Chapter Sixteen: Safety in Numbers
-x-x-x-x-x-
The beach looked safe. Arelyk and the adult Ryms had already gone ahead with happy chatter. Sunlight spilled from the sky in waves, neither too hot nor too cool. It was perfect for swimming, or so Arelyk had informed him before they left this morning. Humans and aliens alike lined the beach, and played in a light-hearted way Nichyn had not seen before Gallinore. The air was humid, rather unlike NLY, but he was getting used to that.
Nichyn was getting used to a lot of things.
A quiet laugh came from the hovercar's backseat. "All clear, Nichyn?"
He checked himself, then turned to Lera. "I'm—" But he wasn't really sorry, and so he didn't finish his apology. The dark-haired youth had a feeling Lera understood.
A few nights previous, Shanya had told him that they were taking a weekend-long vacation to Verucia and the beach. It was, according to her, a family tradition to go on the long weekend, before the summer crowds arrived. When Lera came over that day, she had assured him that she came too, when she could. That had somehow comforted him. Although he and Lera were not nearly as close as she and Arelyk, there was something reassuring about her presence. They had spent a large part of the past two months together, though usually either Arelyk or Shanya was nearby. The eye he kept out for Lera was no longer habit, but rather out of genuine affection.
Nichyn grabbed his bag from the backseat and stepped away from the door to let Lera out. She slipped out quickly, giving him a quick smile, and slinging her own bag over her shoulder. She had dressed conservatively in jeans cut to her knees, and a soft green T-shirt. Females in comparatively figure-revealing pants were another thing he was slowly becoming accustomed to.
Well, when it's to Lera's degree, he added silently as Zuleika hopped out of the hovercar. Contrasting Lera's apparel to an uncomfortable level, his foster sister wore a short wrap-around skirt and a revealing white top. No one else was batting an eye, and considering what he knew of Zuleika, Nichyn had a feeling it was about to get worse.
It did.
"Have fun, kiddies," the redhead sang. Somehow, the words sounded mocking, and Nichyn's expression darkened as Lera rolled her eyes.
The older girl ran ahead of them, her scarlet braid flying behind her. Nichyn watched askance as, upon reaching a group of her friends, Zuleika playfully stripped down to a small two-piece swimming garment.
"Ah, 'Eika," Lera murmured beside him. "Always catching eyes."
He turned back to her. "She's—uh, that is… This is normal behaviour for her?"
"You mean you hadn't figured it out by now?" Lera shrugged and rolled her eyes. "She loves having everyone's attention. After a while, you'll barely even notice." Her brow furrowed a little. "Well, unless she ensnares you... Y-you won't let her, will you?" Almost immediately, she flushed and looked away, as if only then realizing what she'd said.
He raised an eyebrow at the idea, but didn't dignify it with a verbal response. "We'd better catch up with the others," he told her. "Ready?"
Her blush had faded, and she smiled at him. "If you are."
She led him through the crowds to the spot Shanya and Timmis had picked out, then spread her blanket on the ground. He watched with some confusion as she dropped her bag onto the old quilt. The contents of her sack slid a little on the sandy incline to reveal her notebook and a novel.
"Have at," she told him, gesturing to the water when he didn't jump in.
"You aren't— Aren't you coming into the water?" he asked.
Lera sat down on the blanket and kicked her sandals off onto the sand. "I'm not much for swimming," she told him wryly. "I've taken lessons, but I'm just… I don't know. I've got my notebook and the sequel to my favourite book, so I won't get bored. You, however—" she grinned "—look like a swimming person."
He was. His family's country home was right by the water. His earliest recollections of Gantik were of his step-father teaching him to swim. His mother had sat on the beach, smiling happily as "her boys" played and laughed and accidentally swallowed water. Some of his best memories were tied to the beach. But if Lera was going to just sit off to the side… Nichyn cast a protective look around at the crowds. What if…?
"I promise Arelyk doesn't bite," Lera told him. "And Zuleika'll avoid you guys if she actually goes into the water, so you don't have to worry about her."
Nichyn hesitated another moment. Surprisingly, his concern for her safety was fading into the worry that she might be lonely while everyone else was swimming. "Are you sure?" he asked, rather awkwardly. As was the case with many things, Nichyn had adjusted to the gender equality on Gallinore, and even the idea that some here considered women a little superior to men. It was taking more time than he had expected, though.
She blushed, and jammed a hat down on her head. "Yeah. Go on and have fun."
He scanned the water, and almost left before noticing something. "Why don't you come out on the dock? You could read there, but still be around…"
Lera turned her eyes to the pier, then back to her books, before looking up at him. "Well," she said slowly, "I guess I could. I mean, if you really want—"
"I do," he replied without looking at her.
"'K, then." She stuffed her books back into her bag. "Help me with this blanket?"
-x-x-x-x-x-
Several minutes later, Lera had her blanket lying across the wooden planks of the dock. She sat on the edge with her feet dangling in the water, and her novel in her lap. Her notebook lay to the side, waiting for a moment of inspiration. Arelyk had noticed them, and was swimming in their direction.
Certain she was content, and wanting to bask in the water for a moment before Arelyk arrived, Nichyn dived off the dock. The water was slightly cooler than he had expected, and deep. Arelyk appeared by his side suddenly, and the boy waved. The two teenagers rose to the water at the same time. Some of the water came up with them, and sprayed the girl waiting for one guy to come back out of the water. Nichyn grinned at Lera's surprised laughter at both the splash and the two heads where she'd expected one.
"Hey, you're in the water," Arelyk said in greeting.
Lera used her toe to splash him. "Just my feet. You know I'm not actually coming in."
Nichyn ducked under the water while the two friends bantered about whether or not Arelyk would ever get Lera to come into the water. Although the Na'Lein teenager understood that Lera and Arelyk had years of friendship behind them, he couldn't help but resent the Arelyk's presence a little. He hadn't really connected with his foster brother yet, though they didn't argue. The other boy always struck Nichyn as too contained and unaffected. More than that, however, he knew that Lera much preferred Arelyk's attention and presence than Nichyn's. Again, he understood why, but when Lera was the only person he so far really knew, it wasn't an easy pill to swallow.
"Hey, Nichyn," Arelyk called when the dark-haired teen came up for air. "Race you to that buoy?"
He frowned at the unfamiliar word, but followed Arelyk's pointing finger. Spotting an orange object, he figured he knew the destination. It was well within his ability to swim that far, though he would have to manoeuvre around the other beings in the water. "Very well. On…four?" he hazarded a guess. Numbers were not his specialty, although he could rattle them off until the Basic translation for cenzo (a hundred?).
"On three," Lera corrected him. "I'll call it. One—two—three!"
Both took off.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Lera turned back to her novel as Nichyn and Arelyk raced off. She hadn't had time to start it, but she wasn't about to complain. The time she could have been reading had been channelled into her current story. After the creation of the new character, some weeks ago, the writing had been going much more smoothly, and she'd enjoyed making Saja's relationship with Lacane as complicated and real as possible.
Unfortunately, she'd have to change more than a few things for Jolesp's next adaptation screenplay. Hasi would pull off Saja's flaws and troubled past beautifully, even if she drove Lera insane at every other time during the filmmaking process. It was Zuleika, however, who could be a problem. The redhead was talented, no doubt, but she played her own role the best. As it was, Lera was having a difficult time seeing Zuleika as Lacane, the heroic half of the story's strange friendship. The relationship between the two women was her favourite part, but she didn't want to see Zuleika mutilate it. She'd have to untangle that part enough to make it work.
Well, she thought, at least I'll have the actual novel. It's not like Jolesp is going to sell any of his—
Her thoughts were interrupted when a party of rowdy older boys raced each other down the dock. Her eyes widening, Lera put her book down and half-stood to get out of the way.
She wasn't quick enough.
Lera had been somewhat hidden behind a support, and the boys didn't even see her before they barrelled right past her. She lost her balance and got elbowed in the face before she could blink.
The water came as a cold shock, especially after Arelyk's insistence that it was "so warm you could barely tell it wasn't already January." But then, she had never adjusted well to new temperatures. Unfortunately, the water couldn't startle her enough. She'd banged her head on something other than just an elbow, and her vision was blurry, and her body sluggish. The water became deep quickly on this beach, and she could barely see the sun anymore.
Hold on, Lerasina! Kick your legs!
She made out an almost-image—almost a man's face—in the patterns under the water—
And then it seemed to…get even…darker…
-x-x-x-x-x-
Nichyn hit the buoy after one last, hard stroke, then came up for air. Arelyk was still a few feet away from him, and Nichyn squinted to look back for Lera. He was just in time to see a group of young men push her over the edge. Horrified, Nichyn swam back as fast as he could.
Hold on, Lera.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Devnos panicked.
Actually, he'd left "panicked" behind several seconds ago. Seconds ago, when he had failed to mentally prod Lerasina awake. All the repetitions of "Kick to surface!" and "Hold on, Nichyn's coming!" couldn't bring consciousness.
Now her oxygen level was falling drastically, and water was beginning to drown her lungs. Devnos threw about for any idea—just to help her hold on for a little while longer—Nichyn was almost there—
The idea that came wasn't one he'd normally use, but he was desperate.
Devnos entered Lera's mind for the second time, though this time it was much deeper penetration than was needed for "inspiration." Lerasina's mind startled from the intrusion for a moment, but he ignored that. As long as he didn't take it too far, she'd be safe. And as a non-Jedi, Lerasina would never even notice what he'd done.
Moving quickly, he blew out hard through Lerasina's (his) mouth, jettisoning the water, then sealed her (his) lips. Next he coaxed her (his) legs to kick—just enough, closer to Nichyn.
Then Nichyn grabbed Lera by the waist, and Devnos retreated as if he had been stung.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Shanya had trained, however briefly, next to a huge jungle river with a powerful current. Navigating through groups of people while in calm lake water was not difficult, even from the other side of the beach. Still, Nichyn—with a stranger's help—had Lera up on the dock a minute before the Jedi Knight arrived.
Pulling herself up onto the dock, Shanya took in Lera's appearance. She wasn't breathing, despite Nichyn's awkward attempts to revive her. Carefully but urgently, she pressed the strange boy away and began performing CPR for Lera. Despite her experience in doing so, Shanya could barely stand the wait. Everything had slowed down from the moment she felt the danger. Nothing mattered except the simple, all-important task of getting Lera breathing again. Arelyk and Nichyn's fear, broadcasted strongly especially loudly by the latter without training, had to be ignored until later.
Finally—finally—Lera coughed, and Shanya turned the girl to the side so she could spit out the water. Then sound rushed back, and Arelyk and Nichyn's relief/fear could overwhelm her, and Shanya could sag in her own relief.
She is going to be alright. Shanya wouldn't have to explain to Hallis and Jimut that their beloved daughter, and their only reason to try and fix their marriage, was dead. She wouldn't have to look her son in the eyes, and hold him tight as he realized how deep pain could strike. She wouldn't have to look down at Lera's blank, so blank, expression, and sob in the night for her girl (her daughter, hers, no matter genetics) and all the stories she never told and—
It was going to be alright.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Nichyn and Arelyk—even Shanya and Timmis, to some degree—hovered for the rest of the day. Especially Nichyn.
Lera didn't mind overmuch; she hugged back when Arelyk held her tight and she tried to be reassuring when Nichyn kept looking at her as if she'd disappear. She obediently ate as much as she could when Shanya ordered pots of soup and hot chocolate and even some hot desserts. She accepted Timmis' sandy towel, and let him bandage her head wound. When Zuleika pushed them into her arms, Lera even wore Zuleika's silky pyjamas and expensive, plush robe; sometimes, the older girl acted human. Lera didn't want to discourage it.
She couldn't stop shivering.
Ever since falling into that black, cold water, she had been so cold. Soup and blankets hadn't fixed it, though Shanya's hugs had helped. In a way, the others' hovering made things warmer, too.
But something felt different—terror, stark and brutal, had made a mark on her when she had thought she was dead. Dead meat.
Zuleika actually offered to stay with Lera in her hotel room that night. Of course, she might have been just hoping to stay in the upgraded room. Lera's parents, upon hearing about her near-drowning, had paid extra, and were going to be there the next day.
She wondered if her mother really approved of spending the extra money. This wasn't, after all, something money could fix.
(She wondered if her parents would be the happy, loving couple when they came, or if they would argue. But Lera didn't want to think about that, so she shut it down quickly.)
Eventually, everyone went to their own rooms. Even Nichyn, who seemed to want to stay right outside her hotel room and make sure nothing else happened.
Lera tried to write, but nothing came. When she finally put her writing datapad to the side, it was late, and she had only a choppy paragraph and a headache to show for her effort.
The bed did not seem appealing—
(dark, so dark, and alone, and cold)
—and she considered agreeing to share the room with Zuleika. For half a second, at least.
Despite her apprehension, Lera turned the heat up and climbed under her bed covers. She curled into a ball at the headboard and waited tensely for it to get better.
(Dark and cold and alone.)
It took forever, and an activated glow-ball by her bed, to fall asleep. It was only then that she remembered something strange that had happened under the water. The moment before she had blacked out, there had been a…voice in but out of her head.
Hold on, Lerasina! Kick your legs!
It hadn't been Shanya or Arelyk, although Lera recognized the voice as coming through the Force. During the war, Lera had been recognized as a friend of the Rym Jedi, and several Jedi had used their mindVoice to warn her of trouble, or to get her out of the way. She couldn't respond, but when a Force-sensitive yelled loud enough, and with enough focus, she had learned to listen.
It had only happened to her a few times of import, but it had always been someone she knew well. Aarylia, who had frequently baby-sat Lera and Arelyk; Tiran Lee-droy, Aarylia's master; and, of course, the Rym family. Each one's voice had been uniquely them; not necessarily their speaking voice, but a true part of the being themselves.
This time, however, the voice had been unrecognizable. Someone she didn't know had spoken into her mind, and for a second she had almost seen a face in the water. Lera should have been doubting her sanity. Maybe she should have felt terrified, because someone—someone she didn't know—had been in her head, and could have seen more than she let anyone know existed.
But, somehow, it hadn't felt like an invasion, and Lera did not doubt what she had seen. Whoever had been in the water with her, he had felt…safe.
-x-x-x-x-x-
When Shanya made them leave, Nichyn followed Arelyk out of Lera's room. He didn't like it—Lera still seemed to be in shock, and she hadn't stopped shivering since she came out of the water. Still, he knew Shanya cared about Lera, and he (mostly) trusted her with his friend's welfare.
He didn't think about how it felt, pulling Lera out of the water only to realize she wasn't breathing. He didn't think about how it felt to suddenly realize that he really cared about Lera and that she might die. He didn't.
"You can have the bed," Arelyk said in the boys' room. The sandy-haired boy still looked pale and tense. Nichyn had been seriously affected after knowing Lera for two months. He could only guess how Arelyk—who had been best friends with Lera since before their memories began—was feeling. "I'm gonna… I need to meditate tonight. Stay up how…uh, however long you like—I'll be completely out of it."
Like most of the Ryms' expressions, Nichyn didn't quite catch the last words, but he understood the meaning. "See you in the morning, then," Nichyn muttered before locking himself in the 'fresher.
Sanar had given Nichyn a com-link before leaving him at the Ryms'. A piece of flimsi had been tied around it with scrawled instructions. She had fixed up a lower-grade com-link for him to communicate with, hopefully, his family. Someone she knew had "fixed it up," and she would try to get it to his parents. If she couldn't reach them in time, he could then communicate with her. It didn't have visual or even direct back-and-forth contact, but he could send letters or any kind of file on a data chip. Nichyn had refrained from using it until now—he didn't want the disappointment of finding out it didn't work.
Tonight, though, he wanted some kind of communication with his family. Even failed communication would be something. He'd have to hope that his aunt had secured a clean line, and had raised the power levels. If not, at least he'd know.
Today he almost lost a friend he barely realized he had.
He scribbled a quick, satisfyingly vague but reassuring letter on the data chip he'd grabbed from his bag. At the end, he left only his initials—N. W. If the Holy Brothers or one of their lackeys intercepted it, at least…
Well, hopefully, his parents had successfully dropped out of sight. If they had managed that, then they would be safe….
-x-x-x-x-x-
He thought it at some point after making sure Lerasina was okay. Maybe…an hour or two after.
It took many more hours after that for Devnos to acknowledge that it had come from his mind.
Lerasina was a child—in every meaning of the word. She had lived during a war, but had remained relatively untouched by it. She was absolutely innocent—he barely knew her, but he knew that.
Yet…
He had taken Prophecy's dirty linen to his grave. He had not been able to warn anyone of their secrets, and Vengeance and Prophecy had cut off all of his options. Jaina Solo, Sanar, even Kyp Durron and Zekk…adult strangers on the street… He could reach none of them. The people who would understand that life is enormously unfair, who would believe him because they had seen such things occur, were completely unaffected by his attempts.
But not Lerasina.
Somehow, Lerasina was able to both hear him and respond to him. Somehow, when every person who made sense could not, she might be able to…
What, contact Sanar out of the blue and tell her…?
(Nichyn has a com-link that connects with one in Sanar's possession.)
But—even so—
(And Mrs. Rym is a Jedi—perhaps, using that connection, Lerasina could contact Jaina Solo, who could tell Sanar….)
Expose an innocent to Prophecy? Just on the slim, nearly insignificant chance that Sanar might be saved?
Sanar, saved.
(What wouldn't you give for Sanar's well-being? What wouldn't you sacrifice?)
(Lerasina would probably agree, if you asked her…)
She would. If he explained everything, told her—about what could happen, if Sanar wasn't somehow warned, if she wasn't somehow swayed away from Prophecy's plan—
But would she understand? Would there be unforeseen consequences if she agreed that she wouldn't think of? Devnos, himself, could not think of any. Prophecy was ruthless, but what would going after Lerasina do for Its cause? Nothing, and It would realize that.
Prophecy would leave her alone.
Vengeance, on the other hand, would not be involved at all. The Sildar and Vengeance knew not what they had set into motion, although It probably wouldn't care.
Vengeance, too, would leave her alone.
What else? Anything else?
Devnos took advantage of his superfluous time and wracked his brains for any repercussion that might befall Lerasina, but could think of none.
Even so, he hesitated. What if?