The Past on Repeat

[Vereshin]

And there is a Darkness - Flowers for Bodysnatchers​

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Turning off the road which lead to his new house, Vereshin slunk down the path to the corner store, all the while fumbling involuntarily for the cigarette he did not have. Since settling down in Confederate space, he had organized most of the moving process with the help of a kind woman who had rescued him on the beach, but seemed to be forgetting his more basic necessities, like cigarettes and tea. Growling to himself, he stormed past two people on their way to the shops and blinked rapidly, his temper quickly rising without the comfort of his nicotine.

Vereshin lived a short distance from the beach on Scarif, where [member="Madalena Antares"] had rescued him on the day he had come out of the black hole. There was an old town not far away from his house, where confederate citizens did most of their shopping in the area, so the distance suited him aptly. As he walked further down the path, roofs came into view and he spied the store on the corner on the street. Releasing a breath of relief, he strode across the street and walked inside, only to be met with the back of a woman who was standing at the checkout.

"Oh for kark's sake!" Vereshin shouted, rather loudly at the shopkeeper. With his hands held angrily in his pockets, he clenched his fists and breathed through his teeth, the seconds growing ever more agonizing. "Get the traffic moving, would you?" He demanded.

When the woman in front of him turned around, Vereshin guessed with a nasty glare in his direction, he paid her no heed and darted to he front of the shop, a packet of cigarettes in hand. He placed them on the bench, along with a credit chip, which the cashier took, then handed him the box, looking very displeased with him as she did so. Upon thumping her hands down on the bench, Vereshin wrapped his thin fingers around the box and parted his lips to bare a smile of awful, black teeth.

"Thank you very much." The words were hissed, drawn out with a sarcastic drawl. Usually, he would have been courteous, but this was more important!

Taking his cigarettes, Vereshin walked past the woman he had seen only a few seconds ago and began to unwrap the packet as he walked out the shop. He walked to the corner of the street, where he leaned against a lamp post and slid a cigarette between his teeth. Snapping his fingers, he created a spark of violet electricity, which he used to light the end, the inhaled and released a puff of smoke into the air, pausing for a moment to savor the sweet relief it brought. Blinking, he inhaled rapidly and felt around inside of his coat, where his notebook and pen were kept.

When he looked up, he could see the woman from the shop walking towards him and swallowed, knowing full well that she was coming to reprimand him for how he had behaved earlier. Holding the cigarette to his lips, he nodded as she prepared to speak, then exhaled and blew smoke into the air.

"I'm better now." Was all Vereshin said. The end of his mouth kinked upwards into a wry smile, his features softening slightly. "But I apologize for being so rude, I'm terrible if I don't have my cigarettes." Vereshin said, his apology sincere. On a good day, he was polite, but if he was uncomfortable or his work was going badly, then well, everybody would know about it. Running a hand over his slick hair, he adjusted his bowtie and and fumbled around in pocket for his pen, which he had been using to solve an equation before he left the house.

"What's your name?" He asked.

While Vereshin waited for her to answer, he could see, just over her shoulder, a woman who looked exactly the same turn into the corner store. Swallowing bile laced with dread, he froze in his stance and looked at the apparition with wide eyes, his irises glowing with heightened focus. Before long, he knew that they both see Vereshin himself walk up the street to arrive at the corner store, which could warp the timeframe of the area even more, unless they avoided contact with the vision.

"Madam, I hate to be a bother, but we need to get out of here before chit gets relative." Vereshin spoke sternly, but not without a slight chuckle. Extending a hand, he lightly touched the woman's shoulder to escort her away from the area, all the while staring, entrapped by the version of her from the past. "Oh..." He began, watching as the vision stopped to talk to somebody. "Don't turn around." Vereshin gave her a warning, which he doubted that she would heed.

[member="Naedira Darcrath"]

 

[Naedira Darcrath]

Tag: [member="Vereshin"]​

Aesthetic: XXX​

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Scarif.

It was a world that had seen it’s fair share of excitement over the years. She remembered the way they had taken this world, swiftly, and without any indecision. When planets full of valuable minerals and beautiful beaches suddenly lost their veil of protection the atmosphere changed. Where once the white-sand beaches had been rules by an Empire—A Droid Nation with a Sith Vicelord suited the people just fine. The Confederacy could protect them, fund their projects, and provide much needed autonomy.

Naedira walked through the aisles of a small shop and let tawny orbs fall over a variety of items. It was strange. Some things that were offered seemed to beyond their time, advanced technology, while other items were exceedingly rustic. She could purchase the reddest apples she’d ever seen in the front section and the seriously impressive prosthetic replacements in the back. Idly, she added pieces of fruit to a wicker basket, taking time to test them, smell them, before choosing.

She was on temporary leave from her post. The Order of the Knights Obsidian was her home. It was where she belonged, almost, more than she had ever belonged to Naboo. The new Dominus Prime seemed to favor his people working hard, then, rewarding their deeds with time away so they didn’t burn out. The Echani male was a little disturbing to her. Everything he did was perfect. Everything.

It was like watching a gender bent version of Exarch Talon go through the day to day grind.

The auburn-haired woman had rented a small bungalow on the beachfront. She’d spent her days off taking in the sights, wondering if her partner [member="Alkor Centaris"] had gotten decapitated yet, and languishing in the fresh water till the sun came up. To the small basket she added flour, some imported Corellian sausage, eggs, tomato, and spices. There were plenty of rock crabs to be caught be the shore.

By the time she made it to the check out she had to use two hands to hold all of her purchases, but, she didn’t intend to come shopping again for the rest of the trip. The Knight paused, however, when a rude little man seemed intent on bossing around the shop clerk. Naedira frowned. Couldn’t he see that she was the only one minding the store? Unlike some species, she only had two hands, so she could only move so quickly. She was tempted to say something, however, he disappeared out the door before long.

Yeeesh.

“So…Other than that—I hope your day goes well.”, Naedira intoned lightly, pressing a friendly smile toward the shop clerk, that seemed to be readily returned. The Nabooian native could appreciate that. Easily, the worker could have been sour with her too, after the negative experience, but no…It was all sunshine and roses. Most people on Scariff were like that. She liked that. Flexibility. Common sense. “Could I have these sent to these coordinates? There’s an ice chest on the back deck.”

“Certainly. Is there anything else I can get you?”

Nae shook her head, offering another smile, and fished out the appropriate amount of credits. Once her bill was paid, she waved politely before heading out the door. She dressed for the weather, not for a fight, although that didn’t mean she didn’t have a disruptor stashed at the small of her back. A white canvas hat hid her eyes from the sun, while a light jacket kept her warm, and a pair of matching wedge sandals allowed a little extra height. Her hair waved in the breeze, but, the ends seemed to turn red when the light hit just right.

The Knight stopped, briefly, when the same rude man stopped her. One elegant brow arched while she surveyed him fully. Why apologize to her when it was the shop clerk that had been on the receiving end of some unnecessary decibels. When he blamed it on his deathsticks, she could only accept it for what it was, and shrug lightly. “…You know those things will kill you, right?”

He asked her name. She hesitated. But, what harm could he do with that. “Naedira.”

“You?”, she questioned, turning the tables. It was only fair, afterall. Right about then her stranger danger senses began to kick in while the deathstick smoking rage cage became supremely focused on something just over her shoulder. His eyes changed. She saw the flicker of light and the hair on the back of her end began to stand on end. Who was this guy? “What are you talking about? Leave?”

He touched her shoulder, gentle enough, but her body flinched away as if scalded. Naedira barely put up with her friends and family getting overly handsy, let alone, a complete stranger. He told her not to turn around, but her training bid her to do otherwise, and when she did—Chestnut eyes fell into a disbelieving squint. “What—”

“—Is that me?”, she almost hissed out, incredulous, but not quite buying it yet. There were plenty of women out in light clothing with white hats and brown hair and—Oh. The woman turned around and Naedira caught a glimpse of her profile while she headed in the store. It was her. Her head pulled back a little bit while her hand slipped behind her, grabbing the hilt of her gun, though she didn’t draw yet. “Who are you and what did you do?”

Oh, it had to be him. It sure as kark wasn’t her. The fact that he told her not to look and didn’t seem phased led her to a simple conclusion. Something had gone awry, in a serious way, and it wasn’t her.

 

[Vereshin]

Leaning against the lamp post, Vereshin huddled beneath his black overcoat as the woman from the store approached him. The air had grown cold, bringing a chill with the salt from the sea on the onset of evening, which sent a shudder down his back. Withdrawing a sigh, he expected to be scolded for being so rude, when all he heard from the woman was a comment about his cigarettes and how they could potentially kill him if he smoked them enough. Vereshin only chuckled. With a cigarette poised between his fingers, he turned around and smiled at her wryly, baring a mouth full of pitch black teeth. As the sun began to set, the shops around them turned on their lights, breaking the darkness with isolated little glows throughout the town. Looking into the woman's eyes, he smoothed back his glossy hair and inhaled on the cigarette, blowing smoke away from her face.

"It'll take a lot more than nicotine to kill me, my dear." Vereshin said with a wink. He tilted his head to the side and looked at the sun as it set behind the rooftops, quite enjoying the serene old town he had come to call home, although he did not know how much longer it would be home for him, before he set out to find the little girl who had steered his ship into the black hole. "I was sucked into a black hole and came out the other side." He said, quite nonchalantly, as though there was nothing extraordinary about the sentence. Smoothing down the front of his overcoat, he adjusted his burgundy, silk bowtie and smiled when the woman offered him her name. He leaned against the lamp post rakishly, sliding one hand into his trouser pocket and holding back his coat.

"Vereshin, but I go by "Vi" if you like." He said and extended a hand, offering Naedira to give him her own if she wished. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, two figures, baring the exact same appearance as Naedira and himself approached the store behind them, letting Vereshin know with dreadful certainty that the time in the area had been warped as a result of him travelling to the past.

When Vereshin took Naedira's shoulder, she flinched beneath his touch, which was logical enough given that he was a stranger to her, but he could not risk their past selves seeing them, or else they would override them in time. Just as he expected, she did not heed his warning and turned around to see the past recurring in a loop, her exact self following her as she proceeded through the present. He saw Naedira, the real Naedira reach for her gun and swiftly placed a hand against her own, urging her to leave it be. Killing their selves as they remained in the past could prove just as fatal for their present selves, they needed to be rectified using magic. Naedira hissed in disbelief, to which Vereshin held his breath, all the while trying to pull her away from the ghosts of the past.

"We need to take the long way around, otherwise my past self will see us as well." Vereshin warned and waited for the past version of Naedira to walk into the store, which she did so. A few meters down the road, he saw himself walking angrily towards the store and fumbling around for his cigarettes, just as he had done only minutes ago. "We can't let them see us, or else they'll override us in time." He said and released his hand from Naedira. Walking forward, he looked over his shoulder and nodded, beckoning her to follow him. He darted down the street, quickly gaining a good distance between his past self. By the time Naedira had caught up, he had reached the center square and looked around for a lane way they could take to get out of the town. A pathway lead between a clearing of trees, which took them safely off the cobblestone and into the housing district on the outskirts of the town.

"This way, we'll go to my place and I'll cast a mark there." He said, looking behind the corner of one of the shops. In the distance, he could see his past self entering the shop, where he would buy his cigarettes and storm past Naedira.

Vereshin did not suppose that Naedira might not comfortable going to his house, but it was the only place they could safely rectify the past before it caught up with them. He turned away and walked down the path between the trees, where a fence separated them from the beach. The waves could be heard from the cliff below, where Madalena had rescued him on the day he came out of the black hole. Walking ahead with intent, he looked over his shoulder to see if Naedira was following him and saw her standing still in the middle of the path, her shoulders tense with apprehension. Vereshin groaned and turned around with the cigarette still hanging out his mouth, knowing that she must have had many questions. He stormed forward and grabbed her hand, then tried to lead her down the path.

"We've been warped in time, our past is now recurring with our present and yes, it's because of me." Vereshin said, sounding somewhat frustrated. He was eager to get away from the past before it caught up with them, but knew that Naedira was lost for information about the whole thing. "While I was in the black hole, the rate in which I proceed through time was slowed, dragging me backwards." He explained, looking ahead for the end of the road. The sun had well and truly set, leaving a monochrome blanket in it's wake. Vereshin started to get frantic, pulling at Naedira's hand slightly as he stared at the end of the road, intent to get home so they could start to work on rectifying their passage of time.

"We can fix this, but it would be safer to do it at my place, before the past catches up with us." He said, softening his voice slightly to assure Naedira that he meant no harm. He let go of her hand and smiled slightly, releasing a frantic gasp as he opened his mouth.

[member="Naedira Darcrath"]

 

[Naedira Darcrath]

Tag: [member="Vereshin"]​

Aesthetic: XXX​

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The Knight Obsidian stared for a long moment while curls of smoke rose into the sky. This one was strange. He spoke with the vernacular of someone that was well-educated but his appearance left one of her eyebrows raised in curiosity. Black teeth, for one, was not something she often saw in someone that used phrases like “my dear” on a perfect stranger. He was a slippery, for sure, worse than any oil slick she’d ever seen. “...A black hole.”, she repeated, head tilting, beneath the summery white canvas hat. They shook hands, mostly, because it would have been rude to ignore…

But—That would never mean she was all right with being manhandled by someone she didn’t know that clearly had some issues in the anger management department. Again, he reached for her, so that she wouldn’t pull out her sidearm and the glare that followed from topaz-flecked eyes would stop him cold. He was mistaken. She wasn’t about to aim the weapon at herself, past, present, or future. It was headed toward the numbskull that knew way too much. Guilty. For sure.

“Again…What did you do?”

She followed him because she didn’t have a choice. Naedira didn’t know enough about the effects of messing with the flow of time to make decisions on her own. The auburn-haired female might have been sure of herself, however, she wasn’t entirely foolish. She recognized the area they were walking through but it was in the opposite direction of her rental. The soldier in her didn’t like this. Not, at all. “Cast a mark?”

What kind of Force related sorcery was she working with here? Naedira had learned of the Darkside from her father, mostly, while trying to overcome a dark time. The elements called her. Grounded things, with positives, and negatives that she had to compensate for. Changing the environment was the least of what she was capable of, banking from fog, to storms. But, bending time? Creating duplicates? Whatever this was? Definitely, not in her wheelhouse.

Finally, the raven-haired man owned up to what the actual issue was. Warped in time. Karking, mother. Why did she always find herself trapped in the weirdest circumstances? The fact that it was because of this Vereshin fellow? That part, at least, she was sure of long before his voice met her ears. It was the only thing that made sense. It sure wasn’t her and he seemed to know all about it.

Again, he was holding her hand, and this time she let him. It wasn’t as if he’d done anything to directly cause her harm. As much as he seemed to have a good deal of intel on the situation, he didn’t seem to be able to control it. Was it something that had been done to him? From passing through a blackhole? Or was it something else entirely? She didn’t know. Not yet, anyway.

Either way, the sun had gone down, and it seemed they were out of options. It was a pretty abrupt surprise from buying noodles in a shop to suddenly running from her past self. “Just…Lead the way Vi. I’ll follow—You can explain later. When we’re safe.”

Knight training let her compartmentalize all of the confusion and distrust that she harbored. Did she know this man? No. Was something wrong? Definitely. She might not have been the most receptive but she could generally tell when someone was yanking her chain.

Furtively, she glanced behind her again, but they must have still been in the store.

“If we don’t want them to catch us we better move. You’re about to throw a tizzy in about point five seconds…And then they’ll be right behind us.”

If they weren't already.

 

[Vereshin]

Vereshin stared the woman down as she repeated his words, the syllables falling from her lips with an expression of awe. When he opened his mouth to respond, the exact copy of the woman walked into the store behind them and the woman, the true version of her, lowered her hand to wrap it around her blaster pistol, but unbeknownst to Vereshin, she meant to aim it at him, not the past versions of themselves. Her amber eyes met with his own lime green irises and he held his hand firmly against the woman's, stopping her from lifting the blaster any higher. Freezing in his stance, he looked past the woman's shoulder at the past person of her, his hands placed on her blaster pistol as he stared directly into her eyes.

"You would do well to put that away, unless you want to be erased from time." Vereshin threatened, his tone dropping. Slowly, he removed his hands from the blaster and stood upright, then ushered the woman away by her shoulder.

Indeed, now that they were caught in a time loop, Vereshin was the only one who could rectify it, which meant he was the woman's only chance of correcting her passage of time. It would not have done for either of them for her to put a bolt in his head. With his hand wrapped gently around her shoulder, he lead her down the street and turned a corner, leaving the path which lead to the corner store. They walked down an alleyway and arrived at a stone path surrounded by trees, where a bridge lead them over a small river. Stopping by the fence which separated the road from the trees, Vereshin turned around abruptly to hear the woman ask him the question again, the answer to which he regretted he would have to keep from her until they were safely away from the loop of the past.

"Vi, what the kark did you do?" Was a question he had become quite accustomed to hearing and since coming out of a black hole, it was becoming more frequent. Turning around, he let his shoulders slump with a sigh and held the woman's hand, the ends of his mouth kinking upwards in a slight smile.

"When I was sucked into the black hole, the rate at which I proceed through time was slowed down so much, that I was shifted backwards and ended up in the past." Vereshin drew out his words slowly as he spoke, giving the woman time to process what he was telling her. By casting a mark in a certain location, he could lure the past versions of themselves and trap them so that they could be rectified from a safe distance, but that was an explanation that would have to wait, as they would end up right behind them soon. The woman had seen them from behind them and mentioned that the past version of Vereshin was about to throw his tantrum in the store, which pulled Vereshin's attention over her shoulder. She was right enough and he could see the two of them now running down the alleyway, telling him that it was time to move.

"Chit, here they come, quickly we'll cut them off at the end of the bridge." Speaking quickly, Vereshin turned around and ran across the bridge, waving a hand in the direction of the woman and urging her to follow him. Hearing her footsteps behind him, he darted to the end of the bridge and hid behind one of the trees at either side, his hand outstretched and ready to cast. "Behind me." Was all he said as the woman quickly caught up with him. As the figures quickly caught up with them, Vereshin placed a hand against the air and caught them in his telekinetic grasp before they could see the woman and himself.

"Frame of prior reference, split the angle by which it follows." Vereshin said, his hand held against the air. Feeding his reach through the loop in time, he cut a swathe through the frame of reference through which they proceeded and diverted their path. Under his telekinetic impact, the two figures split, dividing into four, the two groups of each walking in the opposite direction of the woman and himself as they reach the other side of the bridge. The two figures on each side took to their separate paths, completely oblivious of each other and unaware that the present was proceeding right in front of them. Withdrawing a sigh, Vereshin lowered his hand and relaxed his shoulders with relief, then turned around and smiled at woman, who was safe for the time being.

"That will keep them away for a little while, but they will still reform and pick up our steps in time." The time travelling sorcerer said, standing upright. He gripped the edges of his coat and rolled back on his heads jovially, then spun around and headed up the street, looking over his shoulder to make sure the woman was following him. They walked along a stone path lined with only a few houses, one of which was his own. When he arrived at the house at the end of the path, he walked up the stairs and shoved his key into the lock, then opened the door and held it open for the woman. The inside was bathed in shadows, the feint smell of cigarette smoke masked with incense hanging on the air. With a flick, Vereshin turned on the lights in the hallway and closed the door.

"Well this is home." He said, his tone softening. While he let the woman look around, he walked to the kitchen and began to prepare tea, a very necessary tool for casting magic. "Would you like a cup of tea?" Vereshin asked, putting on the kettle.

As it boiled, he left the kitchen and walked to the entrance hall, where he took off his coat and slung it over the rack, revealing the black, knitted vest which he wore underneath. Around his neck, he wore a beautiful silk, burgundy bowtie with subtle polka dots, with a plain white shirt. Folding his thin hands, he turned on the light in the living room and met the woman as she looked over his desk, which was strewn with notes. The coffee table and floor were also covered in physics books and an endless amount of paper all scribbled with equations. Vereshin quickly shoved all the stuff off the lounge and coffee table and invited her to sit down, grabbing a stinking ashtray in the process and taking it to the kitchen.

When he arrived, the kettle was boiled and he brought it to the living room, along with two teacups and milk and sugar, then placed them on the coffee table. He looked out the window, keeping a keen eye open for the apparitions of the past, then sat at his desk and leaned on the edge, his features softening as he smiled.

"What is your name? I don't believe I've learned it yet." Vereshin asked, looking the woman from his desk. He craned his arm around and opened a drawer full of pendulums, taking one which he began to unravel. A pause followed as they sat in silence, each of them waiting anxiously for the past versions of themselves to show up, but the split in time Vereshin had cast would provide an adequate obstacle in their path for the time being. "A mark is a spell cast on a certain location or point in time, which can be used to trap a body caught in a loop in order to rectify it from a safe distance." He explained, letting the bob of the pendulum lope between his fingers.

[member="Naedira Darcrath"]