Pieces of the Past

[Nima Tann]

[member="Nima Ven"]

She was having that nightmare again. Dust, lots of dust. In the middle of all those struggle and screams, she was standing, alone and scared. She was trying to scream, but she had no voice. She continued to walk slowly, what she saw was horrible, blood everywhere and lots of dead bodies. The more she walked, she was slowing down and then, she got stuck. Couldn’t talk, couldn’t walk but she could only hear. Screams of a child, getting louder and louder every second. It was familiar, like she heard it before. Then suddenly, she got shot at her head and collapsed. With a big scream, she woke up, tears falling from her face. She controlled herself to see if she was dead or not, and luckily she wasn’t.

She let out a big breath, at least she was alive."Just a nightmare, Nima... it's just a nightmare. You are alive." She said to comfort herself, with a shaky voice and sighed sadly. It was the fourth nightmare she had this week. Four exactly same nightmares, it was getting creepy. She washed her face with cold water, that could always wake her up and she could continue to live, but today was not one of that days. She was feeling very depressed, she couldn’t snap out of it. She was terrified to see herself die in a terrible way every night.

She walked to the Temple to want a day off from the Masters, she was lost in thoughts so she ignored everyone while walking. She continued to walk in thoughts until she felt a presence on her shoulder. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” one of the Padawans shouted, he was looking angry. “I.. I am sorry.” She said, then added. “Just… having a bad day.” she sighed. The Padawan who just shouted ignored her and continued to do what he was doing. Without any problems, she arrived to the Master’s Chambers, and she got what she wanted, a big day off.

She remembered the cave she found on Ryloth not so long ago. Weeks ago, when she was investigating the area for the dark presence around, she found the cave. It had a strange aura around that was making Nima calm down. Whenever she had a bad day, she was going there and meditating, then she would forget what was the problem. She decided to go there, and took a shuttle to go to Ryloth, the homeland of Twi’leks. The ship jumped to hyperspace, and minutes later she arrived to the dusty planet, a warm, calming wind welcomed her. Just looking to the scene of the sand’s dance with the wind, it felt familiar. She arrived to the cave, and she felt the calming aura of it. “That’s… better.” she took a deep breath. She was feeling a weird happiness, a big smile was replaced with the worrisome look of her face. like the last time. She sat there and started meditating, repeating the Jedi code, to guide her.

 

[Nima Ven]

The shuttle jolted in mid-air and Nima had to press her hand to the wall to stop herself from flying out of her seat. Her heart was almost beating out of her chest. On the little screen she could see Ryloth, turning slowly in all its glory. As she peeled her clammy hand away from the cold metal she noticed just how much it was shaking. She enclosed her wrist with her other hand, if only to stop the persistent noise of her bracelets clacking together. It had been a long time since she had been back here, almost 14 years in fact. Now that she was here in this cramped metal box Nima could think of no reason why she returned. This place held nothing but happy, yet painful memories. And of course, the worst one of them all. Even now as she closed her eyes she could hear the blaster bolt, she could see her-....

The ship jolted again. Nima doubled over and rested her head in between her legs. Dragging up her past was making her feel sick. She had remembered the conversation on Naboo between herself and their current driver. He was curious as always, but she was able to pay her way. After all, Isley Verd wasn't completely useless. He left her enough money to see her way through the rest of her travels and eventually settle down to start her life properly. Though she hadn't thought about it in a while, Nima knew exactly where she was going. The ship had landed a few miles out of it, and even in the wrong direction. But Nima could still tell. It was like a second sense, dragging her back to where she used to belong. Where that dreadful day occurred. As she trudged across the landscape a familiar sensation of loss and regret began to wash over her. It only seemed to worsen as she spotted the entrance to the cave just a little way north.

The climb was a lot easier than she recalled. It took her no more than a minute to hop from one rock to the other and find her way to the mouth of the cave. She stopped at the threshold and held her breath, stroking her fingers along the familiar stone. It held so many memories and happy moments. For a moment she could do nothing, hardly even breath. And then it all came out. A slow tear at first, followed by another, then another. Soon her face was streaked with salt water and it didn't look like it was stopping any time soon. This was the last place she saw Tama alive. Her sobs echoed against the cave walls, just as their delightful cries of play once had.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

The calming sound of the little lake flowing around her and the colors that the crystals reflected was making the dark cave lively. The cave was unbelievably familiar, it was like she knew the place years ago. As she continued to meditate, she started to relax, and her headache started to fade away. She felt her own happy self was coming back to life. But the process was stopped by the voices she heard outside the cave. By the rythm of the voices she understood that they were footsteps, as it means her “secret” place was found by someone. Being a Jedi, she was taught to be patient, and not to rush anything. She decided to wait and continue her meditating but her hand was near to her lightsaber, if the things went the wrong way. The foot steps were getting louder, and louder each step, she sensed the aura of the cave was changing, and she felt a presence inside her every step that she heard, like if someone was punching her stomach. Her headache was getting worse. She tried to remain calm, remember the Code, but it was impossible at that time, all she felt was emptiness deeply inside. And now she could hear water splashing, it meant she was getting closer."Why am I feeling like this? Is someone playing a trick on me?" she thought, slowly starting to panic. She started to hear voices. "I must stay on my guard." she thought, immediately regretting she came here, instead of doing everyday missions. "Stay calm, Nima. Don't let your guard down." as she tried to calm herself down, fear slowly took the place of emptiness. The foot steps were getting near, and all she could do was to wait.

[member="Nima Ven"]

 

[Nima Ven]

Nima trudged her way through the cool lake. Though there was a path just beside it she felt the icey sensation would calm her nerves. She knew once she got inside nothing but happy memories would remain. But that seemed to be the worst part. The more she remembered about her sister the more it hurt. The more her gut twisted and her head spun. She wiped away at her tears. What happened in the past was the past. She had every right to be upset about it, but she couldn't stand to bring misery and sorrow to a place that was once filled with laughter. For the sake of her sister, and the memories of home, she brought her body up fully and stepped onto the path. Her foot steps echoed against the cave walls, reverberating and hitting her ear drums persistently. It was annoying, but she pushed on, not daring to hide her confidant stride, ready to brace the past.

She stopped dead. She saw the shadow before it even formed properly. Someone was sitting there, by the stream, in the glow of the crystals and what little sunlight got through the ceiling. Who was in her sanctuary? She panicked for a moment, reaching for her lightsaber and clutching it for dear life. Her senses overloaded as her feet slowed to a silent creep. The Sith inside her was raging with anger. Who dared to disturb her place of safety. Her chest heaved up and down heavily, only to exhale soft, inaudible breaths. As she drew nearer some over whelming emotion over powered her anger. Something called out to her so heavily that her hand dropped from its poised position. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds. The silence that followed seemed to last forever.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

As she couldn’t hear any footsteps anymore, she understood that the person was behind her. Time stopped flowing, everything went silent. The steam that made her relax, was now making her nervous. She wanted to look to her potential enemy from the one big, blue crystal in the middle of the lake, but steam was making the vision all blurry. All she could see was, that person was a Twi’lek female too, just like her. Her headache started, and she could hear screams of a little child just like in her dreams. What was she doing to her? And how could she find her secret place, did she follow her? With all these questions appearing on her head madly, her headache was getting stronger every second the silence continued. She could sense the presence in her heart was increasing and the dark aura of the place was growing slightly. The only thing that would increase the dark presence that much was a Sith, and she hoped that the Twi’lek behind her wasn’t one. She was still in a meditating position, her back was turned to her enemy, and her guard was down. But she couldn’t find the strength to turn to her, fear had taken control of her body, preventing her to keep herself calm and look tough to the Twi’lek. Who was she anyway, and how did she dare to disturb the only place that she felt safe and relax? With all the thoughts flying in her head, Nima was the one to finally broke the disturbing silence. “You shouldn’t be here.” She said, trying her best to conceal the shaking in her voice.

[member="Nima Ven"]

 

[Nima Ven]

As Nima rounded the corner to face her potential enemy, her head stopped dead in her chest. The person with her back facing her had red lekku, just like herself. She stroked her own softly, her body still partially hidden by the shadow of the cave wall. A thousand and one things were running through her head as she stepped into the light of the cave properly. Doing her best to seem threatening, she drew her body up to its full height and puffed her chest out slightly. "You shouldn't be here either! How did you find this place?!" Her voice raised, it had an angry tone to it that bounced off the cave walls and never seemed to end. When it hit her ears again she withdrew, shuddering at the sound of it. Something inside her told her everything she thought now was wrong. The force was pumping through her body like adrenaline. "Who are you..?"

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

Something about her voice seemed extremely familiar to Nima, as if she heard it before somewhere. From the moment she arrived that cave today, the cave which supposed to make her relax was making her extremely nervous. She stood up slowly, holding her hand near to her lightsaber just in case the things went badly, which she thought a fight would exactly happen here if she wasn’t careful enough. Taking a big breath, she started to walk to the light, to finally face her enemy. She had a lightsaber too, and looking at the tattoos on her lekkus, she assumed the Twi’lek next to her, was a Sith as she feared. Everything about her was looking familiar, her talking, her stand and the most importantly, her face. Who was this girl? While she was examining her closely, she felt the dark aura growing inside the girl. “I am Ni...” Then suddenly,their eyes met each other, Nima’s cheeks turned to red and her headache had come again, yet that was more painful then any of her past headaches.

“The cave is big enough for us, we can play here.”

“Come on Nima, let’s play again”

“WAIT THERE, NIMA! I AM COMING TO SAVE YOU!” She heard a child’s voice in her head, it was getting louder and creepier everytime her opponent came towards her. She couldn’t endure much pain, her emotions yet get the control of Nima’s body, causing her to push her enemy with all her might. “Stay… back!” Then she continued to talk, her voice is fully shaking, she tried to calm herself down, but with a pain like that, it would be impossible to calm down. “What are you… what tricks are you playing on me? Who ARE YOU?” She asked, still having the unbearable headache and voices inside her head. What was happening to her, and who was this girl? The thoughts flew through her head.

[member="Nima Ven"]

 

[Nima Ven]

This was not going to plan. Her memorable trip to Ryloth was being destroyed by this stranger who seemed to think the cave belonged to her. Every inch of Nima was furious and she could feel the anger building up inside her. But some powerful force was keeping her from lashing out. Every time her head had finally made the decision to attack, her arms wouldn't move. They were stuck to the side of her body, refusing to un-glue themselves from her dark robes. She could almost scream, but her voice was caught in her throat. The second their eyes met Nima felt her stomach drop. She knew those eyes anywhere. The gleamed a beautiful blue, only spurred on by the crystals that glittered in the dimming light. Time slowed down as she watched her hands spring out to push at her chest.

Nima was faster. She curled her fingers around her wrist, her saber dropping to the floor in the process. It clattered for a few moments and balanced precariously on the edge of the stream. Tama's wrists weren't as small as she remembered, but it was easier to keep them in her grasp now. She was stronger and built for this kind of thing. Her chest heaved up and down visibly. She just stood there, with her wrists locked in her grip, staring into her eyes. Finally, she built up the courage to speak, though her voice came out in a thin whisper. "Tama.. look at me." This was impossible. How could her younger sister be here? This was some twisted trick her mind decided to play on her. She knew she wasn't stable but this was going far beyond her recognition of the situation. She let one of her wrists fall down and lifted her hand to stroke across her jaw line. She was so grown up now. Why couldn't she remember her? "Don't you remember me?" Her voice cracked as she spoke again.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

When Nima felt her grip on her wrists, she freaked out and immediately started to struggle in fear. All the thoughts in her head was now gone, emptiness and fear replacing them. Tears started to drop from her icy blue eyes, she started to see visions of two children playing together, but it was all blurry. She closed her eyes, thinking it was the end. But instead of killing her, the Twi’lek talked to her, and her tone was so nice and in pain. She called her Tama, a name she didn’t remember, but felt familiar inside, as if she heard the name a lot of times. After hearing the name, she felt her strength was fading, her body stopped struggling to her captor, she just stopped, looking directly to her face. She tried to remember her, but whenever she tried to remember, her memory was blocking her, giving her headache and loud voices everytime. She couldn’t understand what was happening, at first she thought that she was dead, but the second, the Sith was treating her very nice, as if they knew each other. But she was sure she didn’t see her anywhere before. Her tears started to drop from her cheeks to ground. She tried to speak, but she lost the words, her emotional state didn’t let her talk. Instead, she tried to push her weakly with her free hand, but she couldn’t manage, of course. “Let me go… I… don’t know you.” She only could say, between the sobs and tears. “I don’t know you… I don’t know any… Tama!” That, even saying the name she felt awkward.

[member="Nima Ven"]

 

[Nima Ven]

Nima was disgusted with herself. She felt the fear radiating off her sister. But she couldn't let go of her. It had been 14 years since she had last seen her younger sibling and all this time she had presumed she was dead. Yet, she was standing there in front of her, in the flesh. Trembling in her grasp. Tears were falling from those shocking blue eyes that once held so much joy. Nima couldn't help but drag her closer, encircling her in her arms. She could feel her body shaking. Gingerly, she stroked the red lekku that hung down her back. "Nima.. Nima. Nima.. It's been so long.." Emotions were brimming over in her body that she could barely bring herself to explain the situation. Her arms clung to her sister, a weight that felt so familiar it almost choked another sob out of her. "Nima it's me.. Your sister.."

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

What was she planning to do with her, was she playing with her, or was she saying the truth? She wanted to learn the truth, because if she wanted to kill her she had every opportunity to do that. As Nima struggled to break free from her grip, the Twi’lek dragged her closer, now fully holding her body. She wanted to run, shout, and cry louder but feeling her warmth, she felt happiness and joy, it was calming herself down a little. She didn’t want to ruin the moment, to finish the happiness she was feeling right now. So, she didn’t try anything, just stopped and closing her eyes, she felt the fear inside slowly fading away, replaced by happiness. “I…” she said, stopping for a moment to think what would she say next, but she was out of words, she even couldn’t understand the situation herself, she wanted answers, or her head would explode from the thoughts. “How?...” she asked, still believing there’s a mistake about all this.

[member="Nima Ven"]

 

[Nima Ven]

Burying her nose into her neck was almost like heaven. Instantly, those mothering instincts and desire to protect her came in one over whelming swoop. It was almost enough to bring her to the floor, but she remained strong and her knees only wobbled a little. "Don't you feel it too?" Whatever Nima was feeling she must have been too. They were almost inseparable at one point and a bond like that doesn't just go away. She pulled her even closer to her body, relishing in the fact she could feel her heart beating steadily against hers. For a long time, Nima had assumed that same heart had stopped long ago. "I thought you were dead. That day..." She decided she didn't want to say too much yet. Understanding fully that there had been some memory loss during the attack, Nima promised herself she'd fill her younger sister in. She couldn't tell yet whether it had been due to the blaster bolt that flew so close to her head or whether she had just blocked the memory out by choice. Either way.. she'd know soon.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

Feeling her warmth she slowly started to recognize this near, she felt happy and started to smile, almost wanting to hug her back, and she felt all the strength of hers was fading away, getting more sleepy and relaxed every second. She felt the Twi'lek beside her was getting weaker too, the darkness once she felt in her massievely, was slowly being replaced by love and regrets. Nima felt the same way that she was feeling too, but she couldn't say her that, thinking it's still a trap and she was playing with her. But, while she was thinking, she couldn't prevent and let her heart do the speaking for her, not her brain. "I... I feel it too. I just can't understand..." She stopped, thinking way too hard to remember, but only she could see was a blank screen. "Help... me understand. Why are you so familiar to me, why do I... why do I feel different around you? Please... just tell me what's going on. " She said, her eyes getting teary again. She had to understand if she was playing with her, before getting mad trying to deal with all those thoughts.

[member="Nima Ven"]