keep it with her after having seen the way Zem acted at its' touch, making sure that the curved serpent hilt was a constant companion to her own sabre.

Now though, she unlatched it from the clip at her side to hold it loosely, turning it over in her grasp. Lofting a brow in self-interest, the Lupine extended her arm and let the hinged jaws kiss the water's surface.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Isn't it a bit late for a walk?"

I approached over a grassy hill from the base, at ease in this new planet's relatively accomodating environment.

[s'Il]

She made no move to indicate that his sudden presence had startled her, but nonetheless she found herself pulling the sabre hilt back towards her, setting it in her lap.

"It's never too late for a walk," she answered, turning around only partially to look up at him as he came to a stop over her.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Maybe if you can see in the dark, I guess."

I shrugged and sat on the grass next to her.

"How are you doing?"

[s'Il]

She allowed a rare smile to touch her lips; no matter her mood, it seemed that she could never help herself from being uplifted by his presence.

"You have the Force; your eyes may not be able to see through the darkness, but your senses can."

She turned her gaze back to the river then at the thought of how to answer his question.

"I'm not sure. It's not a comfortable feeling to deal with, that much I already know."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"There are times when they won't be comfortable. Rock and a hard place is still an analogy we live with, even as Jedi."

I wrapped my hands around my knees as I pulled them to my chest.

"I would have been just as conflicted as you, if the roles were reversed. I've thought about it ever since we came back, actually."

[s'Il]

Sitting with her legs crossed, the Lupine let out a long breath as she leaned to the side, resting her head on his shoulder.

She remembered one of the many lessons he'd taught her, back before rejoining the Rebels.

"Then would you say that what happened was one of those no-win scenarios?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I still don't believe in such a thing. It's just that winning doesn't come pain free. You did what you did for a reason, and a reason we're still fighting for."

I sighed, and gave her a knowing look.

"We may not be able to save everybody, but the ones that we don't save, we can at least dignify their loss with the world we fight to restore."

[s'Il]

Suddenly, the Lupine knew exactly what he had felt back on Schwartzweld, when she'd stopped him from going back for the rest of the survivors.

Brow furrowing, s'Il found herself beginning to scowl.

"I don't like feeling this way."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I'd be more worried if you did."

I put a hand across her shoulder.

"You're a Jedi, compassionate and empathetic. That's your gift to those around you, but it's not easy to bear."

[s'Il]

She closed her eyes, letting out a pent-up breath that she'd unknowingly held in. Another cool breeze picked up, and the Lupine felt her body relax then. Aware of the weight of the sabre still resting in her lap, she cast a neutral gaze downwards at it before slowly picking it up.

"And him?" It was more than obvious that she was now referring to the Sith, "When he comes back for this?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You have to be ready, and I do too. Evil is part of the duality of life, and those who abide in it have to be confronted by those who don't."

[s'Il]

She nodded absently, the reached forward again to let the serpent hilt trail through the water.

Making a pained face, s'Il bit her lip.

"He stank of Weit-Fällt," she muttered, intoning the name of the planet that her people had - in times past - sent their dead to.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I did some reading of the ancient accounts." I ventured as I watched her dabble with that evil thing.

"The masters of the Sith were so twisted with hatred that it corrupted their flesh, and yet that same hatred compelled them to live unnaturally long lives."

It all disturbed me, thinking of such things.

"It's almost as if there is a duality even in this. Jedi are luminous spirits that live far beyond their mortal bodies. The Sith cannot achieve this state of grace, and they seek to control everything that they can touch."

[s'Il]

The Lupine mulled over his words in silence, gazing at the hinged jaws as they made an ever-changing trail in the moving water.

He said control, and she thought back to their encounter. "It isn't out of character then, for him to try and control one or both of us?"

A pause, then she finished.

"... since he said there'd be time for us all to get to know each other?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I feel that is likely. The Sith have always operated as a Master and apprentice. It seems this is a delicate struggle to avoid one from destroying the other. More than that, and they fight against themselves for absolute power."

I may have been getting ahead of myself.

"Although none of this makes sense to me. There is something missing. The Sith Master is obviously Palpatine. His apprentice is Darth Vader. I do not know how this other one fits into the picture."

[s'Il]

"You can ask him about it the next time he shows up, though I doubt he'd answer plainly; if at all."

A ghostly remembrance of the feeling of the Sith's lightning passing through her made her let out a slight hrmph, and s'Il leaned forward a bit more to dip the hilt further into the water. She held it submerged completely, but she still maintained her grip.

"I could just let it go. The water would carry it to who knows where."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Perhaps back to him?"

I thought about it, and shrugged my shoulders.

"I get the feeling that saber or not, we haven't seen the last of him."

[s'Il]

Another hrmph, and s'Il pulled the hilt from the water, setting it on the grass beside her to dry.

With a long sigh, she reached over to grab his hand in a grip that, while firm, was also gentle.

"I suppose there's no sense in trying to get out of it then."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Destiny's like a shadow. I don't think either of us are fast enough to run away from it."

I reciprocated her embrace, and smiled.

"And sometimes they have a way of crossing paths for the better too."

[s'Il]

She grinned at that, allowing herself to lean into his side. Staring at the river's ever-changing surface, she lifted a hand up to gently pat the side of his face.

"Tell me, do you still think that you won't survive this ordeal," she asked, remembering what he'd said to her back when they were on Schwartzweld, when he'd made mention of not making it to the end of this whole thing.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I thought about it for a while.

"The future is so turbulent. I really can't say for sure. Obviously, I hope I do."

I squeezed her hand.

"It's the journey that's important, though. The race will always eventually end."

[s'Il]

By now the breeze had died down, the night air still and warm. So different than the freezing temperatures of Hoth, s'Il much more preferred this sort of climate to excessive and unending snow.

At this point in time though she could think of nothing to say, and so simply closed her eyes, breathing in the night air.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"What about you?"

I watched her, appreciative of how serene she seemed to be in her element.

"How do you see yourself running that race?"

[s'Il]

She had to think on that one, unsure of exactly how to answer. For a few quiet moments, s'Il listened to the river, biting her lip.

"I don't know," she started, "... as best I can, I suppose."

Another few moments of thoughtful silence, and she went on.

"I told Dan that this war would probably never be resolved in our lifetime, and I guess that saddens me to a degree."

A shrug.

"But it's as you said, no one can really tell what the future will bring. There are constants running through it that will never change, but overall we can only do our best.

"For example, I know that I'll never have children to raise and influence, so I must make my own family with those already around me, and do what I can to influence the young of others."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You think this war will outlast us?"

I quirked an eyebrow.

"I think there's certainly a chance of one or both of us cashing in our chips in battle, but I don't think it will be that long. Justice can't be denied for long."

He looked at her when she mentioned no children.

"Why do you say that?"

[s'Il]

"The problem with a race disappearing because of infertility is that it's a final thing. It will thin us out until only one is left; and then eventually that last one will die.

"When I die, we'll be extinct."

She gave a slight, self-depricating laugh then.

"I highly doubt that I would be an acceptable mother as it is."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Infertility?"

I took on a distant expression.

"What happened? What was the cause?"

[s'Il]

"No one knows. It just started happening. One person, then two, then three... the numbers grew until none could bear young."

The Lupine shrugged.

"It is the way of things I suppose."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I thought at that, and shook my head.

"No it isn't. Not at all. There has to be a way. Life exists to perpetuate itself."

[s'Il]

"The perpetuation of life has a lot of different forms. I may be unable to procreate, but that doesn't mean I can't impart what I know to those who would come after me.

"Might not be the more mainstream method of 'perpetuation', but I would like to think that it's a form none-the-less."

A thought occured to her then, and s'Il pulled away from him, leaning back as she locked her eyes with his. She gave a small, confused frown.

"... you wish to have children... ?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Well..."

I tried to think of how to explain.

"This isn't any time or place to think about that, but people should have the right to do so in a time of peace."

[s'Il]

Still maintaining her distance from him, s'Il ticked up an eyebrow.

After a moment she looked down to the water's edge.

"I can't imagine what it would be like to raise a child, let alone in times such as these."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I can see it, at least in more peaceful times."

I fished a rock from the soft soil beneath me, and tossed it out on the stream.

"I think that it would be a wonderful thing."

I smiled in spite of myself.

[s'Il]

She gave him a smile, once more settling against his body.

"Perhaps."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I didn't know what to say. She didn't seem too put off by it, but the whole notion of not being able to reproduce seemed so heavy.

"I know it won't last, but I really hope we get more than a few nights like this. No fighting, no squalor, no awful climates"

[s'Il]

"That would be nice."

This night did well to remind her of their year spent together alone on their planet of sanctuary, bothered by no one and left to their own devices. In some ways she missed that, and in the solitude in which they found themselves now the Lupine allowed herself a bit of far-off thinking.

Reaching to her side, s'Il picked up the Sith's sabre. It had dried out, and she set it once more in her lap.

"Let us hope then, that Dan allows us all the chanc for some rest."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"He knows."

I comforted her, running a hand through her tawny hair.

"Actually, he's the one that brought it up. He said that we've done more for the cause in a week than any rebel has done in a year."

[s'Il]

"Oh?"

This was news that she'd not been privy to, as ever since their arrival on Talay the Lupine had done her best to stay alone.

"Well that's good to hear."

With a grunt, s'Il rose to her feet while clipping the serpent hilt to her belt and idly dusting off her trousers.

"In that case, I have something for us."

She held a hand out for Zem, an easy grin on her face.

"Something that will go well with this time of rest."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"What do you have in mind?"

I likewise rose to my feet, a half grin on my face as I took her hand.

[s'Il]

She gave no answer, instead pulling him along through hastily built structures. She had noted during the last few days that it seemed the Rebels were making this particular encampment more permanent, for continued future use.

But now she was not concerned with that.

The trip to the barracks was made quickly, and s'Il paused at the door to her quarters to swipe her hand over the ID scanner. The door opened, and she led him inside before releasing his hand. Moving to the far side of the room to where one of her trunks sat, she knelt down and unclasped its' hinges. This lid was carefully lifted up, and after another few moments of seaching, she rocked back on her heels while in the same motion turning back to face him.

In one hand was a cloth-wrapped cylindrical object, and with care she unwrapped the linen to reveal one of the bottles of Lupine spirits that she'd brought with her from Schwartzweld.

s'Il held it out to him then, allowing him the pleasure of removing its' cork stopper.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I worked the apparatus until the cork popped with that pleasing sound.

"Ah, just like the old times."

Setting the bottle on a nearby table, I retrieved two glasses from a shelf.

"All work and no play makes you dull, right?"

[s'Il]

The pungent scent hit her nostrils almost immediately, and s'Il sneezed twice. She'd forgotten how strong the alcohol smelled.

Waiting as he poured, she slowly lowered herself onto the edge of her bed.

"Well, I would prefer to think of it as an aid for relaxation."

A nod of thanks was given as she took the cup he handed to her, and the Lupine gingerly sniffed at the amber liquid. She looked up at him then, pulling one leg up beneath her.

"I'm afraid I don't know if this is the same kind we had the last time."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Smells a little different."

I gave it a sip...and a face of approval.

"But it's still good, whatever it is."

[s'Il]

Which, by his definition of good, meant that more than likely her toes would curl up at the taste alone.

But, putting on a brave face, the Lupine took a tentative sip. It bit her tongue and burned her throat, and it was all she could do to maintain a semblance of composure as she swallowed.

She coughed then.

"You and I have very different ideas about what is good and what is not."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"It's a complex sort of thing. You have to roll it on the tongue. Peel away the different flavors like you would an onion."

I demonstrated with another drink, which I let linger in my mouth as I pondered it.

"How it tastes at first is not how it tastes when you swallow. How it tastes on the tip of the tongue is not how it tastes at the back."

[s'Il]

With a shrug, s'Il took another sip, but his explanation helped little in her own abilities to discern any sort of pleasurable taste. Still though she found that the more she drank the less bitter it became, and the Lupine soon found herself enjoying it.

As time passed and cups were refilled, it seemed that she was coming out of her darker mood; she smiled more easily, and as their conversation drifted to other topics her speech began to take on a sort of accent. It was an odd mixture of harsh syllables and gentle, smooth vowels. It was an accent that she had done well to overcome in her earlier years, but it seemed that the more she drank the more pronounced it became.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was starting to notice the change as well. I refilled my drink, and smiled at her in spite of myself.

"You're getting a little tipsy." I noted.

[s'Il]

She blinked, stopped mid-sentence by his observation. Setting her cup down on one of makeshift nightstands she used, s'Il furrowed her brow.

<"I am not.">

[Zem-El Vymes]

I crossed a leg leisurely over a knee as I took a sip, pointing in the air casually.

"See, you enunciated. A willful attempt to speak properly. You've got a little bit of a lilt and it's been coming out for the past half hour."

My smile widened, and I passed her the bottle.

[s'Il]

Her previous use of Bast'yr ignored, she lapsed once more into basic.

"Whet d'u y'u mehn, eh lelt... "

s'Il clamped her jaw shut, putting a hand over her mouth and disregarding for the moment the bottle he held out.

As if listening to herself for the first time, the Lupine was slightly mortified that her accent had escaped her careful control.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I laughed a little as it was evident that she had figured it out.

"It's not a crime to trip on your tongue. It's cute."

[s'Il]

"That, is a matter of opinion," she grumped, taking her hand from her mouth so that she could accept the bottle he was still holding out to her.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"The only one that matters."

I gave a self-assured look as I swirled my drink around.

"Even now, you carry yourself well. I'm always in awe of you."

[s'Il]

Giving him an odd look, s'Il topped off her glass before setting the bottle down.

It was true that she felt far less inhibited than she normally was, but there were still a few moments where she did her best to stay in control of her actions and words. Though, when she spoke the lilt was still present; not as pronounced, but it was there without a doubt.

"Stop that," she huffed good-naturedly while unclipping both sabres from her belt and standing up.

Ambling back to the chest, the Lupine knelt before it and carefully placed both weapons inside before closing the lid.

"I do not deserve such words."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Your actions back me up. I'm not going to put on airs for your self esteem."

I stood, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have genuinely put forth as much effort to your cause as any Jedi I've known."

[s'Il]

A shrug, and s'Il pursed her lips.

"Be that as it may," she wrapped her arms around his middle, "None of this would have come to pass without you."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I shook my head.

"What I taught you could have been done by anyone. It takes extraordinary strength and resolve to apply that. You have progressed in a short time where it takes others many years."

[s'Il]

She reached up to run her fingers through his already somewhat disheveled bangs, then pulled away to retrive her cup. Its' contents were easily emptied, and she set it down once more.

"Credit where credit is due."

A look to the portable chronometer at the bedside made her grimace, and gave a sigh, turning once more to look up at him.

"It's late."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I looked at the chrono and shrugged.

"Do we have to be anywhere?"

[s'Il]

Taken aback, s'Il blinked before answering him.

"Well, no I suppose not."

Sitting once more on the bed, she stared at the far wall for a few moments before reaching out to pull one of her books from the nightstand.

"Seeing that we have nowhere pressing to be," she gave him a bit of a ruefall smile, "... I think now is a good time to learn some more history."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Inebriated history? I hope there's no quiz at the end."

I enjoyed listening to her stories, and she had a captive audience.

[s'Il]

Pulling an exasperated face, s'Il settled herself further onto the bed while pulling the book into her lap.

With no satisfactory comeback, she simply gave a pat to the spot beside her, a silent order for him to make himself comfortable.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I took a spot next to her, and poured another drink, ready for another round of storytelling.

[s'Il]

At first she had kept pace through the book, but it seemed that having to focus on the letters proved more effort than she was willing to give, and so the Lupine closed it. She continued on from memory, telling him of the Lupine Migration, and the Arbiter that the Jedi of old had sent to help mediate.

It wasn't before long she was leaning on him, and soon enough after that s'Il was sound asleep on his shoulder.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was getting drowsy myself about the time that she faded out. I spent a few moments looking at her serene features as she snoozed. Carefully, I set the glasses and scant remains of liquor on the stand next to the bed, and eased her back onto a pillow, as I reclined on the adjacent one. A voice command dimmed the lights, and we both drifted off into very comfortable sleep.

[s'Il]

She was back on Schwartzweld, in the outer courtyard in front of House Richter. Something was coming... something evil.

The Lupine could not know what it was that would soon show itself, but it did not stop her from running through the crumbling statues and edifaces that were on either side of her. She burst through the great hall and back out into the inner courtyard to sprint across the small open expanse. The remains of a firepit was off to her left - was that the small bonfire that Zem had built when the refugees were still there?

s'Il stumbled through the stream that marked the beginning edges of the orchard, and scrambling up the bank on the other side, the Lupine stole a glance behind her. She saw nothing, but that same feeling was so heavy around her... it was growing, and she knew without a doubt that whatever it was, it was closing in.

There was something she had to get; something that she had hidden, and bursting through the door of the small earthen hut that she and Zem had spent some of their time in together, she moved quickly to the shelves that held the countless bottles of Lupine spirits.

Hurriedly she went through each bottle, hands shaking as she searched.

Where was it?!

A hand swept out across the top of the worktable, scattering tools to the floor with a crash. She was frantic now, that feeling surrounding her. It was rotten, and the Lupine gave a frustrated cry as she backed herself further into the earthen hut.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I stirred slightly, hearing her toss and turn, and then a muted grunt. She was having an unpleasant dream. I thought about waking her, but I hesitated.

[s'Il]

Desperate now, s'Il felt the far wall at her back, and she watched the door with wide eyes. A new feeling entered her then, and a new kind of horror dawned in her eyes as she reached a hand up to her throat. Fingers traveling down, she felt - instead of the normal smoothness of her sternum - something else. Unnatural ridges could be felt beneath her skin, and then something else that seemed vaguely familiar.

The top of a serpent head could be felt as she now scrambled with both hands.

That same horrid feeling was still coming closer, but the Lupine was stricken now, clawing at the skin over her sternum until it was raw and bleeding.

[Zem-El Vymes]

She swatted at her shirt and contorted the fabric, suddenly gripped by a more intense night terror. I sat upright, and stopped short of reaching out with my feelings, concerned that the uninvited intrusion into her subconcious would be unethical.

[s'Il]

Fingernails raking into flesh, s'Il dropped to her knees. There was blood on the dirt floor now, and leaning forward in pain, she continued to scratch deeper furrows into her flesh.

Maddened tears traveled down her cheeks, and she looked up then, as the door to the hut slowly swung open.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I intervened, restraining her flailing arms and projecting a calming influence upon her.

[Darth Decepis]

"You can't tear this feeling out of you. It is a part of you. It IS you!"

A familiar hooded figure came into view, with a mocking grin visible beneath a black shroud.

[s'Il]

Still defiant, she tore into the wound with new vigor. The Sith's appearance made her scramble back in the process however, and she huddled against the far wall, on her knees as she pulled away chunks of flesh. Covered in her lifeblood, the Lupine could now make out the metal hilt of the Sith's sabre, seemingly fused to her own bones; as if it indeed had become a part of her.

Doggedly s'Il resisted, offering only a weak denial as she did her best to grip the weapon in an attempt to pry it from chest.

[Zem-El Vymes]

This had gone on long enough.

"Lok, WAKE UP!"

I shook her vigorously.

[s'Il]

Her jaw clenched, the Lupine pulled with all of her force, tear-filled eyes staring unblinking at the Sith before her.

She cried out as the first cracking of seperating bone split the air between them. Never before had she felt such physical pain, and as her cry died away to a whimper she curled forward to cradle her self-inflicted wound. There was blood everywhere, the floor littered with torn bits of her flesh.

"Lok WAKE UP!"

The voice reached her barely, and the Lupine reached out with her feelings, searching for the source of Zem's familiar, comforting voice. Desperation filled her and she opened her mouth in anguish, a silent cry for help before she retched violently, vomitting blood.

[Darth Decepis]

"This resistance is hopless. You will only succeed in destroying yourself and everyone around you.

Give yourself to your desires. You are powerful, and if you use your power with all of your might, anything you desire will be yours."

[s'Il]

Pulling in lungfulls of air, the Lupine stared at the earthen floor in silence. Her mind reeled, hedged in by the Sith. Her struggle with the serpent hilt still attached to her body began once more.

Lifting her head up then, she screamed as she gave a final pull. Still, despite the cracking and splintering of bone, the sabre refused to leave her.

And in the waking world, s'Il wrenched herself from Zem's hold, hands going to her chest and her eyes flying open as she bolted upright. A last yelp, and the Lupine coughed up a mouthful of blood.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"What the hell was that?"

I held her shoulders, hoisting her up as I pulled the shirt off my back to use as a cloth. I felt something unnaturally sinister at work, which dispelled any notion as to the night terror's nature.

[s'Il]

Unable to speak, s'Il kept one hand at her chest while the other wiped the blood from her lips. Her eyes went to the trunk then; the trunk that held the Sith's lightsabre.

"I saw him," she finally managed to whisper.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I knew immediately who.

"What happened? Is he near?"

I rose from bed immediately, grabbing my lightsaber as I rose. Instantly any feelings from the alcohol had evaporated from me, and I was alert and ready.

[s'Il]

"No I... " s'Il shook her head, doing her best to shake herself from the dream's memory, "I don't think he's here."

Unlike him, the Lupine made no move to slide from the bed. She could still feel a phantom pain in her chest, and letting out a long breath, she leaned back once more. Loathe to reach out with her own mind, lest she feel even just the edges of the Sith's putrid aura, s'Il looked to Zem.

"Can you sense anything?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

I remained still for a moment, my eyes staring into the distance. After a few seconds, I closed my eyes.

"No. Not a thing."

I sighed, opening my eyes and looked at s'Il.

"That wasn't a dream, I take it."

[s'Il]

She held his discarded shirt in her hands, staring at it for a few moments before speaking.

"It was nothing pleasant."

Making a face at such an absurd answer, s'Il looking up to him.

"I don't know what it was, or what it was even supposed to mean."

She lifted a hand to her sternum.

"His sabre was a part of me," she ran her fingers along the smooth bone, "... and he said that I would not be able to tear it out.

"I still tried, though."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"That's cryptic."

I crossed my arms, and looked down to the chest where it resided.

"What could he possibly mean by that?"