Return - Part 1
How long had it been? Days stretched on and on and all he had was the fragment of memory. Flashes of light. Of hunger. He didn't know where he was. How he had got here, nor even his own name. The only thing he had was this little golden trinket, dull from his dirty ragged hands running over the warm metal. It had been so quiet for so long. Then he felt it, a little pulse. Just small. A flash of green, like that which he had seen so long ago. The green of smoke, of fire… of a saber.
No! He turned away, growls bubbling in his throat. He was not even aware he was speaking out loud. Always Remember, I Am Fear! The voices in his head whirled around in this nonsensical pit of despair. Always Remember, I Am Hunter! The voices of the sith within him. Always Remember, I Am Filth! The voice of his master. Always Remember, I Am Nothing! The voices of the child within him. So terrified. So lost. Then…
Survive.
Her voice.
The one spark that he clung to as he held that broken piece of gold around his neck. There was so much in his head he was full to bursting. Yet he was also hollow. So empty inside.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me. Was he saying this? Did he even believe it anymore? How was this freedom? He was in the dark, trapped in this… place. Whatever it was. He heard slithering above him, thumps and thuds. His broken and torn nails dug into the wall. He was so hungry. Always hungry.
Shone like the sun, she had said. A vibrant fire… A Prince of Dathomir. How could that be true? There was no sun down here. No fire, no light. No Prince lived in filth and decay as he did. Yet… the warmth the memory conjured may as well have been the sun to him. He needed to do something… anything. Find the one that had said such sweet words. The other half of this trinket, the other half of him. Where was she? What had happened to her? His memory was so clouded. Had it been this way before? Had he forgotten her once? … yes he did… he couldn't forget again. What did her face look like?! Eyes… there were blue eyes. Like the ocean, like precious gems. Endless deep eyes of blue.
Red flashed in his mind. He remembered a scream. And a bloody mess under her hands. He wrenched himself away, pacing back and forth.
Far above, far below
We don't know where we'll fall
Far above, far below
What once was great is rendered small
There is nothing. Nothing left. Nothing here in the dark. He was supposed to do more. To be more. He had a life once. A destiny. Then it was taken from him. By the Jedi. By the one called Kenobi.
Hate and rage bubbled up in his chest and he let out a savage scream like a wild beast. Because of him he was stuck here! Because of that filth he was trapped! Because of that Jedi. He would kill that Jedi. Kenobi would suffer and die if it was the last thing he ever did!
Dathomir was ever the same. Red fog clinging to the planet's surface like a sleeping child to a warm blanket. Zaiya had slept a few hours in the ship, though the sounds of footsteps everytime Adaji checked on her had her stirring out of habit. An instinct that had built in her after so long. She wondered if she would ever be rid of it.
The ship touched down far more gently than the last descent. Adaji and Bane were both brilliant pilots. It was the reason she was so good at flying. That and a little help from the Force. She had finally wrenched herself from the bed and padded out to the cockpit. With a hesitant glance, she held out the hat to the blue skinned bounty hunter. He smirked and took it back, dropping it back on his head with a slight nod. Like everything was back in its place.
Zaiya had typed in the coordinates for the landing area close to Mother Talzin's village, the cliffs reaching high into the sky as they settled at the base. Faces carved into the mountainside, mouths open in perpetual screams, below which were the pathways to the village proper.
"This is your home…?" Adaji asked with a wince. "I guess Nightsisters really are witches…" He murmured, powering the ship down. He had not been here before, she remembered. Bane said nothing, but she could feel that they were both tense. She reached out and petted their arms with each hand in order to comfort them. They didn't know this place after all. Bane tensed at the contact initially, but relaxed after he glanced at her. Adaji just smiled warmly, he always had such a friendly face, at least to her. No wonder he hid behind the helmet so often, how could he be intimidating with such a smile? It gave her warmth in her chest, and made her feel like things just might be alright after all.
The three descended from the ship, Adaji in his armour now, and while Zaiya was wobbly on her feet, he stayed by her side, holding out an arm for her to lean on. Stubbornly she didn't take it, lest her sisters think her weak. It was only when she stumbled that he grabbed her arm to hold her upright.
"You've got this…" He whispered from under his helmet. Zaiya just nodded. There was no one in sight, and the two hunters scanned the surroundings. Strange organic matter rose from the ground, they could have been trees, but looked more like ribs from an ancient dead beast the way they jutted from the ground and curved over the damp red grass path below. Most were covered in thick hanging moss in varying shades of purple. Round yellowish green pods hung from them on thin vine-like threads. Each was large enough to hold a fully grown man… and unknown to the hunters, they did hold bodies. These pods of the dead contained the remains of long-dead sisters, awaiting the day when they were called to life to defend their home. From everything she had seen of the outside galaxy, this was far from normal. In fact much of what she had learned at home was not normal. The Nightsisters were viewed - if known about at all - that they had strange and mystic ways and kept to themselves.
"So, do we have to go and find them…?" He asked, looking around, confused. Zaiya shook her head. They were already here, Bane and Adaji just hadn't seen them yet. Just as she was about to force herself to speak, there was a slight rustle, and suddenly they were surrounded by a handful of Nightsisters, weapons drawn, crimson hoods over their faces.
"We do not oblige outsiders." One hissed as she drew her light bow back, aimed at Adaji's head. The hunter's hands were on their weapons.
"That one is no outsider." Spoke a voice Zaiya had not heard in a long time. It was Sheena. She looked older, lines on her battle-hardened face, her eyes as sharp as ever they had been as they looked at Zaiya. Ragged, dressed in white clothes stained with dirt and blood, looking emaciated… and a dark hole in her face where her left eye should be.
"I remember you." Adaji replied, but he didn't lower his hands from where they hovered over his blaster.
"Yes… and I remember Sister Zaiya in better condition when I left her with you." Zaiya wanted to roll her eye. As if Sheena cared about her.
"If I had done this to her, do you think I would bring her back to you like this?!" Adaji growled back, his grip on her arm tightening.
"Hm, well… you don't strike me as being that stupid." Sheena remarked, and lowered her weapon. The other sisters followed suit and the hunters were able to relax.
"It was the Zygerrians-" Adaji began but Zaiya held out a hand and shook her head, she didn't want to divulge everything...to her clan… and yet- she would have three male bounty hunters know of it? That was… strange. The thought came into the back of her mind and made her frown. It didn't matter now. She just had to-
"Zaiya…!" The white-clad woman looked up as she heard paced footsteps rushing at her and tensed for a strike- instead she was wrapped in the arms of her mother. Tailli. "Goddess, what happened to you? Where have you been? It's been years!" The emotional woman looked to be on the brink of tears.
"...moth..er…?" Zaiya murmured in surprise. So often she had scorned Tailli for trying to keep a familial bond with her. To remain as her mother. As other mothers did around the galaxy. It had been seen as weak… coddling. But feeling the warm comfort of her mother's embrace, Zaiya had to wonder, was she wrong to turn her mother away like that? A thousand questions in her mind, and she felt Adaji release her.
"This is your mum?" He asked in his strange but comforting accent. Tailli pulled back, having not even seen the Mandalorian beside her daughter. But she saw him now. Her blue eyes widened in shock.
"Temuss…?!" She breathed, frozen in place. Temuss? Zaiya frowned. Who was that?
"My name is Adaji of house Treshan, ma'am. It's nice to meet the mother of this fine young warrior." Zaiya watched as Tailli took a few moments to recover, her face suddenly flushed as she looked away.
"My apologies, you… reminded me of someone else." She muttered, and stepped back.
"Her father?" Adaji replied in a very quiet but blunt tone. Tailli's eyes widened again.
"How did you-? No, it doesn't matter, please, don't talk about him here." She begged in a whisper.
"Why not? Listen, what Clan was he from? If I can find out-"
"Ahh, the prodigal daughter returns." That voice cut any and all conversation. Mother Talzin had arrived.
"Ma'tra." Zaiya watched as Tailli's face flashed with fear, then neutralised. A phenomena she recognised too well. As she had done many times when D'Sarr had spoken. What in the Fanged God's name was happening in her clan?! She recalled seeing it before, or was she just imagining it? Had her mother always been so fearful of Talzin? Her gaze darted back and forth between her mother, Adaji and Talzin, eye narrowed in suspicion. Perhaps it was just the chaos of the situation? All this noise made it so hard to think. Maybe she was seeing ghosts where there were none. Her mind reeled and the air was tense. She had to do something. Fighting her fatigue and the soreness of her body, she limped forward, bowing her head low to the Great mother. Her long white hair, dishevelled and messy, snapped loose of the bun it had been in and unravelled, hung down to her waist and framed her face in a pale curtain as she slowly looked up again. She met Talzin's eyes with an intense gaze, diverting all attention to her.
"You still have much strength, young one." The Clan Mother purred. "You have our thanks, bounty hunters, for returning our dear Sister to us." She laid one large hand on Zaiya's shoulder, looking past her to Bane and Adaji. The younger Nightsister turned to face them and gave a slight nod, assuring them it was alright. They hesitated for a moment, and Talzin spoke up again. "As a symbol of our gratitude…" With a wave of her hand, she conjured a case that floated toward them. Bane took it, hesitantly and with a calculated look to the witches, looked down as he flipped the case open. The change in expression told Zaiya at once, it was money. "I trust this is sufficient to never speak of this." There was an edge to Talzin's voice this time as she spoke.
"No one will hear of this from me." Bane replied curtly, the case snapped closed in his hand. He jerked his head toward the ship as he made eye contact with the Mandalorian. "Time to go, Treshan." He murmured, backing away. Adaji seemed hesitant, and she felt his eyes on her. Zaiya nodded, her good eye looking right through his visor.
'It will be alright.' She willed to him, there was a strong pull in the Force around him, he didn't want to go… but eventually he too turned away. The Nightsisters did not move until their ship was gone.
"Come, little Sister, you need to rest and heal." Mother Talzin purred, leading her away. As it always was, Tailli had to watch as her daughter was led away by the Ma'tra. But this time… Zaiya looked back.
The village had not changed either, the dark stone cavern surrounding the village like protective shell, the homes and temple of the Nightsisters carved into a giant stalactite, surrounded by a slow moving river that flowed deeper into the mountain. Zaiya's tired gaze flowed over the scene. The same torches, the same sigils, the same banners. Nothing seemed to change here. Yet the Galaxy outside their little red planet… it was changing rapidly. She could feel it. Her connection to the Force was stronger than ever, and it did not feel the same as it had before. There was a sort of… absence. Like the silence of the wind before the storm rushed in. Or how water would leave the shoreline before a huge wave crashed against the sand. That was how it felt to her, and the notes of music she often felt and heard, stronger with her power returned to her, seemed eerie.
Was she imagining it? Why did she feel so uneasy now she was back with her own people? Was she away for too long? The faces that looked back at her as she followed Mother Talzin to the main temple were familiar and yet… not. Were these not her people? Her family?
"Come, child, you may rest in the inner sanctum. We will nourish you and you can grow strong again." Zaiya's answer came out as a rasped moan, and Talzin paused, turning to look at her as she led the damaged Nightsister up the stairs. "You were cut off from us for so long, I see it was worse than I had thought, even your voice has left you." Zaiya looked up. Worry straining her features. "Do not worry, it has not gone completely. I will restore your magick, the physical damage may take time to heal completely, but you will. They reached the temple and Zaiya was led to the ritual chamber. She laid down, listening to the sounds around her. A low hum that was ever-present, the sound of the magick in this place. Though now she recognised it for what it was. The Force. Though the ichor that manifested glowed green and flowed like a mist, it was different, but the same. Colder than she remembered. The whole planet was cold with the dark side of the force. Had it always been so? Or was it because she had felt the warmth of the galaxy in her travels. Everything was a strange mix of new and nostalgia, she didn't know what to make of it. Upon the stone altar, she stared up into the cavernous black of the ceiling, so much like the void of space… but without the stars that had captivated her so…
She remembered when he had spoken to her about them. When he had looked up at the sky with a yearning, the stars in his eyes were brighter than any she saw above them. The little smile on his lips belying his tough exterior. He had always been so curious. So interested in how things worked. He had bloomed this feeling in her too. Where the Sisters had told her it 'just was' he had asked 'why'. Maybe not out loud, but she had seen it. It had her mind whirring and her eyes had been opened to what could be, rather than just what was.
She had not known this as a child. Unable to form the words to explain such a complex thought. She only had the feeling. Looking at the stars, the endless possibilities of what could happen, what they could do… The vastness of space just out of reach but waiting as a promise as if it called out to them, sitting in the dark, his hand in hers, 'I am waiting for you'.
Was it still out there? That intangible something that had settled in their hearts? The feeling that could only be described as hope.
"I wonder if anyone has been to them all?" His soft voice had asked her, not taking his eyes off the sky. He'd laid beside her, their heads nearly touching, their hands grasped between them. A quiet moment, away from the Sisters, away from all other sounds and people. It was nothing but them and their dreams.
"I don't know. But I want to." She had replied with a grin. Tearing her gaze from the twinkling lights, she turned to find his eyes on her. The smallest smile on his lips.
"Not without me, you're not." He replied, the smile growing.
"Never." She grinned wider as well, her hand squeezed his. Their eyes moved back to the sky, and he pointed out shapes in their formation, seeing things she had not noticed before. He saw so much beauty in the sky, his gasps of awe and amazement had struck her very soul and she had never looked at the stars the same since. At anything. Everything she saw after this was newer, brighter and just more. It was as though she were seeing it all for the first time. But it was through his eyes. His incredible eyes that saw so much, that wanted more.
She had not seen the same eyes when she had seen him again. The yellow and red glare did not see through the haze of hate that had been put before him. That had been forced on him. No child is born with hatred, she had learned, it was taught. For the briefest of moments, she had seen glimmers of that look so briefly, in that brief flash of molten gold. That honey-amber gaze had been enough to take her breath away, it was so similar to the look she had seen that night under the stars, but it was not the stars he had been looking at.
Zaiya finally roused from the strange vision. It seemed she had been dreaming. It was one of her most precious memories. Though… now she had awoken, she had to come to terms with the pain that he was gone. She sat up, she was in a bed now, in a dark room with a small lamp on the table. The room was like the rest of the temple, made from carved stone. The banners inked in red and black and gold hung from the walls. They did little to keep the heat in. She felt… better. Actually rested. Perhaps Mother Talzin had given her something? Or the fatigue had been too much? Or perhaps her connection to the magick had soothed her. Or all three, she couldn't say.
There was a bathing pool in the gardens, a place where the sisters of the temple would grow their herbs, roots and other concoctions to make their poultices and potions, and there were also pools, warm and heated from deep within the ground. She needed a bath. Warm water for once. Her now bare feet padded through the empty garden along the smooth stone paths to the hot springs. She paused at the edge and stripped herself utterly bare, the white clothing and bandages dropped in a heap at the edge. She would burn them later. She never wanted to wear that colour again. The water was warm, almost scalding to her cold skin as she slipped within its depths. She was able to sink up to her chin and close her eyes. She could feel the Force around her, moving and swirling. She also felt the magick draw into her, filling her up and replenishing her body. She felt stronger already.
The water felt like a warm embrace. Nearly as warm as those of her mother. Mad'ri. Mother. Who seemed to have been punished for doing nothing but love her. Had this Mandalorian father of hers been the one to break that? How did it happen? The Nightsisters called a strong Nightbrother for the Selection. To prove who was the strongest in order to pass on the strongest traits… that had always made sense before. But now it didn't. She had always seen the Nightsisters' treatment of her Prince to be cruel. Treated like he was not gifted. Like he was not special. But it was more than that. They treated all the Nightbrothers this way. Like objects. Like… slaves. The Nightbrothers were… slaves? It couldn't be. And… she had left Savage and Feral here while…? The water suddenly didn't seem so warm. She had to see them. Soon. She could not allow what had happened to her to happen to them. Not them. They were the sweetest and kindest boys she had known and… Goddess, they would be grown now. She had missed so much. Tears fell and dripped into the water below her. A dark chasm in her chest threatened to swallow her whole. How long had it been since she'd seen them? How tall were they now? Did they hate her for leaving them? Zaiya sank under the water completely.
Notes:
Adaji really wanted to stay! T^T He is hoping her mama will be able to look after her! And ohohoho! What's this? We learn real Mando-dad's name! There is a reference in that but it might not make sense yet.
How exciting! Now, Zaiya needs a long ass nap and some snacks! And hopefully we can see the boys soon!
Next week: Return - Part 2 (And some more flashbacks to the grub brothers!) then Recovery - Part 1. Will Zaiya learn Maul is still alive?! Find out then!
Also as always, I love your comments, your likes and what not. I love YOU for reading this. I hope you have an amazing day, you guys really are keeping me going atm.
