Solasta was having the same dream again. She was wandering, or lost, in the strange field and panic had gripped her as she desperately pulled at the pile of debris trying to reach some unseen item that she could feel slipping away.
She woke and sat up immediately, breathing heavy and overcome with a feeling of anxiety. It took a few moments for this to pass, and regaining her senses she remembered that she was in Tasa's bed. Looking down at her hands she realized both hands were gripping the bed sheets that now had long rips in them from her drawn claws. Staring in shock at what she had done, the knock on the bedroom door startled her and she retracted her claws before calling out feebly, "Hello?"
"Can we come in Sol'asa?" called Atan.
"Yes" she called back, and the door burst open with Atan and Cudu running in and jumping on the bed yelling, "Happy Birth Date!"
Tasa peeked inside the room before entering, his parents following behind him, to wish her congratulations on her Eighteenth Season. Tasa's father said, "Well this means you're almost four months older than Tasa now," and his mother was quick to add, "and a wise female always chooses a young strong mate," before smiling and nodding to Solasta.
"There's caffa and breakfast is already made, so come down whenever you're ready," said Tasa's mother, and she gathered the kitlings. Everyone left the room except for Tasa who sat on the edge of the bed and started to hand Solasta a small box, but she sheepishly held up the torn bed sheets for Tasa to see.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I... I had a dream and woke up with the sheets in my hands... and my claws..." she started to say.
"Was it a nightmare?" Tasa asked. Solasta looked confused and answered, "I don't know... I was lost, or I lost something... I can't remember."
"Well the sun is up and you're safe now," he said while handing her the little box he held in his hands.
Feeling a little more settled knowing Tasa was there and he wouldn't let anything happen to her, she took the box and opened it to find a Pendant of Ro'ta and a simple gold band. Solasta's face brightened into a wide smile, and Tasa knew that she was pleased.
"The Pendant of Ro'ta is needed for the Soul-Binding Ritual," he explained, "I have a matching one, that we present to the Shaman during the ceremony as a sign we're adults, and the gold band is accepted as a symbol of marriage in other cultures, but until the Soul-Binding you wear it on your right hand as a sign you've promised yourself to someone, then move it to your left hand after we're bound."
Solasta took the band and slipped it on her right-hand ring finger before leaning forward to kiss Tasa, then shooed him out so she could get out of bed.
As Solasta came downstairs for breakfast she could see the kitlings had already eaten and were in the family room playing, so she joined Tasa and his parents at the table. Tasa's father asked, "So what are the plans for today Solasta?"
Pouring herself a caffa, she answered, "I have to go to the Recruitment Office, then get my hair cut to shoulder length so I meet regulations, but I promise to have Tasa to the shop before lunch."
Tasa's father smiled and said, "It's already mid-week and he's earned some time off, so keep him and go to the beach tomorrow with your friends. It's still customary to go to the beach after school ends, right?" Solasta smiled and said, "It is, and thank-you," before finishing her caffa and running back upstairs for a shower.
Solasta was getting dressed and her wet hair hung low reaching her the crest of her bottom, so she tied it in its usual double-folded ponytail to keep it out of the way before grabbing her bag and returning to the family room. "I'm ready, let's go," she said to Tasa, who was watching the HoloNet and his brothers while he waited for her. They gathered Atan and Cudu, and planned to drop them to school so Tasa's parents could take their time getting to the shop.
As Tasa drove the speeder towards the intersection at the end of their street they could see some Separatist supporters at the corner delaying vehicles. As he slowed to pass the group, the protesters yelled obscenities at them and called out that they knew who the 'Republic Puppets' in the neighbourhood are. Once they had gotten past the protesters, Tasa opened the throttle and they sped up. "They aren't usually so bad when they see I have my brothers with me, but they've been getting worse lately," said Tasa.
The rest of the ride Solasta and the kitlings sang songs to keep everyone entertained, and from the school they drove to the Recruiting Offices at the Mainland Base and met Major Gegne who had been waiting for them to arrive. The Major escorted Solasta to the desk of a young recruitment officer where he asked the young man to step aside for a moment. The Major sat at the desk and pecked at the keyboard at the terminal for a few minutes. When the Major finished he told the young officer, "You may continue processing this recruit."
The young officer sat back at his desk and looked at the screen on his terminal with a puzzled expression before turning to the Major and saying, "Sir, I've never seen this form, it's already completed with -"
The Major interrupted, "It's perfectly fine, proceed with this recruit."
"Yes Sir." said the officer, and turning to Solasta said, "Please confirm your enlistment with the Republic Forces, Army Division, with your thumbprint on the terminal in front of you."
Solasta pressed her thumb onto the little red box that on the terminal in front of her and waited for it to stop blinking.
"Welcome to Republic Army Private Dinn," - at this Solasta felt a pang in her heart for her father - "you will return to the Base at o'eight-hundred in three days for transport to Carida Academy."
Shocked, Solasta looked at the Major and asked, "three days sir?"
The Major just laughed and said, "Yes Private Dinn. Did you think you still got summers off?"
"Well no sir, but... I..." she stammered and looked at Tasa.
"Good, then we will see you in three days Private," and the Major turned and left.
Outside the Recruitment Office Solasta began to panic, "Tasa, let's go. I need to get my hair cut, and we need to move everything to storage, and I need to look at our calendars to figure out when we will see each other again, and I -" but she was cut off by Tasa who calmly said, "We will get your haircut today and take care of any outstanding items with the house. Tomorrow we will go to the beach as planned, and the day after that we will move everything to storage so that I can bring you to the base the third day to ship out. Anything that you forget, I will take care of."
Solasta threw her arms around Tasa and hugging him said, "I wanted more than three days." Taking Solasta's hand and starting towards the speeder Tasa said, "Let's go, we have a lot to do today so we can relax tomorrow."
As they rode back towards the shops and salons in town Solasta pulled out her data pad and started studying their calendars, and said "It looks like the weekend you come home for your study break is the last weekend I'm home between Basics and Specialization training, so we'll have that weekend to get Soul-Bound before I have to be back at Carida."
"We get a weekend to get Soul-Bound and..." his voice trailing off.
Solasta swiped the calendars on the data pads before answering, "if not then, our next possible chance is next Season after you - ."
"A weekend will be fine!" Tasa exclaimed.
They stopped at the salon and Solasta's long pony tail was bobbed to a blunt shoulder length military style with her bangs clipped in at the back. They next made a visit to the Stronghold Sales Agent to be sure there weren't any loose ends, and then picked up Atan and Cudu from school before Tasa dropped Solasta off at home.
"Are you sure you don't want to pack a bag and come back with us?" Tasa asked. "No, I want to go back through the house to be sure I haven't missed anything tonight, I'll see you in the morning." Solasta replied. That night Solasta carefully went from room to room ensuring that she hadn't missed anything before climbing into bed at a very late hour.