You Are A Rock Upon Which I Stand

[Erden Tarkhan deWinter]

Planet: Coruscant
Time: 10:45 am
Location: Ming's Geomancy Arts

The geomancy master poured a cup of tea for her customer, offering the beverage to him which he gladly accepted. Erden picked up the cup and took a sniff, smelling the fragrance and scent and determined that the tea leaves were of top quality. He smiled, taking a slow sip and tasted the bitterness of the dark beverage with his tongue.

"Oolong from Artisia. Not bad at all."

"Really? I'll be glad to give you a pack or two as a gift, Mr Tarkhan." The geomancy master smiled and made a gesture for her helper to retrieve some from the store.

"I thank you in advance then, Miss Ming. Now, regarding the dream that I have..."

"Yes, please describe it to me in detail."

Erden paused for a moment, frowning as he tried to remember the dream that had been haunting him for days. He could remember it vividly by now, as if he had been there all along as the dream unfolded in front of him.

"It was a sunny day in Tatooine. I know it's Tatooine because of the twin suns in the sky. I saw a hut, a clay house in front of me. As I looked through the window, I could see two children in the house. One was a girl, the other was a boy. The girl was staring through the window but would never notice my presence. She would squint her eyes for a moment before turning her back from the sunlight."

The Artisian paused, trying to make sure he had not missed out any details.

"The little girl was looking at the boy, presumably her brother. He was playing with some action figures and she walked over to him, picking up one of the toys to play when their mother called her name."

"What's her name?"

"If I am not wrong, it's Shery. The little girl is asked to go to some mansion and she protested loudly. She said she wanted to join Jonathan at the Jedi. Her mother told her in a stern voice that she could not, because she was a slave."

"What happens next?"

"I wake up every time after that."

"Hmm..."

Miss Ming bit her lips and looked at Erden for a moment, realising that she had absolutely no idea what the dream meant. Most of the time, her clients would tell her about tales about mythical creatures, unforgettable memories or horrifying experiences. Erden had just told her about a dream that did not involve him. He was a bystander, an observer watching a scene unfolding in front of his eyes.

"I am afraid I can't help you."

"What?!?"

"I am sorry. I really cannot interpret the meaning of your dream. It does not seem to bear any omen or message... perhaps it's just a memory."

"A memory? Whose? Why am I dreaming of someone's memory then?"

The geomancy master had no answer to his question, merely tapping on her datapad and displaying a map of the galaxy. Her fingers landed on the planet Tatooine and smiled.

"If you are that concerned about the dream, why not make a trip and take a look?"

******​

Planet: Tatooine
Time: 1:25 pm
Location: Some random cantina in the city
Tag: [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

"Darn it, why did our boss insist on coming here?" A Twi'lek complained loudly to his companion who was busy drinking from a tall glass of beer. "I can't believe we are here to chase some dream."

"Quiet..."

The two guards kept their mouths shut as Erden stepped out of his room, heading towards the bar area for his lunch. Credits had been spent to hunt for the clay house in his dream, but it had proven to be a difficult task.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena snorted before stretching out, her back and butt moving comfortable against the chair in the cantina. She had come to Tatooine again as part of her usual duties with the Knights Obsidian, though at least this time there was a fun mission to attend; find the Mandalorian spy. Frankly, she didn't understand why so many people favored the sandy planet. It was too hot, it was too bright, and most days, it stank too.

But what better way was there to find a spy than to drink, flirt, and be about to enter the loveliest of bar fights with someone who was about to lose at sabaac?

Leaning forward, Madalena tossed her cards face-up on the table, her lips curling into a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"You cheated," came the first gruff.

"She cheated!" came the second.

Madalena raised her eyebrows, still smiling, and gave them the most innocent of shrugs. As expected, it hadn't worked.

Normally, the Sithling loved to fight with all her weapons out. She was a walking armory on the lightest of days, carrying at least twelve blades, two lightsabers, a gun, and more. Today though, she wanted to feel it. Her life had been a turmoil since before Life Day and sometimes, all a girl wanted to do was to have a little fun.

Even if it meant she was going to get a broken nose soon enough. And still, the punches flew, the kicks were given, and the table broke.

Madalena was having the time of her life!

[member="Erden Tarkhan deWinter"]

 

[Erden Tarkhan deWinter]

The man sat down at an empty dining table and picked up the menu, browsing through the food selection that was tailored for locals. The Atrisian waved his hand for a waiter after deciding his order. A sully looking Jawa came over, his face by mostly by his brown hood while his glowing eyes stared at the customer. Erden did not know any Jawa trade talk, so the ordering became a finger gesturing exercise. He managed to order a eopie brisket, a nausage and a glass of wine before the Jawa scrambled away.

Shouts rang out across a table that was just a few meters from him, making him look up to see the commotion. A curvy woman had thrown her cards onto the table and stood up, seemingly eager to get into a fight. Sure enough, the other gamblers tossed their cards away and began yelling at her face.

"My kind of girl," the Twi'lek grinned at the sight, exposing his sharpened teeth while he leered at [member="Scherezade deWinter"] who was now engaging in a fist fight with the rest. Erden was more concerned about something else while he glanced at the mysterious lady. Her aura was calling out to him, and yet he had absolutely no idea why.

"Stop staring like an idiot and go help her. Then politely invite her to come over once you are done. Remember, be polite."

He rubbed his temple and picked up his glass of wine while his two thugs went over to assist the brunette. The Twi'lek started things off with an elbow to a face, while the other was a stony faced Mandalorian who headbutted the nearest guy with his helmet.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Wasn't it funny how fights were always portrayed on holofilms like some weirdly strange and very clean thing? Madalena had been in more than her share of fights; some, where cantina fights, like there, and others were full out blown wars. There were even fights with dragons in a shared dreams sequence that one time that had ended up with her pulling a Drax and then finding a dragon's heart and eating it while it still beat. But, none of these fights had ever been clean.

For instance, when that fist connected with her stomach, there was lots and lots of spit coming out of her mouth. Part of it was because she spat, but parts were because it was a perfectly normal human reaction to getting your stomach fisted.

There was also blood.

Oh no, not hers. The vast difference in skill levels ensured that the odds of her actually breaking her own skin were slim. But they bled. A lot. One would be amazed at how much damage a leg chair could do when one was bereft of her knife.

And then a twi'lek joined in, and Madalena paused. That twi'lek had not been part of the game. Why was he joining in?

"Hey, no kill stealing!" she yelled before she broke another chair on another thug's head, still smiling and laughing.

 

[Erden Tarkhan deWinter]

"Young lady, it's just part of the fun," the Twi'lek tried to put on his best charming voice while hammering his fists at a poor fellow, only to have his lekkus being pulled by another. He screamed in anger and turned around to be fed with a punch on his face. The stony faced Mandalorian gave a sigh that was barely audible under his metallic helmet and went over to help his companion, making sure the lekkus were released. In return, the Mandalorian was rewarded with a blow from a heavy chair onto his chest. The crowd seemed to be getting rowdy with each second, while Erden's face grew more stony with each passing moment.

He had asked them to help the mysterious [member="Scherezade deWinter"], not flirt with her and drag the fight.

"Enough."

Erden stood up impatiently, strolling forward to finish the fight. He picked up a broken leg belonging to a chair and channeled the Force to imbue it with enough force to crack some bones. The first blow onto the nearest thug's chest made him scream aloud in pain, drawing the attention of the rest who stared at him angrily.

"Get him!"

The thugs leapt at him while Erden's channeled the Force through his body, enhancing his speed. He moved quickly, finishing each thug with a blow on the head with precise brutality, enough to knock them out but not to kill them. His effort was enough to renew his thugs to keep up the fight, to finish the stupid brawl as soon as possible so that their boss could talk to the mysterious lady for whatever reason. It took a while, but finally the dust had settled. Mostly, except for several who had scrambled away.

"Okay..." Erden tossed away the broken wood in his hand and stared at the raven haired woman who had created the scene. "I... I need to... talk to you..." He panted slightly, green eyes looking at Madalena's pair who possessed a similar shade of colour.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

The charming voice was met with the warmest of smiles as Twi'lek and Sithling continued to do violence. As the crowd was getting more rowdy, Madalena was getting more creative. She'd managed to jump onto the shoulders of one of the sabaac thugs, her thick thighs wrapping around his neck, and then she leaned backwards, throwing out punches to anything that was within reach, laughing freely all through the while.

When someone shouted 'enough', she wasn't even registering it. Instead she sat up straight on top of her victim again, hands coming from behind his head to gouge his eyes out with her fingers.

Eye gunk was dripping off her fingers and wedging itself under her nails as someone called on the Force. She felt the surge and jumped off her screaming dude, looking around to see where it was coming from, which gave another thug the perfect chance to this time break a chair on her head. "Rude!" the Sithling exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him into a wall.

When all was said and done, it was just her and that other man (Erden), and maybe a handful of others that weren't being violent anymore.

Madalena was out of air, her chest heaving up and down, but it was hard to miss the proud smile on her face. She'd come to deliver punches and kick butt, and she'd done that, though she'd still have to wash out bits of eyeballs from beneath her nails. That, however, could wait.

"Okay, so talk," she answered with a childish and innocent expression on her face, as though none of them was covered in broken cantina bits and the blood of those who were stupid enough to call themselves their enemies. And while she did indeed notice his eyes, Madalena was Madalena, and not the girl who no longer existed – and thus could not even begin to guess what that shade of green on another could possibly mean.

[member="Erden Tarkhan deWinter"]

 

[Erden Tarkhan deWinter]

He stood there, green eyes staring at the same pair belonging to [member="Scherezade deWinter"] who had just casually treated the fight like a playground. Erden had seen blood before, including all the gory scenes that would make one's stomach churn. Most people after a fight would be trying to calm their nerves down instead of smiling innocently with bits of eyes sticking on their fingers. Erden almost wanted to conclude that he was speaking with someone who might be a little bit psychotic.

"I should probably introduce myself first. Erden Tarkhan, born in Coruscant. These are my guards."

He made a gesture towards the Twi'lek who was enjoying the sight of Madalena up close, while the Mandalorian's expression remained a mystery under his helmet.

"Alright, I wanted to-"

The Atrisian had been thinking for a while on how he could brood the topic while he stared at the raven haired woman's eyes. He saw reflections of himself in her irises, making him blink in astonishment. Suddenly he was transported back to the dream sequence, staring at the two children in the hut. A fleeting moment before he grounded himself back to reality.

"What... what was that?"

Erden frowned, wondering if Madalena had seen the same thing.

"Pardon me, but I need to ask if you happen to have dreams that repeated themselves at night. Dreams that involved two children, Shery and Jonathan."

He decided that he might as well be blunt about his question, no matter how strange he sounded.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Erden Tarkhan. Coruscanti born. Madalena smiled from ear to ear, wanting to introduce herself as well. After all, just like the man standing before her, with eyes glowing so much like hers, what else could she do but give her name and mention that she was Coruscanti born as well? Her gaze moved to the guards and she waved at time, almost child-like, her smile remaining ever so wide and warm.

Eyes narrowed and smile disappeared though as Erden said he wanted something, only to… Well something was going on with him. Madalena looked carefully, trying to figure out what it was, but came up with nothing. Was he sick? Did his head hurt? Did he need a mug of ale? She glanced at his guards, hoping their reaction would fill her in, but nope.

Next came the question.

Any semblance of childlike innocence was gone from her features as she just openly stared at the man. A moment ago, they had been complete strangers who happened to meet up at the same low life bar sort of a place, fighting silly brutes who thought they could do her one better. But now?

"I've never heard those names before," she said, her voice careful, openly cautious, "but I do have repetitive nightmares."

Her hands went to rest against her sides. It might have looked like a relaxed pose, but the tips of her fingers were now on the edges of knives she had concealed beneath her weapons. If this Erden Tarkhan tried to trick her into anything, she was going to gut him right where he was standing.

"Now why are you asking me this?" she asked, her voice dipping low, "who are you."

[member="Erden Tarkhan deWinter"]

 

[Erden Tarkhan deWinter]

"Relax."

He was quick to notice her body language changing after he posed his question. Not that Madalena was difficult to read, no. The lady was smiling for a moment, and the next instance she was looking cautious, her hands resting against her waist. The definition of being cross, not to mention the possibility of her wiping out a weapon or two from her belt. Erden raised his hands in the air calmly, palms open to show that he was unarmed and meant no ill intention.

"I was just asking because I had just seen the same dream momentarily flashing before my eyes while talking to you."

A pause to let his explanation sink in. Perhaps the raven haired woman would buy his explanation. What was the worst case that could happen? Erden was pretty comfortable he could dodge an incoming blow if she decided to attack, trusting his natural reflexes. For now though, Madalena had yet to introduce herself or lower her guard, merely staring at him with suspicion.

"Fine. I'll move backwards. You can relax."

His hands remained in the air as he took two steps backwards.

"Safe enough? Now I'll show you my dream. As long as you wish to see it."

He decided not to close his eyes, still wary of the woman who was clearly a little... loose. No, he would rather spend extra effort to concentrate and channel the Force. The dream that had been haunting his mind in recent nights was recreated after some effort and he let the dream drifted towards Madalena's mind. He had no idea whether she was Force sensitive, but he was pretty sure his command over the Force would allow him to slip the memory image as long as she was open to receiving it. If not, so be it.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Relax. No. Nope. That word rarely did what it was meant to do, and the Sithling in front of him now narrowed her eyes, visibly not relaxing. He claimed he'd asked because he was having the same dream. Madalena still did not seem to relax at that. He had managed to hit with so few words one of the most sensitive buttons she had, a secret closely guarded that less than three people in the entire galaxy knew about. She was not going to get relaxed or comfortable any time soon.

He then move backwards, but that was not enough to fool the Blood Hound. She was a Force User, and a trained one at that; people who were like her could do a plethora of damage without ever needing to come anywhere close.

And then came the offer to see the dream. Only now could a change be seen on Madalena, suspicion turning into curiosity. They said that curiosity killed the cat, but Madalena was human with Blood Hound tendencies so maybe there a chance this could happen.

Closing the distance between the two of them, unless [member="Erden Tarkhan deWinter"] stepped back, Madalena had a knife she pulled from seemingly nowhere pointed directly at his throat.

"Show me," she said quietly, "but any funny moves and you turn into a blood fountain."