Nightmares: The Dark

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The world was in hues of orange and yellow, with tinges of red and magenta. A sun was in the sky above, bright rays bursting downward to shower the land below in brilliant colors that shifted and swirled together to make patterns so new and wonderful. And yet, there was a shadow that seemed to fall over all of it, casting a taint of ugliness on a land that should've been nothing but beautiful. It creeped out from the nooks and crannies to spread its tendrils over all of what had once been vibrant and so full of life.

The ground, once teeming with greenery, was now a dim shadow of what it had once been. And the creature that grew from those shadows... it loomed tall, with two piercing, diseased, yellow eyes that blinking into life. That dread gaze peered down at her, cutting her into pieces and leaving her cowering. She scrambled away, her only instinct being that of flight. There was nothing but the need to run, and yet she couldn't. She was frozen, unable to move as the shadow took a step toward her. A hand reached out to her, clawed fingers extended as if inviting her to accept the gesture, inviting her to join the darkness.

And then the inky blackness of an opened mouth, calling silently to her, saying her name...

In the darkness of her room, Teagan bolted awake with a cry.

She felt alone and cold, and with a whimper borne of desperation, she threw back the covers that she'd once been so warmly burrowed beneath. Her legs swung over the side of the bed, bare feet finding the floor as she pushed herself up to stand. And in the next moment, Teagan dashed across her room, out the door and down the hall toward the partially closed door that led into her parent's room. Well, most of the time it was just Zem, since her mother was usually out doing whatever it was she did for the Alliance. But now, thankfully, her mother was here.

Bursting through the doorway, the young Lupine crossed the distance to the large bed and scrambled atop it. Her hands shook as she shook both of the slumbering bodies, wedging herself between them with the frantic motions of a soul bent on seeking comfort and assurance.

"Wake up, please," she pleaded.

[Zem Vymes]

With a sharp inhalation, Zem awoke. He seemed to not be startled, despite the sudden intrusion. It only took a moment of seeing the state of Teagan as she tried to stir each of them awake to understand what he was feeling roiling inside her.

"You had a nightmare."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Dredged from her slumber, s'Il came awake in a single breath. The insistent voice of her daughter was enough to rouse her from any sort of deep slumber; it was something that had begun when Teagan was born, and only got more attuned as the years passed. She shifted halfway up, propping herself up on an elbow as her free arm reached around to cup her hand on Teagan's cheek.

"Sweetheart," she whispered, "... tell us what happened."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Both of them had come awake in an instant, and Teagan looked from one to the other.

Zem already knew there had been a nightmare, and her mother had asked her to elaborate.

"I... I saw Daddy," she breathed out, pulling in a shuddering breath, a fist drawing into the edge of the fur-lined comforter.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

If there were any lingering cobwebs from her sleep, they were dashed away with those hushed words. Her hand seemed to freeze, to hold her daughter's cheek in some twisted, frozen moment in time.

And when she spoke, her own voice was but a breath, barely above a sigh.

"Your father... "

[Zem Vymes]

Zem put aside his own emotions at Teagan invoking her father. They were of no use here. He placed a soothing hand at her shoulder, passing a glance to Lok just beyond Teagan's sight that offered the same even expression.

"It's alright, Teagan. Tell us what happened."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Huddled between her parents, she felt safe. She felt like the terror of her sleeping thoughts was smaller. It might not've seemed like much for some people, but for her now, it was the most important thing ever. She felt small right now, like she was a speck of dust. But, well, the feel of her mother's hand on her cheek, and of Zem's hand on her shoulder... she knew that they were real and nothing imaginary.

Nothing imaginary like her dream had been.

"I... he... "

One hand went up then, to grasp at her mother's wrist, pulling it slowly down.

"I was in a beautiful place," she started after another moment.

"It was somewhere that seemed like both here on Ossus, and back home on Schwartzweld. There were colors from the sky, and from the land."

Biting her lip as she remembered the creeping blackness, the young Lupine went on.

"... but then there was a darkness that came and made everything dim. It pushed away the colors, and then after that there was a man made out of black that stood there, and he reached out to me."

She stopped then, and her gaze fell to the comforter. She felt like a silly youngling in that moment, unsure of why she felt so much fear over a dream. She was too old for this! Too old to be running into her parents' room and insisting that they wake up to comfort her.

There was a level of shame lacing her next words.

"He called me, said my name."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem didn't say anything at the end initially. His attention remained focused on Teagan's feelings. He could sense her fear, though waning with time and with their closeness. He tried to sense further, but there was little clarity.

"Dreams are usually a manifestation of subconscious thoughts. What do you think the dream meant?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

"I don't know," was her immediately mumbled answer, but it was followed by a thoughtful silence all the same.

Looking from Zem to her mother, Teagan frowned as she tried to think of what her dream had meant. In the immediate, she supposed it was just something that her memories - as well as some of the whisperings from other Padawans that she'd heard - had conjured up. It would make sense at least. But, there was a small part of her that was still worried it might be something more. After all, Jedi never took things like this lightly, right?

A new thought invaded her reasoning then, and once again her eyes went down to the fur-lined comforter.

"I kept something... of his... "

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The admission shouldn't have come as a shock, but at the same time it was not what she was expecting.

With a long breath out, s'Il consciously kept a scowl from her features.

"What did you keep?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The tone in her mother's voice was one she'd heard plenty of times before, and the young Lupine snapped her gaze back up to both of her parents.

"It was something he gave me, after I got back."

Back from her travels with Aunt Feathers. (https://theholo.net/forum/showthread.php?21322-Neh-avi)

It seemed like a lifetime ago, now.

Reaching a hand down the neckline of her shirt, she gingerly pulled out a small charm necklace. She wore it often, despite everything, but always did her best to keep it hidden. After all, when her father had gifted it to her, he'd said it was special and that it was their secret. On the thin woven fabric cord was a polished golden fitting, with a small red crystal set inside of it. The craftsmanship was exquisite, with tiny etchings of indecipherable designs on it. And the crystal itself was a deep crimson, of the sort that a person could get lost inside. Her father had said it was a symbol that they'd never be apart again, and that if she was lonely, all she had to do was hold it tight and think of him, and he would be there for her. He'd also said that he'd found it on some mission a long time ago, and had the necklace made initially for her mother, but that he felt Teagan needed it more.

"He said that it was special."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem's expression chilled, the corners of his mouth turning down slightly.

"It's a Kyber crystal."

How Teagan had kept such a keepsake close to her without Zem knowing was a mystery. Perhaps that was a ringing testament to the former owner - a man who was masterful at not being discovered.

"It's a rare, living stone, indestructible and capable of harnessing and amplifying energy, thought, and the force itself."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

As soon as her gaze swept over the bauble, she felt a chill work its way down her spine like an ice-cold asp. The golden fitting, with the old Sith runes etched delicately in; there was no way Teagan could've known that what had been carved was evil in its origin. After all, how different was it from many of the pendants and charms that she herself had made for her daughter for so many years back on Cathar? Only, rather than evil, she had always carved love into her creations.

"I think you'd better let us have that," she finally whispered, and with a reassuring rub to the girl's upper arm, the elder Lupine pulled her hand back only slightly, palm opening up.

The problem of how it had gone unnoticed until now would have to be considered later, in private.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Biting her lip, Teagan frowned as her initial thoughts were to refuse the request-that-wasn't-really-a-request. It was one of the few things left that she had of her father, and had made her always think of those old times, back on the Dauntless, when he had taken her to the huge mess hall for ice cream. Or when he'd told her bedtime stories, or read books to her, or even sometimes made her dinner. It had only ever reminded her of the good things.

But, the look on the two faces staring at both her and the crystal put to rest any resistance.

Still, she couldn't help balking ever so slightly, even as she slowly removed the necklace. She held it carefully, cupped in her hands, and stared down at it.

"Are... are you sure?"

[Zem Vymes]

"There's nothing in that pendant that will do any justice to the memories you have of him."

There was more, so much more that could be said. But Zem wasn't sure if Teagan was prepared to consider it.

"Kyber crystals exist naturally in many colors, but red is not one of them. Someone had to turn that crystal red, and it's not a thing done lightly."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Another few seconds passed before she felt the pendant fall into her waiting hand. Fingers closed over it, obscuring from sight the deep red and etched gold.

"It'll be ok," she smiled gently, pulling the necklace close.

With her free hand, she reached up to run a thumb over Teagan's cheek.

"Now go back to bed. You're safe here, and we'll make sure that nothing happens to you, I promise."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

It was a promise she knew that both of her parents would keep, and with a last look to the hand that now held her necklace, Teagan slow pushed herself back, so that she could slide off the edge of the bed. Her bare feet hit the hardwood floor with the softest of sounds, and with a concerned look, started toward the door. She stepped into the hallway, ran a hand down the side of the doorframe, and finally turned away, slowly wandering the short path back to her own room.

[Zem Vymes]

It was another few moments of silence before Zem spoke.

"I don't know how this escaped my notice. Now that it's right here, I can sense the pall of the dark side through the crystal. Before that? Nothing. How could this have gotten past me?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She stared down at the crystal as it was nestled in her palm.

"Don't feel as though you've been derelict; she's rather good at hiding things if she doesn't want them found. When she was younger, and we were still on Cathar, she managed to hide a stash of salt-sweets in her room for two weeks. I didn't even know about it until I happened upon them while cleaning."

Of course, a salt-sweet was in no way as dangerous as this, and s'Il frowned as she let herself lean back against a pillow. A sigh, and she closed her fingers around the terrible thing.

What were they to do with the thing?

[Zem Vymes]

"What's the reason?"

Zem asked himself as much as he asked Lok, staring into the void of a blank wall.

"He wouldn't have done something like that lightly. To influence her? Or something else. Something more."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I can feel a part of him in there," she finally murmured, brow furrowing.

It was the roiling, terrible blackness that she had felt from him in the past, whenever his true self was revealed from behind the mask. A grimace, and s'Il leaned to the side, carefully depositing the crystal atop her nightstand.

"He was obsessed with eternal life, so using a kyber crystal to achieve that makes sense."

Reaching over, the Lupine took Zem's hand in a firm grip as she righted herself once more. Her free hand moved to rub at her temple.

"I just... don't know what to do with it. Surly it would be folly to keep here, on Ossus."

[Zem Vymes]

With a gesture, Zem drew the crystal to his grasp. It felt cold. Unnaturally so.

"I would trust it here more than some other place. The Jedi Order has often been the custodian over Sith artifacts like this. The presence of the light, in proximity with this darkness, should help keep balance."

He glanced back at her, expecting her to weigh in on the matter.

"I must inform the Council of this."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She bowed her head, letting go of him as both of her hands moved to rest in her lap.

"That is for the best," she agreed.

There wasa moment of exasperation then, as she blew out a long breath, giving her head a shake.

"I think that it will be good if I have a look through her room while she is at classes, tomorrow. If she's got one thing, it is a safe bet that she has others; though how she could've gotten anything else of his I do not know."

Two fingers stretched out to burrow into the comforter, curling the lush fabric into her palms.

"She is... surprisingly resourceful."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem offered a small, tight smile, and a conciliatory nod.

"I'm told it's a natural trait, teenage rebellion."

He didn't have to remind Lok of the disparity of their youth. She'd come to the Order late enough to have known another way of life. Zem had not.

"Have you ever heard the story of Gav and Jori Daragon?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

This was an avenue that she'd not expected, but it was not unwelcome, either. A sideways look was sent to him, and s'Il settled herself a little further into the layers of blankets that she had come to enjoy so much.

"I have not."