Private Natural Enemies, or, The Ill-Fated Reunion of Kirie and Neriah

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro
Tag: Nilira Vornix

She was so tired. A day of exercises out in the wastes that had left her with a myriad of bruises and the unpleasant memory of a dressing-down from the instructors after she had refused to spar with another Acolyte. Her skin was scraped and stained red from kissing the frozen ground all day, and her muscles burned with a fearsome ache that was only bearable because she was too exhausted to really notice it anymore.

She tried to lean against the shuttle bulkhead beside her to rest, but her harness held her too tight, and wriggling to adjust it would annoy her neighbour, one of a crew of mercenaries they had been training with for the day.

Stars, she hated being a Sith.

Lucky for Kirie, there was some small relief when the shuttle finally stopped down, still perhaps an hour's flight from the Academy, to drop off the crew of soldiers. She closed her eyes as they got up and gathered their things, chattering amongst themselves. She didn't pay them any attention, but she did finally unclip her harness and stretch. The cabin was now filled only with cold circulated air and blissful silence. Maybe she would be able to catch some extra sleep before the arrived bac-

Someone else was still on the shuttle.

Recognition blossomed instantly in Kirie's mind, followed immediately by worry and shame. Kirie recognised the girl immediately. Neriah Calvern, with her short crop of deep-sky-colour hair and her thick glasses, with her timidness and her quiet demeanor. Kirie knew exactly who she was, and she was ashamed.

She felt a sudden surge of embarrassment and awkwardness at being stuck in the shuttle alone with Neriah. Though, maybe it could be a chance to make up for the incident during the boot camp. Kirie was getting tired of the little pangs of guilt she would feel seeing the girl in the halls. Maybe if she just explained herself, then they could smooth things over, and Kirie wouldn't have to worry as much about having someone she'd wronged roaming the campus.

Her mind made up, Kirie waited until Neriah looked up at her, and offered a small wave.

'Hello.' she offered, flashing a kind smile that she couldn't quite sell as genuine. 'I didn't see you earlier.'

There was a very long pause. She was so bad at this.

'How... Are you doing?'

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Kirie

Even with the bruises and constant pain throbbing through her body, Neriah had been sat off to the side, scribbling with what seemed to be red ink against the pages of her journal. Words of rage, anger, resentment being spread across the pages, even as the wielder of the pen seemed to be lacking in any emotions. If anything, it seemed as if whilst the girl was void of any emotion, there was anger and resentment resonating from the book held between her hands. Of course it was old-fashioned of her to be writing in pages as opposed to using a datapad, but it felt so much more...natural for her. Easier to get her thoughts out.

As the rest of the people within the shuttle started to leave, Neriah still found herself sat there, flipping through the pages. Re-reading the complaints she had made during her training. A small sigh escaping her lips at how pointless they had been. How pointless everything was now. It was just day in day out of putting one foot in front of the other. Being unable to rest because either the instructors wouldn't let her, or because her own body wouldn't let her have the rest that she seeked.

That was when she heard Her. That voice. A voice that in the past fuelled Neriah with hatred. Such murderous hatred. It had been what had gotten Neriah through the training at first. To cause her to discover the power that was available at her finger tips. But within recent times, Neriah had found all that hatred fading from her. Hatred. Anger. Joy. Suffering. Even pain didn't have the same effect on her anymore.

"Of course you didn't see me. No-one does. Until they want a target. They want a toy to break. And I'm the prime choice. Thanks to you."

One might have expected some kind of vitriol, or hatred to come out through Neriah's tone...But perhaps it was worse. The way they wasn't anything in her voice. It was cold. Lacking. Almost dead like.

"I'm living. That's all that matters to the instructors...No. That's wrong. I'm sure they wouldn't care if we were dead."

At least that was how it felt for Neriah. She was no-one's pet project. No-one's favourite student. She had no one in her corner. Every other Acolyte she had came across had someone there for them. But she had no-one. Not even herself.

"...If you're here to apologise, it's far too late. I'll happily celebrate your death. Who knows, it might even make me smile."

​

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro
Tag: Nilira Vornix

At Neriah's harsh words, Kirie's eyes widened with surprise. She had noticed the way Neriah stared at her, but she had misread the depth of her hatred. Shame welled up in Kirie as she thought about the impact she'd had on the girl, but the feeling was complicated by a new emotion, which only grew stronger as Neriah delivered her venom-laden response:

Contempt.

Wasn't it kind of pathetic, when she really thought about it? That Neriah had allowed an incident Kirie had taken as a harsh lesson to turn into... Well, she didn't even know what had happened to Neriah since, but the girl was clearly deranged. It was kind of pitiful. Kirie had been shot with a beanbag, and Neriah had been pushed, wasn't it all kind of the same?

Still, the shame lingered. What she had done was still wrong, Kirie knew that.

"...If you're here to apologise, it's far too late. I'll happily celebrate your death. Who knows, it might even make me smile."

Kirie grit her teeth, unable to keep the hostility from her signing. But, as always, the modulated voice of the translator was crisp and even. Perfectly neutral, even if on the inside she was seething.

'That's how it is? I see.' she told Neriah. 'I was here to apologise for pushing you. It was wrong, and I was scared and acting rashly.' The sign for 'sorry' never manifested, though. Kirie was already pushing on, suddenly incensed. 'What I won't apologise for is how your life has turned out since. That's on you, Neriah, because the moment that mission ended, your impact on my life has been zero.' She made the symbol with her palm and it hung in the air. That was perhaps a little cruel, but Neriah was making her angry. Kirie sighed, and tried to reel the feeling in.

One thing Neriah was right about was the fact the instructors didn't care about them. Kirie and Neriah were both equally and useless if they didn't perform, and equally dispensable once they were no longer needed. Though Neriah attributed her struggles to Kirie, the truth as she saw it was that they were both misfits hanging on near the bottom and circling the drain. Didn't that mean they were supposed to look out for one another?

She sighed heavily, and decided to offer another olive branch. She hopped out of her seat and crossed the aisle so she was standing above Neriah, her face kit strangely from above by the shuttle's white strip lighting.

'We're both having a hard time here.' She offered. 'If we were allies, we could watch each other's backs.' She shrugged, unsmiling. 'It's just pragmatic.'

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Kirie

"So, because you were afraid, it is okay to spit at kindness? To destroy it? To tear it all down, to make yourself feel better? Your actions have consequences Thief. You think explaining yourself will accomplish...what? You still spat on me. Threw me to the bottom of the pile, made me a target to be bullied. Stole my master's lightsaber. For your own self preservation."

Even with the hostility coming from the signing, Neriah's voice hadn't flinched. It hadn't waved. It stayed...apathetic. As if she was spouting off facts she had read in a book, as opposed to talking about her feelings and opinions. If Kirie had expected the harshness of her words to get some kind of reaction out of Neriah, she would have been sorely disappointed as the Acolyte leaned back, folding her arms along her front.

"Of course I've had zero impact on your life. Very few people remember the trash laid across their feet. Especially trash that they discarded. You've been able to rise. People look at you with less contempt. But myself? Every day, I come back to my room trashed. My belongings ripped, burnt or otherwise destroyed. I could easily lash out at the people doing it. But then I'd be like You. I'd be like every other Sith. And why would I, when it's ultimately pointless?"

There was a small raise of her eyebrow however, a slight expression of...confusion? Bewilderment? Surprise? It was hard to pick out a specific emotion. Instead she leaned forward as Kirie offered the idea of them being allies. Of them working together.

"...Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Neriah knew the answer. Kirie would more than likely say yes. More often than not, Neriah would say she was an idiot as well. But this was ridiculous. Completely.

"You threw me to the sides. Made me less than trash. Made me a target, after I offered to help you. Refused to let me die when I was shot, forcing me to go through more and more pain, and...you think I'd trust you to look after my back? How do I know you won't just stab a bigger knife in and twist it this time?"

Even still, Neriah's voice didn't rise. She didn't yell. She didn't shout. Neriah simply...spoke.

​

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro
Tag: Nilira Vornix

"So, because you were afraid, it is okay to spit at kindness? To destroy it? To tear it all down, to make yourself feel better? Your actions have consequences Thief. You think explaining yourself will accomplish...what? You still spat on me. Threw me to the bottom of the pile, made me a target to be bullied. Stole my master's lightsaber. For your own self preservation."

'That's not what I'm saying.' Kirie replied, her face crinkling with concern. Again, the slightly crackly voice of the translator was perfectly calm, perfectly neutral. For her part, Kirie tried to keep her expression calm. Only a slight reddening of her cheeks betrayed her displeasure.

'You're not-' Kirie began, but she cut herself off. You're not well, Neriah, she'd wanted to say, but suddenly she thought better of it. There was something off about the girl, a strange look in her eye that made her skin prickle. Neriah had already shot lightning at her once. If she wanted to, she could probably fry Kirie where she stood. She'd already said it would put a smile on her face.

Kirie had to be more careful.

"Of course I've had zero impact on your life. Very few people remember the trash laid across their feet. Especially trash that they discarded. You've been able to rise. People look at you with less contempt. But myself? Every day, I come back to my room trashed. My belongings ripped, burnt or otherwise destroyed. I could easily lash out at the people doing it. But then I'd be like You. I'd be like every other Sith. And why would I, when it's ultimately pointless?"

Kirie nodded. The barb hurt, but it wasn't all wrong. She had done-was doing- things she wasn't proud of, but she was just doing what she had to do to survive. If she didn't, she'd end up just like Neriah.

'I know it feels wrong Neriah, but you're strong, and if you show the people around you that instead of hiding, they'll leave you be. You get pushed, you have to push back, or it keeps happening.'

Nevermind that people had never piled on Kirie the way they had the purple-haired Acolyte, but Kirie knew she was stronger too. Then, another thought crossed her mind: that she was probably on that list of people she had told Neriah to 'push back.'

Careless. She sighed in frustration at her own foolishness.

"...Do you think I'm an idiot?"

No. I think you're pathetic.

Kirie gave the girl a pitying look, her expression turning soft and gentle.

'No Neriah. I think you're more brave than you realise.'

"How do I know you won't just stab a bigger knife in and twist it this time?"

'You don't. But seriously, I am not the one you need to worry about around here.' Kirie pinched the bridge of her nose, a bit of her annoyance poking through. 'Look, we don't have to like each other, or watch each other's backs.' Kirie unslung her pack from her shoulder and retrieved the saber that Neriah had said belonged to her Master. She should have given it back ages ago, but she'd been afraid to approach the girl. 'Here.'

Kirie held out the saber.

'What if we just had a truce?'

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Kirie

"It will keep happening, whether I push back or not. It is the cycle of the Sith. Either you continue to cause pain to raise through the ranks, or you realise that none of it matters. And that is what I have realised. Nothing I do, will ever matter. All because I tried to help you. I decided to step out of line. To try and continue to be kind. And I swiftly learned that this is where kindness goes to die. Where warmth, joy, and happiness become a thing of the past."

Even still, she didn't seem to let any hatred, fear or other emotion into her voice. It was cold. Matter of factly. Clinical in a way...Clinical...For a moment, that thought made Neriah look down at her hands. She was nothing better than a droid. Lacking in emotion. Drive. Purpose. But that didn't matter in this moment as Kirie implied that Neriah was brave, and the Acolyte's head swung up to look at The Thief. Her eyes betraying a slight bit of emotion, as they squinted at her.

"I want to die, Kirie. That isn't bravery. I have a death wish. One that might my body won't grant me. I survive, when my mind wants to give up, but my body doesn't. It would be so much simpler."

Kirie. Not thief. The original source of Neriah's problem with the Covenant. Kirie was even offering the Lightsaber out to Neriah. The one that had been stolen. There were dozens of thoughts that came to her mind. Dozens of ways of using the blade to kill the woman in front of her. Thoughts that in the past, she would have perhaps played into...but for now? She took the saber from Kirie, placing it onto her hip.

"Whatever you want. I don't have the drive to hurt you anyway."

​

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro
Tag: Nilira Vornix

Kirie's annoyance was overtaken by a potent cocktail of emotions. Suddenly, she could imagine herself as Neriah. Taken from her home in chains, forced to become something she hated and forced to serve people she hated even more. It was no wonder she had become twisted. With all she had suffered, it was no wonder that she had no desire to exist any more. After all, hadn't Kirie been through the same things? She recalled well enough that in her lowest moments she had felt the same way Neriah did.

Grief, sadness and shame washed over her. She had been so quick to dislike Neriah, to cast her off as another irrational Sith. Maybe she had made her mind up about her to early.

Kirie's vision sharpened as she was brought back to the present moment, her eyes locking back onto Neriah's face.

She sat down beside the girl, spurred by the girl's assurance she didn't have the energy to try anything. The way Kirie saw it, Neriah was where she had been before she was freed: beaten down and hopeless, ready to give up. She had felt that way too, but a small twist of fate and the arrival of someone extraordinary had changed everything for her. She had been given a glimmer of hope, and chased it tirelessly.

Kirie's eyes flickered to the red brand on her arm and the shackle on her wrist, before returning to Neriah.

'Why don't you just leave?' Kirie asked. 'I mean, if your life here is so terrible, why not just escape, go back to the Jedi and avenge your Master, or whatever it is you want to do?' Stars, why not just find some beachside to relax at?'

She leaned in.

'If we are really as meaningless to them as you say, they won't even notice you're gone.'

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Kirie

"Ah. Yes. Leave. Go out into the wider Galaxy, where I will continue to suffer. Where I will continue to be hurt. The Jedi will not accept me. I am...too far gone for them now."

Neriah sighed to herself. If only things could have been that simple. If only there could have been a chance for her to have hope again. But she had hope once. Recently. Hope that all of the pain would be stopped. That she wouldn't have to feel it again. But that hope had been crushed. So much that Neriah wasn't willing to experience the suffering once more.

"It's quite simple why I stay. I will tire out. Sooner or later amongst the Covenant. Sooner or later, it doesn't matter how much my body wants me to survive. I'll be too tired to do anything else. You suggested a beachside for me to relax at? I don't want to relax, Kirie. I want to sleep."

Sleep. Rest. Despair. That was the main thing in her head. Yet she shook her head, keeping her gaze ahead of herself, even as Kirie leaned in. It was amusing in a way. In the past, she would have been filled with so much rage. So much anger. But she had burnt through it too fast. Too hot. Once that fuel had ran out, the flame of hatred had been put on, and instead came the cold of apathy.

"I failed my master. I've failed myself. And sooner or later, I'll fail the Covenant. It's what I do. I just...do what I'm told from now on."

​

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro
Tag: Nilira Vornix

"I failed my master. I've failed myself. And sooner or later, I'll fail the Covenant. It's what I do. I just...do what I'm told from now on."

Kirie stared at her for a long while, her expression blank except for a frown knitting her brow. The shuttle rumbled and Kirie heard the whine of the engine increase slightly, felt the slight change of pitch in the floor before the stabilisers kicked in. She closed her eyes and pictured the hundreds of shuttle rides she had taken since coming here. They would he passing through the cloud layer now, entering a tight spiral that would gradually widen and become flat as the tomb's repurposed landing doors swung open to receive them.

They didn't have long until their flight together was over. Two minutes ago, this wouldn't have bothered her at all, but now Kirie felt a strange sense of urgency.

If Neriah knew what was coming, it was only through some incredible gift of foresight, for not even Kirie knew what she was doing anymore. First, she sighed heavily, swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her face crumpled, and her shoulders sagged as if she were a puppet with her strings cut. She must have looked like a woman possessed when she slumped into the seat right beside Neriah, with her hand pressed to her temple like she was in pain.

And then Kirie's arms wrapped around Neriah to grip her tight.

She did her best to hold her fast, but her grip did not tighten, her hands did not move to try and grip the girls neck, she just wrapped herself into an embrace, rubbing Neriah's back soothingly as she hugged her, resting her head on Neriah's shoulder if she'd let her, and loosening her grip if her classmate fought against it.

Kirie's buried her face, and her shoulders shook, looking almost as if she was laughing. She wasn't. Tears fell upon cloth dirty with cold red dust. She scrunched up her fists and the muscles in her neck strained. Wave after wave of grief, and loss, and heartache. It was the opposite of numbness. A painful, agonising sorrow.

Stubbornly she held Neriah as long as the girl would tolerate. At the instant of their release, she felt the landing skids scrape against the icy temple stone of the Academy landing pad. Kirie sat up straight, a grave look coming over her as she wiped her tears with her sleeve, her face red and splotchy.

'They will pay for what they have done to us.' Kirie promised.

Her mouth moved as she signed, as if uttering a prayer. Of course she remained as silent as she had been since the day the Kainate had deigned her unfit to have a voice.

'We will make them pay, Neriah.'

The engines whirred, clattered, then shut off. The repulsors followed an instant later and the ship settled into its groundedness. The boarding ramp slowly opened, spilling cold, clear air into the ship's cabin and revealing a red evening sun, casting the last of its light across the cold wastes. The little warmth it carried flowed across her pale skin like honey.

Kirie stood up abruptly and walked partway down the ramp, stopped, and turned back to Neriah, the sun bringing out the red in her hair and the glint of gold in her eyes.

'Truce, yeah?'

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Kirie

A...Hug. It was something that was so strange, so foreign to Neriah. It wasn't something that she could understand. Not anymore. Warmth. Affection. It was as if it was an alien language for the woman, as she sat there, not even making an attempt to shove Kirie off her. That would have needed some kind of emotion. Some kind of reaction apart from cold apathy. Yet for a moment...she flinched. Not at the physical touch. Not at the fact Kirie, someone she had long ago wanted to slice apart, was hugging her. No. It was the tears.

Neriah's eye twitched behind her glasses for a moment, as she tore her gaze away from the wall. Her eyes flickering over towards Kirie, as Neriah felt the emotions. Grief. Loss. Heartache. Sorrow. Even as they bounced off, Neriah felt each little emotion. It was like those voices all over again. The ones in her head that said she wasn't good enough. Except it wasn't voices. Just constant feelings. Feelings that distracted her. They were clouding her thoughts. Her judgement.

So she didn't even realise what she was doing as an arm raised, hand held aloft, ready to bring it slapping down across the other Acolyte...yet instead Neriah brought her hand down and ruffled Kirie's hair. Was it meant to be comforting? As if Neriah was saying that it was alright? Teasing? As if she was playing with Kirie? Taunting? As if Neriah was mocking the other acolyte for crying? Not even Neriah knew herself. Even as Kirie stood up straight and promised revenge and payment for what had been done to the pair.

"...You're letting your anger get to you. You're letting the Darkness seep in."

This. This was why Kirie was a better Sith than Neriah. When it came down to it, when it came to letting the Darkness seep in, Neriah had let herself be swallowed up by it. Instead of controlling it, it had controlled her. And now it had removed everything that had made Neriah herself. Her passion for knowledge. For learning. For reading. It was all gone. All of the feelings Neriah had been ripped away...

Yet there was a small gleam of hope, as Neriah pushed herself up to her feet as the boarding ramp opened, raising her hand to cover her face from the sun. Alongside the slightest remnants of a smile. it hadn't quite grown enough to reach her eyes, but it was an actual expression, not of confusion, not of apathy, that had graced her visage in a long time.

"A truce works."

And with that, she continued onwards, to walk past Kirie and back through the cold wastes that laid ahead of her.

​