Litost

[Inyri Takan]

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litost, noun; a state of agony or torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery.​

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The Unknown Regions, Pillio, Southern Hemisphere, The Ridges & Canyons, Midnight
Follow The Stars | Interacting with [member="Aryn Teth"] ~ Second Chances ~ "Older than water, stubborn as stone."
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Somehow, Inyri's internal clock had been entirely flipped on its axis.

The day was night and night was the day. It suited her fine; she didn't trust the sun, didn't trust the way it warmed the ground of this planet or stirred local wildlife. So she slept through it, hidden among her few belongings in the cave that had been her sanctuary since first landing on Pillio. The ship she had taken, an old Sovereignty fighter, was still perched where she had left it on the cliffs above, like a guardian, overgrown with coral. Her lightsaber still within its glove compartment. It was a guardian of that, too. Ha. Guardian. Funny, wasn't it? She tried to laugh but croaked instead, eyes closed shut with strain. Her thin form rolled over the abrasive coral ground of the cave, relishing it's uncomfortableness moments before finally rising. Something about this evening felt astutely different. Like a familiar heat stoked inside her gut, one she had not felt since--

As if you deserve any of that.

Don't forget what they did.

This is what happens when you don't listen to us.

Oh, she listened. She listened, very well, and very eagerly, "I know." Her hoarse voice breathed, to quell the sounds in her mind. It almost never worked, of course, but it sometimes helped. Water. Water was a good idea and plentiful on this world as well. Her legs unexpectedly buckled as she tried to rise but the former Guardian did eventually make her way to her feet, a scraped hand against the wall for support in the endeavour. They had been wrapped in cloth in an effort to protect them from infection, but, it hadn't exactly worked judging by the ugliness of the old wounds. The worn boots close to breaking again simply due to all the use she got out of them. But, if luck was a fair maid tonight, the hives of bugs that occupied these valleys with her would not see fit to try and eat her again, and she could go about her business unsolicited.
This was her life, now.
To even attempt recall the Sovereignty was to send them screaming like thunder, the immense pain in her head and chest and body enough to bring her to her knees from it all. Whenever it came to mind, whenever she tried, she simply laid on the ground and waited for it all to pass. It was easier like that, than trying to function through it. What was her name, again? Not important. She hadn't deserved that, either, so it had been taken. It was best to let it all be numb, and let it all live. All her mind had dared to keep were the faces of the few hated, the memories of the most painful, the darkest sorrow she'd ever felt.
The holes in her memory, the gaps in her psyche, they were of absolutely no concern to this once-stalwart warrior, this once beautiful girl. To concern herself with them was to bring forth the aforementioned, and the aforementioned was to be avoided. Cautiously, like a child sneaking out of her parent's abode, Inyri crept along the walls of the valley in absolute silence, towards the sound of tumbling water. A freshwater lagoon was nearby, thankfully, usually flush with consumable plants and more than enough spring water to keep her hydrated. If she got there before nocturnal predators left their dens like she did, then she might even have a good night.
Maybe one of these days we should let them eat you. The mental image of a young, frail woman being dragged off into a rocky den by some large black creature with teeth sharper than knives briefly flashed in her mind. She had no words to stay in retort, for fighting them when it came to this was far harder than it seemed.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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Somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, Pillio, Jinata System, The Unknown Regions​

Interacting With: [member="Inyri Takan"]​

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Things had been... Strange, lately.

The dreams never really stopped, much as he had tried to force them to, since the Alliance's fall. Thousands had moved on, found new lives, or even managed to somehow just continue the ones they were living. Even Srina Talon and his allies in the Confederacy, who had once fought so hard to keep the Galactic Alliance from crumbling, seemed now to be flourishing in its absence. And yet, Aryn had been nowhere, done nothing since the fall, day in and day out he remained in one place, dreaming of his regrets and of all he wished he had done differently. He was a man swallowed whole by his regrets, by everything he had failed to do.

One failure loomed large, echoing in his mind and tugging at the strings of his force bonds again and again. Inyri.

In the war, Aryn had made a decision. In the efforts against the Galactic Empire, both the Confederacy and the Sovereignty had chosen to assault the worlds of Tatooine and Zenith Prime, Aryn had just escaped from the battles on Dagobah, but still he needed to join his allies. Aryn had chosen to join the Confederates, to join Srina Talon and her allies as they assaulted Tatooine. He had left the Sovereignty on their own, left them to death on account of an alliance and a war that they had no real reason to be involved in in the first place.

Aryn had not seen Inyri Takan, a close friend of his in the Sovereignty, since then. He had felt her however, the force bond he had developed with her echoed in his mind and flowed through his body. Again and again the lingering connection called to him from Pillio, where they had met, but there was something wrong with it, something twisted. Yet, he had come to search for her, he knew well enough that the dreams, the echoes would never stop, unless he made them.

He stepped over coral formations, down hills he remembered all too well, as he closed in on the old and abandoned starfighter. He climbed up onto it, carefully hooking his fingers under the pilot's hatch as he tore it open, tearing apart the coral which had grown over it. He reached within, hand running over the glove compartment as he tore it open as well, watching as the lightsaber fell out and onto the floor. He stared for some time at it, sighing as he gently hooked his fingers around the hilt and lifted it up. He had abandoned is own in the aftermath of the Sith Empire's endgame, it still felt strange to hold any weapon of this kind, and to hold one of a friend's? Even stranger.

Steps carried Aryn away, lower down from the cliffs he had started upon, until he came down towards the lagoon. It was there that his eyes settled upon her, the form similar and yet altogether different to what he had remembered. Yet, he felt the force swirling around her and between them both in a manner that was far too familiar to be comfortable.

"Inyri?"

 

[Inyri Takan]

The Unknown Regions, Pillio, Southern Hemisphere, The Ridges & Canyons, Midnight
Black Holes | Interacting with [member="Aryn Teth"] ~ Second Chances ~ "There'll be no forgiveness for all that you've known."
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"What." Soft, like a whisper.

What? A roar in her mind.

Like an yslamiri in speederlights, the young woman froze up, her body pressed along the coral reefs of the valley. No, no, no, no no no no-- No, this was all wrong and it was bad and they had finally come for her. To take her away from her sanctuary, to make her fight again. She was going to fight again, wasn't she? Fight against the falsity? You should let it win. For a long time hollow dark eyes just stared. It was plainly evident to see that something was not right, even if he'd felt that already. There was something terribly, terribly wrong with the Guardian he'd once known.

"No," The girl replied in tones that were increasingly shaky, "No. No, that's not fair. That's not him. They took him, too." Her stance shifted, suddenly. Instead of surprise, it was laden with hostility instead, a creature withdrawing into her shell to protect against predators. Eyes turned from blank to sad, tragic, like someone at a funeral for a loved one.

"He was better than this."

Can you believe their audacity? To send a monster in his skin to take you away? Something inside Inyri laughed horribly and it filled her ears. This was what she deserved, to face things like him. Atonement. Revenge. This was the Force making it's terrible will be known; to torment her until she couldn't take it. She already couldn't take it. Her hands shook. She looked scared, angry, even worried by his sudden appearance here. Perhaps the old woman who had once inhabited this skin would have been prepared, would have offered retorts and smiles and tea and a spar, perhaps even more. This one seemed content to back up, trip over her own messy footwork, and fall to the beachfloor with a low whimper of defeat.

"Stay. Away. What have you done?" She snapped, trying to scramble to stand again but it didn't really work, she seemed a tangle of old robes and limbs that were way too thin to be of a healthy weight. To be expected, if she'd been surviving off of Pillio for a year undisturbed. Well. Somewhat disturbed, and not in the way of bothering. There were none before, during the pain; why would one come to save you now? A heap on the ground, now, a single stream of words left her that could explain at least some of this abnormal behaviour, "What have you done to Aryn?" She repeated in arrogance, even without an acknowledgement of her own name. None of the telltale signs that she even knew what 'Inyri' meant.

She recalled none of that. All she recalled were faces, the faces that she feared. This one, the most.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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Somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, Pillio, Jinata System, The Unknown Regions​

Interacting With: [member="Inyri Takan"]​

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In the force, Inyri Takan was barely recognizable. The woman he had once known, confident, snarky, even humorous, was now a wreck, wretched, thin and broken. When he watched her, seeing the way she shifted and reacted to even his mere presence, Aryn felt a greater concern than he had previously. In a way, he considered that had things gone differently in the fall of the Alliance, had he been in another place, not had the allies he did to save him from devastation, he could have easily ended up in the same manner, torn apart and worn down.

Her question struck a chord, and if he had not already known, he was assured that her mind was shattered. To Inyri, it seemed that everything, everyone was an enemy, she was now living in a galaxy, in a world where everything was out to get her, where anything was a potential enemy.

Taking a few steps closer, Aryn watched the woman closely, shifting down onto a knee as he looked over her, over the tangle of robes that had once signified a position and a government greater than her alone, it was a time when the Guardians meant something real in the galaxy, before their legacy was torn asunder. "It's still me, Inyri. It's time to come home." He spoke quietly, watching her closely as he reached down to his belt, as he gently took her lightsaber from his belt and looked over it.

Holding it out towards her, his eyes locked upon hers as he forced a gentle smile to cross his face, trying to put the woman at ease as much as he possibly could. "The galaxy isn't out to get you any more, there's no need to be afraid right now." That's when he noticed it, reaching out with the connection that still lingered between them, his attention was brought to the voices, the other presences that twisted and echoed in her mind. It was not remotely what he had expected, and it concerned him, perhaps, Inyri was even more damaged than he expected. Yet, he pushed forward, and he just doubled down upon his words.

"It's just you, and me."

 

[Inyri Takan]

The Unknown Regions, Pillio, Southern Hemisphere, The Ridges & Canyons, Midnight
Paradox | Interacting with [member="Aryn Teth"] ~ Second Chances ~ "Oh these days, oh these days get heavy."
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The way the mad gaze shifted seemed to indicate extreme turmoil. Like a riot in her mind as too many neurons fired off at once. Their bond might have once brought her comfort or practicality; it seemed a source of terror now that did not wish to go to away. Her eyes turned from him to the lightsaber, "You're fake," She murmured, no longer so much venom behind it -- Now it just seemed weary, sad, the surrender of someone great, "You aren't the real Aryn. You're not. You're an impostor. Don't say that name." The last statement sounded more like a threat as a shiver ran through Inyri, full-bodied, a tremble she couldn't hold back. No hand raised to claim her previous weapon.

"We're not alone," She continued, her voice dropping to a near-whisper again, conspiratorial, a high hiss of breath to leave her cracked lips, "You're just here to make me fight again." Still unable to collect herself and, seemingly, not going to, the former Guardian just stared as things went downhill from there. Cry, one coaxed venomously, see if it will get you mercy.

Even like this, though, Inyri never cried. That had been a constant.

There had been times when she had been close, though. She managed to right herself just a little to bring herself to sit, knowing better than to stand lest sheleave herself more open to his attack, "The real Aryn's with traitors." The girl muttered half-heartedly, dejectedly, like the concept of that made her upset despite all she thought in the moment. The eyes fell on the lightsaber again, the old stylized cylinder in his grasp, "There's always someone out to get you." Her replies to him were definitely delayed relative to when he asked her, but at least she was speaking period. There were just other things to listen to, as well, that slowed her response time. We can't trust him. He could hurt.

"You left us." Her voice cracked a little but seemed as though she was getting somewhere mentally at last. There was a more definite look in her eyes, something more tangible as she gazed at him, "To die." It seemed to pain her, but things also seemed to be coming back. Memories of an invasion gone horribly wrong. She didn't stop, there was momentum under her now, even as voices snarked their disapproval but egged her on anyhow, "We did. We didn't come back." A thoughtful pause. Something painfully genuine broke out across her fine features, then. An opening. It was possible that he might have broken through at least some of her delusion.

"I didn't come back."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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Somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, Pillio, Jinata System, The Unknown Regions​

Interacting With: [member="Inyri Takan"]​

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It was difficult to hear and see Inyri in this way, in the back of his mind, he felt the urge to avoid her gaze. The same way he would perhaps avoid meeting the eye of an old lover at a formal dinner, or that of an old enemy sitting across the room in a crowded cantina late at night. There was not something simply uncomfortable about her gaze, there was something downright wrong. Inyri's own mind had betrayed her, that much was evident, she was not only confused, she had been dragged into a void that it would not be easy for her to return from.

Her insistence that he was there to bring her to fight, to drag her back into the galaxy where the wars that had once raged and engulfed their lives were now quiet, where tyranny reigned and conflict still sparked constantly. The galaxy was no safer, perhaps even less so than it had been in the days where both himself and Inyri called themselves defenders of the light, and of the governments they served. He supposed, perhaps if it were not for some new revelations that had come to Aryn during his last encounter with one of his oldest enemies, he may have been there to bring her back into a fight.

But now? Now, Aryn was tired of the fight.

"No one's ever going to make you fight again, Inyri." He assured her, keeping his voice quiet as his gaze dropped for a moment to the lightsaber in his hand. Slowly, he watched as the parts began to split and open, only enough for the crystal within to carefully and slowly lift out and settle in his free hand. As the saber reconstructed itself, now inert and powerless, he kept it held out towards her. "The only fight now is the one you choose for yourself..." He spoke quietly, and it was only moments later when he heard her remind him of a reality he wished was not so.

Slowly, he stood up, his eyes never leaving her as he kept the lightsaber firmly held out. He took a few steps closer, gradually yet carefully closing the distance between them both as he focused upon her, shifting the lightsaber over into his left hand and letting it hang at his side as he reached the woman still cowering before him, kept in this horrid state by the voices echoing within her mind. Looking down at her, he sighed, nodding slowly. "You're right, I did leave you." He admitted, his eyes locked upon her own as he held out an open palm. "That's why i'm here now, to bring you back."