DISCLAIMER: Don't own, don't sue...
Thanks in particular to The Editor. Just as a sidenote, any other people who want to put in criticism, go ahead and flame if you want, Yavie and myself will just sit back...and laugh...at the ceiling fan.
Muahahaha.
Two packs of Skittles contributed to this insanity...I'm still writing a good chapter here, though...
Anyway, before my mindless pratter goes on and dissolves your mind itself, I conclude this with a simple thanks to all still reading.
Reflections and Refractions
Alcanar rose and, as was her custom by now, stopped by the hospital ward in the Temple to see Qui-Gon. Imaru followed her silently; she loved him just as deeply as Alcanar did. By now, there was no doubt in their minds as to who they could trust. It was always Qui-Gon, Xanatos, each other. Though not necissarily in that order...
"Alca? Qui-Gon gets out today or tomorrow, then we won't have to keep visiting him. It'll be fun, we can go bounce on his bed in the mornings instead," Imaru giggled, for once happy and quite at peace with her joy.
"'Maru...You know that we can't get in his quarters unless he has like three bedrooms there, one for his Padawan, one for him-"
"And one for us. Of course. But Liam and Chiara and Nuniel and Enya would have to come, too," Imaru protested.
"Kaikai? Enya follows me everywhere, and Liam when she can't find me. Look, back there."
Apparently Imaru hadn't felt the tiny child's Force-signature, for she turned around and nearly bumped into a sleepy Enya, still clutching a small stuffed penguin.
"Oops! Sorry, Enya!" she said quietly.
Enya looked up curiously, and then jumped out and randomly gave Imaru a hug.
"Meepmeep," the child said quite seriously, with such a somber expression on her face that it made Alcanar laugh and then take the child's hand in her own.
"C'mon, Enya. Let's go see Master Jinn." Alcanar lovingly walked alongside Enya, and it was apparent to anyone that she had become the new 'Liam' simply due to her kindness and sacrificing personality.
"Goomorning, Qui-Gon!" Imaru practically shouted as she jumped up to see the large Master.
"Meep!" Alcanar and Enya shouted in unison.
Qui-gon slowly looked at Alcanar, then Imaru, then Enya, then the cieling. After which, he promptly began to laugh.
"Good morning, girls," he said, and was about tosay something more when Alcanar interrupted.
"Why are you wearing that weird-ish robe, Master Jinn?"
He looked mock thoughtful for just a moment, then turned back to Alcanar.
"Perhaps because a certain little youngling took away a certain robe that the Healers were unable to find..." he looked stern for a minute but the expression on the seven-year-old's face made him smile broadly. He had known who had taken it, anyway. And it wasn't like it mattered... but if he wasn't careful, he'd be guarding his robe forever...
"Master Jinn! You are not by any means well enough to leave!"
"Then I apologize in advance for my absence." He was packing his clothes and lightsaber into a small bag to carry with him back to his quarters.
"I would argue, but I know you better than that...just make sure that you don't go too hard on yourself, alright?"
Mutely nodding, the tall Jedi walked out of the hospital ward and was immediately ambushed by a small gaggle of younglings. From the little crowd, he could pick out Alcanar, Nuniel, Enya, Liam, and Chiara. At the same time he began to recieve waves of laughter and heard the quiet footsteps of his padawan in the doorway.
It was all he could do not to smile. He reached down and gave a few of the children hugs and then shooed them away until only Alcanar and Xanatos were left.
"Alcanar. Where is your sister?" he asked, growing a little concerned. He knew all too well that the young girl liked to be alone, where she could think clearly, and often solve her own problems. Ever since her rough childhood, she had been dealing with issues, he knew. She rarely confided in anyone, and due to the thoughts that plauged her so often, she was usually introverted and serious.
"I dunno, Master Jinn. She said she was going to come with us, but she didn't show up. I think I know where she is, though, if it helps," she commented. Stopping for breath, she began talking again;
"She usually hides near the generators for the waterfalls in the Room of One Thousand Fountains. It gets really dark there, but sometimes at night she goes outside, or in the observatory with me."
"She needs to participate in more group activities..." he murmured. The girl may be quiet, but this was almost like a paranoia of people. She needed to reach out to more than just her sister and perhaps the Masters.
Imaru sat silently in the warm near-darkness, completely content with where she was. She was sitting cross-legged on a catwalk corner above the power core of the Temple, looking down into the fiery red mixed with yellow. They were pretty colors to her, and she liked them more than anything else. Except for green. Green was the prettiest color of them all.
A small vibration alerted her to someone's presence. Reaching out with the Force, she could tell it was Qui-Gon, Alcanar, and Enya.
Another vibration decided it. They were looking for her. Getting up, she turned to meet them.
"Master Jinn. It's good to see you out." Bowing, she walked out of her corner and followed them out to the main hallway. 'Maru looked pensive and was unusually talkative, as though nothing was wrong. Alcanar brushed it to the side and decided that she could look on it later.
A small boy, slightly younger than the twins, played in the sand, building castles. Imaru walked up to him and began to play, too. The skies were clear, a good sign for the day. S'ratha worked nearby, keeping an eye on Alcanar, who was playing on top of their small hut. Imaru contined playing as bounty hunters began to walk by, to see the Hutt who owned her. It happened almost every day... The little boy, scared, got up quickly to run away, but fell on his feet right in front of one of the Hunters, tripping him.
"Foul slave..." said the man, lifting the child up, "You aren't even worthy of life and yet you act like you run this place..." Pulling out his blaster, the green-armoured Hunter shot the child twice, once the the neck and once in the head, at point-blank range. The child moaned and slid down to the sandy ground, already dead.
"NOOOO! Karem! Brother! Karem!" Imaru screamed, over and over again as the various bounty hunters laughed at her reaction. As they walked off, her tears of hatred and sadness began to mingle with the sand below her, and wind began to whip up in a storm.
Karem...
The thought echoed in her head for hours. A sandstorm began to develop, and as S'ratha ran out to protect her little child, Imaru, from the stinging sand. Storms like this could kill a small child. Imaru fought her tooth and nail, and eventually was released and left alone.
"Kai! You'd better think about coming in... I know you cared about Karem but he's dead. Gone. He wouldn't want you to die, too."
With that, the older woman stalked back to take care of the more sensible twin. The sandstorm whipped Imaru's long hair around her, and knocked her down, effectively blinding her for the while. As she fell and succumbed to the sands around her, she heard a voice.
Kai? It's me. Karem.
The child appeared before her.
K-Karem? How are you here? You...you didn't...
She began to cry helplessly, watching the boy she had once called 'brother', walk towards her.
You're not alive! You're not here!
He patted her on the shoulder, and the swirling colour around them became clear. She saw her body, being overcome by the sand, while she stood up here, flying.
You're dying, Kai. If you want a chance at living, you have to be strong, be yourself. Look to avenge me later. Now's not the time. Now GO!
With that, she was forced out of the reality that had been created and into her own body...just in time to open her eyes and see Alcanar and Qui-Gon standing over her, worried.
"It was just a nightmare, 'Maru...just a dream..."
Or was it? You asked for a little fill-in for history, you got it! I'm going to put in more later, but in the form of meditation. Then we're going to make our little time jump. Fun, aye?
Anyway, reviews are more than appreciated. And please join the Dark Side, we have cookies... just kidding )
Del'Cera Osirin's sitting over here laughing his head off at fanfiction, if you wrote a story and he reviews it, I (Anij) will write a brief fic with YOU as a star in it!
And the 100th review gets a picture of a manga character of my creation. Email me if you're the 100th!
More coming soon.
Love you all!
-Anij Jinn
