Private Echoes in the Undertow

[Efret Farr]

Following This Shore Lonely and Still

Wind stirring the surface of the sea caressed Efret's face as her feet cut through the water, tugging strands of dark hair free from where they had been tucked into her hood and blowing them across her face. The texture tickled her skin, not that she noticed through her delusion of walking into a bedchamber, not the open ocean.

Maybe it was just her longing for rest, deeper than the depths of the Abregado sea. So much had happened to her during the Second Cataclysm, and so much more after. She had let all of it get to her, to seep through the cracks of the mind meld that Malva'ikh had caused, the wounds she had mostly ignored until she assumed them healed because that was the course of action she had been taught to take.

Now, in hindsight, she realized the error of her approach.

Just as she realized that it was not one she could return to the Light from.

It wasn't just the pull of the undertow, dominant in its gentleness like a good lover, that edged her further down the sandy slope; but a subconscious urge to find a comfort out here that she couldn't imagine existed behind her any longer—even in a galaxy so expansive.

She honestly didn't seek death. The reality of what she was about to do was simply too far from her mind and the rest of her body to register that she could not attain one without the other here and now: comfort in the sea wouldn't come without drowning.

Force Sight did not confuse her. There were no subvisual hallucinations—just the two olfactory ones. Everything else was misinterpreted by her addled brain. The sand underfoot was soft like carpet fibers. The chill on her skin was due to her state of undress, preparation to retire. The water's resistance was tiredness in her limbs.

It was up to her upper thighs now. She wobbled on her legs as a wave sloshed past her, stumbling to the side but catching herself before falling into the water.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Efret Farr​

The galaxy was once again ravaged by war. First, it was Abragado, then came Thyferra, and whatever idiotic contraptions the Republic had created. He hoped those responsible for such a decision were brought to justice. Apart from that, he hoped there was a special place in hell for those who created such a device. A device that robbed the Jedi of their gifts, not only to protect others but to defend themselves. A device that cost them the lives of many Jedi, all because of idiotic politicians trying to show their hand and play God.

What called him here to Abragado-rae? Why was he out here in what was now Sith-held territory? A gentle nudge in the Force, a signal, a beacon... something. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath, letting the smell of salt and sea fill his nostrils. It was something new and somehow strangely pleasant to him. Aiden knelt down, his hand resting ever so lightly in the sand. He reached out with the Force, feeling a planet now taken by darkness. He knew it was coming. It answered back to him. It always did. Wherever the darkness was, that voice, that presence inside him, would manifest and stir. It sought to cloud his mind, corrupt his soul, his purpose, his hope. To his great shame, it had broken through once, upon hearing of his mother's death and his sister's apparent death. It was in those moments that you were truly tested.

He had failed, but he wouldn't again. He couldn't... he had to keep fighting.

There...

It was like a quick flash, light and darkness. Someone. He did not know who. It seemed familiar and yet so distant at the same time. Regardless, if this was what he was called here for, to be a beacon for someone, to help someone, then so be it. Help was needed across the galaxy, and in particular, this place. Aiden rose, taking in another deep breath, his eyes scanning the horizon, then moving along the seashore.

What is that?

Aiden's eyes narrowed. In the distance, someone was out in the water. As soon as he pinpointed the figure, all manner of thoughts were directed toward that location.

What was she doing? The Jedi Knight tossed his cloak to the side and moved with a remarkable speed. "Hey!"

He felt immediate resistance as his feet hit the water, but he moved as quickly as he could to reach her. His hands reached out to grab her, looking to pull her from the sea.

 

[Efret Farr]

She only waded further into the frigid sea, confusion leading her astray like a silent siren.

Silent to her, that was. To Aiden, the nearshore might be very loud, even unbearably so. The physical world was enough—the swash of the incoming waves, the gulls squawking above, the frantic splashes of his own shins moving through the water—but there was more. And it grew louder in its own way as he neared Efret on legs turning to lead.

The Force around her hissed, as if warning him to stay away; not out of any love for the Jedi, to spare him from her would-be fate, but out of protection for Efret's raw, dilutional mind.

By the time Aiden reached her, the water was up to her lowest rib. His arms caught her around her waist. Whether or not he actively pulled her back against him now or simply stopped her dazed march, the unexpected grasp and denied forward momentum broke her from her trance. Both sensations collided with her momentary worldview and shattered it.

Through the window rushed the reality of freezing air and water around her. She yelped, wobbling on her own legs as the fine sand underfoot eroded away under the encouraging pull of the ocean. Her soles sunk just a centimeter into the ground and, with it, her heart. Panic welled up in its place. She felt unreasonably unsteady for having lost only as much ground.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Efret Farr
​

"Come on," Aiden whispered, the Force as well as the waves whipping around him. There were whiplashes of darkness, light, pain, happiness, and despair. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that he couldn't pinpoint to its source. Whatever it was, it affected her. It affected him. If this was what the Force had called him here to witness, to see, then he would do what he could to try and set things right.

"I feel much here, full of memories, old memories."

He sensed... love mingled with grief.

There was something familiar, distant, yet familiar all the same.

"Come on..." Aiden spoke, just above a whisper. "We have to get you to shore, get you warm."

The Jedi Knight gave a gentle nudge, signaling for her to lean on him for support as they moved toward the shore.

"What is your name?"

 

[Efret Farr]

Though Force Sight was semi-omniscient, Efret didn't notice Aiden's face. She didn't even feel the Darkness still gnawing underneath his skin. If she had, one or the other or both would have been immediately familiar. She hadn't been gone from Naboo for long enough the forget the friends she had left behind there and elsewhere, nor had her transition to the Dark side robbed her of any of her memories with the Light.

It had tainted many of them, certainly, but her history was still accessible.

She focused on her feet, her physical gaze drawing down towards them. Her toes were starting to feel nonsensical tingles of heat, but not Tapas. She couldn't think to channel the Force in that way.

Her only response was to keep following him to shore. As she wasn't looking at him, and had no indication that he was speaking, understanding alluded her.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Efret Farr
​

Nothing....

Aiden's brow furrowed lightly as he led her to shore, leaving the waves as they crashed over their feet before they didn't reach them at all. The Jedi Knight sat her down, throwing his cloak around her to give her some warmth. She must've still been in shock, had to be. He only caught sight of half her face as she wasn't looking in his direction. From what he could see, there was a strange familiarity to it, but he couldn't put a name to it.

"I'm gonna get some wood, get a fire going." Aiden stood up, going to where he could gather some branches that had fallen, breaking them down into something to get a fire started and provide some warmth. Perhaps that warm feeling would return to her.

He assembled everything together, putting the bigger pieces of branches in a vertical yet slanted position, resting against each other. He reached for the two stones at his side, he began to strike them together, the friction just enough to give the spark that was needed. The rest would be done easily enough. With the aid of the Force, Aiden looked as the spark caught at just the right moment, hitting the twigs and small brush needed, and white smoke could be seen. The Jedi Knight's hand rose, influencing the element. It was different than water. Water was easier to manage, much more than fire was.

It began to spread, and the fire was self-sustaining for the time being. Aiden knelt down next to her and the fire but didn't say anything. When she was ready, she may say something to him. If not, he would sit here all day with her if that was necessary, just to ensure she was okay.

 

[Efret Farr]

Efret didn't glance up as she sunk down onto a piece of driftwood near where Aiden would construct the fire. Instead, she watched his hands with a distant expression as he worked to do so.

Once the fire had caught and grew under the Force's encouragement, she tugged her hands from where they had buried themselves below her drenched robe, hugging her sides tightly. She extending them towards the fire unbearably slowly, the salt-crusted cold settled in her elbow joints resisting but not denying the movement. Her fingers trembled slightly upon receiving the fire's warmth. Gentle as it was across the distance that stretched between her and the fire, it still shocked her frigid skin.

A few minutes on, she looked over to where he knelt in the sand.

Realization washed over her in one powerful wave, somehow colder than the sea had been.

Aiden Porte.

She remembered all at one that sunny day in Lake Country on the shore of one, the last time they had seen each other. The Force had pulled them together then to talk about the Darkness trapped inside both of them. Their experiences were different in some ways, in exact source and symptoms, but also similar enough to compare. To commiserate. To pledge comfort.

I am here. Whenever you need me.​

He had signed to her, as if showing his seriousness. Promises of support were never empty niceties with Aiden. They were pledges that he'd go to the ends of the galaxy to fulfil, without a second thought, if needed.

Yet, Efret hadn't called on him in her greatest hour of need. It had come on like an orphan tsunami, overtaking her before she even knew what was about to happen. And, once it did and she was drowning, Mercy was the only person around to tread water for her until she learned how to fend for herself.

Efret couldn't have rejected the Empress' help even if she had wanted to.

Not if she wanted to keep living.

...Right?

Her shame ebbed as she recognized a familiar shadow about him. Strange comfort rose up in her, then redoubled shame.

"Thank you," a woman's voice spoke, seeping from the centermost labradorite cabochon set into her fine silver chain choker. The magickal, red tendrils oozing from the large, polished gemstone face as well as if from invisible cracks were almost indistinguishable from the reflecting lapping firelight. Efret's palms remained facing the fire.

Aiden wouldn't recognize the communication aid Efret used anymore. The choker design was completely different. The voice it housed was organic, or had once been, instead of mechanic. Unbeknownst to him, it was still interpreting for her, but she was signing in her mind rather than with her hands.

Though maybe this part of her disguise wasn't necessary, not for him. Something in the pit of her heart suggested to her that the Darkness he still struggled with was enough to confuse him as to her identity, without her even trying to obscure herself further.

Still, she'd give him a fake name.

"I'm Haylim."

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Efret Farr
​

Aidenn didn't say much of anything, he took a glanced at her, as her hands faced the fire. Sometimes all it took was just sitting in silence, once that warmth crept back in, he had hoped she would say something. The coldness had breached him as much as it might've claimed her, he wasn't sure how long she was out there in the sea. When she first spoke, a small smile appeared on his face.

"You're welcome." Aiden simpley responded, kind and warmth in his voice. Aiden sat back, arms resting on his knees, as he stared into the fire for a few moments. Trying to bring to him what he felt from here, that small familiairty, but it eluded him altogether. He had opted to let it go previously, but it still gnawed at him.

"I'm Haylim."

"Haylim...." Aiden said as he looked up to her. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Aiden Porte." He voiced, as the name should be sufficient for now. He wasn't about to throw out his ties with the Republic, especially at a location and where he was. Aiden leaned forward lightly, as if he was about to say something. He thought about it for a moment, before the words finally came.

"Are you alright? What were you doing....out there?" Aiden inquired curiously.