Last time: Kyr talks to Sasha and it seems to work.

Now: Cien tries her hand at help with Sasha's recovery.

Chapter 3- Relaxing in the Mindspace

"Okay, let's just walk back to the other end now." Cien said at Sasha's side, trying to urge her to make her way back along the aisle.

"Alright," Sasha said, breathing heavily as she attempted to take another step. After a couple more steps, just like the day before, Sasha felt her joints lock up and she stopped. "Damn it," she cursed under her breath.

"Take your time." Cien said at her side.

"I'm sorry," Sasha apologized as she looked down, closing her eyes as she tried to compose herself. "I don't know why, but… I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Cien said. "Don't apologize, tell me what's going on."

"I don't know," Sasha admitted. "I just see what's ahead of me and when I reach this point, I… I freeze."

"Is it because you're heading back towards the chair?" Cien asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe," she said, uncertain.

Cien stood there for a second thinking before finally speaking. "Just take a few more steps. Just to the next post." She urged.

Sasha swallowed. "I'll try," she mumbled, opening her eyes. She took an uneasy step forward then another, but after the second step her vision swirled and she had to stop. Just looking forward was making her vision tunnel and making her dizzy. That was new. She groaned as she slammed her eyes shut and looked away. "I can't do it. I have to stop."

Cien looked at her worriedly. "What's happening?"

"I don't know. I don't know," Sasha repeated over and over again to herself.

"You've been doing this physical therapy for a while. Do you want to relax in the mindspace?" Cien suggested. She knew Sasha liked their mindspace sessions as an escape from the ailments she was facing out here. Someplace she could walk without it being a struggle. "I don't think cutting this session short will hurt anything."

"Yeah, I would like that," Sasha said with a nod as she looked at her, spent.

"Okay, let me get the chair and then we can settle down on the mats." Cien said, walking forward and using the small handles on the backrest to push it over to where Sasha was, and locked it in place. She came around the other side and offered Sasha a hand.

Sasha hesitated for a second before she took her hand and climbed into the chair with her help, sitting in it with a heavy sigh as it actually felt good to sit after being on her bad leg for so long. "Thanks," she breathed out as she adjusted herself in the chair.

"You're welcome." Cien said, unlocking it and bringing it out to the center of the exercise mats. "Where would you like to go?" She asked as she brought the chair to a stop.

"In the mindspace?" Sasha asked, clarifying her question.

"Yes." Cien answered as she came around, offering a hand out to Sasha so she could get out of the chair easier.

Sasha thought about it as she took Cien's hand and moved out of the chair and onto the floor. She settled onto the mats in a criss cross position. Or a close enough one as she couldn't really bend her left leg due to the brace, despite how flexible it is. As soon as she was settled, Sasha looked up to Cien. "Maybe the house during the warm season," she suggested.

"Okay." Cien said, settling down next to her in a meditative pose. She reached out and took Sasha's hand, and spent a few seconds trying to visualize the scene.

A flash of black and soon they were inside the mindspace together. They stood in the middle of the main living room, the area outside showing green trees and grasses in the height of summer. Sasha sighed in relief as she stretched out her muscles. Here in the mindspace she was able to actually stand and walk. And where she felt the most comfortable. She looked at Cien.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Sasha said, genuinely.

"You're welcome." Cien said, looking out the window at the view. It had been covered in snow for the last few weeks, it was nice to see it green again. Part of her realized this image in her mind was from the day she and Kyr had returned. The Spirit would probably be out in the meadow.

Sasha followed her gaze, looking outside. "So what should we do in here today?" She asked.

"Up to you." Cien said, looking over at her. "Would you like to stay in here, or do you want to go down to the firepit and relax in the sun for a while?"

She thought about it for a moment, contemplating their options. The thought of staying in didn't sound as appealing to her, but the sound of going outside sounded less than great too. Sasha was at a slight loss of what to do as she wasn't quite sure why she didn't want to go outside, but she chose this time of the year for the very reason of the weather. Finally, just making a decision, she looked back to Cien. "We can stay inside," Sasha said.

Cien looked at her a little worriedly. "Okay. Anything in particular you'd like to do?"

"I don't know," Sasha said as she thought about it. "Maybe we can do a game or something. Like those training games we used to do when we first started training in here together." She suggested.

"Sure." Cien said with a smirk, "should I hide something, then? Or do you want to hide it from me?"

"I could hide something," Sasha said, returning the smirk.

"Okay." Cien said, "any rules?"

"It will be within the grounds of the house and you can use memories to find it," Sasha explained. "The item will be linked to memories."

Cien cocked her head to the side. "Okay. What is it?" She asked.

"You have to find Lana's favorite doll," Sasha said, smiling. "You know the one that she always carries around with her now. Think you can handle it?"

"I think so." She said, looking over to where Lana's toys were scattered in the living room. No sign of it there. She decided to challenge herself by not delving into Sasha's memories, yet. She went over to the couch and looked under the chairs and sofa, making sure the obvious choice was not there. Standing up, she went to the next place that came to mind, Lana's nursery. She glanced at the table in the kitchen as she passed to make sure that it wasn't there, where Lana usually resided while everyone was in the kitchen, and went down the hall. She looked all over Lana's room, but found no sign of it. She glanced at Sasha. "Getting creative?"

"Maybe a little," Sasha teased with a smirk from the doorway to Lana's room. She was following Cien around to see if her sister could catch on to where the doll was hidden. Sasha was fairly confident that it wouldn't be an easy find.

Cien looked at her with a playful glare for a moment. "Just how creative were you?"

"Guess you'll have to find out," Sasha beamed.

Cien pursed her lips and then walked out of the room, then glanced back at Sasha with a sideways glance. She went to the kitchen, determined not to 'cheat' and use the memories quite yet. She opened the freezer, and looked through the contents.

"I can give you a hint," Sasha offered. "You're freezing cold." She joked.

"Oh ha, ha, ha." Cien said. "You really are Kyr's little sister." She groused as she walked back out into the living room, pursing her lips again in thought.

Sasha chuckled at that. "Thanks, I think," she said as she followed her.

"Any other hints? Maybe a helpful one?" Cien asked, looking at her sister.

"Alright, it's not in any of the common rooms like the living room or the training room," Sasha said.

Cien thought for a moment, trying to think of an uncommon room, as it were. She glanced at Sasha with narrowed eyes, and then strode down the long hall to Viran and Sasha's bedroom, next to Lana's nursery. "May I go in?" She asked, looking at Sasha.

"Sure," Sasha said with a nod to the door.

Cien turned the handle and stepped in. The door swung open into a decently sized master bedroom suite. There was a large queen sized bed that sat in the center of the furthest wall with two nightstands on either side that was adorned with small items fitting for either Sasha or Viran. To the right of the bed was a long dresser with various items, gear, and a singular holoframe. At the foot of the bed was a cushioned bench with a couple pairs of boots tucked underneath. On the wall next to the door was a desk that contained various stacks of datapads and other study materials that looked like the medical journals Kelce gave Sasha, but also some random ship manuals for Viran. And on the left side of the room were two doors. One was open to a dark closet and the other was closed, most likely the bathroom.

Cien stepped into the room, this was the first time she had ever actually gone in. Before, the few times she had followed Sasha back here when she was grabbing something or tending to Lana, Cien had stayed at the door way. She looked around, trying to figure out where to even start looking for the doll. And felt a little like an intruder. "Is it in here?" She asked with a slight hint of caution in her voice.

Sasha could tell that Cien seemed a little out of her comfort zone and shook her head. "No, but I was curious to see if you'd check. But no, it's somewhere else. However, you are getting warmer," she informed her.

Cien nodded and looked over the room and her eyes settled for a moment on the holoframe, which had an image of Sasha and Viran's wedding day. "That really is a beautiful dress." She said with a smile.

"Thanks," Sasha said with a slight blush to her cheeks as she smiled. "Kitsu helped me pick it out. I was fine with just some nice Jedi robes or something, but she insisted. But I'm glad I did it. I really did love wearing that dress." She looked over to the closet. "However, now it just sits in there gathering dust."

Cien glanced at the closet as well. "Same for my dress." She said a little sheepishly, and threw a glare at Sasha.

Sasha smiled at her. "I know you still hate me for doing that, but you are still welcome. I know he must have loved it."

Cien huffed at her and walked out of the room trying to hide a smile. Then she stopped, and looked at Sasha sharply. "You didn't…" She said.

"I would never without your permission, but there are other rooms over there that you guys might have used before," Sasha said vaguely.

Cien turned sharply and walked down the hallway to get out of this wing of bedrooms, and then went through the large living room to get over to the other wing where her and Kyr's room was. She walked down the long corridor, suspecting Sasha of a repeat of her mischief. She stepped into her old room, and, oddly, here in the mindspace it still had all the trappings as if she had never left, and on the bed was the white box where Sasha had surprised her with the dress.

"It really has been a while since I've actually been in here," Sasha said more to herself than Cien as she looked around.

Cien threw her a look. "Yeah, not since the night Kyr and I got back." She said with a raised eyebrow, trying to keep a stern expression on her face.

"Ah okay. Well, you're close," Sasha said subtly.

"What do you mean?" Cien said, shooting her a glance.

"I mean with finding the doll," Sasha said.

"Oh, I thought you had snuck in here again." Cien said teasingly, as she looked around the room. She went and picked up the box, looking under it. Nothing there, so she put the box down, and pulled the lid up, the dress was still inside, which made her smile, but no doll. She pursed her lips and then got down on all fours, looking under the bed. And she smiled as she retrieved the doll. She stood up triumphantly.

"Well done," Sasha said, smiling.

"Thank you. Do you want me to hide something for you?" Cien asked.

"Sure," Sasha said with an eager nod.

Cien thought for a moment trying to decide on what to hide, and where to hide it. She smiled after a second and concentrated, placing the item in the world around them. Then she looked over at Sasha. "The two Kyber crystals in their leather wrap. Good luck." Cien said mischievously.

"Alright," Sasha said, rubbing her hands together before looking up and down the hall. She thought for a moment of where Cien could have hid them. To be fair, she had no idea where they actually were in the house so she had nothing to go off of. After a brief moment of thought, she headed towards the living room and started looking around. She searched under the couch, between the cushions, and even in the chairs. It took her a few minutes to thoroughly sweep through the room. Sitting back on her heels after looking under the rug, she looked up at Cien. "Am I even close?"

"Hmmm…" Cien thought, "no." She said with a smirk, "do you want a clue or do you want to look a little longer?"

Sasha thought about it for a moment. "Let me keep trying and see if I can find it."

"Okay." Cien said as she stepped aside.

Sasha moved from the living room and started looking around in the dining room next as she knew that Cien really liked that room. She looked under the table and chairs. But there was no sign of the wrap. So she moved off to the kitchen and started looking around through the drawers then the pantry then the fridge. After looking through every possible place in the kitchen, Sasha stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips, biting her lip as she was deep in thought. She kept thinking of any other locations, but she was stumped.

"Okay, clue please," Sasha said looking at Cien.

Cien thought for a moment, "you might find them someplace in the house that has the oldest connection to you." She said, hoping that would be vague enough to still be a challenge.

"Oldest connection to me?" Sasha repeated out loud. She thought about that for a moment. The only things that came to her mind was either her shared room with Viran or Oppie's room and she didn't want to intrude there. So she headed back down to her room with Viran. When she got to the room, she opened the door and started looking through the various drawers and even the closet. But nothing. Then she realized that Cien had hardly ever actually been in there before so she wouldn't hide it in this room.

Then an idea came to mind. She moved out of the room and towards the hangar. There was only one place that has been with her for so long. She entered into the hangar and headed straight for the Forerunner. She went up the ramp and looked around the main compartment of the ship. Sitting on top of her bunk was a small wrap that Sasha instantly recognized. Sasha grabbed and opened it to reveal the two crystals.

"Boom, found it," Sasha said as she turned to Cien, holding out the wrap.

"Well done." Cien said, looking around the small ship with a mix of memories.

"Wanna do another round of this?" Sasha asked.

"Sure" Cien said, noting that Sasha seemed to be in much better spirits from their game. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Okay, give me a moment," Sasha said. Taking a moment, she thought of what to hide next and where to hide it. After a moment, a smile pulled at her lips once she had it. "Alright. Ready when you are. You are to find Tac's knitting needles."

Cien considered for a moment. "Hmmmm." She thought. She walked off the Forerunner and went across to the Shadow Runner, walking up the ramp to look near Tac's favorite data port near the turrets. "Might as well eliminate the obvious while we're here." She said to Sasha.

"Fair enough," Sasha said with a shrug as she followed behind Cien.

Seeing the needles not there, and not having really expected them to be, Cien went down the ramp and tried to think of anything else. She strode across the hangar into the corridor that led to the house, and upstairs into the living room. Walking over to the kitchen, she stopped in front of the caf machine, and started looking around it, trying to see if they might be there. She stood up, finding nothing again. Sasha would be more creative than that. She thought for a moment, and then wandered slowly into the living room, trying to think. The last two items had been personal to the other, but hidden in the opposite place you might think. But she was stumped trying to think of something analogous for Tac.

The armory came to mind for someplace that would be special for Tac, since he so enjoyed weapons and explosions, so the opposite would be… The Medbay. She smirked at Sasha, and then went back down the stairs, down to the medbay. She looked around, trying to see if it was on the beds. There were no tell tale lumps in the sheets, and she started opening cabinets, but to no avail. After several minutes of searching she wasn't able to find anything, in all the various cabinets, all the drawers. The surgical suite was as sterile as ever, as was the bacta treatment room. She looked at Sasha, "any hints?" She asked.

"Hmm, let's just say that Tac would have a… difficult time getting there, but we should have no problem," Sashe said.

"We don't have to climb the mountain, do we?" Cien asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but you're definitely on the right track," Sasha said with a giggle.

Cien looked at her for a moment, "ah, well then." She said with a smirk, and then headed out the medbay, down the corridor and up the stairs. She approached the front door. "I'm glad we imagined this in summer time so we didn't have to trudge out through two meters of sn-"

As soon as Cien opened the front door, she and Sasha skidded to a halt, frozen in fear. Just beyond the door was a tall figure in dark robes and a black helmet. Dracul. Behind him stood Ikari and Selina, both smiling menacingly at Sasha and Cien. Sasha felt her heart stop and her breathing quicken slightly as she slowly backed away from the door.

Cien slammed the door shut, breathing heavily after seeing her old master and Selina as she held it closed. "What was that?" She asked Sasha, her voice shaken.

"I… I don't know," Sasha answered, her voice trembling with fear. "I don't know where they came from."

A saber blade thrust through the door, stabbing right past Cien's head. She stared at it for a split second before she and Sasha both ran for the back porch door off the living room, trying to get away. As soon as they reached the door, six figures loomed on the other side. At the front of them all was Von Signa. And Sasha recognized all the others behind him. The Mauldalorian. The brothers. The Weequay. And the droid. Sasha skidded to a stop that resulted in her slipping and falling backwards onto her butt. She looked up in horror at the figures. Von pulled out his cheroot with one hand and pointed his blaster at the window with the other, straight towards Sasha.

Cien grabbed her arm and pulled, and they both fell into the blackness of the mindspace, away from the horrifying visions. Cien was a little wide-eyed and breathing short, almost panicked breaths. "Are you okay?" Cien asked Sasha, looking at her with a hint of fear in her eyes.

Sasha sat there, frozen in place as tears fell down her cheeks, her breathing also quite heavy. She tried to form the words to respond, but her voice was failing her as her body trembled.

Cien went to her side and wrapped her in an embrace. "It's okay." She said, still trying to push away her own horror at seeing Dracul after so many years, and Selina after too few.

Sasha buried her face into Cien's shoulder as she hugged her back, and lightly sobbed. "Why were they there?" She asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Cien sat there hugging her sister for a moment. If it had just been the first three then it might have been some nightmare of hers manifested in the mindspace, but she had to presume the others at the porch had been the bounty hunters. She had at least recognized Von Signa from the picture they had of him. And they hadn't manifested until they tried to go outside. To try to leave Haven. "I don't know." She finally said, though she had a sneaking suspicion.

"I'm done for today. Can we please go back?" Sasha asked after a moment, in an almost defeated, but still terrified tone as she clutched Cien a little tighter.

"Yes." Cien said, and she broke their connection. She woke up in the training room, next to Sasha, still holding her hand. And she looked over at her, squeezing her hand as she woke up as well.

Sasha opened her eyes and looked around the training room. She reached up with her other hand and wiped her face. Then she dropped her hand and looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry," she said softly after a moment.

"It's okay vod'ika." Cien said, looking at her worried.

"What was that? What happened?" Sasha asked, looking up at Cien.

"I'm not sure." Cien said, "is it possible that was… some manifestation of being afraid of what's outside the house?" Cien asked carefully. Deep down she hated the fact that she figured that out because of her experience as an interrogator, trying to figure out people's fears to use in the mindspace.

Sasha looked up at Cien on that. "I'm not afraid to leave the house," she said as convincingly as she could, but the tone that came out said otherwise.

Cien looked at her softly. "Are you sure?" She asked as gently as she could.

Sasha sat there thinking about it for a moment. Was she sure? She didn't know. After a moment, she shook her head and started moving as if to grab her chair. "I'm sure. And I'm sorry, but I'm done for today," she said quietly and in that defeated tone Op had mentioned.

Cien looked at her worriedly for a moment. "Wait." She asked.

"What?" Sasha asked, stopping and looking at her.

Cien tried to figure out what to say, and then hesitated, deciding to offer something else. "Do you have a bathing suit?" She asked.

"Huh? Uh… yeah," Sasha said, unsure of why Cien was asking.

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