Isobel Brandt \\ Persephone (praxidike) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-04-13 18:34:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !locale: nar chunna, dee, madelena |
there's a humming in the restless summer air
Who: Sia Vox (npc), Dee, & Maddie
What: The Nightsister recruits get some tutelage and find out more about their prospective allegiances.
When: Two weeks following this thread.
Where: Vox household, Nar Chunna.
Rating: W for Witchcraft.
The days in the Vox household passed with some regularity; Esaaj would rise first, and prepare the morning meal. Dee and Maddie were set up in Issan's old room; a tight squeeze, but one that the Vox sisters made work by stripping down the bed in favor of two cots. Sia took them under her wing, at first keeping them solely to mental exercises meant to allow them more control over their new abilities. Afternoons were for more physical practices; Esaaj frowned at a broken pot, while Sia congratulated her students on their progress. Esaaj had cleared the room of most personal items after that, but she corrected Maddie on her posture and gave Dee advice on her hand movements, so it was clear she didn't entirely disapprove of the venture.
Weeks passed without a word from Issan, but Sia reassured both Maddie and Dee that there was nothing amiss. They were to practice and not let worries cloud their judgement; Issan would return in due time. Now knowing all that they did about the secretive witch, it was clear that there were many claims on her time. Sia instead had them focus on their studies.
This morning, Sia sat at the morning table, risen before Esaaj. She held a steaming cup of tea in one hand, her eyes closed. A pot sat to her right with a small cluster of cups. All was still and quiet, the cool morning light streaming in through the windows. The curtains were pulled back; they would be closed before the afternoon heat, but for now, a sense of peace pervaded the small living quarters.
Madalena rose first; not wanting to disturb Dee, she slipped quietly from their room and out toward the kitchen. Barefoot, she padded through the house nearly silently; the only noise announcing her presence was the shush of her hem along the floor behind her.
The cool light filtering into the room reminded her of home. She rose early then, too, waking to watch the world turn blue as the sun rose and gently stirred the forest to life. Occasionally she’d be lucky enough to see a hart lazing near the edge of the clearing.
Seeing Sia there at the table, Madalena pushed the nostalgia aside. “Good morning,” she said, as clearly yet quietly as she could manage. From close behind her came the sound of a barely contained yawn.
“Morning,” Dee said. She shuffled barefoot into the kitchen, her hands deep in the curls of her hair, fluffing it out from where it had been pressed against her pillow in the night. She took up a seat at Sia’s side, where she could look out the window to the alien morning beyond. “The tea smells delicious.” She longed for a splash of bourbon to temper the morning’s drink. Training had been taxing, and she found herself wanting something to take the edge of Issan’s continued absence.
Sia's head bobbed a greeting in return to both of the women, but she made no move to get up or reply. Curls of steam continued to rise from her cup. After a beat, she opened her eyes, taking both Maddie and Dee in with a smile.
"I trust you both slept well," she offered, bringing the tea to just in front of her. "We will fast for today, with exception of a small drink. Help yourselves, but you may not use your hands." As always, the day's training began from the very first moment of waking. Lifting the pot was simple enough, but dexterity and precision were needed to ensure the tea ended up in the cup rather than on the table or, worse, someone's front. Sia took a sip of her own drink, waiting and watching to see who would complete the task first.
Madalena glanced at the two women before looking back to the teapot. This was going to be interesting. She pulled out a chair across from Sia and Dee and turned her attention to the cups. Slowly, one cup slid unevenly across the table to her. She stopped it at a fair distance from herself, already not confident enough in her abilities to pour the tea into it with the cup any closer to herself.
She glared at the teapot, then turned a softer eye toward Sia and Dee, unsure of what she was expecting to see on their faces. Madalena looked back to the teapot, and after a moment it began to rise. Its movement was unsteady and slow, almost as if it were being lifted by a child too weak to support its weight. The lid rattled menacingly in its cradle atop the pot. It began to waver yet again, before clattering back down onto the table with a heavy thump. Madalena heaved a sigh and scowled at the pot.
Dee sighed. It was far, far too early for this, but that was a sentiment she knew better than to put to words. Suddenly the bourbon seemed even more appealing than before. She swept her tongue across the bow of her lips. She looked to the teapot, extending her will out toward it as they had been shown. The teapot rose a small height from the table’s surface. Its lid did not rattle, but it remained too low to be of any use in pouring. Slowly Dee coaxed the thing toward her. The nearer it drew, the more it began to tip. She fought the urge to push her cup beneath its canting spout. She drew her lower lip between her teeth.
Slowly, shakily, the pot began to tip correctly. Tea splashed out, at first too slowly, then with far too much vigor. Scalding liquid flew out in fat, great drops. Dee swore, shaking searing droplets from her hand. The teapot righted, but stayed in the air.
After a moment to compose herself, Dee made the effort again. This time the pour was unsteady, but less intense; it took only three tries to fill -- or overfill, if Dee was honest -- her cup. Somewhat satisfied, she let the teapot drift slowly to the tabletop.
Sia watched the whole exchange with no small amount of amusement, though she kept her smile hidden behind her own cup. She waited until Maddie had also completed the exercise, offering a little help with a nudge or a push here and there; it must have felt like ages for the two women to get something as simple as tea into a cup, but in truth it was only a few minutes. Both of them were progressing quite well, given their age and newness to the galaxy. Having talked with them at length about their former homelands and a little about their former abilities, Sia knew Issan had chosen her students well; both were women of ability, and some previous training. The rift was proving to be a blessing in disguise for her niece.
"Well done," she praised them softly, putting her own cup back down. "Now that your minds are awake and stretched, we will do a little meditation. Then I think we may go outdoors this day, and practice in a wider space. I fear my sister is tired of having her possessions broken." She settled into her seat, though, giving both of her students a moment to rest. "How do you feel you have progressed so far?"
Madalena wrapped her hands around her cup, savoring its warmth. “Honestly,” she said, staring into the swirling depths of the tea, “not well. I’ve never done anything like this, so I don’t have a way to gauge how quickly I should be progressing, of course, but it always just feels like it shouldn’t be quite so hard.” She sighed and took a quick sip of her tea. “I suppose I’ve just never had this much trouble learning something, and it’s more than a little frustrating.”
Dee nodded understanding. “Anything new is hard at first,” she said, more to console Madalena than for Sia’s benefit. Madalena smiled, grateful for the encouragement. “But I’ve trained somewhat similarly before, and I understand the steepness of a learning curve. I know we’ll get there.” Color darkened her cheeks. “Hopefully with fewer broken housewares. I admit I look forward to when I’m more competent with these things. Clearing one’s mind is a harder task than I’d imagined.” She chuckled. “I’m used to having a sword in my hand before or when I do so. There’s a kind of clarity in a straightforward, physical fight.”
Sia nodded in agreement to Dee's words. "Complete control over one's abilities is something most Force users struggle with over their lifetimes. Few, if any, ever truly achieve it. You are both still new; do not be so hard on yourselves." She brought her cup back to her lips, then once more it made the descent to the table. "And do not worry about the broken vase. Esaaj makes a fuss because she has little else to do."
She let the silence fill the space for a moment, creating a comfortable buffer; her eyes drifted toward the windows. Nothing could be seen from them, as they faced an alley directly outside the Vox living quarters. Outside, noises announcing the start of the day for the street-wide market were audible: shouts, the muffled noises of animals, the rattling of tables and coverings being put into place. "You have both made good progress, though. Most start much younger, but you are getting there. The true test will come when you are asked to do something you thought not possible."
She leaned forward, bringing her gaze back to those seated. "Perhaps today we will bring something of the physical into our training; it may help speed your learning. Nightsisters have trained with weapons, including a sword. We have never been the kind to charge into battle, however."
Dee sipped at her tea. It was nearly half gone already, though she had been trying to savor this sole “meal” of her day. “May I ask what the usual methods are?” she asked. “A friend of mine was at one time an assassin. And some of our work, though not much, was done by… let’s call them less than straightforward means. Stealthiness is not my forte, but I’m not entirely unfamiliar.”
Madalena smiled. “I suppose stealthiness isn’t exactly my forte, either. But - as far out of my comfort zone as I’ve been already, it seems one more push away from it couldn’t hurt too much.”
"There were a variety of warriors in our ranks, but yes, stealth was our main asset," Sia confirmed. "We prefer -- and I still do -- to work from the shadows, using surprise to our advantage. It helps that we had numbers, but there were a few of us who also worked alone.
"But there is merit in having different skills in a group," she added. "You must be adaptable in this age. Things are not what they were all those years ago, and I certainly hope that Issan understands that as well. The Nightsisters will not be as they have been in the past. I am sure she will find uses for each of you." A bang followed by a loud came from outside as it sounded as though someone's vehicle backfired, or perhaps a droid malfunctioned. "Sometimes I do miss the quiet of Dathomir, but there is a certain charm to being buried within this city's bowels," she commented, shaking her head as she raised her cup to her lips again.
“It certainly helps in hiding,” Dee said. “Better the crush of people than an empty road, easily seen from a distance.” She frowned down into the liquid in her cup. “I have to wonder how long even that will keep us safe. Issan, and many others, speak of this… man… as persistent and cruel.” She pursed her lips, and twisted a lock of hair tightly around one finger. “Would Dathomir not be better? I’ve read it’s remote. Desolate. Perhaps the First Order would have no interest in it now.”
Madalena frowned. “Despite his cruelty, he seems to be considered quite intelligent. If he’s discovered a connection to Issan, Dathomir would be the first place he would look for us.” She paused. “At least, that’s what I would do, were I in his position.” She did not say that she had been, many times over. She did not mention the traitors she had ferreted out, the revolutions she had crushed under her heel.
"It is hard to say," Sia commented. "In my time, when we first left Dathomir, the Empire watched the planet, ready to destroy any who might resurrect the Nightsisters or any others who lived on the planet. That Issan has been there and lived to tell us news of this is a great feat indeed. I do not know if the Order would have interest in Dathomir, or if the satellites and other sensors the Empire set up around the planet still exist; but Maddie is right in this regard.
"The less the Order knows of us, the better. I suspect my niece has worked hard to keep others from looking too deeply into her past, or her intentions.
"But that is something you can bring up with her, when she next returns," Sia finished. "I do not claim to know her plans." She took another drink, finishing her cup. "You may help yourselves to another cup of tea, but we will have water out in the deserts. It would be suicide not to. Do you have proper clothing for this environment?"
Maddie nodded before looking to Dee. “I think we both do -- we took time to purchase some clothing before we left Naboo.” She’d paid attention to what the people -- was that even the right word? -- around her wore, what the native population chose for their daily activities and had selected similar garments. Hopefully they had made wise selections.
Dee looked up from where her eyes had wandered. She still wore the vestments of her priesthood, and she was grateful to have been allowed to do so. Often she felt they were her final connection to the world she had left behind; now she had to shed even this last of skins, to ready herself for what was to come. She plucked at the purple fabric of her loin skirt. Her mouth had drawn into a frown, though she did not feel it. She tossed back the last of her tea and rose from her seat.
“I’ll go and get ready,” she said. She was plainly distracted; thoughts of the Order and their missing teacher flooded her mind. She nodded gratitude to Sia. “Thank you for the tea. Is there anything else we should do to prepare? Other than the clothing, of course.”
Sia shook her head. "You need only yourselves. Please get ready quickly." She did not move from her spot at the table, already dressed for the day. Watching Dee and Maddie disappear back into their room, she wondered at what was to become of all of them.