The Rebel Faction

(OOC: not too great but my brain only functions on weekends so.. )

The cool, calming voice of the woman next to her stilled Aretsuya as she listened. She brushed off her hot tears with long, slender fingers and cooed some comforting words into her ears.

“Come with me my sister…”

Something in the girl’s body urged her to take the woman’s hand and string along with her, more out of trust than curiosity. But why she trusted her she did not know.
She reached out her hand…

“Aretsuya !”

She immediately snapped her head back and frowned. So he had found her. He looked rather tattered and she felt a bit sorry for him. She shuddered abruptly, an abrupt twisting of her back. The blonde woman was still in the shadows, watching her like a hawk. She was shivering, but resisted the urge to cover herself.

She was torn.

Not knowing which way to turn, Aretsuya began to giggle, rocking backwards and forwards and shaking her head.

“What do you want from me. Quite suddenly she seemed to be on the verge of tears, her strangely shifting moods confusing Irtar even more.

“If you want to help me, why do you want to take me away? They’ll only hurt me more.”

She stood up, dusted herself and leaned against the wall, then offered a hand in Irtar’s direction.

“I don’t know what to do…”

Then stepped back towards the woman and her knees buckled, hands grabbing the woman for support.

But inside she felt she had to follow the woman, it was more than just intuition.

Irtar was confused, not quite knowing what to do or say as she began to break mentally. A pained look came to his face. He wanted to reach out and comfort her but the fear that she’d try to run again came to him. The fear that in her irrational state she’d up end destroying herself because of him.

He pushed that chill from him, focusing purely on Aretsuya.

“I won’t hurt you… I never would hurt anyone innocent…” Irtar said as she looked up at him with those tear filled eyes. He had to choke back joining her. The torn feelings in her spirit even obvious to one not in touch with the Force but to him… he was beginning to feel every quake and tremble. And it reverberated in his spirit.

And then she reached out and fell. Irtar immediately ran forward to catch her as she tried to grasp towards something that just wasn’t there. He sighed as she lay there limp for a second and then he heard that shrill laughter cut through the air. So there was a shadow in the dark.

Irtar would’ve gotten up to chase after the Sith if not for Aretsuya’s own sake. The sith was probably tailing him and toying with Aretsuya’s mind for her entertainment. He grit his teeth as he thought of their cruel sense of humour for but a moment then returned to Aretsuya who just looked up at him as if still trying to grasp hold of it all.

“Please… I just want to help….” Was all Irtar said as he pleaded with her. He wouldn’t take Aretsuya to the hospital unwillingly but he wouldn’t just leave her. He had to try and get her to see reason.

And so he prayed, just like the passing of the shadow from them right now, that this irrationality would pass from Aretsuya and that her health could be recovered.

[FONT=Palatino Linotype]Amara sensed the confusion within Aretsuya’s mind which was precisely what she needed. She needed to drive a wedge between Aretsuya and her Jedi companion to make it easier to coerse her away.

You will soon begin to doubt him my dear sister.

Very soon.

Aretsuya had already reached out to Amara with her hand and she would have capitalized on the moment had the medalsome Jedi not ran after her.

Amara continued to make her way through the crowd, following Aretsuya and the Jedi from a safe distance as not to arouse suspicion…

She then had an idea, to test this potential Learner’s abilities…

Once again, Amara invoked the power of Mind Touch with Aretsuya to speak directly to her mind…

“Aretsuya, I am close to you my sister. I can keep you safe.”

Amara paused briefly, trying to reach out and see if she could sense Aretsuya hearing her.

She then continued…

“Can you hear me my sister?”

Amara’s walk slowed as she waited to see if Aretsuya could channel the ability to answer her…[/FONT]

Irtar tried to argue with her, about to speak a couple of times. To tell her that the doctors would mean her no harm. That he’d cover the expenses if nothing more than to help a person who reached out to him. To tell her that if she needed it, he’d stay nearby. After all, there was always something to be done on a planet split between the Commonwealth and the Coalition.

“If that’s what you want.” Irtar sighed in defeat. Her choice was made and there was no way to dissolve the fear that had mounted in her heart. She leaned into him, whether out of exhaustion or comfort he couldn’t tell.

He was about to lift her, and take her to the inn he was staying it. There’d be a lot of explaining to do about why he was bringing a semi-conscious girl back to his suite. But if she would only trust him, then it’d be up to him to try and nurse her back to health.

For but a moment, Irtar’s mind slipped back to another time that seemed ages ago.

It was a sunny day on Dantooine. One of the sensors on the south ridge had been acting up. His father thought it might have been some Kath Hounds chewing on the sensors again. For some odd reason, they always found the damn things as great chew toys. Irtar took the little swoop they had to go and do maintenance out to the damaged beacon.

And there he saw him.

The man was collapsed, mauled terribly by Kath Hounds by the look of it. A man Irtar would learn to be a Jedi. He nursed the Jedi back to health and the Jedi told Irtar of his gift and pointed him towards Naboo.

The event that changed the course of his life forever after that point.

Irtar’s mind snapped back after the slight reverie and he slowly lifted up Aretsuya, like one would lift a child. It was then he started carrying her towards the inn. It wasn’t too far away. Probably a fifteen, or twenty minute walk back. It would be a bit longer now that he was walking for two.

Though it was more distant, Irtar could still sense that bit of lingering chill on his spin. That Sith was still around.

The pair got a couple of odd looks as they made their way down the street. It probably wasn’t every day they saw a woman dressed up like a punk carried by a man dressed up in a business suit (even though the suit was slightly scuffed up). Irtar tried to keep up a strong pace, but keeping an eye out. He didn’t want the Sith to get a jump on him.

“I know you’re here, but where?” Aretsuya whispered. Irtar cocked his head to her a bit. The chill being what struck him before everything else.

“Arestsuya, stick with me. I’m right here. We’ll be getting you in a cozy bed soon enough with some food and drink. Your choice.” Irtar said with a bit of a forced smile to hide his growing concern. Was she becoming delirious? Or was that Sith toying with her mind again?

And then he began to feel his shoulder dampen, and he saw her head creased as if in pain. She didn’t feel warm enough to be feverish. What was wrong now?

“Aretsuya? Aretsuya? Come on….” Irtar muttered as he gave her a bit of a shake, trying to rattle her back into reality. She stayed unresponsive. Irtar with some deal of effort took a hand from trying to hold her up and took her hand in hand. He continued to try and wake her up or snap her out of whatever it was.

And then with a bit of a squeeze she yelped a bit in pain. Irtar’s face suddenly twisted, realizing he squeezed a bit too hard but now she was back with him at the very least.

“I’m sorry…” Irtar muttered in apology, not really having wanted to hurt her but he panicked a bit. “I’ll have you somewhere safe soon where you can get some rest. It’ll be just you, and me. No one who’d want to hurt you or do anything bad to you. Just who want to see you healthy and well.”

Deep within a dream, Aretsuya felt someone stroking her forehead. A gentle, soft touch, a cool hand upon her fevered skin. She felt herself smile, enjoying the touch. Then the dream shifted and her forehead wrinkled. The touch was no longer soft and loving, but rough and rasping. No longer cool, but hot, burning her –

She woke up. It took her a second to realize that she’d clawed the sheet away and had been lying face down on the coarsely woven mattress cover. It was wool and very scratchy. Her pillow lay on the floor, and she sensed a man coming closer, picking it up and fluffing it up next to her. She closed her eyes and listened –

“So you’re awake now? You should really eat something.”

Aretsuya scrunched her eyes together more tightly and tried to get back to sleep. She vaguely recalled this man – Irtar – carrying her off into this inn and laying her onto the rigid mattresses. He cooed her to sleep, though he didn’t really have to; her body was giving away from all the pressure of running and starving that she could sleep fine by herself. Immediately, she felt all her troubles wash away as if they never existed. That’s what she liked about sleep; she could just disappear and think of something completely different, as in a dream, though she had to admit not all her dreams were good. But then she remembered everything, her running from the handsome man that sat next to her, watching her with a concerned expression on his face. She felt sorry for him, he seemed to mean no harm really. And then, the woman, who asked Aretsuya to come with her, when she really had no idea how they communicated when she couldn’t see her. It was scary, overall. And she was glad she got it out of her mind for however long it was.

Once she thought of that, there was no hope for more sleep. She shuffled a bit under her blankets and then rose slowly, while Irtar directed his attention to cutting her an apple with a blunt knife and placing it beside her on a chipped china plate.

“Thank you.” She mumbled, as she did not know what else to say to the man she had been so uncouth to. Aretsuya blinked, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Her paranoia sunk as she thought that they were alone here, just the two of them but that love of hers would not leave her alone…

But no, it was just a simple room. Dark from the approaching twilight with an array of the colours of dusk patterned on the walls. She took a piece of apple and nibbled on it, the taste filling her mouth and she sighed. It felt so good to be eating something again, and she savored every mouthful.

“There’s more if you want. Should I get it for you?”

Aretsuya felt like hugging the man. After all she did, why was he being so nice? She wiped off hot tears of gratitude from her puffy, red eyes and smiled.

“It’s okay. I should be getting up now. I think my body is stiff from all the running!”

She laughed a little and smiled at him, and he looked a bit surprised. Perhaps he didn’t expect her to be laughing or smiling after the ordeal she just had. And especially at him.

Then she remembered how she threw away her chance of running away with the woman, and perhaps her last chance of freedom. She seemed so sincere that Aretsuya had no worries about her being someone trying to captivate her and punish her in any other way. It was a familiar litany. The familiar stab of sorrow in her stomach. It hurt, and she couldn’t leave it alone. The wound was a part of her now. But what if the woman kept her promise and did come back for her…?

She eased herself up and wobbled away to the bathroom. She knew Irtar’s eyes were on her back and she blushed slightly. But as she entered the dirty toilet, she tripped over the annoyingly misplaced tiles on the muddy floors. Irtar heard her yelp and offered his help, but she giggled in reply at such a thought. The lines of worry came back though, as Aretsuya combed her hair in the mirror next to the dirty tub of water. The mirror steamed as she turned on the hot taps, with its tarnished edges. She recalled the fact that this mirror was shared by many others, as well as the bed. The thought made her shudder a bit, as she sometimes couldn’t stand the thought of people, but she waved it away and washed her face water and it woke her up a bit more. She was very pale, she noticed, her hair covering most of her narrow face and she realized how scruffy she was just looking. She concentrated on combing her hair with her fingers.

After a while, she sauntered out of the bathroom and took a seat next to Irtar, finishing the remaining bits of apple. She saw him pouring her a glass of water and she hurriedly tried to take the jug away and pour it herself.

Their hands met, and she moved it back quickly, blushing furiously and looked outside the window, trying to keep her eyes on the buildings and the beautiful evening sky as her cheeks burned.