Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I'm sorry about the lateness but this chapter was giving me so much trouble. Hopefully the next one will be less fussy. Just a note about the chapters, it will start off with a flashback and end with a flashback, but Revan does have her memories back, it's not her discovering her memories. Must thank iceycold for the use of Vin! 3
noneko - I 3 Dustil he just snuck in there. And yes, my beta made that noise at the end too. snackfiend101 - yes, the apron makes me giggle, gotta love a man that can cook. Thankyou everyone else, much love!
Foresight
Chapter 1
She tried to keep her movement impassive, any slight deviation, any flicker of doubt within herself and she would be feeling the cool slice of metal against her skin. She had to find a medium between calm and alert so as not to make it notice her. She was trying to make herself small, unobtrusive, so that it would go past her, not give her another glance. It took strength and control she did not think she possessed to keep her mind and body clear. Focusing on it made it all the more hard and she had to work at keeping each limb from even twitching. With her vision blocked and her eyes shut without any movement she had to keep her mind free.
Keeping her mind black left it open and vulnerable to thoughts even more so than when she was focused on a task. But she was focused on a task, this was her task, to keep completely still until she was out of the scope of being sensed. Her breathing had stopped an hour, two hours ago; in this restless state of 'blank,' being the only way to describe it, she was one with nothing. The concept of it was so hard to grasp that it had taken her months to get here, but she was here nonetheless and she would not give up on her task. She would not let it find her. She was stubborn, if nothing else, but obstinacy alone would not allow her to win. She had to dive into the teachings and mannerisms that she was desperately trying to avoid and fight off, just to make it to this point.
A blank canvas. A clean slate. An empty mind and body. She was finally free of any sensations. The feeling was wonderful, but to call it a feeling would not be doing it justice. The complete and total clear aura that she was immersed in made every emotion, every thought, every awareness disappear and all that was left was a soothing void. This void was not capable of pain, or hunger, or comfort, or love, it was just there, to exist, and to be. There were no motivations beyond that.
Pride at accomplishing this filtered in and the void disappeared. She could hear the rush of metal against the wind and she gave in to the temptation to open her eyes. The black blade, it, was pointed directly between her eyes, hovering in the air and waiting to dispose of her taint.
She felt the direct movement of a hand sweeping through the air and allowed air to fill her lungs again as the black blade was taken away from it's threatening pose. She felt a tight burn in her throat and grasped her chest, bending over in her sitting position as the circulation returned into her body, warmth to her blood, and all her bodily impulses came back into play. The owner of the hand, her master, spoke while she heaved and coughed on the floor.
"Very good, Padawan," the teacher's silky words came out smooth and with only the slightest hint of pride.
The young girl shuddered against her own impulses and the tiny tremor of satisfaction that came at hearing those words. Praise from her teacher was few and far between and the slightest word caused the girl to alight in the knowledge that she had reached this high standard, set by her master.
Her teacher continued, holding the black blade at her side, as if it was not even there. "Not many have reached this point. So I am not well versed in this speech."
The girl leaned back, her eyes wide as her breathing slowly returned to normal and she calmed the shuddering that was causing her body to convulse in unrest. She would not speak, even if she could cause her vocal chords to spring back to life, or force her lips back to their faint peach color instead of the pale blue they were currently employing. Her master turned around and placed it back on its mantle piece. She turned towards the girl and waited for her young legs to find their strength and for the girl to lift herself up.
The student silently groaned with the effort and winced at the prickling feeling shooting down her legs as she rested her weight on them and stood before her master. She pulled her hands behind her back as the teacher stood above her. It was the perfect image of a young padawan and her master, except the Padawan's face was still deathly pale and her hair was pasted to her face with sweat. "I am ready for the next step," the young girl managed without choking or coughing. The ancient dialect was hard to pronounce, but it was never the language part of it that bothered her.
It was speaking with a Sith tongue and knowing how close it was to the Ancient Jedi language.
Her master nodded at her. "You have had but a taste of what that power was…" she lifted her lithe arm in the air and she pointed with her gloved hand towards the mantle. The black blade, the scourge of the young girl's life for months, flew into her hand and it glowed blacker than before. The teacher moved the hilt towards her student.
The girl tentatively reached her fingers around the blade, feeling the power surge into her and quickly shoving it back down into the blade. The black blade was no longer black, it was a steady stream of violet and she could see and feel it hum in her hands.
"Now, see that the ancient power we have been exploring is not the power of some ancient Jedi tool… it is within you," the teacher let the briefest of smiles cross her face, "As it has always been, Revan."
-
Revan was sprawled out on the floor, one leg tucked under her and the other stretched long and away from her. She had a hydrospanner in hand and a few component pieces in her mouth. She tirelessly began to make the motions of fixing up the spare parts in front of her. She gave a triumphant nod and spit out the few pieces in her mouth as she finished. She tapped her toes and looked around the room for something else to do.
T3-M4 whirred past her as the little droid made its rounds. She curled her other leg under her and narrowed her vision. She whistled at the droid. "Oy, T3. C'mere!" The droid stopped its trip and spun its headpiece around. He made a low whirring noise in fear at the sign of Revan with a hydrospanner. She rolled her eyes, "Just shut up and come here, I want to update your process chip."
T3 let out a tirade of beeps.
Revan frowned and glared at him. "Because I'm bored, you tin can! You don't need another reason – and don't beep-beep me! Just get over here." She shook her head as the droid finally complied. "I really should get rid of you, but unfortunately, flyboy thinks you're swell."
T3 beeped a few times in irritation.
Revan scoffed as she began to remove a section of paneling. "Of course I like HK better. He was built by me," she lowered herself to be more even to T3's inner compartments, "And he gives me less sass."
The little droid let out a few more noises and his processors buzzed.
She let out a sharp laugh and carefully moved a few wires out of the way, "Very eloquently put, I'll be sure to tell HK-47 that, when he gets done recharging." Revan sat in silence for a few minutes as she concentrated on updating a few programs and basic maintenance. She stopped as she noticed something a bit off, "Since when did you start storing messages?"
The astromech droid let out a low nervous beep.
Revan frowned at that and began to fiddle with the small droids programming, "Yeah well I wanna watch it. You're my droid, I had to kill Bendak Starkiller to get you and listen to Bastila and Carth bitch about it for three days straight so I have rights to watch whatever you have – ah there!"
The light blue of a holo crackled and fizzled and then came into focus displayed above T3's headpiece. Revan lifted herself up on her knees as she noted who the speaker was. "What are you wearing, flyboy?" she muttered to herself before being silenced by the quiet desperation in the holo's voice.
"T3, there's not much time - I've seen that expression on her face before," the Carth holo shook his head, "Now I don't know where she's planning on going, but it's dangerous. She's going to leave without telling me –" Revan felt a jolt of pain at that remark… he knew. "I don't know why, but there's a chance that she'll take you. If she does, I need you to watch out for her. She's strong, but she can't face everything alone." Revan's hand dropped to her sides as she stared at it, "Do what you can, T3 - if she doesn't make it back, then I need you to come back, find help. If not me, then other Jedi, the Republic..." The holo's face was hardened and she could catch the hint of sadness that was reflected in the blue tinted eyes, "I can't lose her, even if she wants to be lost."
Revan sat numbly on the floor staring blankly at where the holo was located earlier. She was barely roused out of it when she heard a series of beeps from T3. She shook her head sadly, "No, I- I guess I was planning on that."
She turned her gaze towards the door and bit her lip. "I have to explain it to him…" she lifted herself up, "Somehow."
-
The fork clinked against the empty plate, signaling a lull in the conversation and the inevitable overture that was on its way. Revan looked carefully at the piece of silverware and considered shoving it through her arm as a distraction. If she did that, Carth would have to rush her to the medical facilities and then baby her until they found out why she had shoved a fork in herself. She let a long drawn-out sigh leave her mouth and put the fork down. He would never have fallen for it anyway.
"Carth…" she began looking across the table at the unsuspecting victim of her latest scheme. Except it wasn't a scheme, and this wasn't funny.
He looked up from his plate with a smile and upon seeing the tight expression in her eyes and the determined set of her shoulders he frowned. "The rebuilding effort on Citadel is going really well, they've got some new tech that worked in the Mandalorian Wars helping out with the shield generators and I've heard nothing but good things."
Revan bit her lip and tried again, "Carth."
He shrugged it off, "You know it's getting harder and harder to find good techs these days, I mean with all the droids processing new information, it's like all everyone wants is droids doing all the work, but who are you going to pick when the droids break down? That's what I'd like to know," he let out a forced and nervous laugh.
"Carth…"
He was not listening and she felt her gut tighten at his compulsory speech. "It's not like it's not a lucrative market for those guys, I mean droid repair, droid building is one thing, but the whole set up with shields and generators and what-not that needs some hands on work-"
"Carth!" she had not realized that her tone was loud and frustrated until she had spoken. She pressed her palms against the table and let her shoulders droop as she stared at him.
He chuckled softly, "Not like the Republic doesn't need a good set of Techs…"
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I-I need to talk to you about something."
He looked away, "Good techs are hard to come by, and if you had the real skill for it you could make a killing."
"Carth!" she tried again, desperately. "I'm trying to tell you something here."
He stood up and slammed his hands on the table making it shake. "Damnit, woman! I know what you're going to tell me." She felt her breath catch in her throat as he waved off to T3-M4 who was powered down in the corner. She found her hands utterly incapable of staying still and brought them to her lap. He continued on, "You…" his voice was dry on the words and there was a hint of scorn in his words, "you're leaving." A statement. Not a question. She nodded softly and twisted her hands in her lap. He stared at her until she looked up at him and with a single word brought her resolve crumbling, "Why?"
She knew looking into those eyes that this was going to be the hardest part, not facing whatever danger awaited her in the dark regions of wherever she was going, but him, here, now, with her leaving. That would be impossible. "I can't – I mean I'm – Carth I have to-" Words were always a strong point with Revan, even when she was younger and shy, when she would speak they would have meaning and be useful. She had read up on every form of literature and every possible article or reference on speaking, she had even trained in politics and social situations, but here with Carth she was useless and stumbling.
He walked over to where she was trying to form words and knelt by her chair. Carth lifted her chin with his hand and met her vision with a strong resolve, "You don't have to do anything." He moved his finger to cover her cheek and gave a half smile, "Just stay here, with me."
As she looked down into those deep brown eyes, and she realized she would give anything not to remember. Every one of her memories was a precious gift that she had sorely taken for granted over the years, but if she could just forget what she had done, forget what she needed to do, she could stay. But Revan was pragmatic, Revan was practical, Revan was a tactician, and Revan did what she set out to do no matter whom she hurt. And this time it looked like she would be hurting the one person she wanted to keep that from.
She brought her hand from her lap and covered the one on her face, leaning into the feel of his palm on her chin. She breathed in deeply, trying to capture this moment, let it be one of the memories that she would never take for granted again. "I have to leave, Carth…" she said finally and looked at him, the hard resolve in her eyes finally returning as his hand slipped off her face, "And I can't take you with me."
Carth pulled back from kneeling and stood up. "I'm not some washed out geezer that hasn't gotten his feet wet. Revan, it's only been a year since the Star Forge. I was on that station with you, or did you forget that?"
She shook her head, cutting herself away from any feeling in the conversation. If she was going to do this, she had to do it now. "This is different."
He raked a hand through his hair in an act of exacerbation. "How, Revan? How is this different? Or do you think I'm too stupid to understand…" he shook his head and she made no reaction, which seemed to aggravate him more. He shot a glance toward her and she could tell an idea had formed in his head, "Would you have even told me anything if you hadn't found that message in T3?" his voice was quiet and she could hear the hurt, "Would you have just left?"
She could not look at him anymore and dipped her head toward her lap, "I don't know," she said softly.
"What was that?" he said, his voice taking on a more angered tone, though there was still that hint of desperation.
She snapped her head up, "I said, 'I don't know.' I'm sorry, Carth, but I don't."
He leaned back; his jaw set firmly and crossed his arms against his chest. "Then tell me, Revan, what do you know?"
She bit back the biting remark that came to her as soon as he said that and stood up slowly. "I can't talk to you when you're like this." She turned around sharply and headed toward the bedroom.
He growled in frustration behind her and grabbed her arm, roughly, turning her to face him. "Like what, Revan? Like a man who's scared of losing what put him back together again? Like that?"
She stiffened in his grip and stared at him, cold and hard. She had done this many times before in her youth and she could do it again. Just cut off from the conversation, don't show any emotion and she wouldn't get hurt. "No, like someone who's being unreasonable and trying to guilt me into staying, when I have to leave," she said coolly.
Carth released his grip on her arm as if she'd burned him. "I'm being unreasonable?" he said slowly.
She nodded and hugged her arms around herself, in an unconscious act of protection. "Yes, you are trying guilt me out of something I need to do. I would call that being unreasonable."
He shook his head, "You are unbelievable; you know that?"
She could not think of a response and walked away from him and into the bedroom. She was aware of him walking behind her, as she settled down on the bed and began to take off her shoes. He made no movement towards her, just stood there numbly as she started to undress and get ready for bed. She heard a heavy sigh mixed with a dry chuckle as she began to take her shirt off and pulled it back down as she turned to face him. "What?" she eyed him cautiously.
He shook his head, "That's no fair. I can't talk any sense if you're not wearing clothes."
She smiled lightly and it died fast on her mouth. She could not cut him off; Carth had broken that ability within her. She no longer had the strength to keep him out. And that was why he had to stay. She slowly lifted herself off the bed and walked over to him, "Carth," she said softly.
"Don't start that again," his tone was wry, but his eyes were heavy.
Revan stared at him for a moment, before wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. She felt him sigh and wrap his arms around her in return. "I'm so sorry, Carth."
"Don't be sorry," he said softly, "Just don't leave."
She shut her eyes against the bitter sting of tears that threatened to fall. She did not cry. She had barely shed a tear when she lost her family; she would not start now. "I have to do this, Carth," she continued, effectively cutting off whatever he was going to say in response, "And I can't take anyone I love with me."
He was silent for a moment, before slowly pulling her back by her shoulders at looking at her. He said with the most serious and sincere tone he had, "I love you, Revan." He kept his eyes locked with hers and she burned under his gaze, but could not turn away, "I would do anything for you," his voice and manner were so heartfelt that she did not feel worthy to be in his presence.
But Revan saw every opportunity put before her and this one was staring at her in the face. "Anything?" she asked seriously, "Anything at all?"
"Yes," Carth said without a pause or hesitation.
She slowly guided her hands to his arms and down to where his hands rested firmly on her shoulders, "Then stay here, Carth. Keep the Republic strong."
"What?" he was caught off guard and she was fondly reminded of Taris when she had fooled him into fighting in the dueling ring instead of him as if it was his idea.
She nodded slowly, "The Republic needs strong leaders to help it rebuild. You're a war hero, you're a good solid leader, a great speaker, and if I may say," she said with a cheeky smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "a demon in the sack. Though I hope you won't be using that skill."
He twisted his hands to hold hers. "I can't do that, Revan. I can't just let you go off to – wherever, by yourself."
She felt a twinge of regret as he let go of her hands and went to sit on the bed. She stared at him as he sighed deeply and held his head up with his arms rested on his legs. She took a deep breath and tried to down the urge to just give up on this. She sat down next to him and rested her hand on his arm. "You said you would do anything for me and the Carth Onasi I know doesn't mince his words."
He stared at her, all at once seeming strong and frightened. "Alright," he said, defeated. "For you, I'll stay."
She tried not to let the relief show on her face but fell into his arms feeling grateful. "Thank you, Carth. I love you."
"You'd better," he said with another attempt at humor, but it died as he held her tightly to him. She clung to him and tried to crawl into his skin, trying to savor every last piece of him she could find. They just sat there together and he only spoke again after a long moment and a weary sigh, "When?"
She was practically in his lap now and felt childish curled up his arms. She felt afraid. "Tomorrow… I don't think I can wait any longer."
He nodded slowly, "I guess I could take High Admiral Trest up on his offer." She tried to find words, but they would not come to her mind and she just stayed silent and near him. He pressed his nose into her hair and breathed in. She could feel his lips against her forehead as he spoke, "Don't let me lose you."
"I don't want to be lost," she said quietly and leaned up to look at him. "You don't have to-"
He silenced her quickly by pressing his lips to hers and she felt like she was taking her last breath of oxygen before diving into a deep sea. But the irony was, Revan didn't know how to swim.
He pressed his forehead against hers and fingered a strand of her hair, "I'll wait as long as you need me, gorgeous. Just don't dawdle out there."
She kissed him and then they were just playing parts that had been played across the galaxy for millennia before them. Two lovers saying one last goodbye.
-
They could not say goodbye near the Ebon Hawk. They were going to part ways at the transport modules, Carth back to their quarters and Revan to the Hawk. That was the deal, but after an awkward hour of just holding each other and ignoring the odd onlookers, no one wanted to be the first to leave. Carth arms around Revan were tight and he made no move to let her go.
She glanced at the clock and knew that the last module would be leaving in ten minutes. It was now or never. She carefully slid her hands down his chest and softly pushed him away. She caught his eyes and could not form the words, but took a terrifying step back. She closed her eyes and put her head down, rubbing out the tension with her fingers. He moved to put his arms around her again, but as she stiffened he settled for just placing reassuring hands on her shoulders.
"You – you don't-" he stopped his speech, she had made him promise not to ask her again and he would keep his promise. She almost wished he wouldn't. She slowly lifted her head and looked at him, trying to commit his face to memory as she put her hands on the ones on her shoulders. She held them for a moment, reveling in the familiarity of hands that had protected and comforted her countless times.
"I can't…" she licked her lips trying to make this come out right, "I have to be selfish again."
He quirked an eyebrow as she brought his hands down and let them drop, realizing she was not speaking of the impending trip, "What now?" It was supposed to be a joke; he knew that, she knew that. With the way his lips turned in that familiar smile of his and that dry chuckle that left his lips, it was supposed to be funny. But it was forced and it no one was really laughing.
She ran her tongue over her lips and tried to keep her gaze steady. "Can you walk away first," she did not break to let him interrupt, "I don't want to have me leaving you on my mind where I'm going… I just it would be easier – I mean not easier but-"
He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her, cutting off any more of her words and putting everything he had into this final goodbye. She was being terribly selfish in every sense: she was making him stay so she would not be distracted and hurt by him getting hurt, she was making him keep the Republic strong when he wanted to be with her, she was making him leave and walk away from her when she knew she was the one doing it. And Carth complied with everything… she felt own guilt nagging at her and tried to shut it out as she pressed herself against him. She wasn't aware when it ended or who broke off for air, but at that second he had more strength than her.
Carth let her go and with one last look he turned sharply. She did not waste a second and shut herself off from all around her in the Force and in view. She was as good as gone as Carth turned around to look back at her. She could not watch the look on his face as he sighed and turned back around.
When he was out of sight she made her way silently towards the Hawk. She had never felt more numb as when walking towards the ship.
The droids were waiting for her when she got there and she wished she could be like that again, solid and programmed. There was something frighteningly comforting about being programmed. To know that all your actions were based on what was set in your protocols… to be able to shift blame. It was never the droid's fault, it was always the programmer or the tech – of course some people did blame the droid.
Revan walked up the ramp and threw her sack on the floor, hearing the droids come up behind her. She followed T3 into the cockpit and climbed into the pilot's chair. It felt off being there. Carth had not been the pilot the entire time, but she had never sat in this chair and it always seemed like he was here. If she closed her eyes she could still picture him sitting in this chair in that garish orange jacket taking them away from Tatooine.
She breathed in deep and trying to banish the thought that it still smelled like him, felt like him, was in all essence, him. She blinked back the tears and had to register a moment of shock as they fell on her face. She could remember a lot of things now, practically every memory, but the last time she had cried was vague and too far back to even comprehend. But now she was biting back sobs as the ship began to take off and the emptiness and finality of what she was doing sank in.
She just curled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. She sobbed heavily and loudly; ignoring whatever disgust she would feel the next day for her weakness.
-
"Da!" the young girl called out helplessly. "DA!" she called again, stretching her voice. She had been searching for nearly an hour and somehow she had been led to this tall cliff. Standing looking up at the imposing precipice caused fear to wrap around her. She knew she should have waited for someone to come with her, but it had never stopped her before and she felt something was wrong. She had to follow. "Da!" she screamed towards the top of the cliff.
She reached out a hand to a heavy rock ledge that was just high enough for her to grab and tried to pull herself up. She did not know why, but she felt that her father was up there. She could feel him. If she shut her eyes she could smell her father's heady scent after a long day of working out in the fields and the slight residue of oil and dirt that filled the air and the thick leather of his boots.
She winced against the pain as her knee came in contact with a particularly sharp edge of rock. She instinctively pulled herself up onto the ledge and held the knee, now exposed underneath her trousers and bleeding from the small scrape.
She unconsciously hid away from the pain, trying to focus her mind on the task at hand. This was just another droid to fix up for the farm, just another obstacle to cross, another datapad to read. She pulled the gloves she was wearing tighter on her hands and firmly grasped her hand onto the next handhold. She focused on the overpowering awareness of her father and tried to follow it and let it guide her to him. She had to use all the strength in her arms and legs to hoist herself up and resisted the unwavering urge to look down as she climbed further and further up the rock face.
She coughed as some dust fell towards her face and shut her eyes to keep out any loose fragments. She let out a harsh sneeze and all at once felt her grip slipping from her latest handhold. The girl let out a sharp gasp. Panic gripped her as her she frantically tried to keep her fingers on the stone. She had no grip with her gloves and she was becoming more aware of the pain in her knee. She was losing that thin line to her father and it was alarming her.
In that one moment of pure fear, where her connection to him was gone, no smell, no picture, nothing in her mind, her grip vanished and she fell. Her lungs did nothing but take in air and she could not even find the urge to scream as the wind whipped her cheeks and arms, turning them red in seconds. She felt nothing. The fear of the inevitable landing did not even have time to compute as she felt something jar her out of the air.
Her side went numb with the brunt of it and she jerked into a hard and malleable surface. After a moment she felt and heard heavy breathing that was not her own, and the hard jolt from the ground. She dared to open her eyes and realized she was being cradled in a stranger's arms. It did not make any sense, as she knew that she had fallen from too high for someone to catch her. She glanced up and her vision was clouded just enough to make out blue eyes and light hair. She brought her arm up in front of her weakly and turned her head as she heard a familiar voice, bringing her out of what must have been a dream.
"REVAN!" the startled cry belonged to her cousin who she could tell had been crying, her instinctive urge to tease her was thwarted when the woman took her from the man's arms and wrapped her own tightly around her. She held her close and dropped to the ground, weeping and embracing the girl. Her cousin let her go and looked up at the man who was joined by another with blonde hair, "Thank you! Master Jedis," she said with much emotion. Revan was beginning to come to her senses and noticed them quirk their lips at that comment. She was spun back around to face her cousin now completely sure of her safety. "We were so worried about you, Revan. Why did you run off, bantha-brain?" she smacked her arm lightly the relief clearly showing in her face.
All at once Revan remembered why she was climbing. "Da!" she said frantically, her voice coming back slowly. She whipped around towards the two men, "My father is up there," she pointed breathlessly towards the cliff, "He's hurt, please help him!"
She was not aware what a 'Jedis' was, but she knew that they had saved her and she wanted them to save her father. The man who had joined them eyed her carefully as her cousin waved them off, "Her father is not up there. Revan, don't be telling nonsense. I swear her head is always in a book," she looked down at the child with a scolding look in her eye.
Revan stepped away firmly and her eyes were cold and hard as she turned back towards the two men, "I know he's up there," she said firmly, "I felt him."
Her cousin was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, Revan could tell without turning around. "Revan-"
The blonde man kneeled before Revan and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember exactly where you felt him?"
"Vin?" the other man stepped closer.
The blonde man, apparently Vin shook his head, "I know, Kavar, but maybe you can use that jumping skill for climbing and really 'wow' me."
The other man, Kavar, made an odd expression that was a mixture of a frown and a smile. "Revan?" he said tentatively, as if testing out the name, "Can you concentrate on what you felt?"
Vin squeezed her shoulder encouragingly, "Yes, try to picture it in your head."
Revan held her breath and closed her eyes as she tried to remember exactly where that thin line was coming from. She felt it faintly just out of her grasp and it came into her mind. "He's near the top, by moorak."
Her cousin took a sharp breath and took a step forward, taking Revan a step back from the two Jedi. "I don't know what you're getting at here, but it's not funny. Her Da is fine, you – you should go."
Revan broke off the instinct and spun around on her heels. She glared up at her cousin. "No!" she snapped feeling desperation as that thin link was fading, "I'm not stupid, Ada, he's by moorak!"
Vin came closer and her cousin instantly recoiled. He brought out his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "What's a 'moorak'?"
With the cool gaze of the two men and the demanding gaze of the child before her, she let her hands drop in defeat. "It's a Bothan word, they use it for the face of the cliff... over where the rocks are shaped like a crescent moon."
The two nodded to each other and made quick work of heading over to the cliff, disappearing as they went around a sturdier path than Revan had attempted to take.
It was a nerve wracking twenty minutes as Revan's cousin held her tightly as they waited for the two men to bring her father back down. Her cousin kept mumbling things to her about keeping quiet when they came back and that her father would be fine, but Revan's mind was too preoccupied with her father's safety. Her cousin, Ada, let out a sharp gasp as the two men came down holding Revan's father who looked slightly irritated with the fuss.
Revan sprang from her cousin's grip the second her father's feet touched the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt a rush of relief as he put his arms around her. "Calm down, spark, I'm alright… these two uh… men fixed up my leg."
She burrowed her head in his neck and clung on to him tightly. Her father rubbed her back slowly and she could feel his head shift as her cousin spoke up, "What happened, why were you up there?"
Her father shrugged and the motion made her arms shift up to his neck. "One of the droids blew and went up there, I had to go get it… no use in wasting good parts."
Revan slipped out of the embrace and held her fathers hand as she looked at the nervous expression on her cousin's full face. "You – you told Revan that you were going up there… didn't you?"
He narrowed his gaze and looked down at his daughter. "No. I didn't – I… well I thought I'd be stuck up there, going away without telling anyone. Why do you ask?"
She clamped her mouth shut and shot a look toward Revan her eyes filled with a new terror. Revan stepped back into her father and crossed her arms around her protectively; dropping the hand she was holding. "Ada was a big baby and crying all over the place when I went to look for you!"
Her father looked down at her. "You went to look for me by yourself?"
Revan nodded proudly, "I climbed up there too!"
"She fell!" her cousin snapped, put off at the impetuous nature of the girl and the slights in her direction. She took a deep breath, "She fell off half way down… I thought for near sure she was going to die, but I had gotten these," she turned to the two men who had been standing back out of the family reunion, "Jedis-"
"Jedi," Kavar said quickly and looked away quickly as if he had not said a word. Vin shot him a look and beckoned the woman to continue.
She brushed her hands on her skirt. "I found these, Jedi," she said with sour undertone directed at them, "over by the docking port downtown when I was searching for her young rear. I thought she'd crawled into the droid bins again."
Revan let out an indignant cry. "That only happened once!"
Her father laughed quietly against her and put his hand on her shoulder, "Hush, spark. Let your cousin finish."
Ada sniffed loudly and pressed her hands against her thighs with a glare at her younger cousin. "Well I was looking for her and I started to get worried and then someone said they had seen her going towards the cliffs and I started to get scared. And well, these men came with me and well that one," she pointed at Kavar, "jumped up so high he was taller than a building and he just plucked Revan right out of the air as she fell."
Revan felt her father's grip tighten on her shoulder. "You fell?" the worry and sternness in his tone was clear.
She nodded and looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes clearly. "You were in trouble, I could tell! I – I had to help, Da!"
"Like your mother," he said under his breath as he pulled her towards him and held her to his chest. "Next time go get an adult, spark. You're not old enough to run out on your own."
"I'm five!" she protested.
"Four and half," her cousin snorted under her breath.
Revan turned to glare at her, but was distracted by the movement of her father standing. He walked over to the two men and grasped Kavar's hand and shoulder. "You have my eternal gratitude for saving my daughter – saving me was one thing, but this one… well you'll be welcome here from now on," he turned to Vin, "Both of you…"
Ada came up behind Revan and flicked her ear, eliciting a cry from the young girl who rubbed her ear and glared while her cousin began to speak. "I bet you two haven't had any real Deralian cooking. You should come back with us – there's always room for a few more guests."
"We don't want to impose," Kavar began, but Revan's father shook his head sharply, and led him by the shoulder in a walk.
"Nonsense, we treat our guests right by any means, but you saved two of my family's lives today, so you can at least let us feed you."
Revan did not hear much else as they started to meander off and her cousin hitched up her skirt to follow them, with a quick snap of her head to tell Revan to follow. Revan let out a deep sigh and crossed her arms again, she felt Vin behind her and he smiled. "Such a bitter expression for one so young."
Revan looked up at him and then back at the ground. She kicked her feet out as she walked. "I don't like it when they think I'm stupid."
"I don't recall anyone calling you stupid today, you seem very bright to me," he smiled warmly and held out his hand.
Revan eyed it for a moment and decided he was worthy and held his hand while she walked. "They don't have to call me it, for me to know what they think. Just because I don't like playing with dolls and making ugly pillow covers doesn't make me dumb," she nodded firmly, "I like to read and I like to fix things. That should make me smart not stupid."
Vin nodded carefully as they approached a more populated area. "It should, you're right." Revan seemed to appreciate these words and she smiled at him, he gave a small smile back before carefully eyeing the group ahead of them where Kavar looked to be flailing in the hospitable attentions. He shook his head and looked down at Revan. "Do you go to school, Revan?"
Revan's smile left her face and she frowned deeply. "No," she said in the most disappointed and sour voice a small child can muster. "I have to wait 'till I'm older," she repeated the sentence she heard every day she complained.
She watched as his mouth turned and he appeared to be processing a thought. "I went to a very good school when I was close to your age..."
Revan's eyes lit up again. "Really? Where?"
"Coruscant," he was about to explain about Coruscant when Revan's face folded and she stopped her walking.
"How do they fit a school there? I read that there was no room with all the 'spedars'."
Vin looked down at her, taking the word as 'speeders'. "Where did you read this, Revan?"
She grinned brightly, "The holonet," she narrowed her vision, "You gotta shush though, cos I'm not supposed to be on it."
He nudged her forward so that they didn't get too far behind and smiled as an idea came to him, "You know, Revan, on Coruscant they have a library that's bigger than the entire market place."
Revan gasped and her eyes widened. "Really?" He nodded and she walked numbly for a while as it processed in her mind. She could not even imagine having that many books and datapads to read all that knowledge for the taking and Coruscant had lots of droids, she knew that much. She could be useful there. She looked up at Vin and determination flared in her young eyes. "Could I go to this school?"
Vin stared at her for a moment and she felt a tingling sensation that made her nose twitch. He nodded after a moment, "I'll ask when I get back, but I am almost certain they would love to have you there."
The young girl caught on the word 'almost' and frowned. "Well they'd better," she said stubbornly, "Cos I'm going either way."