Private Echoes of You

[Palm-Imer]

C O N N E C T I O N​

WEARING: XxX.
TAG: Aerik Lechner

Palm could feel the force of Aerik's punches, his intent sharp, driven. Each jab he threw was calculated, yet beneath the surface, there was something more—something deeper. She could feel it in the air between them, that underlying energy, the pulse of power waiting to be harnessed.

He was holding back, and she understood why. Yet something deep within her wanted him to let go.

She had felt it before, that kind of rhythm. In the bond with her twin brother, they could fight as one, in perfect synchrony. It was not just their training or the Force—it was a connection beyond physicality, beyond conscious thought. Palm had lived her life in harmony with another soul, and now, she saw that same potential in Aerik. He had a natural sense of unity within him, not yet realized, not yet tapped into its full depth.

As Aerik's uppercut came for her, Palm didn't dodge in the traditional sense. Instead, she shifted her stance just enough so the punch skimmed past her cheek, her hand grazing his forearm. The light touch wasn't a block but more a subtle redirection. She wasn't avoiding him—she was pulling him in closer.

Palm's mind reached out, gently nudging his awareness through the Force, not to overpower, but to connect. She wasn't his opponent here, not in the traditional sense. She wasn't trying to teach, only to show him what was possible. Aerik's energy called for it, the instinct of his heritage demanding a deeper connection. She could feel his wariness, his fear of losing control, but Palm wasn't afraid of that. She understood the need to sync, to find that balance between instinct and intention - for both of them to be able to go all out.

She invited him into that space now. Not with words, but with action.

Palm looked at him, her movements adjusting to his as if they were a mirror, as if each of hers knew exactly what was coming from him, and at the same time opening her stance so the pup could read her next. At first it would be hard, conscious, but if he was receptive enough that would soon change. Allowing the natural flow of their bodies to dictate the next steps. Aerik had the strength; she could feel the raw power behind his punches, but Palm could offer the balance—an equilibrium, where they could both push to their limits without losing themselves.

In the attempt to align their energies, Palm stopped resisting entirely, falling into the flow of their movements. She caught his next punch, not with resistance, but with a movement that let it flow through her, guiding her in sync with him. She aimed to meet him strike for strike, her body anticipating his moves, not because she was reacting to him, but because she was moving with him. It wasn't about dominance; it was about unity.

Palm's amber eyes met his once again, and this time, there was no barrier. No restraint. Just the pure, harmonious flow of two warriors finding their rhythm together. In this shared moment, there was no fear of losing control, no worry about holding back—only the perfection of the dance they were creating. Her eyes held a silent question, was he ready to let go?

​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Palm-Imer

She adjusted with his every move. This was more a dance than it was a fight, yet there was something else. Each dodge or counter was an invitation to something deeper, a connection she clearly longed for.

Did Aerik?

Something pulled at him, inside. In front of him was a part of his father he had never known til now. Temptation creeped into his soul. The pup had an opportunity to claim and attach himself to something that his father had lost, or was it something she had lost? The question lingered in his mind as they moved about the movements of their combat.

Before long, his siblings would tell him later, it appeared as though the two were exchanging strikes and blocks as though the battle had been rehearsed. Palm had invited him to let himself go, to forget about his concern or his cares. The amber hue of her eyes felt safe, despite the fire that shot back a fierceness that lay dormant inside of him.

He was no less a beast than his father, yet he could feel the force doing something neither of them had asked for. Each moment that passed knitted them together in a similar way as it had between her and Gerwald. There was a difference however, Palm was the one extending the invitation whereas before it had been Gerwald.

His guard was lowered. Aerik removed the walls of caution. If the force was supposed to set him free as the Sith Code stated, then he needed to accept the gift it was offering. If the day ever came that Palm would need to call on the bond forming between them, the pup would be bound to answer the call. He was hers to command as much as she had belonged to his father.

He nodded in understanding and released whatever restraint remained. Palm had trusted Gerwald, and Aerik knew he needed to trust Palm. Each following strike came with the full power of his raw strength. In a way it seemed to calm the beast within. In some form of battle the animal found peace. It was sated as though he had consumed a fresh kill after the thrill of an exhilarating hunt.

This time when Aerik brought his leg around to kick the side of her knee, and follow the strike with a force push, the pup had no fear. The blonde embraced his power and for the first time felt what it meant to be truly one with lay resident within.

 

[Palm-Imer]

C O N N E C T I O N​

WEARING: XxX.
TAG: Aerik Lechner

Palm had hoped for unity between their movements, a synchrony born of shared instinct and purpose. She had wanted him to let go, to fall into that same rhythm she had once known, to forge a connection grounded in trust and balance. But what was happening now—it was deeper. It was far more than she had expected.

The moment their energies aligned, Palm felt a familiar pull through the Force, a tether forming where none had been before. The sensation was one she had not felt in a long time, not since Gerwald. Her breath caught in her chest, memories flooding her mind with the force of a wave crashing against a shore. The weight of that bond, the implications of what it meant to be tied to another in such a profound way, hit her hard. She had once known that bond as something beautiful, but also as something that had broken her when it ended.

This was different. Aerik was different. And yet, as the Force reached out to knit them together, that old pain resurfaced, a whisper of the past shadowing the present. For a brief moment, Palm hesitated. She hadn’t asked for this—neither had he. And yet, here it was. The Force had decided for them.

She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to lead him down a path that could break him as she had been broken. But as she looked into Aerik’s eyes, the fiery determination tempered by something calmer now, she realized that this bond, this connection, was forming not out of need, or desperation, or longing. It was something else. It was trust.

He had opened himself to her. He had chosen to let go of his fears and embrace the bond. There was no doubt in his eyes, no hesitation in his strikes now. Palm felt the weight of that trust settle over her, heavy but grounding.

This was not Gerwald. This was not the past. This was here, now. Aerik had trusted her with something precious, and Palm would not fail him.

His kick came swift and strong, aimed at the side of her knee. Palm felt the impact, her muscles tightening instinctively to brace for it, but she did not flinch. She let the force of it move through her, adjusting her stance, keeping their flow uninterrupted. The Force pushed against her next, a wave of power crashing into her chest. It sent her back, but she rolled with it, letting the momentum carry her gracefully through the air. She landed lightly on her feet, the connection between them unbroken.

Palm’s amber eyes locked onto his once more, and she could feel it, the bond solidifying between them. There was an understanding now, a knowledge that this was something neither of them could take lightly. They would be bound by this—perhaps forever. The idea scared her, but it also brought a strange sense of peace. The bond was not something to fear. It was something to nurture, to grow.

Her own hand reached towards him even before his influence on the Force faded, and where he had been pushing, she pulled, hoping to close the distance between them once again. Her hand would reach out, not to strike, but to rest lightly against the pup's shoulder. Her voice came steady, but soft. “This bond—it is ours to shape. Ours to honor.”

Her words were meant to reassure him, but they also reassured her. They would find their own path, just as she had found hers. This was not a repeat of the past; this was something new. And Palm would embrace it, for both their sakes.

In that moment, she let go of the fear. The bond between them was no longer something she resisted. It was something she accepted, something she welcomed. She could feel the power between them growing stronger, their connection deepening with every passing second. This was not just a fight, not just a dance—it was something far more significant. And now Palm would have to see where she was being led.

​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Palm-Imer

Aerik was surprised Palm took the kick to her leg, and yet, he knew she was going to. His force push had been powerful enough to send her flying, but she moved with it as though it had been little more than a light breeze. She had learned to ride the currents of energy, and while Aerik did not know how, he wanted to know. His thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. Aerik, and the pups, loved to learn, and Carnifex had ensured they were always learning.

Palm could teach him as well, until he went to the academy.

His eyes followed her as she came back and placed her hand on his arm. Aerik’s eyes lingered on her hand for a moment before they turned up to her eyes. The words she spoke drew him in.

Their bond.

It was different than what he shared with his siblings, and his parents, but it was strong. He felt as though they were just as inseparable now. The force had woven them together, a gift or a curse. It still did not change the fact Gerwald was a member of the Dark Council. Aerik was still going to the Sith Academy on Jutrand. His life could end there, or it could end when he changed. Life from this point forward held so much uncertainty, and yet as he looked into the eyes of the woman in front of him, he found a confidence that had been missing before.

“What now, then,” he whispered.

His siblings would hear it. They were quiet, stunned that the force had done what it had. The way the three of them were connected, they had felt what was shaping within their brother. It would be the first time the triplets would experience the residual of the bonds formed on an individual level, but it would not be the last. They all knew something had changed at that moment. It would change again when the first of them shifted.

Again, they all knew it was going to be Aerik.

“You are still leaving, and I am still going to the Academy. How can I walk that path and you walk yours? Isn’t it the same problem you have with my father?

Disappointment crossed the pup’s face. He knew they were not leaving together, and he knew his choices may see them become enemies. Aerik had no choice other than to trust in their bond. It was a cruel trick of the force, and of nature to do this to them. Palm had come to get over the bond she had severed only to find herself bonded to the son. Aerik was leaving, not looking for a bond. They had simply wanted to eat their pheasants. Instead, they had shared their kill, and Aerik had formed something with a ghost from his father’s past.

He sighed.

“This is not fair.”

 

[Palm-Imer]

C O N N E C T I O N​

WEARING: XxX.
TAG: Aerik Lechner

Palm's hand lingered on Aerik's arm, the weight of her touch far heavier than the simple gesture suggested. His whispered question, "What now, then," echoed in her mind, rippling through the fragile bond that had only just begun to take root between them. It was a quiet, desperate plea for answers—answers she wasn't sure she had the strength to give.

Her gaze softened as she looked into his eyes, so full of potential, so full of questions. There was something so heartbreaking in the way he stood before her now, a boy on the cusp of becoming something more—a man, a Sith. The uncertainty in his eyes mirrored the uncertainty in her own heart. She wanted to reach for him, to pull him close and shield him from what she knew was coming. But she couldn't.

The galaxy would not allow it.

His words cut deep, and Palm felt the sharp sting of truth in them. She had wanted to believe they could carve out a different fate, but Aerik was right. The future had already laid its claim on them, long before this moment.

His face, once so full of life, now sagged with disappointment. Palm could see the weight of it in his eyes, the burden of knowing that their bond, as strong and as powerful as it was, could not stop the paths they had been set upon. He had no choice but to go to the Academy, to step into the world of the Sith, where the darkness would claw at him and threaten to consume everything good in him. And she—she would return to her life, a life that now felt unbearably empty in the face of this cruel twist of fate.

Aerik's sigh pierced through Palm's heart like a blade. The simplicity of his words, the raw honesty of them, shattered something inside her. He was right—it wasn't fair. It was never fair. The Force had a cruel sense of irony, weaving them together only to tear them apart. And in that moment, Palm could feel the weight of her own hypocrisy. She had come here to free herself from one bond, only to find herself trapped in another.

She had not asked for this, and neither had Aerik. But that didn't change the reality of what they now faced.

Palm drew in a shaky breath, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she struggled to find the words. How could she explain the cruelty of the galaxy to him, the way it broke you apart just when you thought you were whole? How could she tell him that no matter how strong their bond was, it could not protect them from the inevitable?

Her voice, when it came, was soft—barely more than a whisper. "No, it's not fair, Aerik. It's not fair at all." She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue. "I wish... I wish I could tell you that this bond will make everything easier. That it will protect us from what's coming. But it won't."

She could feel the tears burning at the edges of her vision, but she blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. She had to be strong, for him, if not for herself. "We are bound, you and I," she said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. "But that doesn't mean we can escape our paths."

Her hand slid from his arm, and she felt the loss of contact like a physical pain, as if something precious had slipped through her fingers. "Your path is set before you," she continued, her words trembling with the weight of the truth. "You will go to the Academy. You will face challenges that I cannot protect you from. And I..."

Palm's voice cracked, and she had to pause for a moment, swallowing back the lump that had formed in her throat. "And I will walk my own path. Far away from here. Sometimes far away from you."

She could see the flicker of pain in his eyes, and it mirrored the agony in her own heart. "It is the same problem I had with your father," she admitted softly, the words barely more than a breath. "I loved, and I lost, because the Force had other plans for us. I fought against it, Aerik. I fought so hard, but in the end..."

Her eyes closed for a brief moment, the memory of Gerwald still fresh in her mind. "In the end, it broke me."

When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with a deep sorrow, a grief she could not contain. "I don't want that for you."

Her hand moved of its own accord, lifting to gently cup his cheek, her touch soft, almost reverent. "You have a future ahead of you, Aerik, you all do." she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "You have so much left to discover, so much to become. And this bond... this bond will not hold you back. It will not trap you."

Tears welled in her eyes, but this time, she didn't fight them. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she let it fall. "But it will never be easy. And it will never be fair. I can't promise you that. All I can promise is that wherever you go, whatever you become... this bond will remain. It will always be there, even if we are apart."

Her voice broke, the pain in her heart too much to bear. She didn´t want to lose him.

There it was, the truth of it all. She had come here to free herself from the past, only to find that she was now tied to the future, tied to him. And yet, no matter how strong their bond was, they would still be torn apart by the paths they were meant to walk. She could not change what was to come. She could only hope that somehow, in some way, their bond would survive the trials ahead.

​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Palm-Imer

Aerik nodded. What else could he do? Every word she gave in response to his question only confirmed the hard truth he already knew. The force had indeed played a cruel trick on them both. His eyes fell away to the ground at his feet for a moment. Standing there he appeared so certain and sure. He knew the place his feet were planted as well as he knew his own face. This was a path that was familiar, but once he returned to the house, where Gerwald and Naedira waited for their children to return, he would not walk it for some time.

Several breaths passed between her final words before Aerik looked up at her again. There was something hidden in her words, emotion and feeling he would never had caught without the bond they now shared. His eyes returned to her with a look of surprise and understanding. It was as though all of the evidence which had been right under his nose finally clicked.

She had not come to bury the sabers to bury her past. Those words had been carefully chosen. Palm came to bury the small part of her heart which would never fully let her father go. His mind passed into hers easily because of it.

<< “I understand why you came.” >>

Would he tell his siblings, or would this become the first of many secrets they would begin to have as they grew older? Aerik remained silent long enough to make up his mind. He would tell them if they asked. It would allow Palm to leave without having to give account to them at least. Aerik, however, would have his answer.

<< “You loved him the way he loves our mother.” >>

It was not a question. Whether she gave him the satisfaction of telling him he was right or not. He knew. It was why this bond would be difficult for her, and why it was also important. Perhaps the force was not so cruel after all. Maybe the force was giving her something she could have to fill the void of what she could not.

“I will become who I need to be then, and you will be who you need to be.”

Aerik pointed at the lightsaber hilts his father had made for her.

“If it hurts to use them, then don’t. However, I can speak for my father when I say that he would want you to pass them to your own children. It is our way, from one generation to the next. Just because he walks a path you cannot go down, it does not mean he is no longer the man you knew. Listen to your own words, Palm. Our paths may take us to different places, even lead us away from each other for a time, but this bond will never be broken.”

His eyes drifted back to the longhouse he knew she would not follow them to.

“Forgive him. You may not be able to stand at his side as a Sith, but for my sake,” he looked to his siblings, “for our sake, find a path that allows you to stand beside him as a friend again, as family.”

“Aerik… we need to get going, the sun is going to set soon.”

“If we’re not back by then, father will come looking for us. It is too close to a full moon for you to be out here without him.”

He nodded, but instead closed the distance between him and Palm-Imer. His arms wrapped around hers in a tight hug. Aerik took the moment to memorize her scent.

<< “fram að næstu veiði” >>

Until the next hunt.