Shifting Sands

[Bethany Kismet]

It was impossible to miss how he turned away. She looked back up at the sky, not meaning to make him feel self conscious any more than she already had.

"I suspect you would have done just fine without me there," she said, chuckling ruefully.

"Force, you probably wouldn't have even been on Mandalore if I hadn't dragged you there. And we both know how well that went."

She closed her eyes for a moment, a soft sigh escaping her lips. They had saved too many lives to call that mission a failure. And if they hadn't gone, [member="Reverance"] still would have been there. With nothing to attempt to keep him in check. Would the other Sith there have stopped him? Would they have cared, despite their 'alliance' with the Mandalorians? Bethany didn't put too much faith in that. They had done their best, and lives had been saved.

Ultimately, that was the whole point of this endeavor.

"You know that if I knew then what I knew now.... exactly what was waiting for us.... I still would have gone down to the surface that day. Nothing would have changed."

Her smile now was slightly crooked as she watched the clouds. After all, no one had ever accused her of being a particularly smart Jedi.

Simply a dedicated one.

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

"Just as you know I would have knocked you over your head and kept you on Monastery." Sardun responded after a snort rallied him back towards the here and now, instead of the there and then.

It was not the day to worry and grump around, what was done was done and there was little to be done about it. At this point the Jedi only had the ability to influence his future actions, learn from his mistakes and attempt to not repeat them again. Maybe even fix a few wrongs in the meantime. Was there really much more any one man could hope for here?

Outside of running face-first into all the danger at hand.

He blinked and realized that through the time of talking the water had dried on his skin. That was probably a sign in and of itself.

"I wanted to show you something while we are here, you up for some climbing again?"

Now it was Sardun's time to smirk.

 

[Bethany Kismet]

"More climbing?"

She gave him a little bit of an eyeball after she sat up.

"If it was anyone else I'd say no," she teased.

"But. Since it's you."

Standing up, she stretched, absently brushing sand off of her skin.

"How serious a climb? Easier, harder or about the same as at the waterfall?"

She'd over estimated her abilities the last time, and she wanted a clearer idea of what was coming now. Before starting out. It didn't bother her that she'd needed help the last time. Just that it had taken her by surprise.

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

Sardun thought about it for a moment, visualizing the image of the rockwall in his mind and trying to consider it from the perspective of Kismet.

For him it was as easy as breathing, but that was the advantage of training his body over more esoteric arts. It gave him a certain focus that others lacked. But it also clouded his judgement when it came to questions like that. Luckily he was going to train this one and whip her into shape.

Figuratively speaking.

Mostly.

"About the same." He then said, before continuing. "It's a longer climb, but there are more alcoves, so you don't have to twist yourself into shapes to get higher and roughly in the middle there is some space to take a breath and sit down." The Jedi didn't mention that he had enlarged the area himself, with Kismet's stamina in mind.

That wasn't necessary to add here.

"Let's go then."

 

[Bethany Kismet]

After the trek here and the chase in the water, Bethany wasn't particularly looking forward to a rock climbing session. But she was curious about what he wanted to show her, so she shrugged, smiling as she shook her head and followed.

The sun had just dipped past its zenith, reflecting white off of the surface of the water as they moved across the sand. There were still hours to go until they should be heading back to Sanctuary, and Bethany was in no particular rush. There hadn't been any calls, so (she hoped) that meant there were no serious issues needing their attention. While that could change at any time, she had faith in Hal and Elijah's ability to sort out things in their absence.

"Going to give me a hint what you want to show me? Or do I have to muddle through your serious stoicism and wait it out?" She teased.

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

"You cannot expect me to simply give it away, can you?" Sardun quipped over his shoulder as they walked over gritty sand and dust towards the rock wall at the far end of the enclosed beach. The winds had calmed down at this point, they turned the shifting sands to calmness and serenity, at least for the moment.

This was good. It meant that the climb would be that much easier to do for Kismet - some days, when the winds hailed strong, it was almost impossible to climb these parts without being threatened to be blown away.

"Besides, you like my serious stoicism."

It was strange how they could go from embarrassing awkwardness to comfortable jokes within the span of a few seconds.

Confusing to a degree, but Sardun did not have any true measure to compare it with. For all he knew this was simply how things went with everyone.

Perhaps he should ask Hal about it later. That man knew practically everything.

 

[Bethany Kismet]

"Eh, I tolerate it," she said, totally straight faced for a moment. But it didn't seem like she could ever keep that up when they were bantering and the crinkle around her eyes gave away the teasing.

She paused at the base of the cliff, using her hand to shield her eyes as she peered up cautiously.

"Yeah, that is higher," she commented, slightly dubious.

"This time I'm going first- if I fall I'm expecting you to catch me, deal?"

With that settled, she reached up and started her ascent. She didn't move quickly, taking her time. But it was easier than the cave beneath the water fall, as promised. There were plenty of hand holds and foot holds, some of them obviously chipped out deliberately. She was focused enough on the act of the climb itself that she didn't register how many of them were closer together than someone [member="Michael Sardun"] 's height would actually need.

She glanced down just once, when she heard him starting his climb behind her. She grinned down at him for a moment before continuing on, aiming to the ledge he'd pointed out from the ground. She was going to need to rest there before being able to reach the summit.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

"Of course." That was the benefit of his specialization - he need not worry about harming himself while rescuing her. There were precious little things that could truly cause him harm if he didn't get caught off guard.

Which wasn't likely while falling, usually you noticed when you were falling.

Sardun briefly looked up to see how she was fairing. His eyes immediately glanced off towards safer avenues, it wasn't as awkward anymore as it would have been a few weeks ago or how it had been maybe an hour ago. The truth dulled the edge and that was good. But there was a certain amount of respect you should grant to those around you, and checking out their... assets while they were climbing did not seem very respectful.

The climb was easy, every little holding pressing him upward, but he took his time with it.

Last thing he wanted to do was pull a Kismet and bounce with his head against her. Their eyes met as she looked down and he winked, enjoying the grin on her lips and the joy shared by them both.

Soon after Beth managed to climb into the alcove Sardun followed suit, pulling himself over the edge and into the artificial space.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, right?" He pushed himself off and sat down, leaning against the rock wall that would give them access to the top of the entire thing.

 

[Bethany Kismet]

Bethany scooted over a touch as he clambered up, but settled again once he sat. There wasn't a huge amount of room on the ledge, and their arms brushed against each other even once they were both still.

"Well, no, but it's only half way. I'll save my judgement for once we reach the top. If the climb doesn't kill me, I'll let you know."

She was smiling and teasing, but a little out of breath. Emerald eyes cast out over the waters of the cove beneath them and she fell silent for a moment, just drinking it all in. The height and the precarious seating didn't bother her a bit as she scanned the far horizon.

"It is quite a view," she murmured, leaning back herself against the rock face behind them.

At every turn, Monastery offered more and more. It wasn't home yet- she wasn't sure she even truly remembered what that felt like. But it could be. Sure, Bethany had chosen this place for the Order.... but just as surely, she was realizing, Monastery had chosen them as well.

They sat in compatible silence for a time before she started looking around at the alcove itself. Carefully, mindful of the small space and the person she shared it with, she shifted around to peer up thoughtfully at the rest of the climb.

"Alright, I'm ready to keep going it you are."

​[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

He looked up at the sun, the way it was passing on the horizon and then made some mental calculations in his head.

Too early.

"Let's sit awhile longer." Sardun offered without trying to tip her off on the reason. "I think some of your stamina is rubbing off on me."

His eyes closed again and the lean into the rock face became comfortable. Perhaps it was because his skin was basically indestructible if he focused on it, but that was neither here nor there. Presumably Beth settled down next to him again, he nodded in acknowledgment. This was good and it was still strange to him how good it felt, he didn't trust people that quickly.

But ever since Sekot? She seemed so... familiar to him.

"Have you noticed anything.... strange between us? Since Sekot?"

 

[Bethany Kismet]

She gave him an odd look as she settled back beside him.

"That's.... a strange question. It's hard to change something that started then," she said. "How can it have been different or strange if that's what it's always been?"

Forty years as a human. Five hundred as a forest. And now a scant six months once again walking the galaxy. Whatever this strange friendship was.... it simply was. If it was odd, well, she wasn't sure she'd want it to be normal.

He'd been there when she'd stepped out of the fire. He had known her as part of Sekot, and again as a human woman. Only one other person in history knew what that meant, and he had seen the transformation from the opposite direction. Corrie had seen her destroyed. Michael had seen her reborn.

But she gave it some thought for a moment and then looked up at him shrugging and smiling helplessly.

"If by strange you mean not like what it's like to be around other people, then you're right. It's.... like a Force bond, but different. I don't know what it means, but I suspect when you helped pick the seeds Sekot was going to use something.... something happened then."

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Bethany Kismet"]

Sardun nodded in acknowledgement.

The question was strange, but the connection between them was... No.

He had wanted to describe it as foreign and strange, but in reality the connection was so familiar it almost scared him. In ways it reminded him of his ancient connection the the Hydra Queen and [member="Cira"] after he had been captured and shaped into the tool they wished. Those days were long over and the connection was cut.

Yet.

Yet.

This felt similar and again he nodded when she brought up the seeds. He knew precious little about Sekot in truth and even less about the way the seeds had been shaped into a body, but that connection had formed from the moment his hands touched them. Maybe it was because of his own unique state?

Some of him was still Vong, even if he wished to deny it.

"I have a similar feeling, but I was curious if you felt it too - or if it was imagined. Thank you." His eyes went to the horizon again and saw that it was almost time.

"My Lady," He gestured away to the edge in a joking fashion. "After you, we have sights to see."

 

[Bethany Kismet]

She shook her head at him when he called her that- even if she couldn't help but smile.

"Well then, we shouldn't keep the sights waiting," she said with a chuckle.

Bethany let him help her up before casting an eye up at the rock wall again and starting the climb. The second half was, blessedly, a little shorter than the first. He'd placed the alcove well. When she finally clambered over the edge at the top, she was more tired than she cared to admit. Scooting back from the edge, she stood up slowly, stretching up toward the sky on her toes.

And then she really saw the view.

It was still heartbeats until what he had brought her here to see would appear, but even not knowing that, it was utterly beautiful. The sun hung red just above the line of the horizon, the water reflecting warm shades of crimson and salmon from the illuminated clouds above.

"You were right, it was worth the climb," she said softly as he joined her.

[member="Michael Sardun"]