Hello Darkness, My Old Friend...

[Nima Tann]

Location: Temple Gardens
Time: Morning

It has been days after the encounter with her mother's spirit in Korriban. She was a very emotional person normally, but this event seemes to take things to extreme, as she was walking around like a ghost around the Temple, not speaking much and always seemed thoughtful, the ones that doesn't know her could say she was creepy. She hasn't talked about what happened to anyone yet, and thinking it by herself was a tiring process to say the least. Yet it was necessary, the state she was in, she would be misunderstood if she tried to talk, could be rude to people if she didn't hear what she wanted. It was her personality, she would make everything a big problem. So she waited, tried to distract herself, and that kind of stuff to calm herself down for a couple of days. Now, as she was feeling calmer, she could think rationally. And it was the time to talk to someone, and she knew who to call immediately. But she didn't know what to say. Typical Nima.

Taking her holocomm, she took a breath. Calling would be insufficient, and she would be awkward, so she just decided to send a message. "Hey Sio." She started to talk. "I... want... I need to talk to you about something. Can you come to the Temple when you are free? I'll be waiting near the fountains." Direct approach would be the best, she thought and sent the message. Hopefully she would be able to come, since she was the only one that could turn her frown upside down. Or something like that. She sat in the bench near the fountains, and started to wait. She was humming the same song that she remembered from her past. Then stopped immediately, no need to make herself remember, as she was ashamed forgetting everything in the first place.

This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Voss. Truth be told, it wasn't Sio's favourite planet. Oh, sure, her hotel suite was ridiculously luxurious and the Silver Temple was nice to visit. Moreover, the Silvers were a more sensible bunch than most other Jedi and less likely to try and convert her to the 'Light Side'. But still! She preferred conducting business from Mon Cal or, ideally, Tygara, her new adopted homeworld.


However, as chance would have it, she was in her suite when she received Nima's message. As a matter of fact, she was just exiting the shower. It was no longer that early in the morning, but Siobhan was a heavy sleeper. Her body was only covered by a rather brief towel that obviously shielded the parts the kiddies could not be allowed to see. Her firemane was rather damp and carried the scent of expensive shampoo. Sunlight intruded into the shiny suite through drawn curtains.


However, she heard her comm beep and walked over to it. Droplets of water were still dripping from her. She frowned slightly when she heard the words. It sounded both vague and urgent and there was a strong emotional tone to the woman's words. "Ok, sweetie, I'll be right there. Give me thirty minutes," she said in soft tone. After all, as of late she'd become quite fond and protective of the Twi'lek. A time skip later, she would be arriving at the fountains.

 

[Nima Tann]

She sat there still thinking about her mother, their last conversation, the darkness of Korriban... And she killing her mother by taking the only thing that bound her here, no matter what she said about being free, it still was murder. She killed her own mother, because of her father, which was something that was bugging her, she... no matter how she wanted not to be like her father, she killed someone very close... But there was a line between her and his path, since she simply did it because she wanted to help her. But why was she feeling so sad about it now, even though she knew she helped her? Was it because she had so much to talk about with her? Was it because she missed her so much and didn't want to let go that soon? Or... was it because she was powerless to 'really' save her? The answer, for her... was obvious. In all her life, she was powerless to save loved ones, she lost her sister to Sith, well, she didn't know she was dead, but she couldn't feel her presence anymore, her other sister was lost to unknown... Her father was a maniac, and her mother was dead. She didn't have so many branches to hold anymore. She sighed. The thoughts never seemed to end, as she took out the lightsaber from Korriban, and started to examine it. Looking at it blankly, one would say.

Spoiler

Red crystal, a dark energy that was radiating from it, typical Sith weapon... her mother's weapon. She didn't decide what to do with it for now, maybe she would use it, or maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she would change it's crystal, or leave it as it was. But one thing was for sure, it gave her a feeling... Like she could do everything. She put it back to her bag, to be dealt with later, and didn't realize the holocommunicator was beeping all the way for minutes. She opened the communicator, it was Sio. She was coming. She smiled just for a second, and then her face turned back to before, she continued waiting her. A timeskip later she would arrive to the fountains, but Nima was too distracted by her own thoughts to hear or see her coming. It was a totally different Nima than Sio met, if she saw her right now, she would see a girl with a blank stare and expressionless face, almost creepily, looking directly at the fountains. It was her usual stance when she was full of thoughts. And Sio knew exactly how many different thoughts were flying in the girl's head.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


It was at this point that Siobhan entered the scene. Nima looked...very different than she'd seen her before. Blank stare, slightly creepy expressionless face. Looking at the fountains and a Sith lightsabre. Dark energy radiated from the weapon.


Someone else might have a stronger reaction to the last point than Siobhan. "Hey, sweetie," she said softly as she approached the Twi'lek. Her eyes briefly fell upon the blade before she focused on Nima again. "I take it that's not a souvenir?" she asked a bit lamely. Siobhan had a couple lying around in her armoury as trophies. "What's wrong? What happened to you, dear?" Stepping forward, she pulled Nima into a hug. For a change, the lekku stroking was meant to be soothing instead of sensual and erotic.

 

[Nima Tann]

The seconds passed, one by one, as she continued waiting. She continued breathing deeply as she thought what to say when she came. She was never good with words anyway. But she knew that, in her heart, the only one that could help her was Sio. The others would give her a lecture about how her thoughts were wrong and that she should meditate about it, which was not the last thing she wanted right now. She didn't want to push her problems away any longer and act about it. She heard a voice with a very soft tone, then sighed with relief. She was here. It has been days that she didn't hear or see her, so hearing her here right now right beside her immediately relaxed her a bit. One would say she missed her a lot. "Hey Sio." She said, her voice was weak from lack of sleep. The lightsaber, now that was a good question. Was it really a gift? Shouldn't gifts make someone happy? If that was the definition then she wouldn't say it was a gift. But... it was from her mother and she told her herself that it was a parting gift. The girl was yet again at the verge of crying. But she didn't. 4 days were enough crying herself to sleep, and she didn't want to make Sio feel bad from the start. "You... could say something like that... I didn't fight for it at least." She said, trying to put the right words together.

Then, the hug happened, a hug that she needed, and from her. It was doubling the effect. She wrapped her arms around Sio's waist. "I am sorry for calling you all the way here, Sio. I know you are a busy person and...." She stopped. No more excuses. She closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feeling that the hug gave. "I am really glad you are here.." Feeling her touch on her lekku was always relaxing for her, and she knew that Sio already knew something terrible was going on from her behaviour. "I... need your help, Sio. I... no one else can understand me... if I told them what I am about to tell you... they would... they are not going to like it." She said, and sighed. She knew she would help her no matter what, but she still thought what she was doing was selfish, calling her here and asking her help, but it was probably a normal thing and was just her antisocial side speaking and she, again, was never good with words. "Have I ever told you that I don't remember anything about my past before?"

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Personally, Siobhan was no fan of meditating to deal with her problems. In her perhaps rather biased opinion, sitting down, telling yourself to be calm and reciting the Jedi Code did not solve anything. It was probably no surprise that she'd only been a Jedi very briefly!


She made no further comment on the Sith lightsabre. She had a couple like those at home, along with a Sith holocron or two. In any case, she focused on Nima. "It's ok, dear. You know you can tell me anything," she said soothingly. A frowned creased her features when she absorbed what Nima said next. "No...I don't think you did. I take it you remember things now and they're very unpleasant? Tell me."

 

[Nima Tann]

"I know." She smiled softly, that was the reason she loved being around her. She always made her feel good, made her smile, even for a second no matter how sad she was. But, as the truth to her calling Sio here revealed, she felt Sio got a bit shocked. Well, she was totally right to be shocked, to be honest, this memory loss would be many things, and saying this directly without saying anything else would create a bit worry in her mind. She would've played a little prank on her, pretending to be a Sith all along, but she wasn't in the mood right now. Also the fact that that would be out of character and would ruin the mood of the thread so the writer decided not to do that. So, moving on... Nima sighed, remembering the confrontation with her mother again on Korriban. Then, she opened her mouth, no way to stop now.

"I... Yes I do." She said, her voice was betraying her, trying to stay strong but failing miserably yet again. It was what she was worried about. She took a breath, and decided to go from beginning, also she was curious why she didn't say anything about this to Sio. But, to be honest, it wasn't an issue before she got to Korriban, so there was no need to, and there was nothing to be told, since her memories wasn't that clear until she met her mother's spirit. So, sit back, and relax. It's story time. Or don't because it's not a story that has a happy ending. "I was born in Ryloth. Both my father and my mother were Sith... My father was your typical Sith, cruel, evil... burn everything kind. But my mother... she was like me... She was there because she loved the wrong man, she wasn't evil. But... in time... she got used to it, because of us. She didn't want to leave us alone with him. But she always had her own work to do, so she wasn't always there. I loved her so much. I... had a bad childhood. I was bullied by my friends a lot because I was never like them. I didn't have any intention to do evil things, the things that they called pranks. My sisters were there, but not always. They had their own "trainings". My father bought bunch of them to train us. To teach us how the Sith worked. I don't remember how many times I've been electrocuted just because I didn't want to do any of that. I usually ran away from the trainings, we had a cave that no one knew with my sisters, we would usually go there when we were stressed out. In one of those days he... found me...somehow." Everything was crystal clear at this point after Korriban, she had a bad habit of not forgetting bad things. Her voice was slowly going away, shaking crazily. But she was determined not to cry. "He... he was mad...dragged me away.... to that room... where...." She stopped, took a deep breath and continued. "The room was a void in the Force. You couldn't feel anything in there. It was like... something was... sucking the Force inside of me. It felt very cold, very painful... I cried... But nobody came. It was my punishment. Then my mother came home. And heard me. She let me out of that cage." The memories were flashing in her mind, and it was painful.

"She went to find him with great rage. It was the last time we've seen her. Then everything gone worse. He got... more violent. I have never seen him with that rage before. We usually hung out with my sisters in the cave until he was gone to work. Then, one day a group of Jedi attacked our home. He was never good with politics, my mother did all that thing... We were in our cave, but I got curious and left it to see what's going on. I was stuck between two sides, and the last thing I heard was the voice of my big sister before I got shot in the head. Her name was, is, Nima." She said, then stopped for a second... It wasn't even her real name, but she got used to it by now. "I opened my eyes in this temple. I didn't remember anything at all. They asked me what's my name... And I told them her name. It has been 20 years since..." Yeah, she was crying. She knew that she wouldn't hold it all that much. The backstory part was slowly coming to an end, as she returned to the present time.

"I... remembered it all... all the bad memories... when Silver Sanctum organized an expedition to Korriban days ago. There was a tomb... I heard a voice, I followed it... And... she was there... my mother was there... after all that years not even changed one bit... Seeing her like that... it all came back... " She looked at her bag. "The lightsaber... it was hers. She told me that he cursed her as a punishment, by her own lightsaber and bound her here with spirits that she hated... and made me... take the lightsaber to lift the curse. There was... nothing else I could do. I did it... She's dead because of me... I've been thinking for many days after Korriban... I can't do it any longer Sio. I can't bear all the thoughts about what I could've done to prevent what happened..." She wasn't strong enough to save her, and she was dead because of her in the first place, her heart ached thinking about it all in one go. "It hurts..." And she was the only one that could save her from her own.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Damn, that was an unpleasant tale! Various emotions crossed Siobhan's face as she listened. Confusion, shock, anger, an intense, powerful rage, finally compassion. As was well-known, Siobhan really hated Sith. As in wanted to murder them type hatred, not 'I shall randomly defect and join them'.


However, she held on to Nima. It could not have been easy for the Twi'lek to tell this grim tale to her. "Nima, dear, I'm so sorry. My poor Nima," she said feelingly, hugging her tight. "I'm sorry you went through this, and that I wasn't there for you on Korriban." While she spoke these words, she kept stroking Nima's lekku in a soothing as opposed to a sensual pattern.


"Nima, never blame yourself. I don't think any less of you. You're your mother's legacy. She protected you like any mother would." It was very hard for Siobhan to accept the idea that the woman might've been a benevolent Sith since in her book such a thing didn't exist, but she had fought and died for her child. That was something she could respect as a mother.


"And she wouldn't want you to condemn yourself for that and drown in self-hatred. Believe, I've been down that road. It took me to bad places." Like, you know, it was kind of Sio's fault that her sister got killed. "You did the right thing setting her free."

 

[Nima Tann]

"I... I am sorry. I didn't mean to cry... I..." She sobbed again, couldn't even find the strength to finish her sentence. It was difficult to re-live the events, yet still she was proving herself right and right as the seconds passed of her trying to recollect her thoughts. After seconds though, with the help of her hugs and her soothing touches, the sobs started to get less and less, until she finally could control herself again. She had to do that for her at least, since she felt the woman's sadness along with hers as well, and the last thing she wanted to do was to make her feel bad because of her. Sio's words were indeed the truth, she wouldn't want to see her like that and she did good by freeing her, but still it didn't stop her from blaming herself, sadly. "Seeing her like that in her usual happy self... and knowing that I could do something else then killing her... It bugs my mind so much, Sio. I know I couldn't do anything else at that point to help her... But still..." Then she continued, after sighing at her own thoughts. As the bad memories and thoughts came to her mind, she just wanted to get rid of them all. But, that wasn't possible now, was it? Her mind was like a factory of pessimism.

"I... It can't go like this. I lost my older sister to Sith, I was there, I couldn't stop her going back to them, she didn't listen to me... I was there when my younger sister got kidnapped, I couldn't do anything to stop them either, I was unconscious after a fight... I... should've known. I should've known that I couldn't leave her alone for a second. I can't feel their presence anymore. I couldn't even tell that to my mother, that I... I... I was powerless to save them. The silence disturbs me, I... I don't even know if they're alive... Sio, how can I protect people if I can't keep my loved ones safe?" She had so little to go on, and she didn't want to lose them too because of her own weakness. “I don't want to be the one who is protected by someone else anymore. I don't want anyone to suffer because I... I failed them." This sounded like Sith talk, she thought, but she knew that Sio knew she wasn't a power-hungry person. She was just too emotional and protective. "I have so little left..."

And no meditation would help her to save them...

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Unlike Siobhan, Nima was not power-hungry. This the Countess was aware of. Ergo, she decided to forego the presumably well-intentioned, sanctimonious lecture an orthodox Jedi might've offered. Far as Siobhan was concerned, a code composed of six lines of purple poetry would be no use.


Nor would the words old Yoda had once said. "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go...of everything you fear to lose." Sure, death was a natural part of life and moving on was necessary, but how could anyone think saying that would help? Siobhan had punched the Jedi who'd repeated Yoda's words to her at Adril's funeral. This was probably one of the reasons why she'd been a bad Jedi.


"Then draw a line in the sand, hold on to what you care about and protect it with every fibre of your being. This isn't a world of roses and fluffy kittens. You can't save everyone, everything dies one day, chit happens, but you can do your damnedest to protect what matters to you. You've got heart, you've got power, you don't need to be a victim, unless you let yourself be."

 

[Nima Tann]

As the woman continued to speak, she was more and more glad she called her for help. Nima wasn't the type to believe in such Jedi philosophy as well, "Don't feel and stuff" like thoughts were indeed such a stupidity in her eyes. She didn't want to lose that side of herself. Besides, what would be the difference between a living being and a droid, if it weren't for emotions? No matter how they led her to nowhere, her emotions made Nima what she was today. So, her expression turning from sad to determined, she talked to the woman whose words were indeed wise. "That would be great though, a world of roses and fluffy kittens, don't you think? Only happiness, no more problems, no more negative emotions..." She said, but then stopped. That wasn't right. A world with only positive emotions wouldn't be the world that Nima wanted to live in, for several reasons. "But... if we don't know what sadness is... what's the importance of happiness? Or if we don't fail, how will we know the taste of victory?... When it comes to philosophy you can't find a very good answer sadly, about which one is good, or which one is bad. You'll need to know both sides to prepare yourself for the future. Only knowing one side would be insufficient to decide what to do." Speaking of the Jedi philosophy, Nima had her own as well. "Sio, I don't want to be a victim anymore, like you said. What if something happens to Ice... or to you? I want to be there to protect you. But to do this, I need to prepare myself." She was about to reveal her true intentions calling her here. She didn't know what to expect as an answer, but she knew that Sio was the only one that could help her without judging her. And Sio would see the Jedi side of hers by her talking, instead of the emotional, shy girl Nima was showing thus far.

"Do you remember when I told you that I wanted to get to know Dark Side better someday, Sio?" And yes, she had a good memory of events, a very good one, to be exact. "I called you here, because I..." Well, there we go. "I want you to teach me. There was no one else I could go. They wouldn't understand me like you do." And calling her here, in the temple of the Light Side, to be taught about the Dark Side, well, she wanted to prove a point that they could both exist in one place, and that was okay. Such symbolism, she was proud of herself. "I don't want to hate something that I don't really understand, like they do. Running away from the darkness will not bring me the light." She always disliked the fact that the Jedi tried to conceal themselves from the darkness, the fear of darkness, in the end, was the factor which led them to the depths of it. "Will you help me?"

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]

​

Clearly this was the moment for the evil Dark Jedi to seduce poor Nima to the malevolent Dark Side of the Force! Once she had a first taste of its mind-bogglingly awesome power, there would be no turning back. She would carry a red lightsabre, only wear skimpy outfits and use goth makeup. Well...not really. Unless Nima chose to go down that path. For the record, Sio's lightsabre was blue and she wasn't keen on goth fashion.


"Once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny, consume you it will." At least that's what Yoda had said a couple millennia ago. Then again, the little fellow was probably also feeling bitter about not being able to prevent the Jedi Order's extermination and the rise of the Sith.


So instead of launching into a moderately cliched rant about how Nima should embrace her hatred and so on and so forth, Siobhan gently stroked her lekku. "You know I don't see 'Light' and 'Dark' the way the Jedi do. Frankly, I don't even use those words. It's about how you do things and for what reasons, not what colour scheme. Power can corrupt, but I don't believe it's about which Force technique you use or whether you're feeling angry in combat or not. 'Lightsiders' have committed atrocities while being perfectly serene," she said softly.


"That said, I wouldn't be surprised if some holier than thou Jedi got pissed if you got pointers from me. Expect some ranting about how I'm leading you into darkness and evil. So if you want some help, I can give it to you. Fancy a duel?"

 

[Nima Tann]

Well, goth make-up and skimpy outfits would go very well with the purple Twi'lek, the writer thought, and had a theory that Sio would like to see Nima in that outfit. But of course, Nima was so shy and distant from that fashion style that she wouldn't want to wear them. Anyways, moving on with the story, she eagerly awaited the woman's answer to her request, and that answer came quickly, which was a positive one.

"Thank you!" She was pretty excited when she heard that Sio was going to help her. She knew she could trust her, and knowing that she had someone that would always help her, the sadness of the aura around her decreased a small bit. She wasn't the type of a person who would stick to the rules of the Jedi code, which was out of date by a century or so in her opinion, and she had strength to do that also, which, Nima always envied. And she could see that with her help, she could find the strength inside and understand the other side of the Force, which was strictly forbidden by the Jedi Code because some Jedi thought they could blame the Force for their mistakes, better. Well, didn't humans like to blame? With her caressing the lekku gently, she spoke with a calm tone, letting the woman hear a piece of Nima philosophy. "Yeah I know you don't... It's just the Jedi way you know, dividing things. Good or bad, light or dark, right or wrong... I don't know why. You can do better if you take the situation as a whole, in my opinion." A little pause later, she continued. "I see the Force as a whole as well. There is no light without the dark. The real problem is not blue versus red, but the people. If they just tried to understand for once, and tried to communicate with each other like adults, we wouldn't have wars and losses today. But, they need to show each other who's the boss always. " "Do or do not, there is no try." Yoda was always the wise, huh? She didn't think so. This kind of thinking led people to wars. Trying was indeed, an important part of doing something.

"And don't worry, that's what I want." She said in a reassuring tone with a smile. "I deal with holier-than-thou Jedi sometimes. They are not that eager to break the shells and look with another perspective. I simply try to ignore them and do my thing." And the duel part, she was a bit scared of. Well, we are talking about someone who punched a Cthulhu in the face. She would eat Nima for breakfast. But she wouldn't do that to her, right? Well at least not in a harmful way and more as a Sio way. She laughed softly as she thought these. "Well, what's the possibility that I die in this duel? My answer will change depending on that." She asked as a joke with a big smile.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Siobhan would definitely not say no to Nima in a skimpy outfit. Such as a leather babydoll. It sounded like the perfect breakfast. Or dinner. Anyhow, Nima's words made Siobhan smile brightly when the Twi'lek elaborated on her views.


Far as Siobhan was concerned, Jedi spent too much time blaming other Forcers' misdeeds on some sort of metaphysical entity. This was also why she had a rather jaded view of most redemption cases. Simply changing your colour scheme and saying you'd never use the dark side again didn't absolve you of your sins.


"I'll be blunt, I won't go easy on you, darling. Nor would I expect you, too. Broken ribs, maybe some bones possible," she said frankly. "But I won't be out to seriously hurt or maim you. After all, you're my favourite Twi'lek." Having said that she planted a loving kiss on Nima's lekku. Totally on a spot she knew the woman really liked. "So, you in? I'll just have to get changed first." Her legs looked fabulous in stockings, but fighting in them would be rather awkward!

 

[Nima Tann]

Well, she wouldn't say she didn't get a bit scared hearing Siobhan's words. But, it was a bit better than dying, right? And if something serious would happen to her, she would be honored to be hurt by the beautiful woman. And that would be another chance for her to get Sio's hands around the lekku! She loved her soft touches, and Sio always knew what the girl liked. She smiled, her brows were placed in a sarcastic way. "Oh well, it's still better than death I guess." She said, then before adding something else, she has been kissed on her lekku, and that caused a tingling feeling around her body, Sio exactly knew where to kiss to make things better, and it was so difficult saying no to her because of that. So bad Nima was bad at this, she would've liked to make her happy the way Sio was making her. But of course, Nima had a very sweet smile and she always loved to show Sio that side of hers until she learned more ways to make her happy."Well, I am always happy for more massages from you. So don't hold anything back!" She said, laughing. She wasn't that shy around her anymore, knowing so much of her. So, she could express her feelings much more clearly, without using any masks. But still, she was shy around everyone else.

"Do you know the lake not so far from the Temple Gardens? It's one of my favorite spots, the sound of the water and the Force flowing around is so powerful in that area. Also, I think there will be no one around there in this hour, so we'll not be disturbed by people. " Oh, and the training wasn't the only reason, but she didn't want to say it out loud. "What do you say, sounds good?" She asked, smiling. That could be considered as a date, but only with lightsabers and lots of Dark Side anger. Now, thinking about it, it sounded pretty dirty. Or, it was her brain making this dirty, she didn't know.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


"There's nothing to be nervous about, sweetie. You know if you get hurt I'll kiss everything better. 'sides, you got cool illusion tricks," Siobhan said sweetly. She listened while Nima described the location, then gave the Twi'lek a nod.


"Yeah, think I know the place. Give me a couple minutes and I'll be there." A more remote location than the training hall suited her just fine. It would reduce the risk of a paranoid Jedi popping up and jumping to the conclusion that she wanted to turn Nima to the Dark Side and all that. Supposedly that sort of thing was quite easy, since all it required was tossing around a bit of lightning, saying platitudes about how awesome it was to be rage-filled and 'passionate' and perhaps toss in a dose of mind rape.


Now that the revolving alignment door policy has been duly satirised, we shall continue with the plot. Siobhan gave Nima a deep kiss on the lips and then got up. After all, she needed more practical clothes. So she replaced her fancy suit with a tight tank top and a pair of jeans. That done, she quickly headed over to where the lovely lake lay. Well, as quickly as she could walk. Her leg was doing a lot better, but putting too much pressure on it still wasn't that good. She carried no weapons except a lightsabre, which she barely used anyway, and a sonic blaster.

 

[Nima Tann]

"I'm perfectly okay with the kisses even if I don't get hurt. And thank you." She said laughing, her tone was happy and confident. And her noticing Nima's illusion tricks made her happy, it meant that she was doing something right getting a compliment from her. She nodded as Sio said her to go first. "I'll be waiting." She said in a happy tone, and then started to move towards the lake, looking around the flowers in the Temple Garden, always a good scene, that was. The lake was a perfect place, indeed, for trainings such as these. She was using Form IV, Ataru, which required the user to enhance her speed, strength and physical activities to a maximum using the Force,. Also, mind tricks and illusions were indeed using so much Force as well. With the silence of the lake, and the strong Force energy flowing in that area would help her greatly. And, it was a beautiful scene as well, so that was another plus. Finally arriving to the lake, she turned her back to the path she came from, and took a deep breath of the fresh air the place provided. And watched the scene, the lake was very calm today, and very beautiful looking as always. She smiled, feeling the Force flowing through her body. And started to think, that all this calm was about to be filled with lots of lightnings or whatever surprises the two had for each other. She felt excited, and curious that she was about to see the different part of the woman she has only seen the predator and lovely side.

As a couple of minutes passed, she heard footsteps. It was probably Sio, since there wouldn't be anyone else at this hour. So, she smiled, still her back turned to her. "It's really beautiful, isn't it? You can literally feel the Force here." It was also very romantic, but it was irrelevant to the subject right now, so she didn't say it. She said calmly, activating her lightsaber and making a pose, the blue energy radiated from the crystal made a sweet color around, and also it was refreshing to feel the energy combining with the Force around the lakeside. Then she turned towards her, examining her first, and she could say that her training attire was pretty fashionable as well, the woman never looked bad in any attire. "You look beautiful." She said smiling, all sincere but a bit red from saying such a line. No matter how she felt more confident around her, she still had some problems when it came to being flirty. She had two lightsabers, one in her hand and another, her mother's lightsaber in the bag which she put close to her. She wasn't going to use it yet, but it could come in handy maybe later in the fight. "Ready?" She asked, since she knew from before that it would be an all in battle, no rules except not killing each other so she didn't need to ask that, as she prepared her stance towards a surprise attack, since she knew Sio well that she wouldn't pass an opportunity. Taking a deep breath and letting the Force in, she waited her answer.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

"Aww, thank you, darling. You look good, too," Siobhan said cheerfully as she took in the view, which in this case referred to both Nima and the location. The lake was beautiful, birds chirped happily, and there was an aura of peace and tranquility.


One that would probably be broken soon. Instead of answering Nima's question, Siobhan pulled her sonic blaster in what seemed like a blur and squeezed the trigger, firing it. Totally not cheating at all. Due to being based on sonic wave technology, the gun fired a concentrated mass of sound that would cause concussive force, exploding on contact if it connected with a lightsabre or anything else. The intent was simple: Disarm Nima by knocking the sabre out of her hand and perhaps disorientate her a bit, hence why the blast was aimed at her sword arm.


Abruptly a strong blast of Sith Lightning shrieked from the fingertips of her free hand. Lightning everywhere! The lightning split and arced around Nima, to converge on her like claws from several directions. This should make it both more difficult to deflect and dodge. However, Siobhan was more focused on the psychological impact. Nima had been hurt badly by lightning during Ziost. Ergo it was a test of sorts.

 

[Nima Tann]

Before she could even smile to her compliment, Sio, as expected, pulled out a surprise sonic blaster suddenly, and didn't waste a second pulling the trigger, which only gave her, what, maybe only one second to react to. She leaped to her right quickly, using the Force around to help enhance her speed to evade the wave coming towards her, yet even that she seemed to evade it hardly, the sound coming from the wave was difficult not to be heard and it caused her head to spin, she felt like throwing up yet she didn't have the time to even have that luxury, since she saw Sio already launched her second attack, lightning, her worst enemy. Seeing the flying energy coming directly towards her, some unpleasant memories came to her mind, with images of her suffering. She felt that her breathing was becoming faster, as she closed her eyes and tried to sense the lightning's speed and where they were coming from. Eyes, could be deceiving, a wise person said, so she trusted in the Force. Taking a deep breath, concentrating on the energy she could feel from the lightnings, she started to jump left and right to evade the lightnings one by one, the voices she heard as the lightnings went and being so close to the thing that has crippled her, let's say, made her extra panicky, so she started to lose concentration, and gulped as she continued dodging them one by one. The sounds started to grow in her head, as she, out of frustration, took a step back. One of the lightnings hit her arm as she lost concentration, she panicked again. And then, another hit her by the chest. She felt immense pain as she let out a shout, not only physically but mentally as well remembering Ziost.

Losing her balance, she saved herself from falling by putting her hand to the ground, taking strength from it in a sitting position, as she tried to collect herself after the shock. Little sweat drops starting to appear around her face, she continued to cough and breathe fastly as she tried to forget about the pain. The pain was real, and they had just started. Sio was indeed a powerful Force user, it was clear that she knew what Nima's weaknesses were. Figures, since it was her that told everything about herself, didn't she? Maybe that was a mistake, letting her know every weakness she had. But still she wasn't out of the fight. Standing back again, punching the ground to push the pain and the thoughts away and regain her concentration, she started to run towards Sio zigzagging, holding her lightsaber in defensive position as she continued to run so that she could redirect the lightnings Sio sent towards her to a less dangerous area for herself until she got closer. She sent a quick Force Push towards her leg, that was one weakness she knew about her and if the attack succeeded it would help Nima to have a moment of counter attack since it would make her lose balance. Her illusions wouldn't be effective, since the fight was still new and Sio wasn't physically weak to lower her mental defenses just yet. But, she started to reach out her mind, letting her talons slowly get to know her brain, letting her know that she was there.

Using Ataru, she was in a disadvantage being in a large area, yet, she was very fast using the Force that the lake offered, so that disadvantage would be turned to an advantage still. There was only one thing she knew, and it was, this battle was going to be difficult.


[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Nima Tann"]


Lightning, lightning fething everywhere! Blue-white bolts of electricity leapt from Sio's hand, aiming to give Nima a good frying. To the Jedi's credit, she seemed adept at evading or at least mitigating the damage that could be caused via acrobatics.


Her agility and skill at precognition both reflected in this. If their positions had been reversed, Siobhan would have probably been unable to escape in such a manner unless she say resorted to Force Flight. She was in better shape than she had been during her first meeting with Nima, but she was past her prime physically. However, then Nima was struck in the arm and chest.


Her shout echoed across the lake, emanating mental and physical pain. Doubtless these were the memories of Ziost. Siobhan felt just a little bit bad about bringing them up again, but this sentiment didn't stop her, so she kept blasting the woman. Pain was something Nima would be able to manage. The woman just needed the push in the right direction. Fear was something she would be able to face.


Then the Twi'lek suddenly charged her, blazing lightsabre in hand. Closing the distance would be in her interest since Siobhan was not a good duellist. Lightning converged upon Nima like claws, though some was reflected. Stray bolts of lightning danced around, creating a bizarre light show. Then a telekinetic push slammed into Sio's leg. This had been a good tactical move because, as Nima surmised, it was a place where Siobhan was vulnerable. Moreover, she'd been distracted with tossing electrical judgement at the Twi'lek, which meant that she could not divert her attention fast enough to block or override the Force Push.


Sometimes you could catch a master off guard with her own tricks. Pain spread through Sio's leg as the concussive blast struck it like a hammer. Ouch. There would probably be bruising and she dropped down to one knee. Moreover, at this point the mental talons started to probe her mind, trying to get a feeling of what mental defences Siobhan had in place and discern weak spots.


However, Sio's walls were strong and sturdy. Impenetrable? Nope, not at all, but then no fortress is. Her own mental talons brutally tore into the intruders. Siobhan had preciously little talent for offensive mentalism, which was why Nima's mind was totally safe from her, but she had some skill at protecting her own. The pain her leg was feeling was something she drew upon to fuel herself. Power rippled from Siobhan as she manifested a massive telekinetic shockwave and sent it sweeping towards Nima, aiming to send her flying through the air right into the lake. At the passage of the wave the air twisted in strange shapes, the ground warped and birds took flight.