Private Sith Academy Reunion

[Ishani Dinn]

It was morning at the Coruscant apartment of Ishani Sibwarra, Senator of Chaldea. She sat at the head of the table in a dining room filled with warm sunlight. Half-awake, still in her nightgown, her blonde hair an unbrushed mane, she munched on her cereal like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Her two children sat on either side of her, each with their own bowl of cereal. As sleepy as his mother, Marcus had splattered milk on the front of his pajamas. Across from him Eloise held her favorite doll in the crook of one arm while her other hand daintily brought the spoon to her lips.

That was when the door to the apartment was suddenly kicked open.

Ishani immediately leaped out of her seat. Clambering on top of and then over the table, she reached out her hand and summoned her Force-imbued blade from the Nether. By the time her bare feet touched the floor again, she was armed (if not armored) and holding the sword over her head, ready to strike.

“Get down!” she yelled at her children, who immediately obeyed, huddling underneath the table.

“WHO THE FUCK IS IT?!”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

For old times sake.

That's what Alina told herself as she approached the apartment building. There was more to it, of course. She just wanted to destroy something, vent her frustrations at the path her life took. Maybe scare Ishani Dinn somewhat. Maybe she was just jealous that Ishani not only escaped the Sith but ended up a Senator no less. It was with that thought that the Vampiress launched a kick for the door, sending it flying before proudly stepping in.

And immediately regretting everything.

She blinked twice, staring at the girl. She was.. Older. And.. Children? Confusion laced the unchanged features of the former Sith. Alina no longer aged, hadn't been able to since the two last met.

"I.. I'm sorry. I didn't.." Her gaze fell again to the children. Ishani's children. Wordlessly and shamefully Alina went to pick up the door and start to repair it.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Don’t move!”

Ishani’s voice carried a little less bravado, but it was no less panicked and desperate. After all, as far as she knew, Alina Tremiru was still a Sith.

Still a blood-sucking vampire too, if the pale skin and fangs were any indication. Regardless of their old… uh, acquaintanceship (or whatever you would call a friend of your missing ex-boyfriend), Ishani wouldn’t hesitate to impale Alina in order to protect her children from the vamp.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't..."

Marcus and Eloise peered out from underneath the table. A boy and a girl with a mop and a mane of red hair, they were fraternal twins and looked to be about three years old. Wind back the clock to the dissolution of the Sith Eternal, and there was simply no time for Ishani to have taken any other lover, much less another ginger. Even if Arcturus Dinn was nowhere to be seen in this little tableau of disrupted domestic tranquility.

“Why are you here?” Ishani demanded of Alina. “What do you want?”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

They hadn't been friends. That much Alina knew. Ishani Dinn was just another Sith in the temple she happened upon in their search for Arcturus. Even he wasn't exactly her friend. An ally, yes. But friend? She had a rare few that could she could call friends then, and she certainly didn't now. Maybe that's what brought her here. She didn't say much, still focused on trying to put the door back in place.

Which, honestly, she didn't have the knowledge or skill on how to do it.

“Why are you here?” Ishani demanded of Alina. “What do you want?”

"I wanted to-!" She started to raise her voice, her faintly glowing eyes turning back to glare at Ishani. But in the process, all she could see were the two behind her. It clicked pretty easily. A somber sadness took over the Vampiress's expression as she turned her eyes away. ".. I made a mistake. I'll send you credits for the door. .. Sorry to ruin your breakfast." Then she turned to leave.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“You made a mistake? What, did you kick down the wrong door?” Ishani jerked her sword in the direction of the destroyed wood. “There’s no way this is that kind of coincidence. You sought me out, didn’t you? What did you come here for?”

Alina had kicked down several doors back in their academy days, after all. It seemed safe to assume it was just her preferred way of making an entrance, bombastic and rude as it was. That was Alina, after all. Alina was a bombastic and rude person.

“What’s the matter with you?” Ishani persisted, a note of sympathy in her voice, or perhaps pity. “You go through all the trouble of tracking me down, kick down my door, and now you’re leaving?”

Force help me, if she’s carrying a message about Arcturus, or from him, but decided it wasn’t worth it as soon as she saw the kids…!

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina hovered in the doorway, back to the family behind her. What was she supposed to say now? In front of Ishani Dinn 's kids no less? The vampire let out a sigh, turning her gaze back to the other woman with a much sadder smile. "I couldn't believe you were a senator. We both were.." Her gaze flicked to the children. She didn't need to say what they were in front of them.

"I wanted to see for myself that you'd made something of yourself after everything. I guess you can say I'm jealous."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“You’re jealous of me?”

Well, yeah. That’s what she just said, doofus.

Ishani wasn’t exactly floored by the admission, but she was bewildered that this immortal vampire, this Sith noblewoman, this… whatever else could possibly be jealous of her. Sure, Ishani was a senator now, and she had gotten away from the Sith with apparently minimal consequences, mainly because all the old Sith empires were dead and gone, and…

“Oh hell,” she muttered. “Alina, I—”

She didn’t know what to say. A rebuttal had been on her tongue, but somehow being a senator and a single mother ain’t easy didn’t quite compare to the demise of one’s entire way of life. If anything, Ishani had finally come alive the day she fled Korriban, with its decaying palaces and tombs and the forsaken Royal Academy. Carrying life inside her, too.

She looked at Alina now and saw that she was a dead thing, not alive. To achieve immortality, her body had gone dormant. Ishani could sense the stagnation around her, the stunted growth. Like the fairytale of the girl lying in a glass coffin, she was pretty to look at, but cold and barren as a corpse.

“Have… have you found anyone else from the Academy?”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina braced for.. Something. Anything. For all intents and purposes most still thought she was a rogue Sith. Even after turning herself in. Or maybe it was just her wanting to be miserable without feeling such pity for herself. Having Ishani Dinn tear into her was better than realizing just how empty her life had become. She lost her arms for the Sith, and rather than admit weakness sought out the Sangnir, all to regrow her arms. The power that came with it was wonderful.

And empty. To never grow older. To never bare a child. The senator had everything Alina had realized she wanted far too late to get. It was frustrating. Alina's gaze pulled away, hiding the raw emotion that had started to form. Hiding that to avoid scaring the children any more than she had.

"You're the only one. I've no idea where Arcturus is." There were no other heartbeats in the apartment. No news of their fellow living here with the Senator. ".. I'm sorry."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She didn’t even need to ask about Arcturus to get an answer. No word and no sign of him. Damn. Did this mean he was missing even among his Sith peers in hiding?

Or was Alina out here on her own?

“It’s… fine,” she muttered. Her sword arm finally lowered to her side, the weapon vanishing back into the Nether. “I didn’t expect much.” Sighing, she turned toward her children. “It’s okay, you can come out now. This is Alina, an old… uh, somebody Mommy used to go to school with.”

The twins crawled to their feet. Within a few short seconds, Eloise lodged a complaint. “My cereal is soggy.”

“Well, I…” She was about to say she would pour her another, but something about the whole affair suddenly made the prospect of cereal sound unappetizing. “I’m making pancakes.”

While the children cheered, Ishani went to dump out their bowls. The distraction would’ve been a good time for Alina to escape, but Ishani asked her, “What about you, Alina? Where have you been all this time?”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

That was her cue to leave. Alina watched the mother and her children, the faintest, jealous smile on her lips. She was happy for Ishani Dinn . The Senator had gotten away from the Sith, made a life for herself. A good life with happy children. She gave a slight wave as she was introduced, but the mention of pancakes was seemingly the end for Alina's time here. She dove too deep in their time as a Sith, and she couldn't leave the water anymore.

Except Ishani spoke up and had her lingering in the broken doorframe anyway. She froze, then frowned. ".. Hiding for a while with someone I loved who didn't love me back. Then back to old Sith space. Trying to find acolytes like us- like me who didn't think they could get out. Help them escape the Sith and make a new life." There was a lot Alina didn't know about Ishani now that she nearly spoke for the other woman. Did Ishani feel trapped? Or maybe she didn't, and that's why she was able to make this life and avoid doing something that'd lock her away from the light forever.

"Now I'm here, helping- Others, do the same." Wait, was the sanctorium a secret? Better to keep it a secret until she was sure, then.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani made quick work of the pancakes, the product of nearly three years of practice perfecting the fine art of children’s breakfasts. Eggs, oil, water, and pancake mix went into a mixing bowl as she listened.

“Others?” she echoed as Alina finished, turning on the stove. “And you’re… bringing them here? To Coruscant?”

That sounded… unlikely? A strange choice of location? Perhaps even a bit illogical, given that they were in the heart of Alliance space, with the Jedi Order headquartered on the same planet?

Or they used to be, anyway. Ishani thought sadly of worn-out Dag and the ruins of the Temple.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Ah yeah, Ishani Dinn was smart. Alina cursed under her breath. Sure, it was kinda obvious by what she said, but she didn't want to give anything away. To a Senator. When she wasn't even sure if the group was supposed to be secret or not. "There's a lot of Sithspawn still in the undercity. We're just here to help where we can, that's all." There. Neither confirming nor denying they were actually staying here. Proud of herself she nodded before glancing to the pancakes.

"Smells good. Home recipe?"

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Alina did remember she was talking to an Alliance senator, right? Don't tell her anything you wouldn't tell the Chancellor himself. Actually, now that Ishani thought about it…

“How did you get in here?” she asked, pouring pancakes into the hot pan. “Get past security, I mean.” If she had to guess, some time of stealth or vampire glamor was involved. She knew she should've chosen that biot/droid security firm...

She snorted. “Oh yeah, just like Mom used to make. Recipe’s straight from the back of the box.” She pulled a bottle of syrup from the pantry. “You want one? Actually, do you even still eat food?”

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Trade secret." Nope. No way Alina was going to say anything more about that. The unspoken realization between them that Alina wasn't the most.. Legal person to be here and Ishani Dinn 's station of being a Senator put that sort of conversation in dangerous territory. Alina herself didn't mind sharing the details, but it wasn't just her that'd be impacted if Ishani did her job.

Best to let that go.

"Yes I still eat food. Jeeze. Drink blood and suddenly you're a tasteless monster." She was teasing of course, though shortly after speaking she remembered the kids. A nervous laugh escaped her as she glanced to the twins. "Ah, old jokes, right? Heh. Totally don't drink blood." She cleared her throat.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Yep, she should’ve hired the robots. Damn. Did she still have that company’s number somewhere around here?...

The kids weren’t even really paying much attention to Alina anymore. Mommy was talking to her friend, and that usually meant whatever they were talking about was boring. But since the vamp had addressed them directly, the pancake-starved Marcus took a break from gnawing on his fingers in order to babble something incomprehensible to all those unversed in toddler-speak. Meanwhile Eloise was playing with her doll, pretending it was drinking tea from a porcelain tea set her grandmother had given her.

“Well, do you want some pancakes?” Ishani posed the question again, having not received a clear answer. Its double-meaning was hopefully visible: accept the pancakes, and we keep talking. Don’t accept, and you leave hungry, but without having to talk.

Finishing with the first plate, she set it aside so it could cool. She always served the kids together, otherwise they would get upset at the “unfairness” of one child being served before the other, as if more food wasn’t coming. Couple of goofs, these kids.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

The pancakes did smell good. But was it really alright for her to sit here and talk with Ishani Dinn ? Not even from a possibly doing something illegal vs senator thing. The whole, undead versus living thing that'd crossed her mind basically every time she looked towards the twins. ".. Are you sure it's okay?" Honestly speaking, it shouldn't be. But.. Alina wanted to see what a normal life was, even just for a moment.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She finished a second plate and set it aside. “Yeah, sure, why not? As long as you don’t break any more of my stuff or try to eat us.”

Her eyebrows rose as she passed Alina to serve the kids their breakfast, then returned to the kitchen to make more for herself and, potentially, a guest.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Why not? Didn't they just- Better not to look into it. Alina just smiled and nodded. "I promise." She seemed pretty pleased with this, turning her gaze to watch the kids eat for a bit. "I'm happy for you. As jealous as I feel, I am happy you got out. That you have this life."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Since Alina seemed disinclined to discuss where she had been for the past few years, Ishani didn’t ask. Not that she didn’t want to know—she found it rather surprising that Alina could have had such a dramatic heel turn. Her memories of the vampiress in her academy days were quite… well, bloodthirsty, for lack of a better term.

Not that she had ever really known Alina personally. Most of what she’d heard was rumors and hearsay, and gossip was always exaggerated. Still, she knew that the Tremirus were an old Sith family, and given how hard it had been for Ishani to try and disentangle herself from her upbringing (back in the days when she was trying) it was a little hard to believe. Redemption was always possible, but it usually involved some sort of grand spiritual journey, didn’t it? Or was that only in novels?

“Yeah, well,” she began, flipping a pancake. “I guess, with how much of a wallflower I was back at the academy, any sign of progress looks like a massive improvement...”

Ishani pursed her lips, stopping herself. She wanted, very badly, to crush Alina’s idyllic perceptions. But it wouldn’t do either of them any good. Alina didn’t need to know this stuff. Alina was just some girl she used to go to school with. A classmate, a friend of a friend. Besides, she doubted complaining about her problems (most of which she had gotten into of her own volition anyway) would get the idea through the vamp’s head that Ishani’s life was anything other than picturesque. In a way, Ishani supposed she might be right—she probably had it better than whatever Alina’s situation was at the moment.

“It was hard at first,” she said quietly. “I stuck around until the very end. I was on Korriban when the crusaders came. Arc had left, but he told me he would come back for me, so I stayed, waiting for him, until I had no choice but to leave. Then I found out I was pregnant, screwed around for a little while trying to figure out what to do with myself, and ultimately decided I had no choice but to go home to my parents, take the veil, and actually listen to my elders for once, rather than blindly trying to rebel against them.”

Finishing up a third plate of pancakes, she held it out to Alina. She was going to have to mix up some more batter…

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Oh, wait. They were actually talking. Alina blinked, but kept quiet. Just listening to what Ishani Dinn had to say while watching the pancakes get cooked. They smelled good, at least. Really good. Not as good as blo- Oh no that was off topic for sure. She took up the pancakes once they were offered, starting to munch at a couple bites. Then laughed. "Oh, so being a senator is easy?" She smiled, warmly.

"I don't think your life was easy, if that's what you're assuming. I'm not jealous that you're a senator, or that you have a family." She turned, leaning on the counter as she took another bite. Even now it was tasting less like food and more like ash. Still good, just.. Dry.

"I'm jealous you got a choice. Happy for you, of course. But jealous all the same."